FengCalc Program

Starting FengCalc

To start FengCalc, tap on the fengcalc.opo icon in the 'Documents\FengShui'
folder.

Note: because the Psion 5 does not permit multiple access to data files, the FengShui database file must be closed before running FengCalc. An 'In Use' warning message will be displayed if you attempt to run FengCalc whilst the database is open.

Navigation

FengCalc has a series of displays providing progressively further detail. The first layer is the client-information dialog; when all details have been completed as required, press the Enter key, to show the Graphic Summary screen. Then:

• press the Enter key to move 'down' a layer, to see further detail
• press the Esc key to move 'up' a layer, to select a new detail screen or enter new client data
• press the up-arrow or down-arrow key to change the current selection or, on the Graphic Summary screen, to rotate the display for easier correlation with a house-plan

The display screens are organised as follows:

• Client info dialog
• Graphic screen
• Main summary
• Direction summary

Direction-detail screens:

• Direction detail
• Element detail
• Quality (place) detail
• Quality (personal) detail
• Year-star detail
• Month-star detail
• Mountain-star detail
• Building-star detail
• Water-star detail

To exit FengCalc, press the Esc key when the Client Info dialog is open, or press ctrl-E at any time. A warning dialog will be displayed, asking for confirmation before closing the program.

Entering client data

All data for Eight Houses and Flying Stars calculations is entered through the Client Info dialog, which is displayed on start-up, or on pressing the Esc key from the graphic display.

The dialog has eight data-entry fields, in three groups:

• Time information:
  • Current year
  • Current month
• Eight Houses information:
  • '8 Houses' ruler
  • Birth year
  • Gender
• Flying Stars information:
  • Building year
  • Compass facing
  • Star substitution

Default values are provided for all fields: hence if only an Eight Houses calculation is required, for example, the fields for Flying Stars information (and the respective sections of the subsequent displays) may be ignored.

Current year

Enter the current (or required) year. The year number is that for the Western calendar (1900-2050), but the year boundary should be as for the Chinese calendar, i.e. 4 February.

The year-value defaults automatically to the current Western year.

The 'Current year' value is used to calculate the positions of the year-star, as shown on the Eight Houses section of the chart.

Current month

Select the current (or required) month. The month-boundaries shown are approximate, as the correlation between the Chinese and Western calendar systems varies slightly from year to year: for greater precision, select the appropriate month as defined by a Chinese almanac.

The month-value defaults to the first month of the Chinese year, i.e. 4 February to 5 March.

The 'Current month' value is used to calculate the positions of the month-star, as shown on the Eight Houses section of the chart.

'8 Houses' ruler

Select the ruling direction for Eight Houses. To define this, use a compass to identify the 'facing direction' for the building, as indicated by the physical layout of the site and/or the client's preferences and usage. (The exact figure, in degrees, will be needed for the 'Compass facing' value for Flying Stars - see below.) For Eight Houses, identify which of the eight sectors of the Chinese compass - centred on South, South-West, West, North-West, North, North-East, East or South-East - this 'facing direction' falls. For an office or other business premises, the 'ruling direction' is the same as the 'facing direction'; for a home, the 'ruling direction' is opposite the 'facing direction' - for example, if a house faces West, its 'ruling direction' is East. Some practitioners prefer to select the sector that contains the front door: the choice is up to you.

The 'Eight Houses ruler' value is used to calculate the 'auspicious directions' for the building (indicated by the letters 'A' to 'H'), which will be the same for all clients using the site.

Birth year

Enter the client's birth-year, or any appropriate year in the range 1900-2050 (with the year-boundary on 4 February, as above).

The 'Birth year' value, together with the 'Gender' value below, is used to identify the client's basic number, in terms of Chinese astrology and numerology, and hence their personal 'auspicious directions' in the Eight Houses system (indicated by ticks and crosses, between '' and 'xxxx').

Gender

Select 'Male or 'Female'.

The 'Gender' value, together with the 'Birth year' value above, is used to identify the client's basic number. In Chinese astrology and numerology, the number sequence goes in opposite directions for the two genders - descending for male, ascending for female.

Building year

Enter the year of construction of the building - specifically, the year in which the roof was completed - with the year-boundary on 4 February, as above. (Note that this version of the software will only accept a date in the range 1800-2050.) If a house has had an extension constructed, or been extensively remodelled in different periods, it may be necessary to carry out separate calculations for each section of the building.

The 'Building year' value is used to identify the basic number of the building, which is central to the Flying Stars system, and is the central figure for each sector in the Flying Stars display.

Compass facing

Enter the precise compass reading, to the nearest degree, of the 'facing direction' previously identified (and simplified) for the 'Eight Houses ruler' value earlier.

The 'Compass facing' value is used, together with the selected 'Star substitution' system, to identify one of 24 directional sectors - ten 'stems', ten of twelve 'branches', and four 'quarter-points' - which determine the sequence of the 'mountain stars' and 'water stars' in the Flying Stars display.

Star substitution

For advanced Flying Stars feng shui only, select a star-substitution system and boundary range, for compass-facing directions which are close to sector boundaries. When the 'Compass facing' direction is within three degrees of a sector boundary, the controlling 'star' (basic number) for the 'mountain star' and 'water star' values of building sectors may be changed according to the rules of the selected substitution system.

The substitution systems supported are those of Raymond Lo (1, 2 or 3 degree boundary) and Joseph Yu (1 or 2 degree boundary). The default value is 'none' (no substitution).

FengCalc display screens

All the FengCalc display screens show varying levels of detail of the results of calculations based on the data entered on the Client Info dialog.

Graphic summary

This screen provides a quick visual summary of the entire data. The display consists of three sections: on the left, a square block divided into nine small squares, summarising the Eight Houses data; on the right, a similar square block summarising the Flying Stars data; and in the centre a small text block identifying the client number and key 'flying stars'.

Each of the squares within the Eight Houses block (on the left-hand side of the display) relates to the relevant sector of the building, and shows:

• the direction (S, SW, W, NW, N, NE, E or SE)
• the quality of the direction relative to the building (A-H)
• the quality of the direction for the selected client (-xxxx, with '' being the best direction, and 'xxxx' the most challenging)
• the year-star and month-star numbers (shown as 'y:m')

For Eight Houses, the centre is not considered to be a direction, hence only the year-star and month-star are shown in the centre.

Each of the squares within the Flying Stars block (on the right-hand side of the display) relates to the relevant sector of the building, and shows:

• the direction (S, SW, W, NW, N, NE, E or SE)
• the mountain-star number (upper left of each group)
• the water-star number (upper right of each group)
• the age-star or building-star number (lower centre of each group)

The central block shows:

• the client number, based on gender and year of birth
• the name of the mountain-star and its sequence-direction ('F' for forward/ascending, 'B' for backward/descending)
• the name of the water-star and its sequence-direction
• a '(subst)' warning-message, if star-substitution has been caused by a boundary condition

The direction shown in the top centre of the Eight Houses and Flying Stars blocks selects the direction for the respective detail screens. To rotate a different direction to the top, press the up-arrow or down-arrow key.

Press the Enter key to move to the Main Summary screen.

Press the Esc key to return to the Client Info dialog.

Main summary

This screen shows, in tabular form, all information from the Graphic Summary, and some additional information about directions. From left to right, the columns show:

• the direction or sector (S, SW, W, NW, N, NE, E, SE or C [for 'centre'])
• the Chinese name for the sector
• the Chinese element for the sector
• the quality of the direction relative to the building (A-H)
• the quality of the direction for the selected client (-xxxx)
• the year-star number for the sector
• the month-star number for the sector
• the mountain-star number for the sector
• the age-star (building-star) number for the sector
• the water-star number for the sector

The row selected by the flashing cursor to the left of the table selects the direction or sector for the respective detail screens. To move the cursor to a different direction-row, press the up-arrow or down-arrow key, or the number-key for the respective row (for example, press the '5' key to select the North row).

Press the Enter key to move to the Direction Summary screen for the respective direction-row.

Press the Esc key to return to the Graphic Summary screen.

Direction summary

This screen acts as an index/menu for the detail screens for the direction or sector (S, SW, W, NW, N, NE, E, SE or C) shown at the top of this screen. The nine rows of this screen show:

• the Chinese name, English keyword and trigram for the direction (the trigram is shown left-to-right for top-to-bottom, with '|' for solid line and ':' for broken line)
• the Chinese element for the sector
• the quality of the direction relative to the building (A-H)
• the quality of the direction for the selected client (-xxxx)
• the year-star number for the sector
• the month-star number for the sector
• the mountain-star number for the sector
• the age-star (building-star) number for the sector
• the water-star number for the sector

The row selected by the flashing cursor to the left of the table also selects the respective detail screen. To move the cursor to a different detail-row, press the up-arrow or down-arrow key, or the number-key for the respective row (for example, press the '5' key to select the 'Year-star' row).

Press the Enter key to move to the detail screen for the respective row: for example, if the cursor is on the second ('Element') row, the Element Detail screen will be displayed.

Press the Esc key to return to the Main Summary screen.

Direction detail

This screen shows:

• Dir'n: the English code for the direction or sector (S, SW, W, NW, N, NE, E, SE or C)
• Trigram: the Chinese direction details, including name, quality, trigram and number (in angle-braces - e.g. '<1>') traditionally associated with the direction
• Element: the Chinese element associated with the direction
• Family: the family-member or relationship traditionally associated with the direction
• Colour: the colour(s) traditionally associated with the direction - i.e. colour(s) to be emphasised if the sector is to be strengthened, or minimised if the sector is to be weakened
• Keyword: a brief summary of attributes or qualities traditionally associated with the direction

Press the Esc key to return to the Direction Summary screen.

Element detail

This screen shows:

• Element: Chinese element associated with the direction or sector
• Links: next and previous element in the supportive cycle (e.g. Wood is supported by Water, and supports Fire), and next and previous ('Nxt/D' and 'Prv/D') in the destructive cycle (e.g. Wood is blocked or limited by Metal, and itself blocks Earth)
• Weft: 'East' ('E') or 'West' ('W') group of elements
• Sh/col: shape(s) and colour(s) traditionally associated with the element
• Best: attributes or qualities which most strongly represent the element - i.e. which should be emphasised if the sector is to be strengthened, or minimised if the sector is to be weakened
• Keyword: a brief summary of attributes or qualities traditionally associated with the element

Press the Esc key to return to the Direction Summary screen.

Quality (place) detail

This screen shows:

• For place: single-character code (A-H) for the 'auspicious' quality of the direction relative to the place
• Character: Chinese name and approximate English translation for the character of this quality
• Keyword: a brief summary of attributes traditionally associated with the quality

Press the Esc key to return to the Direction Summary screen.

Quality (personal) detail

This screen shows:

• For person: standard tick-or-cross code ( to xxxx) for the 'auspicious' quality of the direction relative to the person
• Character: Chinese name and approximate English translation for the character of this quality
• Keyword: a brief summary of attributes traditionally associated with the quality

Press the Esc key to return to the Direction Summary screen.

Year-star detail

This screen shows:

• Year-star: star-number associated with this direction for the selected year, with the direction and element traditionally associated with the number - i.e. the star-number will be supported or unsupported when the star's 'natural' direction and/or element align or clash with the direction and/or element of the physical sector in which the star resides
• Character: basic attributes and qualities traditionally associated with the number
• Supported: qualities or attributes likely to be enhanced when the star is supported within the environment (the interaction of people and place)
• Unsupported: qualities or attributes likely to be present when the star is weakened within the environment
• Sang/Liu: keywords from the Sang and Liu interpretations of the star-number qualities, and (in '[..]' braces) star-numbers which support ('+') or weaken ('-') this star-number
• Keyword: a brief summary of attributes or qualities traditionally associated with the star-number

Press the Esc key to return to the Direction Summary screen.

Month-star detail

This screen shows:

• Month-star: star-number associated with this direction for the selected month, with the direction and element traditionally associated with the number
• Character: basic attributes and qualities traditionally associated with the number
• Supported: qualities or attributes likely to be enhanced when the star is supported within the environment
• Unsupported: qualities or attributes likely to be present when the star is weakened within the environment
• Sang/Liu: keywords from the Sang and Liu interpretations of the star-number qualities, and (in '[..]' braces) star-numbers which support ('+') or weaken ('-') this star-number
• Keyword: a brief summary of attributes or qualities traditionally associated with the star-number

Press the Esc key to return to the Direction Summary screen.

Mountain-star detail

This screen shows:

• Mountain-star: yin-quality star-number associated with this direction for the selected construction-period and facing direction, with the direction and element traditionally associated with the number
• Character: basic attributes and qualities traditionally associated with the number
• Supported: qualities or attributes likely to be enhanced when the star is supported within the environment
• Unsupported: qualities or attributes likely to be present when the star is weakened within the environment
• Sang/Liu: keywords from the Sang and Liu interpretations of the star-number qualities, and (in '[..]' braces) star-numbers which support ('+') or weaken ('-') this star-number
• Keyword: a brief summary of attributes or qualities traditionally associated with the star-number

Press the Esc key to return to the Direction Summary screen.

Building-star detail

This screen shows:

• Bldg-star: star-number associated with this direction for a building of the selected construction-period, with the direction and element traditionally associated with the number
• Character: basic attributes and qualities traditionally associated with the number
• Supported: qualities or attributes likely to be enhanced when the star is supported within the environment
• Unsupported: qualities or attributes likely to be present when the star is weakened within the environment
• Sang/Liu: keywords from the Sang and Liu interpretations of the star-number qualities, and (in '[..]' braces) star-numbers which support ('+') or weaken ('-') this star-number
• Keyword: a brief summary of attributes or qualities traditionally associated with the star-number

Press the Esc key to return to the Direction Summary screen.

Water-star detail

This screen shows:

• Water-star: yang-quality star-number associated with this direction for the selected construction-period and facing direction, with the direction and element traditionally associated with the number
• Character: basic attributes and qualities traditionally associated with the number
• Supported: qualities or attributes likely to be enhanced when the star is supported within the environment
• Unsupported: qualities or attributes likely to be present when the star is weakened within the environment
• Sang/Liu: keywords from the Sang and Liu interpretations of the star-number

qualities, and (in '[..]' braces) star-numbers which support ('+') or weaken ('-') this star-number

• Keyword: a brief summary of attributes or qualities traditionally associated with the star-number

Press the Esc key to return to the Direction Summary screen.

Printing

Printing is not supported in the present version of FengCalc.