The term “Grand Duke” refers to a negative type of energy which comes to certain directions and it can make an area of a building or property accident-prone. It is volatile energy, the Chinese term for it being “Tai Sui.” It’s pronounced like “tie sway.” There are sayings about how you don’t want to turn your back to the Grand Duke; like an enemy it could smack you in the back of the head if you turn your back directly to it.

This direction is associated with the Chinese Zodiac sign for each year. And each Chinese zodiac sign is related to a direction. For example, the year 2011 was the Year of the Rabbit in Chinese Astrology. And the Rabbit (Mao) direction is dead-on east at 90 degrees.

The application for this theory becomes quite practical in a Feng Shui analysis because the Tai Sui direction in any given year is not a safe area for digging or remodeling. If I had a client with a kitchen in the east sector of their home and they wanted to remodel it in 2011, I would have initially recommended the project be postponed. If not, there could be counter-measures for off-setting the accident-prone nature of this area. Ideally, you want to avoid confrontation if at all possible.

In 2012, it was be the Year of the Dragon and the Dragon (CHEN) direction is east/Southeast. It is but a 15-degree sector, or part of the whole of southeast. 2013 was be the Year of the Snake, which is the last section of Southeast, closer to South. Fast forward to the most recent update of this article and in 2019, it is the Year of the Pig, associated with N/Northwest.

Each year, the Tai Sui direction matches the Chinese Zodiac animal direction and that moves 30 degrees each year. There are 12 Chinese zodiac signs and they move 30 degrees on the perimeter of a compass each year. This means that every 12 years, or 360 degrees, the energies will repeat themselves. So, in 2023 it will also be a Rabbit year.

If someone wanted to dig in the Tai Sui direction for the year, (like uprooting or planting a tree) it could cause accidents or other problems for the occupants living in the home that is in that particular directional alignment to the proposed digging. The reference point is from the center of the house, if you can imagine a compass and all the 360 degrees fanning out over a floor plan.

Of course, to apply formulas like this in a Feng Shui analysis, we have to have a to-scale floor plan and/or plot plan to work with. We also have to take an accurate compass reading so we have our most important reference point. It is all relative to the center of your home. Your east is your neighbor’s west.

Each year, Feng Shui experts and Chinese astrologers will make recommendations regarding the Tai Sui direction for the year and even advise people to not enter their house from the Tai Sui direction and to use another entrance if necessary.

While this information is very valuable and always rings true on some level, there is no reason to panic over one piece of information. What I have seen in all my consulting years is that there usually have to be several compounding influences all converging together at the same time in order for something bad to happen.

As an example, let’s say that in a certain year your front door is aligned with the Tai Sui direction for that given year. Remember, it changes from year to year and is tied to the Chinese zodiac sign for the year. Now, this can make your entrance attract some problems to you that year. It would then be compounded if you had the misfortune of having your front door aligned directly with a street pointing right at your door. This is because the air currents (qi) from the street and traffic could activate this energy negatively even further. Another compounding component could be if the entrance is never really a good entrance for you personally, based on your birth data.

For any given year, we don’t want to see digging, demolition, or significant remodeling going on in that direction inside a house or directly outside. What your neighbors on either side of your property do also affects you, so if you see a dumpster arrive across the street, pull out your compass and check the alignment of the construction on your street and see if it might affect you, above and beyond the normal sights and sounds and annoyance of a nearby construction.

Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions (R) Since 1992
From the Feng Shui Theory Series