San He (三合) — Three Harmonies Feng Shui
San He (三合) is one of the two major classical Feng Shui schools, alongside Xuan Kong. Founded on the teachings attributed to Yang Yunsong (楊筠松, 834–906 CE), it aligns dragon vein direction, water ingress, and building orientation within one of four elemental triads (三合局) — creating resonant energy circuits that sustain multi-generational prosperity.
The Four Water Frames (四局)
San He classifies all sitting/facing directions into one of four elemental water frames based on the Five-Element birth-peak-tomb sequence:
- Wood Frame (木局 亥卯未): Water born at Hai (亥/NW), peaks at Mao (卯/E), stored at Wei (未/SW). The three positions form a perfect Wood triad. Ideal for East-facing properties.
- Fire Frame (火局 寅午戌): Water born at Yin (寅/NE), peaks at Wu (午/S), stored at Xu (戌/NW). Ideal for South-facing properties.
- Metal Frame (金局 巳酉丑): Water born at Si (巳/SE), peaks at You (酉/W), stored at Chou (丑/NE). Ideal for West-facing properties.
- Water Frame (水局 申子辰): Water born at Shen (申/SW), peaks at Zi (子/N), stored at Chen (辰/SE). Ideal for North-facing properties.
The Three-Plate Luopan (三盤)
San He uses three separate compass plates simultaneously:
- Earth Plate (地盤) — 0°: The natural magnetic compass reading. Used for dragon and mountain assessment.
- Heaven Plate (天盤) — +7.5° clockwise: Offset 7.5° clockwise from Earth Plate. Used specifically for water mouth (水口) direction assessment.
- Human Plate (人盤) — −7.5° counter-clockwise: Offset 7.5° counter-clockwise. Used for sand/hill direction assessment.
Yellow Spring Kill (黃泉煞)
The Yellow Spring Kill is the most feared inauspicious formation in San He practice. Certain sitting direction + water mouth combinations trigger catastrophic misfortune across multiple generations. The classical mnemonic (黃泉八煞口訣) identifies eight forbidden combinations:
- 庚、丁 sitting → water mouth at 坤 is forbidden
- 甲、癸 sitting → water mouth at 艮 is forbidden
- 丙、辛 sitting → water mouth at 巽 is forbidden
- 壬、乙 sitting → water mouth at 乾 is forbidden
Double Mountain Five Element (雙山五行)
Double Mountain pairs adjacent 24-mountain positions for five-element analysis, simplifying field assessment. Common pairs: 壬子 (Water), 癸丑 (Earth), 艮寅 (Earth), 甲卯 (Wood), 乙辰 (Wood), 巽巳 (Wood), 丙午 (Fire), 丁未 (Fire), 坤申 (Earth), 庚酉 (Metal), 辛戌 (Metal), 乾亥 (Metal).