The Lo Shu Magic Square
A 3×3 grid from ancient China where every row, column, and diagonal sums to 15. Flying Star feng shui is built on it.
The Legend
Legend says that around 2200 BCE, a turtle emerged from the Luo River bearing a pattern of dots on its shell. The pattern was a 3×3 grid in which every line of three numbers added to the same total. The emperor Yu the Great used it to order the world. Feng shui has used it ever since.
The Square
Arranged with South at the top (the classical Chinese orientation), the square reads:
| SE 4 | S 9 | SW 2 |
| E 3 | C 5 | W 7 |
| NE 8 | N 1 | NW 6 |
Every row, column, and diagonal adds to 15. The center holds 5. All other numbers turn around it.
The Flight Path
In Flying Star feng shui, the stars do not move randomly. They follow the Lo Shu trail: from the center (5) to the Northwest (6), West (7), Northeast (8), South (9), North (1), Southwest (2), East (3), and Southeast (4), then back to the center. This fixed path is the "flight" in Flying Star. A star entering the center sends the next number along this trail, palace by palace.
Why It Matters
The Lo Shu square is why a feng shui chart is a 3×3 grid, why the center is called the "Five Yellow," and why stars are said to "fly." It is one of the oldest known magic squares in mathematics, and the basis for every chart on this site.