One bearing, two ranks
Hai is an earthly branch, the pig, the hours from nine to eleven at night, the start of winter. It is water among the five phases and the last of the three Qian trigram mountains, Qian at 315 on one side, Ren at 345 on the other. A grave that sits Hai faces Si at 150 degrees.
Two lists meet on this band. The four noble stars are Tianhuang on Hai, Tianshi on Gen, Taiyi on Xun and Shaowei on You. The three auspicious mountains are Hai, Mao and Geng. Hai is the only mountain on both, which is why a true Hai range is the first thing the school looks for in a new valley.
Reading the sovereign star on a living range
The school does not start with the star. It walks the range: does it rise and drop, throw branches, pinch to a neck before the head, does the head itself swell. Only then does the master set the luopan at the head and read where the range came in. If the needle sits on Hai, the range arrives under Tianhuang and carries the best of the sky.
A tall, upright peak on Hai seen from the cave is read the same way, as is water from Hai that bends to hold the site. The Cui guan pian answers dragon, cave, sha and water with the stars in four chapters, and the rule in each is the same: landform first, star second.
What this means on the ground
At a grave, stand behind the stone, sight along its face and level the luopan. First read the incoming range: turn the line back along the spine to where it enters and note the bearing. From 322.5 to 337.5 it is Hai. Then the peaks and the water mouth, each read three times, well away from iron.
At a house or shop, stand inside the door, back to it, and look north north west. A whole, upright building or hill there is a good sha, and if the ground in front opens and the water gathers, the site has done the hard part. Hai is only 15 degrees wide, Qian and Ren each side, so a reading near 323 or 337 is named only after repeated checks.
Common mistakes
Expecting Tianhuang to carry a dead range: one that enters on Hai but arrives flat, cut or broken is still dead, and the sovereign's name does not revive it. Reading the ring with a phone: the bearing is the phone's, the star is this school's. Treating the name as a forecast of rank: the school reads imagery, never outcomes. Counting a Hai peak on the ring without walking to it: the far side may be a quarry. Measuring on a satellite map in true north: the needle at the cave reads magnetic north, and the difference can move a range off Hai altogether.
Questions people ask
What is the Tianhuang star in feng shui?
The Tianxing star on the Hai mountain, 330 degrees north north west. The name is the Heavenly Sovereign, with the imagery of the highest seat. One of the four noble stars, on a three auspicious mountain.
Is a house sitting Hai and facing Si good?
Sitting Hai and facing Si is a well regarded pairing when the landform agrees: support behind, open ground and gathered water in front, no road or sharp edge pointed at the door. The sitting mountain's star is read after all that.
Does every grave need a Hai range?
No. Hai is one of the best bearings for an incoming range, but a living range from any mountain beats a dead one from Hai. The school looks for life first and reads the star second.
If your plot has a range coming in from the north north west, have Master Zhang walk it and read the ring at the head, or learn the method on the Ganzhou field course.