Each person has an ideal direction for sitting and studying. You have more than one good direction for other activities and goals, but this one in particular is for studying and excelling in academia, called the Wen Chang Direction.

Originally, this was a direction a young person would sit in, hoping to pass their Imperial exams so they could have job security as a bureaucrat within the Chinese dynasty. Nowadays, we Feng Shui specialists will dispense this advice in hopes that children will have better focus and retention with their studies and an advantage in their test taking.  The Wen Chang direction is also called the Literary Star.

The optimal way to use the recommendation is to literally have the front side of your body facing your Wen Chang direction.  Plan B is to sit in that ideal location within the house, if you can’t face that direction.  For example, let’s say Jimmy’s best study habit direction is the Rat direction.  Jimmy can sit in just about any location in the house and face the Rat direction.  However, if the Rat location in the house is inside a closet or the bathroom, then the location itself is not going to make sense. Focus on the facing direction then in other rooms.

Important Things to Pay Attention To:

  • On the chart, the Chinese zodiac sign is NOT the sign of the years listed below it. Rather, it is Wen Chang direction. For example, a person born in 1970 is born in the year of the Dog, but you will see 1970 (and all those born in a year ending in “0”) will have the Pig direction as their Wen Chang direction.
  • We have 12 Chinese zodiac signs, but only 10 slots for the Wen Chang direction, as it relates to the last digit of year of birth (0-9). It is not a mistake to see the Monkey and Rooster directions listed twice on the chart. This is based on a pairing of the “branch” and “stem” system in Chinese Astrology.
  • In order to verify the year you were born, the Feng Shui and Solar calendar system starts on February 4th (sometimes the 3rd or 5th). If you were born in January or the first couple days in February, consider yourself a year older.  For example:  Born January 1989, consider yourself born in 1988, a year ending in “8” for this chart and application.
  • The Wen Chang chart has a few rows of birth years to show the consistency. If you don’t see your birth year listed, just know you belong to the column matching the last year of birth. For instance, someone born in 2005 is the same as 1945, 1955, 1965, etc.
  • In order to accurately determine your Wen Chang direction, you will need an accurate compass to work with. Having an accurate floor plan to refer to is also helpful. The Weng Chang direction is a narrow 15-degree increment.  For example, the Snake direction is South/Southeast.  Notice on the compass illustration below that East/Southeast is the Dragon direction, even though both signs are within the whole of Southeast. The application of the Wen Chang direction requires precision; with regards to children, they may or may not be cooperative!
  • It goes without saying that other features for a child’s bedroom can be adjusted for good health and outlook!

Author: Kartar Diamond

Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®

From the Feng Shui Theory Blog Series