Find the Feng Shui Direction of Your Home

In Classical Feng Shui, expert practitioners use the magnetic compass directions in their analysis of homes and buildings. This means that your home may have a facing direction of north, east, south, west, and so on. Compass facing directions are one of the myriad of techniques that feng shui practitioners use to access how the qi flows and affects the inhabitants in the space. 

What Is a Facing Direction?

When feng shui was developed in ancient times, it was of the utmost importance to observe the environment when locating where you would settle on the land. For instance, the words yin and yang originally defined the sunny side (yang) or the shady side (yin) of the hill. It made a huge difference if you sited your home where you could more readily and easily receive energy (sunlight), and you had the feng shui on your side to support you.

The facing direction is the magnetic compass direction that the house faces. Sometimes this is based on the location of the front door, other times it may be based on the flow of qi, such as a grand view or the street. So, it really depends on each house plan and situation, in which it takes an expert to determine this for you. For the curious newcomers to feng shui, we suggest you go simple and use your front door. (Note that not all the feng shui schools use the compass or the facing direction.)

A feng shui practitioner uses the facing direction of your home to assess how the qi (life force energy) is flowing to your property. This offers information on how the qi is received inside the building. The luo pan, the feng shui compass, can be used to fine-tune the analysis so the practitioner can understand the behavior of the qi to your home. The feng shui practitioner can then use the facing direction of the home in conjunction with your birth information and other insights to glean more information so they can align their client’s qi with the space.

According to Classical Feng Shui expert Jillian Rothchild-Scholar of Feng Shui In Motion, a skilled practitioner can help you to determine your home facing direction in a few ways. First, the luo pan is a precise magnetic compass that practitioners are trained to use to read detailed information about your home’s feng shui. Second, there are many factors that influence what direction to use as the facing direction of your home. In general, you use the front door of the home to determine the facing direction. However there are other factors to consider such as if there is an interior garage door that is used more often, or if there is a bustling main street to consider. Sometimes the home is oriented to a focal point like a spectacular scenic view which may be the facing direction. And according to Jillian, when it comes to apartments you would primarily use the door to the unit.

When you work with a Classical feng shui practitioner, they will have the experience to evaluate which facing direction to use, and they may also look at more than one home facing direction.

How do you find the feng shui facing direction of your home?

First, you need a compass. You can use a fancy feng shui luo pan, but the compass on your smartphone works, too. Then you stand in the front doorway of your home, looking outside. The facing direction is the direction you (and your house) are facing when you look out. The pointer on the compass will tell you the facing direction and degrees.

We also recommend you take a few readings by stepping back once into the house, then again another step. Take at least three readings. You might be surprised, but you’ll probably receive all slightly different compass readings. Take the average and work with that. Do the best you can, and if you want to learn more we recommend you work with a Classical feng shui expert to get the exact reading and to give you their analysis.