形勢 and 理氣
The Schools of Feng Shui
Form reads the shape of the land; Compass reads direction and time. Serious practice uses both.
Form school, 形勢派
The land and the four animals
Form school reads landforms to find where qi settles. Ridgelines are read as dragons whose spines carry qi, the dragon vein, 龍脈. A good site nests like an armchair, read facing outward from the door: the Black Tortoise, 玄武, as solid support behind; the Azure Dragon, 青龍, higher on the left; the White Tiger, 白虎, lower on the right; and the Vermilion Bird, 朱雀, as open ground in front, the bright hall, 明堂.
Compass school, 理氣派
Direction and time
Compass school works with the luópán. It splits into Three Harmonies, 三合, which is direction and landform based, and Three Cycles, 三元, which brings time in and is the parent of Flying Stars. The personal method most used for favorable directions is Eight Mansions.
Keep exploring
More of the Feng Shui hub
See how this shapes your own space in the Habitat, or find your animal on the Oracle.