Where the question comes from
Classical feng shui took shape in the northern hemisphere, where the sun sits to the south — so a house sitting north and facing south is sunny, warm and bright.
South of the equator the sun sits to the north. Australians prize north-facing living areas and gardens for the light — ordinary real-estate sense, nothing to do with feng shui, and the exact opposite of “sit north, face south”. Hence the question: should orientations be flipped?
The two views
- Flip: since the sun's direction is reversed, the parts of the practice based on sunlight and climate should be swapped north for south.
- Do not flip: the compass reads the earth's magnetic field, which works the same in both hemispheres; the twenty-four mountains do not move.
Both views have their reasons, and practitioners have not settled on one answer.
How the master approaches it
The master does not apply a formula: the measured orientation of the property comes first, read together with the actual sunlight, the street and the surrounding terrain, one property at a time. The reasoning is explained during the reading.
That is why, for an Australian property read remotely, the compass reading and photos matter so much: one is the measured orientation, the other shows the real light and surroundings.
What you can do now
- Stand inside the front door facing out and screenshot your phone's compass
- Photograph the living room and main bedroom at different times of day
- Photograph the street in front and the surroundings
Send these with the address and floor plan on WeChat; the master will explain the orientation choices during the reading.