About Feng Shui Compasses

The introdution of Thomson House Feng Shui Compass( Feng Shui Luo pan or Feng Shui Lo pan )

P.1 The Raymond Lo's 3 Period & 3 Harmony Combined Lopan Interpretation Auther:Raymond Lo Editer:Ricky Than Publisher:Thomson House Ltd. The Second Printed:08/2004 P.2 The Raymond Lo's 3 Period & 3 Harmony Combined Lopan Interpretation p.3Introduction: The Lopan ( ) is the indespensable ? instrument in the practice of Feng Shui. It was first invented at the time of the Yellow Emperor about2700B.C. as a compass for guiding directions. This tool was later iandscape mountain and water features, to find out how the various directionalforces of nature will affect human well-being. Throughout the past 4000 years since the Lopan( ) was invented, various Feng Shui masters( ) have turned their valuable observations and discoveries into working formula and these precious knowledge are engraved in the Lopan for handy references. As such, today, Lopan( ) appearsto be a complicated but beautiful instrument with symbols, trigrams and Chinese characters . A ll of them are important formula allowing feng shui practitioners to quickly find out the influence of various landscape configurations affecting an environment. The San Yuen ? and? San Ke ?? school: Many different feng shui school arose during the past 4000 years and the most influential schools are San Yuen ( ) meaning 3 Periods and San Ke( )meaning 3 Harmony school. As such, each of them has a different Lopan ( ) design. The Lopan ( ) is basically a compass for measuring directions. Hence the most important part of the instrument is the magnetic needle and directional markings. The Chinese way of marking direction is to divide 360 circle into twenty-four, 15 sectors called [24 Mountain ]. This ring is the most essential part of the instrument and it will be present in all types of Lopan( ). The major differences in the other features of the San Ke( ) and ?San Yuen( ) school Lopan are briefly described below: Three Harmony (San Ke ) Lopan: This school emphasizes on the harmony of Heaven, Man and Earth. Hence there are 3 rings of 24 Mountain each is used for different purposes. The San Ke( ) Lopan() also emphasize on the harmonious relationship between directional divisions symbolised by Chinese characters called Heavenly Stems( ) and Earthly Branches( ). Hence the Lopan( ) is full of Chinese Characters. Three Period(San Yuen ) Lopan: The Lopan( ) of this school only carries one ring of 24 Mountain and it emphasizes on the dynamic influence of the passage of time on an environment . The time factor is symbolised by numbers and symbols of continuous lines and broken lines called Trigrams( ) and Hexagrams( ). Hence one will see more numbers and Trigrams( ) on such Lopan( ). Both of these time-honoured schools has its merits and drawbacks. As such, most of the serious feng shui practitioners understand both schools and select the good formulae appropriate from each school when carrying out a feng shui evaluation job. Therefore, the most handy and popular Lopan( ) is a Combined Lopan( )which contains the essential features of the San Ke( ) as well as the San Yuen( ) school. Buying a Lopan: There are many different types of Lopan( ) available in the market. They not only differ in design but also come in various sizes. The following are some guidelines for choosing a good Lopan( ). 1.Selecting the school For beginners and for Yang House( ) feng shui practice, it is only necessary to use the ring of 24 Mountain .This ring is the essential feature of a Lopan and it is present in all kinds of serious Lopan, regardless of different school. So you can choose either San Ke( ) and San Yuen( ) Lopan. However, for non-Chinese practitioners, it id more convenient to choose a San Yuen( ) Lopan as it is less complicated with more symbols and numbers than Chinese characters. However, if you have a serious interest in the subject, it is better to select a Combined Lopan( ) version so you can have the best of both schools. 2.Selecting the size The Lopan comes in different sizes which are usually described by its diameter. The most common size is about 7.5inches or 190cm. This size is handy and sufficiently large to contain the

essential information. 3.Selecting the magnetic needle The magnetic needle is very sensitive to metallic objects. My personal preference is a larger size needle which is comparatively more stable than a small size one. 4.Chechking the accuracy C heck the exact North and South position of the Lopan which is marked as( ) for 0 North and( ) for exact South 180. Move the circle plate of the Lopan to check if all of the followings are on one straight line and neatly coincide: The magnetic needle, with sharp head pointing South, round head pointing North. The red line under the needle, with 2 small red dots under the round head of the needle. The red nylon line on top of the circular plate. The red nylon line covers exactly the downward stroke in the centre of the Chinese character( ) meaning South and the Chinese character( ) meaning North. The straight line under the( ) and the( ) which exactly divides the Lopan into 2 halves. If all items are in alignment, then the Lopan is reasonably accurate. 5.Checking smooth operation the circular metal plate on the Lopan must be freely movable. You should turn it a few times to see if it is too tight or too sticky which may hinder your measurement. How To Protect Your Lopan Always return it to the case after use. Store in a dry and cool place. Do not put it near to any electric devise or heavy metal objects, especially avoid putting on top of TV or Hi Fi. The Lopan is like a swords-mans sword, the more you use it , the better it will work for you. How to use the Lopan for measuring Yang House. 1. The initial step to evaluate the feng shui of a building is to decide its facing direction. As such, it is necessary to find out where is the front of a building before one can carry out any measurements with the Lopan. 2. After identifying the front of the building, it is necessary to stand at a location in front of the building, as close to the middleline as possible, but keep a distance of at least 10 meters away from the building. 3. Facing the building, hold the Lopan horizontal, use the red nylon line as pointer, point the end of anyone nylon line towards the building. Make sure you are on a straight line making 90 with the front the building. 4. Focus on the magnetic needle in the centre box, look at the thin red line at the bottom of the box, turn the circular plate until the magnetic needle and the thin red line at the bottom are in total alignment. Make sure the round head of the needle rest above the 2 Red dots at the bottom of the centre box (Heavens Pool ) 5. Look at the nylon line pointing towards the building. The line covers one Chinese character on the Lopan( ). This Chinese character represents the 24 Mountain direction at the back of the building. Then look at the nylon line pointing towards oneself. It also covers another 24 Mountain character. This Chinese character represents the direction of the front of the building. 6. Take for example, the nylon line pointing to the building covers SW1 the nylon line pointing to oneself covers NE1 . So the building is facing NE1 with back against SW1. 7. After identified the front and back positions of the building, you can start your feng shui evaluation work bases on the school of your training. Take for example, if you use[Flying star school ] you can draw the Flying star chart on basis of your measurement and the Age of built of the building. For detailed process of feng shui evaluation, please refer to other books by Raymond Lo. 8. To do a proper feng shui evaluation, accuracy in direction measurement is of paramount importance. ( ) RING BY RING EXPLANATION OF THE LOPAN 1. The Heaven Pool This is the circular box at the centre of the Lopan( ) holding the magnetic needle. In ancient times, the needle is floating free in water, hence the box is called Heaven Pool. The main feature of the box is a thin red line with 2 little red dats printed at the bottom to mark the proper resting place of the needle when the Lopan( ) is in the right North and South position. 2.THE COPYRIGHT This circle explanation that The Lopan( ) designed by Ramond Lo, produced by Hong Kong feng shui Center & handmade by Thomson House Limited in Hong Kong. 1. The Early Arrangement of Eight Trigrams

The is the ring of 8 Trigrams in its original position arrangement as invented by the sage Fu si( ). The eight Trigrams symbolise natural phenonmenon including Heaven( ) Lake( ) FIRE( ) Thunder( ) Wind( ) Wate( ) Mountain( ) Earth( ). As such, they are symbols of natural forces and it is believed that they have protective power to guard the magnetic needle against any negative influences. In practice, this ring is also useful for the application of a water formula called [The Eight Dragon Gate method]. This is a formula for determining the auspicious position for water flow in front and around the landscape by comparing the positions of the Trigrams in the Early A rrangement against the Later Arrangement as invented by King Wen( ) of the Chou Dynasty( ). 4.The Lo Shu Diagram This is a ring of numerical symbols copied from a mysterious diagram found on the back of a giant tortoise in the River Lo about 6000 years ago in China. The diagram is showing a fix pattern of numerical arrangements which forms a magic nine square chart. This diagram leads to the understanding of the change of Feng Shui influences or the movement of Flying Stars over time. 5.The Ring ofSubstitute Stars In Flying Star school of feng shui, it is mecessary to measure a building direction to the accuracy within the boundary of one of the 15 24 Mountains. However, there are situation when the directional measurement falls very close to the borderline between 2 Mountains. As such, the Feng Shui influence of such borderline direction is considered not pure and it is necessary to use a special formula called Substitute stars to handle such cases. The following is the formula for Substitute stars: Substitute Stars ??? N2,N3,E1,SW3------------1??? SW2,N1,E3,E2,SW1,--------------2 NE3,S2,W1,S3-------------9??? NE2,S1,W3,W2,NE1--------------7 NW1,NW2,NW3,SE1,SE2,SE3,----------6 6.The 24 Mountains ??? Earth Plate This is the essential ring of the Lopan marking the 24 directions of the compass. Each mountain occupies 15 making up the full 360 of a circle. The 24 divisions are marked in 3 types of Chinese characters, namely 12 Earthly Branches( ), 8 Heavenly Stems( )and 4 Trigrams( ). This ring is also called the Earth Plate with the magnetic poles of the Earth. The ring is for measuring the landscape and the mountain range, known as the Dragon( ) in feng shui terms. This is also the ring for measuring directions of buildings and houses. 7.The 24 Mountains Man Plate This is the invention of a famous Feng Shui Master named[Lai Po Yee ] who created this middle ring of 24 mountains which is 7.5 to the right of the Earth Plate . The deviation in direction measurement is due to different method of establishing the North direction. In the Earth Plate( ), the North Plate() the North is measured according to the position of the star called Polaris. This Plate translates each of the 24 mountains into elements in accordance with the stars and constellations. The ring is used for measuring objects such as rocks, tall mountains, lamp post, tall buildings etc. in the surrounding, and the elements show how the yang house or yin house will be affected by these objects in its vicinity. 1. HARMONY SCHOOL LOPAN MAN PLATE Front and back(self) ? Rock support self----------------------------Supprt(Resource) Rock same as self------------------------------Prosper(Friend) Rock conquered by self----------------------Servant(Money) Rock given birth by self----------Exhausting(Intelligence) Rock conquering self---------------------Destructive(Power) P15 8.The ring of Kua Numbers This is an essential ring for San Yuen school( ) of Yin house( ) feng shui for measuring the Prosperity aspects of the Dragons Vein( )---incoming parent mountain behind the Dragons Den( ) and the direction for setting up the tomb stone. The San Yuen school ( )places emphasis on the

influence of time dimension on prosperity. Different directions are associated with different time periods. The mumbers9,4,3,8,2,7,6,1,are symbols of 20 years time periods called Ages( ). Take for example, the number 7 refers the Age of 7(7 ) covering the period between 1984 to 2004, and the number 8 refers the Age of 8( )covering the period 2005 to 2024 & etc. When selecting a good and prosperous place to bury ancestors, it is necessary to ensure the direction of the in-coming Dragon comes from a prosperous Kua number( ). When setting up the Tomb stone, it is also necessary to ensure it faces to a prosperous Kua number( ). Also it is required that:1. the direction of the Dragon and the Back of the tomb stone, and 2. the direction of the Water opposite to the Dragon and the facing of the Tomb stone both fall on a pair of relationship Kua number( ) in accordance with the HoTo( )----1 and 6(Water), 2 and 7(fire),3 and 8(Wood),4 and 9(Metal). Kua Numbers:-9,4,3,8,2,7,6,1, 1. The 64 hexagrams in symbols Under the Kua number( ) are the ring of 64 Hexagrams arranged in circular manner in the order of the Early Heaven arrangement( ) of the 8 Trigrams. This Hexagram arrangement that provides the foundation for the Kua number() as per 8 above. The 64 Hexagrams in Chinese Under each Hexagrams are the Chinese names for each of the symbols. 10.The 9 stars and the associated numbers The 9 stars refers to the stars of the Constellation called theGreat Dipper . Each star is associated with a number calledStar Number . The Numbers provide another criteria to determine the combination of the four essential points in San Yuen school( ) to set up a prosperous Dragons Den( ). These four points are: a) The in-coming Dragon, b) The Water opposite to the Dragon, c)The back of the Tomb stone, and d)the front facing of the Tomb stone. Take for example, it is auspicious to have all 4 points falling in the same star number. Criteria for good combination of Moutain, Water, Front and back: Dragon and Front Prosperous number Water and Backfaded out number 11.The 24 Mountains Heaven Plate The is the ring of 24 mountains for the measurement of water flows in the san Ke( ) school of feng shiu. The ring (Heaven Plate ) has a discrepancy of 7.5 from the Earth Plate as its North direction is measured from the Sun Dial( ). The plate is essential in the application of various water formula in Yin House( ) feng shui to identify the auspicious direction of incoming and outgoing water, position of water and the direction of flow. p19 In 3 Harmony School water method, the direction of water flow in front of the Dragons Den( ) determines the suitable facing direction for the yin house or yang house. The following table shows the relationship between water flow-clockwise(left to right) or anti-clockwise(right to left) and its corresponding auspicious facing directions: YangProsper Facing Clockwise: -------------E1?? ----------E2 ----------W1 -----------W2 -------------N1 ----------N2 -----------S1??? -----------S2 YinWeak Facing Anti-Clockwise: -------------E3 ----------W3 ----------N3 -----------S3 Yin /Yang Grave Facing Clockwise: ------------SE1 ---------NW1 ---------NE1 -----------SW1 Yin-Prosper Facing Anti-Clockwise: -------------NE2? ---------NW3 ---------SW2 ----------SW3 -------------NE2 ---------NE3 ---------SE2 -----------SE3 The 8 Dragon Gate water method shows how the direction of the Mountain back side of a Yang House or Yin House determine the auspicious water coming in or going out positions. TABLE FOR 8 DRAGON GATE WATER METHOD

Mountain NW N NE E SE S SW W In Early S W NW NE SW E N SE In Later NE SW E S W NW S N Out Heaven E SE S NW N NE E NE In Earth S SW W SW W NW N SE Out Facing SE S SW W NW N NE E Out Guest1 SW E N SE S W NW NE Out Guest2 W NW SE N NE SW E S Out Water E1 SE2 NW2 NW2 N1 NE2 NE2 NE2 Outlet E3 S1 S1 W1 N3 N1 E1 E1 Note: Water outlet only takes Heavenly Stems and Trigram direction 12.The Upper and Bottom Lines of each Hexagram In advanced San Yuen school( ) when selecting the most auspicious direction for setting a Yin House( ) one can meticulously look into the very fine graduation of 384 small sections of the circle. These 384 fine division represents each of the 6 lines of the 64 Hexagrams. Each line brings different kind of energy to the Yin House. The symbol( or 1 or L) marks the bottom line and the symbol ( or 6 or U) marks the upper line of the Hexagram. See Figure in P.23. 13.The 384 Lines of 64 Hexagrams In San Yuen school( ) a Yin House( ) will receive different energy if its facing direction falls on different lines of a Hexagram( ) marked on the Lopan( ). Each Trigram( )carries a Kua Number( ). In a Hexagram( ) there are 2 Trigram( ). Hence it carries 2 Kua Number( ). The relationship between such 2 numbers affects the prosperity and harmony of a direction. Take for example, if these 2 numbers are in the HoTo( ) relationship1 6, 2&7, 3&8, 4&9. It is considered to be auspicious. Likewise if the 2 numbers add up to make 10 or 5, it is also considered acceptable. However, such good number relationship does not happen to all the Hexagrams. When the 2 numbers of a Hexagram are not in harmony, it is necessary to use a technique called drawing a line to change the image of the Hexagram . When a line is drawn, the Trigram will change, and the Kua number will also change. The lines marked in red are the lines to be drawn to alter the Trigram, making the Kua numbers auspicious. As such, it is good to choose the lines marked in red as good direction for setting up the Yin House( ). 14.The 360 degrees of a circle ? This ring enables conversion of the 24 Mountains( ) reading into ordinary compass degree reading. APPENDIX HOW TO DRAW A FLYING STAR CHART 1. A Fling Star Chart is also called a nine square chart. It is a chart showing the distribution of Flying Stars or abstract Feng Shui influences in different location of a house or apartment. The nine square chart shows 9 positions with 8 directions and a centre position, each of the squares contains numbers which symbolises the Flying Stars or abstract feng shui forces in a particular location. The following is sample of a Flying Star chart showing the feng shui influence for a building facing N2 direction and this building was built in 1985. 2. Before drawing a Flying Star chart for a building, it is necessary to obtain 2 information about the building 1. the Ageof the building, and 2. the facing direction of building. 1. the Age of the building The age refers to a time concept calledThree Periods and Nine Ages. A large time cycle is 180 years which is sub-divided into 3x60 years Periods, which are again sub-dvided into 20 yearsAge. Each Age is assigned with a number from 1 to 9.. Take for example - a building completed construction and occupied in 1985 is called an Age of? 7 building.

1. The second information required for drawing the Flying Star chart is the facing and back direction of the building as measured by Lopan in front of the building. 3.Assume the building belongs to Age of 7 with front facing N2, back againt S2, then one can start drawing the Flying Star Chart for such building Step by Step. STEP1- Draw an Age of 7chart with 7 in the centre and according to the Lo Shu pattern see Lo Shu Diagram on the Lopan layer 3: STEP2- Enter the numbers representing the front and back direction into centre of the chart. In our example, the building is facting N2 back against S2, the number in the N is 3 and the number in the S is 2. So we place the 2 and 3 in the centre of the chart. The 2 is called Mountain Star which should be placed on the left and 3 is called Water Star which should be placed on the right. Mountain Star affects human harmony and water star affects mony prosperity. STEP3-With the numbers 2 and 3 in the centre, the next step is to distribute the other numbers on each of the eight squares surrounding the centre. The placing of the numbers should follow the LO SHU pattern, which means the order of placing the numbers should be NWWNESNSWESE. However, there are 2 ways of placing these numbers, it can move Forward from the center in ascending order, or it can move Backward from the centre in descending order. This can be read from the Lopan. Examine the ring of 24 mountains, the Red coloured section is Yang meaning Forward and the Black coloured section is Yin meaning Backward . In our example, the Mountain star is 2 representing our measured back direction S2. Look at the ring of Lo Shu Diagram, 2 is in the SW, and SW2 is Red colour, symbolising Yang. So the number generated from 2 will move forward234567891. The Water Star is 3 representing our measured front direction N2. The number 3 in the Lo Shu diagram is found in the E, and E2 of the 24 mountains is marked in Black, meaning Yin or Backward . Then the number 3 should move backward 321987654. The following is the completed Flying Star chart for Age of 7 building facing N2: For interpretation of the Flying Star Chart, please refer to Raymond Los books Feng Shui and Destiny,Feng Shui The Pillars of Destiny, Feng Shui and Destiny for Managers and Feng Shui and Destiny for Families Pottery burial figurine holding a compass Southern Song(1127-1279) This pottery figurine holding a compass in his right hand represents a geomancer. On the base is written the characters Zhang Xianren (Zhang the immortal) xianren being an honorific. The figure attests to the existence of the dry pivoted compass in Southern Song, and throws light on its form, its date, and its association with geomancy. 1127-1279 South-pointer Han dynasty (206B.C. 220A.D.) The instrument consisted of the earth plate made of bronze and the spoon made of lodeston. The earth plate was square, with a sunken circular area in the middle. It was marked with 4 trigram from I-Chin, 8 heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches a total of 24 positions. The spoon was ground from lodestone, and when placed on the smooth circular area of the earth plate, it would naturally come to rest in a north-south orientation. Magnetic compass in the form of a tortoise ?The wooden tortoise moved freely on the piont of a bamboo pivot which in trun rested on a wooden plate. Inside the tortoises belly was a piece of lodestone. When the tortoise came to rest, its head and tail would be oriented in a south-north direction. This compass was current in Yuan dynasty.(1271-1368) THOMSON HOUSE LTD. ??Established in 1980, is the first full scale lopan manufacturing company in Hong Kong. It owns a complete production line for the Lo Pan production from computer graphics design to the final finished product. The company also publishes the Tung Shu---- (Chinese Almanac) in the past 25 years(1980 2005).

In recent years, the art of Feng Shui become very popular in the west and Thomson House Ltd. Accepted its first order for making a Lopan in the foreign language in 1994. This is the worlds very first Lopan in German. Thereafter, we have received many enquiries about the meaning and practical usage of the Lopan. As such, we have also produced a bi-lingual Lopan called theI Chin Compass with English instructions. After 3 years of continual research and refinement, we have been able to decipher the mystery of complicated Feng Shui techniques to the public in an easy-to-understand manner. Very encouraging responses have been received from all over the world. To follow up on the success of theI Chin Compass, we are very honoured to be able to work with the world renowned Feng Shui Master Mr. Raymond Lo to produce a new Lopan with full Instruction Manual in English. The Hong Kong Feng Shui Centre was also set up in 1999 with the objective to promote the valuable classical Feng Shui techniques to all enthusiasts in the world. We also hope that the Centre will be able to unite the genuine Feng Shui practitioners so as to fix a system of professional standards and even set up examination to achieve public recognition for the high social status of the Feng Shui profesion. Raymond Lo, also popularly known asFung Shui Lois professional Feng Shui researcher and practitioner. His expertise also covers the Four Pillars of Destiny and the prediction of I-Chin Oracle. Having graduated with a degree in Social Sciences from the University of Hong Kong, Mr.Los insterest in Feng Shui led him to seriously study the ancient art. He used his skill to write a popular Feng Shui column in the Hong Kong Standard between 1988 and 1991. In this column he made several forecasts about world events, including the outbreak and the result of the Gulf war, the fall of Mr. Gorbachev and Mrs. Thatchers resignation, all of which have later proved to be accurate. Mr.Lo is the author of eight Feng Shui titles in both English and Chinese. He frequently contributes his Feng Shui knowledge to various media publications. In recent years he made appearances on TV. Programs such as BBCs, ASCs, CNN, ABN, CNBC and RTHK. He is often invited to give talks and lecture at worldrenowned conferences such as the World Economic Forum and the CEO University. He is a Feng Shui lecturer at the S.P.A.C.E.under the University of Hong Kong, and is a consultant to the Hong Kong Tourist Association for their Health and Fortune Expo and Feng Shui Tour. He is also the China Morning Posts Feng Shui Hotline. NOTICE This book is an interpretation of THE RAYMOND LO 3 PERIOD & 3 HARMONY COMBINED LO PAN Their value and truth should be judge by the readers discriminate. Author, factory and publisher cant be held responsible for accident or property resulting from its use or injury to persons. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. RingDescription 0 Heaven pool 1 Registration mark Pre heaven arrangement of Trigrams (Ba 2 Gua) 3 Luo Shu (late heaven bagua) 4 24 mountains 5 Menace and persecution ring Correct needle 24 mountain San Yuan earth 6 plate 7 Auspicious direction in 9 periods San Yuan water method / dragon gates 8 8 boundaries 9 Houng Fun wu xing, or big wu xing. 10 Pre heaven Luo Shu and qua of square chart 11 64 Gua name and positions Pre heaven 64 Gua and Luo Shu of round 12 chart 13 Hexagram names 14 The 64 hexagrams 9 fate star

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

The 64 hexagrams with 60 Jia Zi for choosing day Pre heaven 64 Gua round charts` Luo Shu The father mother and three Yuan hexagrams The directional hexagrams The running of 384 hexagram lines The sun arrive to mountain and face 24 seasons Qi Men Dun Jia The degrees of the Lunar Mansions The auspicious or inauspicious positions The 28 Lunar Mansions

26 360 degrees

Buy your Luo Pan from the SHAMBHALA Our Luo Pans are manufactured to the highest standard and are used by the most famous feng Shui masters in the world today. They come in various sizes and there are three different types, namely San Yuan, San He and a combined pan known as Zhong He. The Luo pan above has a diameter of 328 mm. Below is a list of sizes and costs, the smaller the Luo pan the less rings it will have and therefore the easier it will be to use. If you require a smaller size and would like to know which rings it contains then please e-mail us. You can order via our secure online Paypal facilities by clicking on the button below and entering the product code together with the relevant price. Your goods should be with you within 21 days depending on where you live.