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Feng Shui practitioners rely on directional energy to plan a space, and the Luopan is their compass. Authentic Chinese luopans are beautifully crafted devices, tuned to produce accurate readings within complex scenarios. Dating back 2,000 years to the birth of Taoist Feng Shui, the luopan contains rings of information, each concentric circle relating to different heavenly and earthly energies. At the center of the luopan is a direction finder-the “Heaven’s Pool”-fitted with a magnetized needle that points south.
Luopans come in a variety of sizes, and scale generally increases with complexity. The traditional luopan is composed of two interconnected, rotating dials: a heaven plate (usually made of metal) and an earth plate (often composed of wood). The luopan allegorically embodies the union of heaven and earth; its name translates into “a plate (pan) that holds everything (luo).”
Unlike a normal compass, the luopan is divided into 24 directional lines that radiate outward from its center. These represent the “24 mountains,” a series of directions that correspond to yin or yang elements. A Feng Shui expert uses these 24 directions to determine the facing and siting of a building, ultimately mapping that building’s “birth chart.”
Each degree of the compass gives a reading that allows the Feng Shui practitioner to pinpoint what is right or wrong with a certain area. The practitioner reads the geomantic calculations-contained within the rings of the luopan-and uses this information to derive a solution to the problem. Comparing the luopan’s calculations with other factors, such as the homeowner’s birth chart, the Feng Shui expert recommends ways to promote a room’s inherent good qualities and minimize the harmful features of a space.
Luopans of high quality are rare objects. Contemporary versions often fuse the heaven and earth plates, undermining the luopan’s ability to accurately read a space. Well-crafted luopans, with rotating parts made from traditional materials, are highly valued among Feng Shui experts and lovers of Chinese objects.
