What the Bagua is in Feng Shui and How to Draw It
Just what is the bagua map, exactly? And how can you draw it over your floor plan?
In the Taoist form of alchemy that we call feng shui, there is a mathematical and magical construct known as the bagua. In Western mystery traditions it’s known as a magic square (a square in which each row adds up to the same number) or, more specifically, as the square of Saturn. In fact, the bagua/square of Saturn is present in some form in the mathematical and spiritual traditions of countless cultures, both Western and Eastern. It looks like a tick-tack-toe board in which each square contains a number. If you take a moment to investigate, you’ll notice that each row on the board, whether horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, adds up to the number fifteen.
In feng shui, each square in the bagua corresponds with a major life area.
Western magical traditions associate this particular magic square with the planet Saturn: the planet of earthiness and limitation. This is notable because the bagua, or square of Saturn, is an alchemical map that works within the appearance of limitation to help us find our way back to a connection with the infinite bliss that is our natural state.
To illustrate this, imagine sunlight streaming through a clear prism or wind blowing through chimes. The sunlight is sunlight, and the wind is wind. Still, by flowing through something that appears limited (the prism or chimes), the sunlight creates rainbows, just as the wind rings the chimes. Similarly, an infinite life force flows through our present finite “reality” (or existence and perceptions) to create the holographic interplay of stories that we call our life conditions. The bagua/square of Saturn is a symbol, or conceptual construct, of that mechanism. It gives us a framework and reference point for effecting positive change through working between the realms of finite and infinite, seen and unseen, form and spirit.
How to Draw Your Bagua
You can absolutely draw your very own bagua, or feng shui map. That way, you’ll know the location of each power center of your home.
Believe me: it’s really not as hard as it may sound! It just entails a tape measure (just to get it as close to scale as possible), a piece of graph paper, and a tiny bit of patient determination. And keep it simple: all you need to draw are the walls, doors, and perimeter of the space. (No need to worry about things like windows, toilets, or drawing the burners on the stove!) Again, there’s no need to go crazy: just get it as close to scale as possible so that you have a good working idea of the layout of your home.
Here are a few additional tips:
- Include any attached garages or attached covered patios. (If they’re not attached or covered, leave them out. The one exception would be if it were a raised patio that is contained by railings; if it is attached to the home, even if it is not covered, include it.)
- If you live in an apartment, just include the boundaries of your personal space. Include attached balconies or attached covered patios.
- If you rent a room or live with parents or roommates, just include the room that is uniquely yours. (If you want to do the whole house later at some point, go ahead, but start with the space you call your very own.)
Now that you’ve gotten that out of the way, you’re going to draw the square of Saturn (see above) over your floor plan. To do this, follow these simple steps:
1. If the outside border of your floor plan is not already a perfect square or rectangle, make it into one by extending the sides in order to complete any “missing areas.” (See dotted lines below.)
2. Draw an arrow at the front door/main entrance (as intended by the architect, even if you use another one more often) that’s pointing in toward the home.
3. If necessary, rotate the paper so that the arrow is pointing up.
4. Draw a tick-tack-toe board over the square/rectangle, dividing the floor plan into nine equal parts.
4. Write the essential names of the bagua areas on each area as below.
Here are common and alternate names, along with links to explanations for each area:
Gratitude and Prosperity: Wealth and Prosperity
Radiance and Reputation: Fame and Reputation
Love and Marriage: same
Health and Family: same
Synergy: Center
Creativity and Playfulness: Creativity and Children
Serenity and Self-Love: Knowledge and Self-Cultivation
Career and Life Path: Career
Synchronicity and Miracles: Helpful People and Travel
Please note: for additional floors, the floor plan extends straight up or down from the floor containing the front door. In other words, if it’s directly above (or below) the prosperity area, it’s also the prosperity area.
Please also note: if areas are “missing” from your floor plan (i.e. if they are outside of the house), don’t worry: this post has got you covered.
…And if you have any questions, be sure to leave them in the comments.
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Hi .. I’m confused about the arrow .. do we rotate the basis after we do the tik tac toe lines?
The arrow is to help you orient the bagua based on your entry. So once you draw the arrow pointing inward toward your front door, turn the paper so the arrow is pointing up. Then, you can see that in the top left is the prosperity corner, top middle is your fame/reputation area, top left is your love/marriage area, and so on.
Hello Tess,
With two indoor cats, I had to use some old short shutters to block their access to my front door inside my entry way and set them up like a room divider. So in a way it is like a removable door on the inside after the main door. Is there anything I should do to ensure the flow of energy to still come through?
Looking forward to your reply. Thank you.
Hi Monda! Do you open that divider regularly?
Hello Tess, I only open it when I go in and out the front door as needed. The shutters are three feet tall and are free standing in the entry way.
Oh I’d say that’s fine. It’s functional. Maybe just open your front door all the way sometimes to make sure it’s fully activated and the energy is really flowing in.
Hello! Thank you so much for all the information provided in this site. I am trying to apply Feng Shui into my apartment but I am struggling with what to use to cure two missing corners. I have a small missing corner in the travel area and a larger corner in the self love area. There is a long walking closet type here without a door (I will be adding a curtain here) I was thinking about adding mirrors inside the closet but it does not seem very practical for me. Is there anything that I can do to improve the energy inside the area? Thank you so much and many blessings.
Hi Claudia! Sure! See if this sparks any ideas: https://tesswhitehurst.com/diy-feng-shui-part-6-five-ways-to-remedy-missing-areas/
Hi Tess, thanks for the helpful info. I’m struggling with the placement of a bagua over my apartment. I’ve seen different instructions about placement on different sites. Do I place the bottom of the bagua with the wall that includes my front door? If so, then ⅓ of my apartment is outside the bagua. Your example drawing is a little similar to my apartment, except that my front door is further back into the family area. If I use your instructions, then I can include everything, which would be great. I’m confused about this because the areas will be very different with each approach. I’ll be very grateful for any suggestions!
Hi Mitch! Yes, as long as you drew the arrow as instructed and the arrow would be facing upwards. I also have this post for when you have “missing” areas: https://tesswhitehurst.com/diy-feng-shui-part-6-five-ways-to-remedy-missing-areas/
Hello, is the entrance to the house located in the northern part of the Feng Shui map or is it the southwestern part?
Hello! The way I orient the bagua, no matter what direction your door faces, you will draw an arrow pointing toward the door and then turn the map so the arrow is pointing up. Then draw the bagua over the top as described. This is true whether your door is facing east, west, north, or south.
Hi and thank you so much fort this <3 ! I´m a newbie and It has taken me some weeks to understand, to almost giving up understanding, and so on, but hey, I can´t give up now. Hahah. I do have a question on what to do or how to do it when some of the rooms in my home falls into several of the directions in tha bagua map. So, my bathroom is huge and it falls into north east, north, east and the center. How can I use this? And when half of my daughters room is west and half of the outside patio is west (kind of a missing corner), will it be enough to just do her room as a west or should I do something outside aswell? This gets me so confused…
Hi Camilla! The way I orient the bagua doesn’t have to do with directions, but actually with front door placement. Did you also try drawing your bagua as I have outlined in this post?
Hi Tess! Thank you for breaking this all down so easily – I’ve tried reading a few other ressources and always given up in the past. So far I’ve cleaned and cleansed my fridge, my bathroom, my bedroom – have a few more sneaky places to get to (office closet omg!!! my sewing room…OOOOmg!!!!!!!). But I felt I could continue on with your series. And found that my wealth and prosperity square is in my garage! Doesn’t seem very fortuitous. That said, I don’t really feel any swuares would like living in my garage lol. That space is actually my husbands – bike workshop, workbenches…
How do you feng shui a garage?
Maybe I’ll find that info in next few posts. Anyhow, thank you again! PS I found you through magic monday podcast which I loooove <3
Rebecca, I’m so glad you’re finding this series helpful! The garage isn’t a bad place for the wealth and prosperity section. I would just keep the clutter cleared as much as possible and I’d consider either painting it green or adding a big poster of something like the ocean with palm trees or a water fall or an orchard in fruit – something that feels like abundance to you. Or you could do both. I once had a client who had her garage in her love and marriage area and she painted it pink and it was very cute.
Thanks for all the information you share. My garage is attached to the house and extends out on left corner, like an inverted L so how does the garage fit in the bagua? Do I include it? The extension of the garage is simply part of the front yard.
Hi Monde! Yes, you include the garage if it’s attached. So if you extend the lines, you would just include that front yard area as part of your bagua. Here’s a post to help with that: https://tesswhitehurst.com/diy-feng-shui-part-6-five-ways-to-remedy-missing-areas/
Hi Tess,
Just found your site today and wanted to say you have explained how to position the bagua so simply. Makes it so easy to understand. Thank you for that.
I have a couple of questions. If there is a covered porch area leading to the front door, do we place the bagua at the entrance to the porch or the actual door. If I place it at my actual front door, then an entire bedroom is left out that extends down the right (helpful people area). But you have said to include attached garages, in which case the bottom of the bagua would be at the porch entrance and not the door. So which is correct? Also, what do I do when the bagua cuts a room in exactly half. My kitchen/dining is cut in exactly half by the top 2 rows of squares.. so it has 4 bagua areas across it. How do I decide what bagua is the room then? Unless I paint half the room purple, and the other half green!! lol. Please help!!
Hi Misty! Glad this post was helpful! Well, your covered entry porch is included in your bagua, but your front door is still your front door. So, if you enter the covered porch from the same direction you enter your door, the bagua will be the same either way. If you enter the porch from once direction and the door from another, the bagua will be based around the front door, but the porch area will still be included in the bagua. Does that make sense? But you can still included those areas. See this post: https://tesswhitehurst.com/diy-feng-shui-part-6-five-ways-to-remedy-missing-areas/
As for the room that is in more than one bagua area, that is totally normal and fine. You don’t have to paint every room to match the bagua color, but there are usually common colors you can use if you want to choose paint. For example, the health/family area and the wealth/prosperity area share greens and blues in common. The wealth/prosperity and fame/reputation areas share reds and purples in common. But instead of painting to match the area, you can decorate with imagery, materials, and colors in the decor that area appropriate for each respective bagua area. And they can feel continuous – you don’t have to create a distinct design style where one bagua area ends and another begins.
Hello Tess! I LOVE your site and have enjoyed reading it and sharing different posts with friends! Thank you for sharing your gift with us!
I am having a hard time doing my bagua. My “front door” is at an angle. If I follow my intuition, my front door falls in the balance and bliss section. However, I know the front door should be aligned at the bottom of the map. What is your advice on angled front doors? Thank you and blessed be!
Hi Summer! Thank you for your kind words about my site, and for reading my posts. Front doors don’t actually always fall into the bottom third of the map. If a house is not a perfect square (like if it’s an L or a U shape), the front door can fall in the middle or back third as well. When doors are diagonal, I often look at the street placement and behave as if the front door is parallel to the street. But if your front door is around the side of the house, this may not be applicable. In that case, I would follow your intuition. Where does your energy and attention go when you enter the house? Notice if it feels like it’s going straight in, left, or right, and position your bagua accordingly. Let me know if you have any more questions about this.
Hi Tess
Are you related to Eileen ? I come across her work quite often and saw the names …made me miss her even more
Peace Love and Gratitude,
Joanne
Oh, you mean Ellen? No, we are not related. Whitehurst was her married name. We were in contact, though (via email), because of our shared name and shared interest in feng shui.
Hello,
I’m assuming that the order of the bagua is fixed such as gratitude/prosperity being the upper left or NW corner and all else to follow?
Do you have any articles about the better placement of bathrooms, bedroom, etc., with regards to these areas of the bagua? I am attempting to place things for a studio guesthouse and it seems that the bathroom door will break the rule of not facing kitchen, bedroom or dining room as it’s a studio.
Hi Chris! No, there are two main ways to orient your bagua: directionally and based on front door placement. I subscribe to the front door placement system. So when you draw your bagua using this system, you would not pay attention to the directions….And yes: https://tesswhitehurst.com/diy-feng-shui-part-5-a-guide-to-designating-your-room-and-area-usage/
Hi Tess, it was a really nice job, thank you. So, our front door is in the front of the house but when we enter, we face a wall (It looks like a really tiny square, about 3 ft each side) and then turn to the left to really enter the living/dining area. which direction should I choose? Entering and facing the wall or when we turn and really enter the main areas?
Good question! I’d choose entering and facing the wall. I’d place something on the wall (like a certain kind of picture or a mirror) across from the door to help with energy flow. How far away is the wall from the door, and what part of the bagua is it in? (These answers will help me give you the best suggestion.)
Blessings! I have an attached and covered front porch that runs the entire front legth of my rectangular shaped house (typical log cabin with porch). This is also where the front door is located (at life path/career). Do I treat the porch as an extension and extend the NE/N/NW behind the front door, or do I treat the porch as part of the house and center the map off the front edge of the front porch? Thank you so very much!
Hi Rebecca! I would treat the porch as a part of the house. That sounds super cute by the way.
Hi, my garage is at the center left, beside of the house, with a door link to the house. The house s longer than the garage. Is the garage included in bagua map?, if so, second level will have huge missing spot? Thanks
Hi there! Thank you for reading! It sounds like the garage is included in the bagua. Don’t be concerned about the missing area. Instead, see this post: https://tesswhitehurst.com/diy-feng-shui-part-6-five-ways-to-remedy-missing-areas/
Hi! I’m loving your series, thanks! I’m trying to apply the bagua individually per room. In the masters bedroom, was wondering if the walk in closet and en suite bathroom should be part of its bagua map? Thanks!
Hi Kathy! If the master bedroom is a perfect square or rectangle without the closet and bathroom, I wouldn’t include them. If they are included within the square or rectangle that is the master bedroom, then I would. Does that make sense?
Hi i am just focusing on one room and i noted your bagua does not mention the compass directions but instead orients to the door of the room. that is good news as east south north west would not work for me in this room (door is to the south ) my creativity is the east wall , instead of west
is this ok to set it up this way ? thanks, leslie
Hi Leslie! Yes, I know that can be confusing. That’s because there are two main schools of feng shui: one determines the bagua from directions and the other from front door placement. The kind I practice is the latter. So go ahead and set up according to door placement. 🙂
Wow! My mom sent me the link to this site and now I know why! I have been interested in Feng Shui for years and you are the first person to address the subject of Feng Shui for apartment dwellers! Thank you for remembering that you don't have to own a home to want to affect the chi of your space and your life.
Hi Sunshine! Glad you like the series. Is the trellis an architectural addition to your home, or more of a garden addition?
Hi Tess, great job on this series! Your take on this subject is so clear. I have attached to my house not a solid covered porch but an open trellis covered with a climbing rose. Should this be included?
Hi dravite! If I were you, I would just concentrate on the bagua of my very own space, using the door to your room as the "front door." Hope this helps!
Hi, I've been trying to draw this up ever since I bought your book "Magical Housekeeping" years ago, but I keep confusing myself. You see, I'm a student, living in shares accommondations with 3 other students. We each rent one room with a teeny tiny kitchen, and share the bathroom and a hallway.
So I have two front doors, neither of which was built to be a front door. (the door to my room and the door to the outside, which is a porch-door/side door) and the main door to the building is my landlord's front door, which we never use. So, do I include the other rooms in my chart? And which door should I use? (the door to the building is on the floor above us, as we live in the basement)
Thank you! Very helpful! 🙂
Hello dear DogsMom! Glad you like the post. Thanks for reading! About your front door situation – I suggest taking a look at the first portion of this post, as this is what I recommend in cases like yours: http://enchantingtheday.blogspot.com/2012/02/front-door-invocation-for-blessings-and.html
i liked your comment about the tic tac toe aquares. Much easier yo remember when diviving into 9 spaces.
After reading the above comment I have to think about our "front" door!
In our case it is for decorative purposes (and emergency exit) only. It has not opened more than once or twice in the last ten years!
We have a side porch door and a mudroom back door.
Hello dear Melissa! Thanks for reading and commenting.
I usually say the front door, for all feng shui intents and purposes, is, "the front door as intended by the most recent architect." If it's just a door that you use more often than the front door, it's not the front door. But if it would appear to a real estate agent or anyone else that it's the actual, present day front door, then it's the front door. If there's still any confusion about what door to use, I would consider things like the placement in relation to the street, mailbox, address numbers, and what door people intuitively go to when they've never been there before. I hope this answers your question?
Hi, Tess! Thank you for these great posts. I have a question about changes, though; I posted on Facebook as well. My house was built in 1924. I learned that the current side door used to be the front door, many many years ago. But multiple families have been using the current front door as "the" front door. When someone makes such a switch what happens to the bagua? Does it change or stay the same? (I know what I feel in my home, but I'd love a more expert opinion…) Thank you!