Flying Stars Feng Shui
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The nine flying stars
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Flying star feng shui reads a building through nine numbers. Each one has an element and a traditional meaning, and each one is read differently depending on the period the building is in. Below is what every number stands for and where it stands now.
What are the nine stars?
They are the numbers 1 to 9 of the Lo Shu square, placed across the nine sectors of a floor plan. Every sector carries three of them: a mountain star, a water star and a period star. Which number lands where is worked out from the direction the building faces and the period it was built in.
The numbers themselves do not change. What changes is which of them are timely — and that is set by the period, not by the building.
What does each number stand for?
The element, the traditional meaning, and what the method aims to do with each number in the period we are in now:
Star 1: 1, the White One
Element water. Traditionally stands for career, new beginnings and clear thinking.
In a period 9 building it is gaining strength, so it works in your favour, and the aim is to strengthen it.
Aim: strengthen it. Add metal and water — brass or copper, a six-rod metal wind chime, a metal bowl or sculpture, a still water feature, a small fountain or a glass bowl of water. Avoid earth here, which works against it.
Star 2: 2, the Black Two
Element earth. Traditionally stands for illness: it governs health, and wellbeing is what it takes away.
It is one of the troublesome numbers, and in a period 9 building it is not the one in charge, so this is the side that shows, and the aim is to weaken it.
Aim: weaken it. Add metal — brass or copper, a six-rod metal wind chime or a metal bowl or sculpture — which draws it off quietly. Avoid fire and earth here, which feed it.
Star 3: 3, the Jade Three
Element wood. Traditionally stands for disagreement — quarrels, complaints and legal disputes.
It is one of the troublesome numbers, and in a period 9 building it is not the one in charge, so this is the side that shows, and the aim is to weaken it.
Aim: weaken it. Add fire — a steady lamp, candles where safe or red textiles — which draws it off quietly. Avoid water and wood here, which feed it.
Star 4: 4, the Green Four
Element wood. Traditionally stands for study, writing and examinations, and romance.
In a period 9 building its best years are behind it, so it no longer brings much, and left alone it can start to work against you. The aim is to calm it rather than feed it.
Aim: calm it. Add fire — a steady lamp, candles where safe or red textiles. Avoid water and wood here, which feed it.
Star 5: 5, the Yellow Five
Element earth. Traditionally stands for misfortune, obstacles and illness, and is the most troublesome number of all.
It is troublesome in every period, so the aim is always to weaken it.
Aim: weaken it. Add metal — brass or copper, a six-rod metal wind chime or a metal bowl or sculpture — which draws it off quietly. Avoid fire and earth here, which feed it.
Star 6: 6, the White Six
Element metal. Traditionally stands for heaven: authority, discipline and support from people above.
In a period 9 building its best years are behind it, so it no longer brings much, and left alone it can start to work against you. The aim is to calm it rather than feed it.
Aim: calm it. Add water — a still water feature, a small fountain or a glass bowl of water. Avoid earth and metal here, which feed it.
Star 7: 7, the Red Seven
Element metal. Traditionally stands for the blade: loss, theft and harsh words.
It is one of the troublesome numbers, and in a period 9 building it is not the one in charge, so this is the side that shows, and the aim is to weaken it.
Aim: weaken it. Add water — a still water feature, a small fountain or a glass bowl of water — which draws it off quietly. Avoid earth and metal here, which feed it.
Star 8: 8, the White Eight
Element earth. Traditionally stands for wealth and property — steady, lasting gain.
In a period 9 building its best years are behind it, so it no longer brings much, and left alone it can start to work against you. The aim is to calm it rather than feed it.
Aim: calm it. Add metal — brass or copper, a six-rod metal wind chime or a metal bowl or sculpture. Avoid fire and earth here, which feed it.
Star 9: 9, the Purple Nine
Element fire. Traditionally stands for celebration, recognition and visibility.
In a period 9 building it is at its strongest, so it works in your favour, and the aim is to strengthen it.
Aim: strengthen it. Add wood and fire — a healthy living plant, fresh flowers, timber furniture, a steady lamp, candles where safe or red textiles. Avoid water here, which works against it.
Why is star 9 the one to strengthen?
Because it rules the current period. Period 9 runs from 4 February 2024 to 3 February 2044, and the number matching the period is read as the strongest card in the hand. Through Period 8 that was star 8; from February 2024 it is star 9.
This is the part most older writing gets wrong. A page describing star 8 as the timely number was correct until 2024 and is two periods out of date now.
Are some numbers simply bad?
Not quite, and the distinction matters. The method reads a number as timely or untimely rather than good or bad, and the same number is read differently in different periods. Star 7 stands for loss and harsh words when it is untimely, and for charm and quick gain in the one period it rules.
Star 5 is the exception. It is read as troublesome in every period, which is why it is the one most practitioners look for first.
What does strengthen, calm or weaken mean in practice?
It refers to the five elements. A number is strengthened by the element that feeds it, calmed by the element it produces, and weakened by the element that drains or controls it. The elements shown against each number above are what the app adds in that sector, worked out from the number and the period.
In a room this is ordinary furnishing rather than ritual: what the surfaces are made of, what sits on them, which corner holds the metal lamp and which the plant.
Does the number tell me what will happen?
No. These are traditional readings of the feel of a space, not predictions about a person. The method describes a building; it does not forecast anyone's health, money or relationships, and a sector carrying a troublesome number is not a sentence passed on whoever sleeps there.
A floor plan also cannot show the land, the surroundings or the people. For important decisions, an experienced practitioner’s eye is worth having.
Which numbers are in my home?
That depends on two things: the direction the entrance faces, measured in degrees, and the year the building was completed or last substantially renovated. Those two inputs fix the mountain, water and period stars of all nine sectors — the same building, entered by any two consultants, gives the same chart.
These notes follow traditional flying star practice and describe the feel of a space. They are not medical, legal or financial advice, and they are not predictions about any particular person.
These are the numbers in the abstract. Which of them sits in your kitchen or above your bed depends on how your home faces and when it was built, and that is what the app works out.
See which numbers fall in your rooms