What Is a Kua Number? A Complete Guide to Feng Shui Directions
Your Kua Number is the key to personalized feng shui. Learn how it works, how to calculate it, and how to use your lucky directions for better sleep, work, and prosperity.
What Is a Kua Number?
A Kua Number (also called a Gua Number, or 命卦数 in Chinese) is a personal feng shui number ranging from 1 to 9. It is calculated from your birth year and gender using a formula rooted in the Eight Mansions (Ba Zhai, 八宅) system—one of the most widely practiced schools of classical feng shui.
Your Kua Number maps to one of the eight trigrams (bagua) and reveals your four auspicious directions (for wealth, health, relationships, and stability) and four inauspicious directions (to be avoided). By aligning your bed, desk, stove, and front door with your good directions, you can enhance positive energy (qi) in your daily life.
How to Calculate Your Kua Number
The formula differs slightly based on gender and whether you were born before or after the year 2000. Here is the step-by-step method:
⚠ Important: The Lichun Rule
In feng shui, the year begins at Lichun (立春, Start of Spring), which falls around February 3-5 each year—not January 1st. If you were born between January 1st and Lichun, you must use the previous year for the calculation.
Example: A male born on January 20, 2000 should use 1999 for the calculation, because Lichun 2000 hadn't arrived yet.
Step 1: Add the last two digits of your birth year
Take the last two digits of your birth year and add them together until you get a single digit.
Example: 1990 → last two digits "90" → 9+0 = 9
For Males
- • Born 1900–1999: 11 − digit sum
- • Born 2000+: 9 − digit sum
- • If result is 10 → use 1
- • If result is 5 → use 2 (Kun)
For Females
- • Born 1900–1999: digit sum + 4
- • Born 2000+: digit sum + 6
- • If result is 10 → use 1
- • If result is 5 → use 8 (Gen)
Worked example: A female born in 1990 (after Lichun). Last two digits "90" -> 9+0 = 9. Female born before 2000: 9 + 4 = 13 -> 1+3 = 4 (Xun, Wood).
With Lichun rule: A female born on January 30, 1990 (before Lichun) uses 1989 instead. "89" -> 8+9 = 17 -> 1+7 = 8. Female: 8 + 4 = 12 -> 1+2 = 3 (Zhen, Wood).
The Eight Trigrams and Your Element
Each Kua Number corresponds to one of the eight trigrams (bagua) and one of the five elements (Wu Xing). This determines your personality tendencies and which directions support you.
| Kua | Trigram | Chinese | Element | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kan | 坎 | Water | East |
| 2 | Kun | 坤 | Earth | West |
| 3 | Zhen | 震 | Wood | East |
| 4 | Xun | 巽 | Wood | East |
| 6 | Qian | 乾 | Metal | West |
| 7 | Dui | 兑 | Metal | West |
| 8 | Gen | 艮 | Earth | West |
| 9 | Li | 离 | Fire | East |
Note: Kua Number 5 has no trigram of its own. Males with Kua 5 use 2 (Kun); females use 8 (Gen).
East vs. West Life Groups
The eight Kua Numbers are divided into two groups. Your group determines which four directions are lucky for you and which four are unlucky.
East Life Group
Kua 1, 3, 4, 9
Elements: Water, Wood, Fire. Auspicious directions are North, East, Southeast, South.
West Life Group
Kua 2, 6, 7, 8
Elements: Earth, Metal. Auspicious directions are Northeast, Southwest, West, Northwest.
Tip: In relationships, partners from the same group naturally share compatible directions. Mixed-group couples can compromise by prioritizing the breadwinner's directions for key placements.
The Four Auspicious Directions
Sheng Qi (生气) — Prosperity
The most auspicious direction. Best for wealth, career success, vitality, and the main door. Use this direction for your desk or business entrance.
Tian Yi (天医) — Heavenly Doctor
Best for health and healing. Ideal for bed placement (head pointing this way) to support recovery and wellbeing.
Yan Nian (延年) — Longevity
Best for relationships and harmony. Good for the bedroom and areas where family gathers.
Fu Wei (伏位) — Stability
Best for peace and personal growth. Suitable for study areas and meditation spaces.
How to Apply Your Kua Number
- 1Bed placement: Position your bed so the top of your head points toward your Tian Yi (health) or Yan Nian (relationship) direction when lying down.
- 2Work desk: Face your Sheng Qi (prosperity) direction while working to boost focus and career energy.
- 3Front door: If possible, choose a home or office with the main door facing one of your auspicious directions.
- 4Stove: In Eight Mansions feng shui, the stove should "press" on an inauspicious direction while its knobs (the fire mouth) face an auspicious one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Kua Number in feng shui? +
A Kua Number (also called Gua Number or 命卦数 in Chinese) is a personal number from 1 to 9 derived from your birth year and gender. It comes from the Eight Mansions (Ba Zhai, 八宅) school of feng shui and determines your four auspicious and four inauspicious compass directions.
How do I calculate my Kua Number? +
Take the last two digits of your birth year and add them to a single digit. For males born before 2000: subtract from 11. For males born 2000 or later: subtract from 9. For females born before 2000: add 4. For females born 2000 or later: add 6. If the result is 10, it becomes 1. If the result is 5, males use 2 and females use 8.
What is the difference between East and West life groups? +
Kua Numbers 1, 3, 4, and 9 are in the East Life Group (associated with Water, Wood, and Fire elements). Kua Numbers 2, 6, 7, and 8 are in the West Life Group (associated with Earth and Metal elements). People in the same group share the same four auspicious directions.
Which Kua Number is the best? +
There is no inherently "best" Kua Number—each has its own strengths. Kua 1 (Kan/Water) favors wealth, Kua 9 (Li/Fire) favors recognition, Kua 8 (Gen/Earth) favors stability. The key is to align your living and working spaces with your personal auspicious directions.
Can Kua Numbers change over time? +
No, your Kua Number is fixed at birth based on your birth year and gender. However, there are also annual flying stars and house Kua Numbers that change, which are separate concepts used alongside your personal Kua Number.
Why does the year start at Lichun instead of January 1st? +
Feng shui follows the Chinese solar calendar (节气历), where the year begins at Lichun (Start of Spring, around February 3-5). This is the astronomical start of spring. If you were born between January 1st and Lichun, your feng shui birth year is actually the previous year. This is why providing your full birth date (not just the year) gives the most accurate Kua Number.
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