What is an Out of Trigram House?
This is a house type that has an indefinite compass reading based on when it was built. In this instance, the phrase alludes to a trigram being a direction and “out of” implies that the compass direction is outside of one of the defined directions. If a house is not that old, the current compass reading might be sitting right on the line, or close to the line, which divides two major directions. If the house is older, I use an on-line Magnetic Declination calculator to see if the compass reading was Out of Trigram at the time it was built. Magnetic Declinations move slowly over the decades in many parts of the world.
Most houses are not in this situation. However, I do encounter the Out of Trigram house a few times a year, and oddly enough, they usually come to me in clusters. In other words, I may go 6 months without being asked to review an Out of Trigram house, and then I will end up reviewing two in one week.
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We have 360 degrees on the compass and in the Flying Star School, there are 24 different directions a house can face. Referring to the compass illustration, you can see that every 15 degree increment there is a cut-off point. For example, 67.5 degrees is right on the line between Northeast and East.
The Out-of-Trigram house or building can present unique problems for the occupants. Sometimes a house may appear to be Out-of-Trigram, but when studied further, it may reveal itself to not be Out of Trigram. Sometimes we are dealing with just one or two degrees in orientation. Even the best compass can be used and the most careful reading performed and we may still not know for sure.
Exterior walls of houses and buildings cannot reliably face the exact same degree for the entire length of the wall. Our building capabilities are not that exacting and houses can also shift due to settling or land movement.
I go through the process of trying to eliminate or narrow the other possibilities, based on any feedback the occupant can provide. If the occupant has not lived in their space long, and if there is no awareness of how the previous occupants fared while living there, we may need to go through a “trial and error” period.
How I Assess the Out-of-Trigram House
Whether I do an in-person compass reading or a remote compass reading, my measuring skills are very good, but not completely infallible. You are welcome to take your own compass reading to add to the discussion. If you don’t have experience using a compass, I can still guide you with some pointers. To be frank, sometimes the remote compass reading is more accurate because an in-person compass reading might get distorted through some local interference, such as metal objects or infrastructure where you are standing to take a reading.
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The Out-of-Trigram House has up to four different possible Flying Star charts. Let’s use as an example, a house that appears to face 67.5 degrees. Avoiding unnecessary technical terms, the four different chart types for this compass reading could be described as:
- Normal Northeast-3 facing chart
- Abnormal Northeast-3 facing chart
- Normal East-1 facing chart
- Abnormal East-1 facing chart
****These chart types refer to differences in orientation by just a few degrees.
As another example: Let’s say the property faces right on the line between South-1 and South-2, which is 172.5 degrees. I would review the following charts:
- Normal South-1 facing chart
- Abnormal South-1 facing chart
- Normal South-2 facing chart
- Abnormal South-2 facing chart
Above is an aerial view of a house which faces 202.3 degrees, after being adjusted for the magnetic declination. (See upper right hand corner). The cut-off point between South and Southwest is 202.5 degrees. This is an example of an Out of Trigram House.
After comparing the four possible energy charts
I come up with a series of questions for you to answer. The questions relate to the different charts and I focus on the bedrooms, a home office, the entrance or any other important areas you spend a lot of time in. That often helps narrow down the possibilities for which chart is accurate. For example, let’s say that chart #1 indicates occupant could have lung problems, chart #2 indicates occupant could have digestive problems, chart #3 indicates occupants’ health is fine, but there are financial struggles, and chart #4 indicates there could be marriage problems. These are just theoretical examples. Now, if the client says, well I do have “X” issue, then that is one check mark in favor of one of the chart types over another and more questions answered could make the process more definitive.
This method is most reliable when:
The occupant(s) have lived in the house for a while and have experienced its influence
The previous occupants had experiences which neighbors and others who knew them can verify.
When no one knows the history of the previous occupants and you are the new occupant
We have to experiment more and I end up only making recommendations which will be good and “safe” for all the chart types. As an example, let’s say that three out of four chart possibilities indicate the need for water somewhere on the property: I would feel okay about recommending a water feature in an area that could be good for any of the chart types.
The Out of Trigram House is a house where the energy is not as settled as others.
That can also mean that the flying star energies never really settled down into predictable locations. Sometimes, NONE of the likely four chart types ring true. What do we do then?
- There are some simpler Schools of Feng Shui which can be used, either for the house type itself or for best personal directions based on the occupant(s) birth dates.
- From the Flying Star School, we can still consider annual energy and adjusting that in areas where needed.
- We can rely on “Form School” Feng Shui, which takes into account qi flow, energy flow, based on the architectural-design lay-out and outside features, natural or man-made. For example, if there is a dying tree out in front of your house, that should be addressed. We don’t rely on a compass reading to recognize that could be a problem. If a house is chronically dark, that is a problem with the balance of Yin and Yang—and not reliant on a compass reading to address.
I hope this explanation helps you understand that an Out of Trigram house can be more complicated to interpret and treat. I will spend as much time as needed to hopefully come to accurate conclusions. Your participation in understanding your own space and your input it always appreciated. For example, let’s say that during the initial evaluation of the property, I am still not 100% sure which is the correct Flying Star chart. Months later, if you have some out of the ordinary experience you can share with me, that experience might further lend itself to identifying the correct chart. Theoretical example: You call to say that on X Day, you dropped a pan on your foot in the kitchen and broke a toe. That incident might show up in one of the Flying Star charts and help determine the correct one.
Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions (R)
From the Feng Shui Theory Blog Series