The personal gua number is a term used to describe the Ming Gua (命卦), which can sometimes also be referred to as the life star or life gua.
When you have the personal Gua number 1, your personal trigram is Kan ☵ according to 8 mansions feng shui.
This should not be confused with the practice of other traditional methodologies of feng shui where an individual’s status in the household determines the trigram that represents him or her.
For example, a male subject might have the Gua number 3 determined by the date of birth. Giving him the personal trigram of Zhen. But because he is the patriarch of the household, the Qian trigram within the premises represents him.
This is why when the topic of personal Gua number is discussed, the word personal is always mentioned so that the context of what is being referred to is not misrepresented.
Those with this Gua tend to face hardship in early life with the peak of success in middle age. Money flows in and out like running water and financial security (or the lack of it) is a focal point of life that never seems to go away.
Attributes of Gua 1
The gua number 1 is of water element.
This implies that people of kua 1 have personal attributes like the characteristics of water.
They have the insightful ability to stay still when the environment demands that of them, and also to flow with an overwhelming force when the conditions are right.
This is a characteristic of moodiness.
When focus is harnessed, the power of water can be irresistible like river mouths and river dams.
Water is also extremely flexible in movement and adaptable to the surroundings as infamously mentioned by Bruce Lee.
The nature of how water flows also means that individuals of Gua 1 tend to seek the paths of least resistance in the pursuit of personal goals and objectives.
Going with the flow is the theme of life.
It should be noted that water can be contained when influence can be forced on the surrounding environment.
When one refuses to accept such conditioned being put on them, then Gua 1 personalities can become aggressive to break out of containment.
This is not necessarily a personal strength, and can be a huge weakness that others exploit as they deem it as a form of impulsiveness and recklessness.
Like calm waters on the surface and raging undercurrents churning underneath, Gua 1 personalities can often put on an indifferent facade but seething or hurt inside. They are sensitive but don’t display them often.
Because one never knows what’s under the surface, people can never tell the true intentions of a gua 1 person… even if they expressly declare them openly. Which causes them to often give off a vibe of hidden agenda.
While what they say can often seem to have depth, people will eventually realize that there is little substance in the context of their words.
Basic feng shui
A person with gua number 1 will belong to the East Group as categorized by Ba Zhai feng shui.
This specific gua also means that this individual will be influenced by the following directions with respect to the 8 sectors.
| Gua | SC | TY | YN | FW | 5G | 6K | HH | JM |
| 1 | SE | E | S | N | NE | NW | W | SW |
These auspicious and inauspicious locations are also influenced by the dynamics of the greedy wolf star (贪狼星). And because of this association, Gua 1 personalities also have a strong affinity with the Sheng Qi sector as it is a sector linked to the same star.
Since the greedy wolf is a water based star, people with Gua 1 will find favor with water and metal elements.
This can translate to homes that resemble the shape of water (irregular) and metal (circular). As these shapes can make a house look odd, incorporating these forms onto the roof shape can often be deem as sufficient by feng shui masters.
Personal grand duke
The grand duke is an infamous concept in the practice of feng shui that applies in almost all schools of thought.
But while most people often learn about the grand duke as an annual affliction, each person also has a personal grand duke that identifies a bad luck directional area that follows him or her throughout life.
With the gender and gua number of a person identified, it is possible to calculate and determine the personal grand duke direction of the specific person in question.
The following tables shows the grand duke location for those with gua number 1 with reference to the year of birth.
Male Gua 1
| Year | Grand Duke Direction |
Clash Direction |
| 1909,1945,1981,2017 | W2 | E2 |
| 1918,1954,1990,2026 | S2 | N2 |
| 1927,1963,1999 | E2 | W2 |
| 1936,1972,2008 | N2 | S2 |
Female Gua 1
| Year | Grand Duke Direction |
Clash Direction |
| 1914,1950,1986,2022 | NE3 | SW3 |
| 1923,1959,1995 | NW3 | SE3 |
| 1932,1968,2004 | SW3 | NE3 |
| 1941,1977,2013 | SE3 | NW3 |
The grand duke direction is what is commonly known as the Tai Sui. And the clash direction is what is often known as Fan Tai Sui.
The concept behind identifying both these sectors is that these should not be important areas of the house.
For example, if you are to sleep right at your personal clash directional area, then bad luck would befall you in all your endeavors.
It must be said that in the practice of feng shui, when the personal tai sui is concerned, the clash direction tend to be more of a focal point compared to the grand duke direction.
This is because the duke can be behind you providing support, but never in front of you in a confrontation.