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If a regular plot is almost fully used, with only small strips left, zone the complete plot. If a small building stands on a large plot with parking, a garden and open land, zone the constructed area for the house, and also zone the complete area to place the boundary gate, boring, dug well, servant room, security cabin, temple, garden and swimming pool.
The air element is flag-shaped, green, located in the North-West and ruled by Saturn; in a house it is the main door, windows, balcony, garden, plants and floor-to-slab height. Balanced, it gives speed, courage, patience and risk-taking capacity; imbalanced, it delays every work.
The energy that arrives about 48 minutes before sunrise in the East-North-East fills one with joy and playfulness, so this is the zone of recreation and fun; sitting there lifts a low mood.
The three zones from North-East to East receive pure energy that must collect and stay, so they are kept low, open to the sky and free of dirt, toilets, high walls and heavy objects, with a part left unpaved (kachcha) for a garden or lawn.
The outer pishach bhoomi of a plot is always left open on all sides, and on a North-facing plot the building is placed in the South and West part, leaving open space for energy to enter.
The centre, zoning, devtas and marma are taken on every area the residents can access and use, such as parking, a small garden, terraces and balconies. Only when a large part of the land lies unused is the constructed area zoned on its own.
When only part of a plot is built and land is left open around it, the 45 devtas are allocated on the whole plot from its centre. The open land becomes a large pishach bhoomi where the 32 outer devtas spread out happily, and the inner devtas get cross ventilation from all sides.
The corners of a plot are its biggest sources of energy, and energy flows diagonally from corner to corner through the brahmasthan like a highway. Piling or filling a huge mass over a whole corner zone creates a serious defect.
In Vedic vastu (not feng shui) the air element has a flag-like shape, green colour, North-West location and kansa (bell metal) as its metal; the main door, windows, balcony, garden, plants and floor-to-slab height represent it.
East is the Sun's direction that starts creation and connects people socially, politically and religiously, so it is the zone of association and politics. Keep it open and clean; obstructing the Sun here brings trouble to the house owner.
North is Kuber's treasury: Kuber promises to keep the store full but asks for hard work, giving opportunities for work and business, so it is the zone of opportunity and money. Keep the North light, low and open, with water and greenery.
The earth is tilted about 23 degrees toward the NE, so this corner receives the most energy; it is the zone of clarity. Keep it low and open, use it for water, study and worship, and keep here everything you want to charge or speed up.
The Sun's light arrives about 48 minutes before sunrise in NNE and NE, carrying the most vitamin D, B12 and Ayurvedic energy, so NNE is the zone of health and immunity. It suits rooms for the elderly and the sick, medicines, water and open space; only toilets and fire are forbidden.
South belongs to Yam Maharaj, who gives rest, relaxation, name and fame; it is the ideal location for the bedroom. The South must be raised, closed and heavy so that the fierce fire energy arriving there is blocked.
The coconut tree holds all five elements and captures the most cosmic and underground energy, drawing it into the home. It is the only tall tree allowed in the North-East and can be planted in any direction.
The belief that the North-West, West or South-West must have no greenery is wrong: plants can go in every direction, and a vastu expert should never get a tree cut but should plant auspicious trees beside it instead.
Trees and plants capture about 90 percent of the solar energy that reaches the earth and give it out through the day, so every home needs indoor plants in galleries and around the living areas. Fruit-bearing trees must stay outside, and no plant goes in the bedroom.
The South belongs to Mars. Its interior uses a small share of red with pink, orange, ivory and light green, copper, coral, ruby and red quartz, paintings of high mountains, a red horse or red elephant, a rock garden and Mars plants.
The South-West is the zone of Rahu-Ketu. Its interior uses golden yellow, white or ivory, black stone, blue sapphire, amethyst and iron, a Nandi, awards and certificates, mountain and village sceneries, and tall outdoor trees.
The shami represents Saturn and works powerfully when planted in a garden in the West, but it is the favourite tree of spirits, so it must never be grown inside the house or close to it.
The East belongs to the Sun. Its interior uses light orange, greens, pink, yellow and ivory white, sandstone, copper or gold-polished showpieces, sunrise pictures and sun-loving plants.
Peepal, banyan, tamarind and pakad must never stand inside the house premises, and date palm, pomegranate, banana and ber also harm the household. A tree whose shadow falls on the house beyond the first and last prahar of the day causes trouble.
It depends on the house. When a lot of land around the building lies unused, take only the constructed area and zone it separately. For a normal plot of about 2000 sq ft with just a parking and a small front garden, take the whole plot, and mark the devtas and marma on the whole as well. Small houses of 1200 to 2100 sq ft are taken whole, parking included.
Take the centre of the whole plot and map the devtas on it; all the open land around the house, even outside the building, becomes space for the devtas. This is why big houses abroad, as in America, are so balanced: about 4,000 sq ft is built on about 40,000 sq ft of land, so the 32 outer devtas get a huge, open pishach bhoomi and the manushya and dev bhoomi get cross ventilation from all sides. Just as a person given two acres of land enjoys the space, the devtas are pleased by big open land.
Yes, it is not good; industries whose corners were fully covered have suffered losses. The rule concerns the corners of the whole land at the boundary wall: covering inside an industry or along a side is acceptable, but not a corner (vidisha). A small 3 to 4 ft landscaped bed in a corner is fine; the problem is when the whole zone, for example the entire South-East area, is covered.
Yes, a garden can be made in the East; even a bedroom can be made there for a person whose Sun is exalted.
Only one tall tree is allowed in the North-East, the coconut, which draws cosmic energy from above and passes it down. No other tall tree should stand there. If one already exists and cannot be cut, plant energy-capturing plants such as tulsi in the North and plant tulsi all around the tree.
Certainly. Drop the idea that there should be no greenery in the North-West or South-West; gardens and resorts everywhere have greenery on all sides. A vastu expert should never get a tree cut, because its dosh falls on him; plant auspicious trees near it instead.
No fruit-bearing tree is meant to be an indoor plant. If there is a garden, plant it there, not inside the house; otherwise fruit trees bring trouble for the children, as Varahamihira says.
Such a door is not counted as an entry; it is a prishth bhang dwar (rear door) that lets the negative energy of the house out. Energy enters with you through the door you come in by. No treatment is needed; if it bothers you, draw the energy-blocking swastik. Symbol vastu especially suits countries outside India, where demolition is not possible.
A fruiting mango tree need not be removed: build a boundary and chabutra around it and keep a tulsi plant there. A pomegranate can be moved with its roots to another place; if it cannot be moved, pour desi cow urine at its roots and place tulsi near it.