Your Kua Number: the 30-second calculation that changed how I work from home

By Indre Vallorani · 5 May 2026 · 8 min read

James had been working from home for eight months. He was not unhappy. But every afternoon, around two o'clock, something happened. Not tired exactly. Just — flat. Like a phone at eleven percent. He had tried everything. The Pomodoro technique. A second monitor. Blocking social media. He moved his desk from one wall to another. Nothing changed. Then his friend mentioned the Kua Number.

James entered his birth year that night. The result came back instantly: Kua 3.

His best direction for concentration: South.

His worst direction — the one Chinese masters call Jue Ming, which translates roughly as "total loss of vitality" — was North-West.

He walked to his desk and checked his compass app. He had been facing North-West for eight months.

What is a Kua Number?

The Kua Number comes from a classical branch of Feng Shui called Ba Zhai — the Eight Mansions system. It is one of the oldest and most practical tools in Chinese metaphysics. No complex birth chart. No hour of birth required. Just your birth year and your gender.

The result is a single number between 1 and 9. That number places you in one of two groups — East or West — and identifies eight directions that each carry a different quality of energy for you personally.

Four directions support you. Four work against you. The supporting ones are different for everyone. And different activities — working, sleeping, eating — are each governed by a different direction.

How to calculate your Kua Number

For men born before 2000:

1. Add the last two digits of your birth year until you get a single digit.
   Example: born 1984 → 8 + 4 = 12 → 1 + 2 = 3
2. Subtract from 10.
   10 − 3 = Kua 7

For women born before 2000:

1. Add the last two digits of your birth year until you get a single digit.
   Example: born 1984 → 8 + 4 = 12 → 1 + 2 = 3
2. Add 5.
   3 + 5 = 8 → Kua 8

For people born from 2000 onwards: men subtract from 9 instead of 10; women add 6 instead of 5.

Kua 5 is a special case: men with Kua 5 use Kua 2 for all directions; women with Kua 5 use Kua 8.

One important note: the Chinese calendar year begins in early February, not January 1st. If you were born in January or the first days of February, use the previous year for your calculation.

East Group and West Group

East Group: Kua 1, 3, 4, 9
Your four auspicious directions are: North, South, East, South-East.
Your four inauspicious directions are: West, North-West, South-West, North-East.

West Group: Kua 2, 6, 7, 8
Your four auspicious directions are: West, North-West, South-West, North-East.
Your four inauspicious directions are: North, South, East, South-East.

This is why two people living together can experience the same home completely differently. A Kua 1 (East Group) and a Kua 6 (West Group) in the same bedroom: one person's best sleep direction is the other's worst. This is not metaphor. It is geometry.

The eight directions and what they mean

Each of the eight directions carries a specific quality of energy. Four are auspicious, four are not.

The four auspicious directions:

Sheng Chi — Growth and vitality. This is your most powerful direction. Use it for your work desk, for facing when you negotiate, for sitting in important meetings. It activates ambition and opportunity.

Tian Yi — Heavenly Doctor. This is your health direction. Use it for the head of your bed. It supports recovery, immune strength, and restful sleep.

Yan Nian — Relationships and longevity. This is your direction for love, family harmony, and long-term partnerships. The sofa where you spend evenings. The position at the dinner table.

Fu Wei — Stability and personal development. Quieter than Sheng Chi. Good for study, meditation, or any work that requires patience.

The four inauspicious directions:

Ho Hai — Accidents and minor frustrations. The mildest of the four. Things go slightly wrong. Small losses.

Wu Gui — Five Ghosts. Associated with conflicts, gossip, legal trouble, unexpected betrayals.

Liu Sha — Six Killings. Relationships suffer. People leave. Support disappears when you need it most.

Jue Ming — Total loss of vitality. The strongest negative direction. Prolonged exposure is said to cause exhaustion, chronic failure, and a sense that nothing ever works despite effort. James had been facing Jue Ming.

How to apply your Kua Number at home

Your desk: face your Sheng Chi direction when you work. If that is not possible, Fu Wei is the next best option. Avoid facing Jue Ming or Liu Sha.

Your bed: position the headboard so your head points toward Tian Yi when you sleep. This is the health direction. It does not have to be perfect — within 15 degrees is fine.

Your sofa and dining chair: try to sit facing Yan Nian for meals and evenings with family or a partner. This supports the relationship energy of those shared moments.

Doors and windows: in Chinese metaphysics, doors are how energy enters a room and windows are how it circulates. Sitting with your back to a solid wall — not a window, not a door — provides the stability called "mountain support" (Kao Shan). This is why traditional Chinese offices place the desk so the person faces the room with a wall behind them, not a window. The view is in front of you. The support is behind you.

Your front door: if you are buying or renovating, the main entrance facing your Sheng Chi direction is considered auspicious. This is why Feng Shui consultants are involved in property decisions in Hong Kong, Singapore, and among Chinese business families worldwide.

You will not always be able to follow every direction. Compromise is normal. Chinese masters say: start with the bedroom (you spend a third of your life there) and the work desk. Fix those two and you have done most of the work.

James's desk

He moved it that same evening. Not a big move — ninety degrees, the desk now facing the window on the South wall.

He did not immediately feel different. He is not the kind of person who expects magic.

But three weeks later, working on the same tasks he had been doing for months, he noticed it was four o'clock and he had not had the two pm collapse. He checked his notes. He had written more that afternoon than in any previous week.

He does not talk about it much. He is an engineer. But he kept the desk where it is.