Kua Number: How to Calculate & Your Lucky Directions

What Is Kua Number?

The Kua (or Gua) number is a personal calculation in Compass school feng shui used to identify four favorable and four unfavorable directions for an individual. It is derived from your birth year and gender.

Kua Number Explained

The kua number is a personal calculation rooted in the Compass school of Ba Zhai (Eight Mansions) feng shui, designed to map your unique spatial orientation. Rather than relying on the lunar new year, classical practice tracks the solar term Li Chun (Start of Spring), which falls around February 4, to determine the beginning of your feng shui year. Based on tradition, this numeric profile identifies four favorable and four challenging directions, offering a structured way to align your living or working environment with your personal energy. It remains a traditional practice for reflection, not a guarantee.

How to Place & Activate

1. Step 1: Use your solar birth year; note that the feng shui year begins at Li Chun (Start of Spring, around February 4), so if born before that date, use the prior year.
2. Step 2: For a female: add the last two digits of the birth year, reduce to a single digit, then add 5 (or add 6 for years from 2000 on).
3. Step 3: For a male: add the last two digits of the birth year, reduce to a single digit, then subtract from 10 (or 9 for years from 2000 on).
4. Step 4: Identify your group: 1, 3, 4, 9 are East; 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 are West.
5. Step 5: Place a Citrine in your Sheng Chi (success) direction or Black Tourmaline in your Fu Wei (stability) direction.

Tip: A male born in 1990: 9+0 = 9; 10 minus 9 = 1, an East-group Kua with Sheng Chi (success) to the Southeast.

Meaning & Application

1. Use your solar birth year; note that the feng shui year begins at Li Chun (Start of Spring, around February 4), so if born before that date, use the prior year. 2. For a female: add the last two digits of the birth year, reduce to a single digit, then add 5 (or add 6 for years from 2000 on). 3. For a male: add the last two digits of the birth year, reduce to a single digit, then subtract from 10 (or 9 for years from 2000 on). 4. Identify your group: 1, 3, 4, 9 are East; 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 are West. 5. Place a Citrine in your Sheng Chi (success) direction or Black Tourmaline in your Fu Wei (stability) direction. In classical Eight Mansions feng shui, these steps pinpoint which cardinal bearing supports your routine. Orienting a bed headboard toward Sheng Chi, positioning a desk facing Tien Yi, or placing a workspace near Nien Yen creates a supportive backdrop for daily life. The framework simply invites you to arrange your surroundings in a way that feels naturally grounded.

Key Facts

Crystals to Enhance Your Space

Pairing your calculated kua number with stone placement offers a tactile way to anchor these directional principles. In the BTB tradition, specific mineral colors are matched to bagua sectors—such as reserving purple for the wealth area rather than green—while classical compass methods rely on exact cardinal bearings. The five elements describe how each stone’s composition interacts with your space, and many people find that keeping a simple tumbled specimen on a desk or nightstand supports a sense of clear, settled energy during focused hours.

• Black Tourmaline —

  Black tourmaline is a complex cyclosilicate mineral rich in iron and aluminum, prized for its dense structure and vitreous finish. In classical Eight Mansions feng shui, its deep black color aligns with the Water element, making it a common choice for the North bagua area or a Fu Wei (stability) placement near your desk or bedroom entrance. Many people keep a tumbled specimen on a workspace shelf to support a sense of clear, settled energy during focused hours.

• Citrine —

  Citrine is a transparent variety of quartz composed of silicon dioxide, where trace iron impurities produce its characteristic golden-yellow hue. Within classical compass feng shui, the stone’s warm tones connect to the Fire element and are frequently positioned in the Southeast bagua area or aligned with a Sheng Chi (success) bearing to invite abundance in a home office or reading nook. Keeping a small cluster near a window allows natural light to interact with its facets, creating a quiet visual cue for intentional planning.

• Carnelian —

  Carnelian is an opaque to translucent variety of microcrystalline quartz, typically displaying warm orange to reddish tones from iron oxide inclusions. The five elements describe its fiery warmth as supportive of the South bagua area or a Nien Yen (relationships) orientation, often placed on a bedside table or meditation mat to encourage steady focus. Wearing it as a simple pendant or keeping a smooth stone on a journal stand can serve as a gentle reminder to pause and reset during busy seasons.

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Explore Crystals in Feng Shui, Bagua Map, Wealth Corner guides.

Eastern Traditions

The Kua number belongs to the Ba Zhai (Eight Mansions) branch of Compass school feng shui. A common error is using the lunar new year as the cutoff; classical practice uses the solar term Li Chun (around February 4) as the year boundary. Based on tradition, the four favorable directions are a framework for aligning personal energy with a space, not a prediction.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate my Kua number?

Use your solar birth year, noting that the feng shui year begins at Li Chun (around February 4), so anyone born before that date uses the prior year. Add the last two digits of your birth year and reduce them to a single digit. For females, add 5 to that sum (or add 6 if born in 2000 or later). For males, subtract the reduced sum from 10 (or 9 for 2000 onwards). The final single-digit result determines whether you belong to the East or West group.

What is the difference between East and West Kua groups?

The distinction lies in which set of four favorable directions applies to your personal chart. An East-group kua number (1, 3, 4, or 9) aligns with orientations such as Southeast, South, East, or Northeast. A West-group number (2, 5, 6, 7, or 8) corresponds to Southwest, Northwest, West, or Northeast. These groupings simply indicate which bearings are traditionally considered supportive for arranging beds, desks, or crystal placements.

Does the Kua year start on January 1 or in February?

Classical practice uses the solar term Li Chun (Start of Spring), which typically falls around February 4, rather than January 1 or the lunar new year. This solar boundary ensures the calculation matches the traditional eight mansions cycle. If your birthday occurs before that mid-February date, your feng shui year is counted as the previous calendar year.

What are the four favorable directions in Ba Zhai?

The four supportive orientations are Sheng Chi (success), Tien Yi (health), Nien Yen (relationships), and Fu Wei (stability). Based on tradition, these directions serve as a framework for aligning personal energy with a space, guiding where you might place a bed, desk, or reflective stone. They function as a traditional practice for reflection, not a guarantee.

Related Feng Shui Guides

• Feng Shui
• Feng Shui Bagua Map
• Feng Shui Bracelet
• Feng Shui Wealth Corner
• Five Elements in Feng Shui
• Feng Shui for Protection
• Crystals for Wealth
• Crystals for Love
• Crystals in Feng Shui
• Kua Number Calculator
• Bagua Map Tool

Feng Shui and crystal placement are traditional practices for creating supportive, intentional spaces — tools for reflection and wellbeing, not substitutes for professional advice or guarantees of specific outcomes.