Also known asdishaorientation16 zonesfacingcompass
The sun's movement from East to West creates a magnetic effect with North and South poles. A plot, building, room or hall whose North-South axis is longer (chandra-bhedi) holds the strongest magnetic field, giving attraction and concentration; one whose East-West axis is longer is called surya-bhedi.
Plots, buildings, rooms, halls, classrooms and office chambers
Every plot is divided into pads (sections) according to its use: 81 pads for a residence, 64 pads for a temple or religious place, and a separate layout for a town. Directions are further divided into 16 and 32 parts, down to 11.25 degrees, on which the 45 Vastu devtas are marked.
There are ten directions: the four main directions, the four corner directions (vidisha), the upward (urdhva) and the downward (adho), each with its own dikpal. To master them a practitioner needs knowledge of about ten subjects beyond Vastu itself.
The East is ruled by Indra, its planet is the Sun, its gem is ruby (manik), its symbol is the vajra and its vehicle the Airavat elephant; in the Vastu Purush it is the mouth. A strong East brings production, talent, children's progress, health and immunity.
East zone
The North is ruled by Kuber, its planet is Mercury (Budh), its gem is emerald (panna), its symbol is the gada (mace) and in the Vastu Purush it is the heart. A good North brings wealth, career, opportunities, jobs, rise and respect.
North zone
The North-East is ruled by Isha, its planet is Jupiter (Guru), the greatest of the planets, its gem is yellow sapphire (pukhraj), its symbol is the kalash and its vehicle the horse; in the Vastu Purush it is the head and brain. It gives true knowledge, prosperity and peace.
North-East (Ishaan) zone
The four directions arose from Brahma's four faces and the four corner directions from his four arms, or from his four manas putras. Each is linked to a Veda or Upaveda: East to the Rigveda, South to the Yajurveda, West to the Samaveda and North to the Atharvaveda; South-East to Ayurveda, South-West to Dhanurveda and North-East to Sthapatya Veda, with Gandharva Veda completing the four.
A corner extended from both its sides gives strong results: an extended North-East makes residents healthy, wealthy and religious, while extended South-East, South-West and North-West corners bring disputes, illness, business collapse, mental illness and forced migration.
Corners of the plot
A plot with its North-East cut is the worst of all, and a cut South-East is also very bad. A cut North-West brings mental anguish, disputes, loss of mental balance and constant quarrels.
Corners of the plot
The North-West is ruled by Vayu (air), without which no life lasts more than two minutes. Its planet is the Moon and its stone is moti (pearl); it is the world's greatest messenger and gives travel and servants (helpers).
North-West
A slope toward the North-East is best for homes, temples and schools, while business premises do best with a slope toward the North or North-North-East, then the North-East. Slopes toward the South, South-East, South-West, West and North-West each bring specific harm.
Land, floors and rooms
The South belongs to Yama, the god of justice and messenger of death, who rides a buffalo and holds a danda (rod). Its planet is Mars (Mangal) and its stone is moonga (coral); it is the zone of complete relaxation and sleep and rules the world of departed ancestors.
South
The South-East, 45 degrees beyond the East, is ruled by Agni, the hidden fire energy present in every living being. Its planet is Venus (Shukra) and it gives fame and cash flow, so the South-East of a householder's home must never be cut.
South-East (Agni kon)
The South-West is ruled by Nairitya, with Rahu-Ketu as its planets and gomed (hessonite) as its stone. Balanced, uncut and right-angled, it gives prosperity, stability and skill, and it must be the highest part of the property in both ground level and building height, which is why a dhwaj (flag) is raised there.
South-West corner of the land and roof
Land is also named by which side is raised and which is low-lying (veethi). Go, Gaj, Dhan and Pitamah veethi are favourable, while Jal, Yam, Naag and Vaishvanar veethi, and a low-lying centre, are harmful.
Whole plot
The West, 45 degrees beyond the South-West, is ruled by Varun, the lord of water, with Saturn (Shani) as planet and neelam (blue sapphire) as stone. It builds the future and gives prosperity and wealth, and its power is felt after sunset, growing as the night advances.
West
The 81 pad grid, used for any house, factory, business or office, has 32 devtas (the 32 digpal) seated around its outer ring in the pishach bhoomi. One round covers 360 degrees, so each outer pad covers 360 divided by 32, that is 11.25 degrees, and half a pad 5.625 degrees.
With sunrise the sun brings its full energy into the East, filling flowers and fruits with sweetness. The East is the zone of social contact, used to build sweetness in relationships, and its perfect magnetic balance is why the face of the deity is kept towards the East.
East zone; deity facing East; fruit trees in the East
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.
East-North-East zone: swings, games, play area for children
In the East-South-East the sun, moving from infancy towards youth, gives energy that churns the mind, opening its doors and acting most on the Ajna chakra. It is the zone of churning (manthan), contemplation and analysis, and of anxiety if one keeps thinking without reaching conclusions.
East-South-East zone: curd churning, mixer-grinder, deep study
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.
North-East, East-North-East and East zones
The North is the place of Kuber and is itself like a magnet: it attracts not only money and opportunities but any person, even a lost person, and any object, drawing in the energy of the 72 kalas of the Moon and the 72 kinds of human energy.
North zone
About two hours before sunrise the sun sends ultraviolet rays into the North-East, which bring the greatest alertness to the neurons and glial cells of the brain. This pure energy suits the pure soul, so the North-East is the zone of clarity of mind and the place for worship.
North-East zone: puja place
Before sunrise the North-North-East receives the most vitamins (D, A, B12) and minerals, including silver, so it improves health and is the zone of health and immunity; a sick person is kept in this zone.
North-North-East zone; room or bed of a sick person
Through its magnetic pole the North captures the full energy of the 72 kalas of the Moon but cannot use it itself, and passes it on to the North-North-West (and to the North-North-East). This makes the North-North-West the zone of attraction, used for example to attract customers.
North-North-West zone
The North-West receives an energy that comes and goes; it speeds up movement, giving and taking, arriving and leaving, and is used whenever something has to be sent away or taken out, or someone has to be called.
North-West zone
Directions fall at every 90 degrees, the corner directions (vidisha) at 45 degrees and the zones at every 22.5 degrees, giving 16 zones. Each corner has three parts with different properties, for example Nairitya splits into dakshini nairitya (SSW), nairitya (SW) and paschimi nairitya (WSW).
Magnetic field lines run from North to South, so the magnetic effect is strongest and most stabilising in the South, which makes it the zone for rest and sleep. Deep sleep makes the day go well, earns respect and increases name and work.
South zone; sleep with the feet towards the North
From 9 am to 12 noon the sun, in full youth, is in the South-East, with rays rich in vitamins (B12 and D) that make thinking positive, especially for women, and balance blood circulation. This is the fire and cash liquidity zone and the right place for the kitchen, with the cook facing East.
South-East zone; cook facing East
In the South-South-East the sun gives energy that raises power, confidence, will power and every kind of inner strength; the balance of magnetic anomaly and gravitational force here steadies the mind and boosts confidence.
South-South-East zone
Yes, they are the directions. The length of a place in the North-South direction should be longer than its East-West length; such a place is considered the best because it holds the strongest magnetic field.
Ten, not four: the four main directions, the four corner directions (vidisha), and the upward (urdhva) and downward (adho) directions. Each has its own dikpal, and energy reaches the rest from above and below.
The elephant is the vehicle of Indra, lord of the East. Between the East and the North-East lies a 45-degree span with several pads, among them a debt door and a door that makes one rich, and every 11.25 degrees the chemistry and circumstances change, so the exact pad matters.
Because among the four Vedas the North represents the Atharvaveda, linked with artha (wealth), and its lord is Kuber, the controller of wealth, career and opportunity.
Buy a liquid-filled compass from a stationery shop or online; it makes it easy to set zero degree and read degrees. Also download Google Earth on a laptop or computer and install a compass app on the mobile, which works only on Android phones, not on iPhones. Geo Vastu does not sell a compass of its own.
After sunset. Its power is felt from sandhya kaal onward and increases as the night advances, which is why people do sadhana at night and worship Lakshmi at night for wealth.
By convention the whole world measures tilt from North, saying whether it turns toward East or West, and the compass itself points to North. You could count it from East if you prefer.
Tilt means tedha or tirchha: how far the true North is turned from where it is assumed to be. People who do not know vastu simply say their house is North facing, but a careful degree reading may show that it is turned, say, 5 degrees.
Compare it with the nearest cardinal direction. South is at 180, so 216 minus 180 gives 36 degrees: the South has moved 36 degrees to the left. Do not measure it from West (270), which would give 54 degrees and shift the whole zoning.
Because the degree must never be taken from the centre. A compass placed at the centre only shows roughly whether a room is in the North-East or North-West; the exact tilt comes only when the compass is parallel to a wall. In a regular house, readings taken parallel to the walls are the same everywhere.
Simply line it up. The dial has a North-South line and an East-West line; turn it until one of them lies exactly straight with the mirror line and the axis line. The more precisely it is straight, the more accurate the reading; a crooked setting can read 20 or 30 degrees for the same house.
No. The facing is the side of the main door, opening or road, and using it is only one easy way to read the degree. What matters is to find where North lies; once one direction is known, the rest follow at 90 degree steps.