Nine-Star Water Method

It treats Qian, Kun, Gen, Xun, Jia, Geng, Bing, Ren, Yin, Shen, Si, and Hai as yang, and all the rest as yin. For any yang, one starts from the sitting mountain and sequences 5, 6, 7, 9, 3, 4, 1, 8, 2, flying forward through the Nine Palaces; for any yin, one flies the Nine Palaces in reverse. Incoming water is favorable only when it bears 1, 2, 6, 8, or 9; the rest are auspicious as outgoing water. The only concern of this method is water that breaks through the Pre-Heaven arrangement.

Examining its principle: this method actually follows the sequence Qian–Dui–Li–Zhen–Xun–Kan–Gen–Kun; for yang mountains one advances one step and arranges forward, for yin mountains one retreats one step and arranges in reverse — in effect, running the Pre-Heaven sequence through the Post-Heaven palaces.

This is close to what is popularly transmitted in He-Luo Feng Shui as the method of “spotting the dragon and spotting the peaks”; yet its error lies precisely in the advance and retreat.