What it does
Helps choose the right zone for each activity and interior element.
Where
All eight directions
Cautions
Explanation and notes
East: the Sun, king of the planets; social prestige, a grip in governance, growth of progeny and riches. SE: food, health and nadi, which is why the cooking fire is placed there. South: Yama; the life-giving direction and the direction of rules (vidhi-vidhan); kept low it becomes death-causing. SW: inner energy, capacity and skill; fulfils both dharma and artha; business, fame and long life. West: fortune (bhagya), fulfilment of desires, karma and fame. NW: communication, social life and trade; strong winds carry messages and move goods out quickly. North: Kuber; prosperity and the future of business, deciding which people and clients are attracted. NE: knowledge and spiritual prosperity; it opens the eye of wisdom and brings the purest energy, including ultraviolet energy.
Interior work is done to change the mind, because everything follows from the mind. Pictures, colours and objects (chitra) change the state of mind (chitt), so the goal the mind should be led to must be fixed first.
Each direction is the seat of a planet with its own metal; keeping that metal in that direction captures and multiplies the planet's energy there and neutralises negative energy.
Only about 55 percent of the Sun's energy reaches the earth. Of that, trees and plants capture about 95 percent, mirrors 80, pyramids 65, water 60, yantras 60 to 90, metals 45 and stones 35, while plastic and petroleum by-products capture none.
In older vastu practice mirrors were the main tool of dosh nivaran: a mirror can make a cut area look larger or an oversized extension look smaller.
Water absorbs about 60 percent of the Moon's energy; a silver pot of water kept in the Sharad Purnima moonlight becomes a strong medicine for acidity.
A bell or ghanta made of ashtadhatu contains the metals of all nine planets, so ringing it spreads vibrations through the whole house and pacifies the planets.
Planets act most strongly on particular objects: the Moon on white objects and liquids, the Sun and Mars on fire, light and electricity, Mars also on floors and land, Saturn on metal, dug land and machines, Jupiter on temples and the tijori, Venus on luxury objects and Mercury on TV, telephone and electronics.
Natural materials hold planetary energy while petroleum by-products hold none. Use fire-baked clay bricks, lime where possible, no more than two or three species of wood and black basalt road metal, and build walls in plumb with a honeycomb bond.