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In the Eight Residence system, doors and pathways should open toward the three auspicious directions to attract good fortune. If misfortune occurs instead, it means the directions conflict with the occupant's life trigram. Therefore, when evaluating a house, you must also consider the resident's personal direction.

If a person with a Wood Element lives in a house built from wood, it is called "transformation." If a person with a Metal Element lives there, it is called "restraint."

A broken army facing the southeast harms the wife, unless the occupant's element is water and the house is fire-aligned—then it is harmless.

The Dou Ling Jing says: When determining room orientation, only consider the head of household's birth year—not siblings, children, or women. If the head dies, use the eldest son's birth year. Other male relatives should choose rooms based on their own birth directions. If a widow runs the household, use her birth year instead.

If a couple has different life trigrams—for example, the wife is East Life and the husband is West Life—how should they arrange their home? In a north-facing house, the husband takes the west room, the wife the center (treated as Kan). In a south-facing house, the husband takes the west, the wife the center or east (Xun or Li). In an east-facing house, the husband takes the north, the wife the center or south (Zhen or Xun). In a west-facing house, the husband takes the center, the wife the south or north (Kan or Li). Beds should generally face southeast. When spouses have different life trigrams, the husband’s direction takes priority.

The Nine Star system controls negative energies: Vital Energy overcomes Five Ghosts, Heavenly Doctor subdues Absolute Fate, Prolonged Year suppresses Six Evils. This arrangement ensures harmony and neutralizes harmful forces in residential space.

The four auspicious stars are good for placing doors, orienting the house, positioning beds, and setting the stove direction—but not for the stove or toilet. The inauspicious stars should be avoided for the house’s main direction and doors, but are suitable for toilets, stove bases, chimneys, and mills. Placing these there suppresses bad energy, turning misfortune into good fortune.

For people with the 'One White Water' life type, place sofas and fish tanks first in the southeast 'Vital Energy' position or the north 'Resting Position'. Next best are the east 'Healing' position or the south 'Longevity' position.

The Greedy Wolf star brings success when positioned in the east, southeast, north, or south—these placements favor scholarly honors, wealth, and many descendants. The Broken Army star brings childlessness, severe illness, early death, widowhood, loss of property, and harm to people and livestock.

In residential design, each hexagram's changing lines determine the energy type. Changing the top line brings growth energy. Changing the bottom two lines brings healing earth energy. Changing all three lines brings lasting metal energy. No changes bring stable wood energy. Changing only the middle line brings destructive metal energy. Changing the top two lines brings fire energy. Changing the top and bottom lines brings water energy. Changing only the bottom line brings harmful earth energy.

The eight trigrams form two groups of four that support each other internally. The Qian, Dui, Gen, and Kun group is harmonious within itself, as is the Kan, Li, Zhen, and Xun group. But between these two groups, there is mutual conflict and opposition.

For men, the starting position in the first cycle is north, then southeast in the second, and west in the third. The sequence moves through eight directions in reverse order, with the center counted as southwest. For women, the first cycle starts at the center, the second at southwest, and the third at northeast. The sequence moves forward through all directions, with the center counted as northeast.

Houses facing south are called Kan houses; facing north are Li houses; facing west are Zhen houses; facing east are Dui houses; facing southeast are Qian houses; facing northeast are Kun houses; facing northwest are Xun houses; facing southwest are Gen houses. These names come from the eight trigrams, linking a home's orientation to cosmic energy.

The Auspicious Energy direction is favorable in years of the Pig, Rabbit, or Goat. It brings wealth, children, and promotion. The Heavenly Doctor direction is favorable in years of the Dragon, Dog, Ox, or Goat. It helps cure illness and avoid disaster. The Prolonged Life direction is favorable in years of the Rooster, Snake, or Ox. It extends lifespan and prevents disease.

In residential spatial design, four unlucky directions bring specific misfortunes in certain years. The "Jueming" direction causes illness and death in Si, You, or Chou years. The "Wugui" direction leads to lawsuits and arguments in Yin, Wu, or Xu years. The "Liusha" direction brings loss and theft in Shen, Zi, or Chen years. The "Huohai" direction triggers conflict and violence in Chen, Xu, Chou, or Wei years.

The principle of "Bian" refers to the relationship between two identical trigrams, where all three lines match in yin or yang—like Heaven meeting Heaven, or Earth meeting Earth. This pairing creates harmony, calmness, and flexibility. It allows for both progress and retreat, with all actions aligning smoothly. Because of this balanced and agreeable nature, it is ranked as the fourth most auspicious star.

Every time the middle line of a hexagram changes, it creates a "broken army" or "fatal" metal relationship. This happens when the middle line differs in yin and yang between two hexagrams. For example, fire overcomes metal, metal overcomes wood, earth overcomes water, and wood overcomes earth. These pairs are mutually destructive, making this the most inauspicious arrangement in spatial design.

In residential spatial design, when the top two lines of two hexagrams differ in yin and yang, it creates a harmful relationship called "Five Ghosts." Examples include pairs like Heaven meeting Thunder, or Wind meeting Earth. These combinations clash and oppose each other, bringing misfortune similar to the worst "Broken Army" pattern, but slightly less severe, making it the second most dangerous arrangement.

Whenever the top and bottom lines of two trigrams both change, it creates the pattern called "Six Evils," associated with water. This means the upper and lower lines differ between the two trigrams. Examples include Heaven and Water, Mountain and Thunder, Wind and Lake, and Fire and Earth. Among these, Heaven-Water and Fire-Earth are mutually nurturing, while Wind-Lake and Mountain-Thunder clash. Because they mix both nurturing and clashing forces, this is ranked as the third most harmful star.

Each time the bottom line of a hexagram changes, it creates a "Lu Cun" or "Huo Hai" earth star. This happens when two hexagrams have different yin-yang bottom lines. Examples include Qian and Xun, Zhen and Kun, Li and Gen, Kan and Dui. Among these, Qian-Xun and Zhen-Kun are mutually destructive, while Li-Gen and Kan-Dui are mutually supportive. This star is the fourth most inauspicious.