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The Early Heaven Bagua pairing: Heaven and Earth establish positions, Wind and Thunder stir each other, Mountain and Lake connect their energies, Water and Fire do not conflict. These four pairs create a balanced residential space where opposing forces complement rather than clash.

The Later Heaven Bagua arrangement follows seasonal energy cycles—spring, summer, autumn, winter—and the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. These energies rise, peak, decline, and renew in an endless, circular flow, like a ring without beginning or end.

The Eastern Four Houses rule: Zhen, Xun, Kan, and Li form one group. Do not mix them with the Western Four. If built in harmony, descendants will prosper. The Western Four Houses rule: Qian, Kun, Gen, and Dui are alike. Do not combine them with Eastern trigrams. Mixing both types in one home brings disaster and loss of life.

A house's main gate direction matters most, then the master bedroom door, and finally the kitchen stove. If these three elements support each other—the gate supports the bedroom, the bedroom supports the stove, and the stove supports the gate, with no conflict—the house is considered fundamentally auspicious.

In residential design, the eight directions are linked to specific energies. The "Sheng Qi" direction, ruled by Wood, brings great fortune. "Yan Nian," ruled by Metal, also brings great fortune. "Tian Yi," ruled by Earth, brings moderate fortune. "Fu Wei," ruled by Wood, brings minor fortune. "Jue Ming," ruled by Metal, brings great misfortune. "Wu Gui," ruled by Fire, brings great misfortune. "Huo Hai," ruled by Earth, brings lesser misfortune. "Liu Sha," ruled by Water, brings lesser misfortune.

The stove should be placed in a position that suppresses the unlucky directions of the homeowner's birth year—specifically the absolute, six-killing, calamity, and five-ghost sectors. Avoid placing it in these harmful spots. The stove mouth should face the homeowner's favorable directions—life-supporting, heaven, longevity, and resting—and never face the year's dominant star or the house's own unlucky direction. To attract wealth, direct the stove mouth toward the life-supporting direction.

The method follows the Lo Shu square's nine positions: 1 north, 2 southwest, 3 east, 4 southeast, 5 center, 6 northwest, 7 west, 8 northeast, 9 south. Positions 1-3 form the upper cycle, 4-6 the middle cycle, and 7-9 the lower cycle. This is the sequence of the three cycles.

A single change in the top line creates vital energy. Changes in the middle and bottom lines bring heavenly healing. Changing all three lines extends life. The original hexagram is the hidden position. A shift in the middle line leads to broken fate. Moving top and bottom lines together produces six disasters. Changes in the top and middle lines bring five ghosts. A change in the bottom line invites harm.

This verse describes the eight spatial energies in traditional Chinese residential design. The first line warns that a "Misfortune" position brings harm, while "Healing" benefits doctors. The second line lists "Heavenly Doctor," "Longevity," "Ghost," and "Vitality." The third line names "Wandering Soul," "Six Killings," and "Ending Fate." The final line says the "Returning Position" holds the highest cosmic secret.

A house's fortune changes over time. The life-giving energy aligns with certain years, while harmful forces align with others. Each direction brings either good luck or disaster. The nine stars must be carefully calculated to determine their influence on a home's fate.

In residential design, nine star positions influence fortune. The greedy wolf star in the north brings prosperity; the giant gate star in the fire position strengthens descendants. The military star suits the earth position best. Each star in its proper place brings good fortune. Only the six-harm star, associated with water, causes no harm when placed in the center, where it is controlled.

The Five Elements cycle of mutual generation: Wood feeds Fire, Fire creates Earth, Earth bears Metal, Metal produces Water, and Water nourishes Wood. This principle guides the placement of rooms and materials in a home to ensure a continuous flow of supportive energy.

When building a stove, align the fire door with the direction of "generating energy" as determined by the Purple-White Flying Star method. This is said to attract wealth very effectively, with results appearing within sixty days.

A method for determining the best direction to build a house: count positions on the palm, starting from the Tiger year and moving to the Dog year. Each year shifts one position forward. The Rat, Ox, and Pig years are not used.

A wooden house suits a Wood or Water element person—this is called "transformation." A Metal element person living there is "restrained." The Broken Star facing the southeast harms the wife, unless a Water person lives in a Fire house—then it's harmless.

The Dou Ling Jing says: When determining spatial orientation, only consider the head of the household’s birth year—not siblings, children, or female relatives. If the head dies, use the eldest son’s birth year. Younger brothers, sons, and nephews each follow their own birth year to choose east or west rooms. If only the mother runs the household, use her birth year.

A method for building a stove to attract wealth: place the stove base over the unlucky direction of your birth year, and point the stove opening toward the lucky direction. For promoting childbirth, follow the same rule but aim the opening toward the life-giving direction. For wealth, set the stove over the six-killing direction and point it toward the longevity direction.

When positioning or building a bed, avoid days ruled by certain star constellations—specifically Xin, Ang, Kui, Qi, Wei, and Shen. These are considered inauspicious for such tasks.

On major taboo days for construction, avoid these animal-hour pairings: 1st day—no Rat hour; 3rd—no Goat; 5th—no Horse; 9th—no Rooster; 11th—no Rabbit; 13th—no Tiger; 17th—no Ox; 21st—no Rat; 25th—no Dog; 27th—no Rabbit; 29th—no Monkey. The waning day itself is most inauspicious.

When building or renovating a home, avoid unlucky days based on the homeowner's birth year. For example, someone born in the Year of the Rat (丙子) should avoid the day 辛丑. Each birth year has specific days considered inauspicious for construction, as they are believed to bring bad energy or misfortune to the household.