THERE ARE MANY SYSTEMS OF FENG SHUI BUT THE EASIEST TO MASTER IS COMPASS FENG SHUI. THIS IS BECAUSE IT IS VERY PRECISE, REQUIRING ACCURACY IN READING THE COMPASS AND IN DEMARCATING THE SPACE BEING FENG SHUIED. COMPASS FENG SHUI TAKES THE GUESSWORK OUT OF FENG SHUI PRACTICE, AND ALL SERIOUS MASTER PRACTITIONERS OF FENG SHUI USE THE FENG SHUI COMPASS, OR LUO PAN, IN THEIR PROFESSIONAL WORK.
The Luo Pan is an invaluable tool. At first glance it is an intimidating instrument – it is filled with as many as 3000 Chinese characters, numbers, lines, and symbolic markings. The Luo Pans used by masters of feng shui are usually at least 9 inches (22cm) in diameter with over 20 concentric rings of numbers, characters, colors, and codes. These contain a wealth of secrets – secrets handed down from master to disciple for hundreds of generations. The Luo Pan contains enough feng shui secrets to fill many books. Today, the bright glare of 21st century attention means that these secrets are available to an ever-growing band of “disciples.”
To those who want to learn how to use the compass to create magnificent good fortune for themselves and their families, the secrets of the Luo Pan are worth learning – especially since on closer examination it is not such a daunting instrument after all.
The Luo Pan, or Chinese feng shui compass, is exactly the same as any western-style compass – it is not a different tool. Both compasses indicate exactly the same directions. The Luo Pan, however, was the ancient masters’ means of condensing all their feng shui knowledge into one instrument. Today, all the information contained in the Luo Pan can be reduced to simple charts and graphics that can be organized and presented in user-friendly formats. Then all you need is a simple western-style compass to get your bearings and your orientations.
This book is, in effect, your Luo Pan. All the information in the Luo Pan pertaining to Yang dwellings (that is houses of the living as opposed to grave sites, or houses of the dead) is explained here in detail and illustrated, where necessary, in easy diagrams. Practical examples are used to explain the more complex applications of the compass but as you turn the pages you will be amazed at how simple supposedly advanced feng shui can be. Do not expect to become a master overnight, however. The formulas of feng shui are easy to understand but if you want your practice to have real depth and potency you should use these formulas as much as possible. Repeated practical application is important in perfecting one’s understanding. Superiority in application comes from experience.
The more you use the formulas the more profound your use of feng shui will become. And then you will begin to appreciate the amazing genius behind this 4000-year-old system of environmental science. You will realize as you start to understand the lines and markings of the Luo Pan that the feng shui masters use it for more than just measuring directions. They use it as an instrument for studying the cosmic flow of chi, or energy, in the environment.