A flying star chart is the feng shui chart of a building in the Xuan Kong school: nine squares, one for the centre and one for each of the eight directions, each holding three numbers, the period star, the mountain star and the water star. This tool draws the chart for Period 9, the twenty years from Li Chun 2024, from the direction the front of your home faces, and adds the yearly stars for the year you choose.
How it works
The compass is divided into 24 “mountains” of 15 degrees each, three in each of the eight directions. The tool finds the mountain your facing degree falls in; the sitting direction, the back of the home, is the mountain opposite.
- The period chart. The period number, 9, goes to the centre, and the numbers fly through the squares in the Lo Shu order: centre, north-west, west, north-east, south, north, south-west, east, south-east.
- The water (facing) stars. The number that the period chart puts in the facing square goes to the centre of the water stars. It flies forward if the matching one of the three mountains in its own direction is yang, and backward if it is yin. A 5 has no direction of its own and takes the yang or yin of the period number.
- The mountain (sitting) stars. The number in the sitting square is flown the same way.
- The yearly stars. Each Chinese solar year, from Li Chun, has its own number in the centre, flying forward. It goes down by one each year: 1 in 2026, 9 in 2027.
These are the rules of the method that Shen Zhu-ren made known in Shen Shi Xuan Kong Xue in the Qing dynasty, as Wikipedia, Flying Star Feng Shui, sets them out. We checked the tool against the published Period 9 charts for all 24 facing directions: every period, mountain and water star in all 216 squares agrees, and so do the yearly stars for 2026.
Reading the result
The chart is drawn with south at the top, as flying star charts are usually printed. In each square the mountain star is on the left, the water star on the right and the period star below, and the yearly star is named underneath. The front and back squares are outlined.
The result also says where the two 9 stars fall, the stars of the current period. In Period 9 every one of the 24 charts puts both 9 stars together, either in the front square or in the back square, depending on the facing mountain.
If your bearing is within 3 degrees of the line between two mountains, the result warns you: a small compass error would change the chart, and some practitioners draw a replacement chart near the lines.
Where traditions differ
Schools differ on which period’s chart applies to a home built before 2024, and this tool draws the Period 9 chart only. They also differ on the replacement charts some practitioners use near the lines between two mountains, which this tool does not draw.
What it does not do
It does not read the star combinations, judge a home as good or bad, or suggest remedies. It is not a home survey: take the bearing carefully, away from metal, and treat the chart as a starting point for interest and reflection.
Frequently asked questions
↳ What is Period 9?
In the Xuan Kong system time runs in twenty-year periods numbered 1 to 9. Period 9 began at Li Chun on 4 February 2024 and lasts until Li Chun 2044. Its number, 9, sits in the centre of every Period 9 chart.
↳ How do I find the facing direction of my home?
Stand at the main door, facing out, and read a compass, away from cars, railings and electronics. Write the bearing in degrees: 0 is north, 90 east, 180 south and 270 west.
↳ What are the 24 mountains?
The 24 directions of the Chinese compass, 15 degrees each, three in each of the eight directions, named after stems, branches and trigrams, such as Bing, Wu and Ding in the south. Each is yang or yin, which decides whether a star flies forward or backward.
↳ What is the difference between mountain stars and water stars?
Mountain stars come from the sitting side of the home and water stars from the facing side. In the tradition, mountain stars are linked with people and health and water stars with money; the tool shows where they fall but does not judge them.
↳ Why does the chart change in some years?
The period, mountain and water stars stay the same for the whole of Period 9. Only the yearly stars change, at each Li Chun, around 4 February.
↳ Is flying star feng shui scientific?
No. It is a traditional Chinese practice, offered here for interest. There is no evidence that the numbers of a chart affect the people in a home.