In the last article I showed you how to calculate your ming gua. Just as when you determine your Chinese zodiac sign, you must take into consideration the start of the solar Chinese New Year when you calculate your ming gua. So if your birthday is on or around February fourth or fifth then you must use the previous year in your calculations. For example if you were born on March 5, 1995 then you use 1995 to calculate your ming gua. But if you were born on January 5, 1995 then you must use 1994 to do your calculations.

Once you have determined your ming gua what do you do with it? By knowing your ming gua you can determine your four auspicious and inauspicious directions. You also know which trigram represents you for personality traits and health issues. Certain parts of the body are ruled by each trigram. Of course you want to take care of your whole house or office, but knowing your ming gua lets you know which areas deserve special attention for you, your spouse and children.

So here are the trigrams associated with each of the ming guas.
1 = Kan or North
2 = Kun or Soutwest
3 = Zhen or East
4 = Xun or Southeast
5 = nothing
5 is the center or the Emperor. There is no trigram associated with number 5. Remember if your ming gua calculations end with a 5 and you are a male you take 2 as your ming gua. If you are a female and end up with a 5 then you take 8 as you ming gua.
6 = Qian or Northwest
7 = Dui or West
8 = Gen or Northeast
9 = Li or South

I have previously told you in the articles on each trigram about the element, colors and shapes associated with each trigram. Here are a some of the body parts ruled by the trigram associated with your ming gua.

1 = Blood and kidneys
2 = Abdomen and womb
3 = Feet and throat
4 = Hips and buttocks
6 = Head and mind
7 = Mouth and teeth
8 = Hands and small bones
9 = Eyes and heart

So now consider what would be the effect of a sha in any one of these directions. You can see that you might have problems with that part of the body, or the person with that ming gua might have problems.