How to determine which floor of a high-rise condominium is auspicious in feng shui

Since living in a high-rise condominium is a norm in modern city living, many people who are interested in feng shui will wonder how to choose the auspicious unit. Here I will introduce a method using the Hetu Numbers (先天河图数) or Earlier Heaven Ba Gua in relationship with the facing of the building to determine which floor is more suitable to live.

The feng shui myth of Hetu Numbers is based on the story of Fuxi (伏羲), the ancient shaman king of China, observed a half dragon and half horse celestial animal flying out from the Yellow River, and on its back was a special pattern with black and white dots. The white dots represent Yang energy and odd numbers; while the black dots represent Yin energy and even numbers. Based on the distribution of the dots, the following patterns were identified:

- 1 and 6 is located at the bottom (North) 一六共宗

-2 and 7 is located at the top (South) 二七同道

- 3 and 8 is located at the left (East) 三八为朋

- 4 and 9 is located at the right (West) 四九为友

- 5 and 10 is located at the center 五十同途

I will now show the readers how to apply its principles to determine which floor is auspicious. Based on the above, we can define the following:

- 1^st and 6^th floor are associated with the water element

- 2^nd and 7^th floor are associated with the fire element

- 3^rd and 8^th floor are associated with the wood element

- 4^th and 9^th floor are associated with the metal element

- 5^th and 10^th floor are associated with the earth element

Since the above is only good for 1^st to 10^th floor, so how do we determine when the majority of modern buildings are more than 20 or even 70 storey high? Well, in this case, we will use the last digit of the floor number. For example, 29^th, 49^th floor are same as 9^th floor, and 50^th, 100^th floor are same as 10^th floor.

One thing to take note is any storey below the ground level is not counted. For instance, if there is an underground parking in a three story building, it still count as a three story building instead of a four storey building.

Another condition that we may encounter is in some city, because of superstition or whatever reason,

there are missing floor numbers in a building. For example, it has the 13^th or 14^th floor missing, thus the floor above 12^th floor will become 15^th floor instead. In this case, the 15^th floor will count as 13^th floor and the 16^th floor will count as 14^th floor etc.

Implications of Hetu Numbers with the facing directions of the floors in a building

- 1^st and 6^th floor face East and SE is considered prosperous (生), face North is growth (旺), this implies scholar luck, fame and reputation.

When it face South, NE and SW, it is considered as decline and dead (克杀) which implies widow in the household, opportunity of drowning and wandering and not auspicious to male members of the family.

- 2^nd and 7^th floor face SW and NE is prosperous, face South is growth, this denotes good monetary luck, and mostly daughters in the family.

When it face West, NW and North, it is considered as decline and dead, this denotes abortion, miscarriage, lung disease and law suits.

- 3^rd and 8^th floor face South is prosperous, face East and SE is growth, this will bring males luck and good reputation.

When it face NW, West and NE and SW, it is considered as decline and dead, this will bring juvenile mortality, trauma and unworthy descendants.

- 4^th and 9^th floor face North is considered auspicious, facing NW and West is growth, this implies good monetary luck, personal loyalty and good military career.

When it face South, East and SE, it is considered as decline and dead, which implies unrighteous, trauma, car accidents, law suits, loneliness.

- 5^th and 10^th floor facing NW is considered auspicious, facing NE and SW is growth, this implies get rich quick, own many properties and many descendants.

When it face South, SE and North, it is considered as decline and dead, this implies infectious disease, loneliness and death.

Relationship of Hetu Luck Cycle (河图五子運) with the element of the floor number

The Hetu Luck Cycle is using the 6o years cycle of the Chinese calendar and subdivided it into 5 Cycles of 12 years each and each Cycle is associated with an element (see below table):

- Jia zi Cycle (甲子運) 1984 – 1995   = water element

- Bing zi Cycle (丙子運) 1996 – 2007 = fire element

- Wu zi Cycle (戊子運) 2008 – 2019 = wood element

- Geng zi Cycle (庚子運) 2020 – 2031 = metal element

- Ren zi Cycle (壬子運) 2032 – 2043 = earth element

Based on the above, we can see that currently we are in the Wu zi Cycle (戊子運) which is associated with the wood element. In this calculation, we will use the element of the floor number as the “substance state” (体), and the element of the Hetu Luck Cycle as the “effect” (用).

For example, the current Wu zi Cycle is associated with the wood element, and the Hetu Number 3 and 8 is wood; which means the 3^rd, 8^th, 13^th, 18^th, 23^rd and 28^th floor etc., are auspicious. Furthermore, since wood feeds fire, while the Hetu Number 2 and 7 is fire; this means the 2^nd, 7^th, 12^th, 17^th, 22^nd and 27^th etc., are also auspicious in feng shui.

Effects on the relationship between the element of the Wu zi Cycle and the floors of the building:

1. Generating cycle between the element of the Wu zi Cycle and the floor number implies good health, increase of family members.

2. If the element of the Wu zi Cycle and the floor number are identical, it means good monetary luck.

3. The element of the floor number generates the element of the Wu zi Cycle, it implies poor health.

4. The element of the floor number destroy the element of the Wu zi Cycle, it implies monetary luck, but suffer from poor health and conflicts.

5. The element of the Wu zi Cycle destroy the element of the floor number, it implies poor health, sudden death and law suits.

I will suggest the readers to first check whether the Wu zi Cycle is auspicious to the floor number and follow by the calculation of its auspicious facing direction. This will make it easier to apply when we are trying to determine the auspicious floor number.

Lastly, I want to emphasis that the above two methods are serve only as a supplementary assessment when we are deciding  which is the auspicious floor when we are looking for new living unit in a high rise condominium. When it comes to determine the feng shui of a unit itself, the outside environment (luan tao) and the chi pattern (natal chart) are still the primary factors to consider; and seeking professional consultation is strongly recommend as this will affect our luck and health as long as we are living in the unit. This is very important!