Facing Xin: the evening side of a house
Most people meet Xin as a facing rather than a sitting. A house that sits Yi looks out to Xin and takes the low afternoon sun. That facing is good when the ground in front is level and open, with a rounded hill or a solid building further out to close the view. It is poor when the view runs into a gap between hills, or the road drops away west and takes the water with it.
As a sitting, Xin asks for a dragon that comes down from the north-west, passes Xu and settles into Xin at the last turn, with a firm shoulder behind the stone.
Tianyi, the helper's star, and what it confirms
On our luopan Xin carries Tianyi, the Heavenly One. In the old star lists Tianyi is the star of the noble helper; its sense is support from others. It is a regular star, though Xin itself is one of the six elegant mountains.
Lai Buyi's school uses Tianyi to confirm what is already good. A clean peak on Xin is read as a helper peak, and the star agrees; a dragon entering from Xin with a full, unbroken body gets the same agreement. A scarred hill on Xin gets nothing. Confirming is the whole of its job; it lifts no weak form and replaces no walk around the site.
What this means on the ground
Stand inside the door with your back to it for a house, or behind the stone sighting along its face for a grave. Level the luopan, read three times a step apart, and keep the middle value. Keep the plate clear of cars, railings and phones; set a phone compass to magnetic north.
Xin runs from 277.5 to 292.5, with a safe middle of 281 to 289. Below 280 you lean towards You, and the stone is turned a degree or two up into Xin. Above 290 you lean towards Xu, Earth and another trigram group, so that lean matters more. No stone is set on 277.5 or 292.5, the lines.
Common mistakes
The first is to measure from the street instead of the door; a few steps change the number. The second is to copy the facing from a planning drawing, drawn to true north. The third is to read Xin as if it were You: they are neighbours and both Metal, but You is a branch carrying Shaowei, while Xin is a stem carrying Tianyi, a regular star.
The fourth is to set a stone on the Xin and Xu line, where the needle wobbles. The fifth is to buy a plot because a chart says Xin facings are elegant, without looking at the hill behind and the water in front.
Questions people ask
What degree is Xin on a feng shui compass?
Xin is centred on 285 degrees, west by north-west, covering 277.5 to 292.5, between You at 270 and Xu at 300. Its opposite is Yi at 105 degrees. It is a yin Metal stem, and on our luopan it carries Tianyi.
Is a house facing 285 degrees good?
A facing of 285 is a Xin facing, so the house sits Yi. It is good when the ground behind, to the east, is firm, the view west is open and closed by a rounded hill, and the road bends in front.
What is the difference between Xin and Geng?
Both are Metal stems in the west, but Geng is at 255 degrees, south of You, and Xin at 285, north of You. Geng carries Tianheng and is one of the three auspicious; Xin carries Tianyi and is one of the six elegant.
Book a site reading with Master Zhang and have the sitting and facing of your door or stone checked on the luopan.