A grand house located at Windlesham, England, facing exactly the True North

 

There are several points of debate – some more, some less controversial – that arose as Feng Shui entered into the age of scientific inquiry into nature’s underlying forces. One major issue according to Ip is the measurement with the LuoPan, whose readings are based on a plain compass in its center and so are dependent on the magnetic North. As the magnetic fields of the earth are always shifting, the compass direction changes as well. China’s magnetic declination has been relatively stable in the past and ranges around 5%, but if you use the LuoPan in Vancouver, for example, you will be faced with nearly 12% difference between the magnetic North and the true North. A natural declination between traditionalists and modernists in the Feng Shui world, as well: will the readings still be accurate if a Feng Shui master bases them merely on his Luo Pan? I insist on taking magnetic deviation into account in his calculations and I tell you why:“Master Yang devised the Luo Pan according to the true North of his time (Tang dynasty). Later in the Song dynasty, Master Lai noticed a discrepancy when he compared his observations with Yang’s but he simply couldn’t explain what caused it; of course he didn’t know then of magnetic declination. Still, he adjusted the Luo Pan in adding another circle and partitioning it into segments at angles of 7 ½ degrees instead of 15 degrees. So in its beginnings, Feng Shui was indeed based on the true North, not the magnetic North.” However since Lai there haven’t been any adjustments and the Luo Pan still exists in its original form. In order to take Feng Shui to the next level, it is vital that this issue is discussed, after all, a reading that’s only 1% off can lead to very different results.