A THIRTY-SIX-RINGED COMPASS
There are no set rules for the number of rings on a compass or their content, although it is unusual to find a compass with more than thirty-eight rings. The compass illustrated on page next has thirty-six rings and their names and purposes are described in the list that follows:
1. Fu Hsi hexagrams - (former hexagrams)
2. Wen Wang hexagrams - (later hexagrams)
3. The eight positions of the Baleful Spirits - help identify unlucky positions on the ground.
4. The four and eight ways of Wang Ch'uen - these are used to help find the deceased an auspicious position in the land of the dead so as to ensure a good rebirth.
5. The Nine Star and Separating the Dragon Ring - these are used to identify whether the dragon is lucky or malign on the land or rivers surrounding the grave.
6. The Earth Valley Needle - this is the opposite of the Heaven Pool. It is used in the cemetery to find the most suitable position for the tombstone.
7. Yin and Yang Dragon Ring - this contains the heavenly stems and earthly branches.
8. The twenty-four Mountains and the five dragons (elements) - the geomancer uses this ring to identify the elements which attack or help the deceased.
9. The Baleful and Evil Ring - this identifies the spirits in the land that may cause misfortune or accidents within the family of the deceased.
10. The seventy-two points of the Dragon through the Mountain - the geomancer takes a reading from a hill to check the dragon ch'i coming from the hill in relation to the site.
11. Through the Mountain Later hexagrams - this is used to develop the reading taken from ring 10. This reading is also taken from a hill to determine auspicious points on the site within the range of the hexagram.
12. The Human Pool - this is used at the site to assess the horoscope of the living and occasionally the dead to determine if it is compatible with the eight character horoscope of the person concerned. Readings are taken of the hexagrams, stems and branches. If a feng shui diagnosis is taken at the grave the geomancer is able to comment on how the position of the deceased can affect the fortune of the family.
13. The Earth Spirit of the sixty Dragons - this is used to discover the points where the earth spirits help or attack so tha the coffin can be placed in a good position.
14. Through the Earth Door - this ring finds the right path for the dead to travel through the earth to the land of the spirits, Wang Ch'uen.
15. Through the Earth and Mountain hexagrams - these are used to assess which hexagrams are compatible with the Dragon points in the earth and in the mountain.
16. Through the Earth Dragon - is combined with the twenty-eight constellations. Using the position of the dragon and the twenty-eight constellations the geomancer can identify good or bad positions for the burial.
17. The Astrology Ring - is used to check the balance of the elements, yin and yang, stems, branches and hexagrams so that a full horoscope reading can be taken at the site and in relation to the person concerned.
18. The Heaven Pool Adjusting Needle - this ring takes into account all the readings taken so far. This ring is usually marked with different coloured sections to denote yin and yang divisions on the compass.
19. The 246o of the compass ring - is used to take a reading at 246o to the headstone so that the lay of the land and the courses of rivers can be read at that point.
20. The 28o of the deceased - if the geomancer is unable to find a positive angle using ring 19, he then uses the degrees of this ring to find the best position of the tombstone in relation to the rivers and land forms.
21. The thirty-seven Angles of the Deceased - are used to calculate a suitable position for the tombstone taking into account footpaths, rivers, roads, spirits and the circulation of ch'i.
22. The Lonely and Prosperous Positions for the Dead - the fifty-nine hexagrams that appear in this ring are correlated with the position of the burial site, the elements, the balance of yin and yang and the horoscope of the deceased.
23. The hexagrams appear again so that once the geomancer has found a suitable angle for the site he can check against the relevant hexagram to ensure it is in harmony with the deceased.
24. Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches combine to find the five elements - since the elements change according to the combinations of stems and branches, this ring is used to check that the element associated with stem and branch relevant to the burial are compatible with the deceased.
25. The twelve Islands, also known as the twelve Palaces - used to identify which palace is associated with the deceased. (Each palace deals with a different aspect of person. They are the Ming palace, Brothers and Sisters palace, Marital palace, Man and Woman palace, Wealth palace, Sickness palace, Moving palace, Servants palace, Officials palace, Property palace, Fortune and Virtue palace, Parents palace.)
26. The Life Star Ring - used to discover the life star or constellation of the deceased. The constellations in this ring do not direct or control the fate of the deceased.
27. The twenty-four Mountains - used to identify the angle at which the sun rises in relation to the grave.
28. The three Generals on Duty - the names of these three powerful spirits and guardians are repeated around the ring and one will be in charge of the deceased.
29. The twelve Gods in Command - these correlate with the twelve palaces of ring 25.
30. The Horse Palace Ring - the Horse is the travelling star which appears in thirty-one positions. The position of the star in relation to the grave will indicate whether the soul of the deceased will wander or be content and comfortable. This is important since the condition of the deceased will affect the fortunes of the family.
32. The Heaven Degree Ring - this is used to discover the element that corresponds to the Heavenly Spirit that enters the point at which the reading is taken.
33. The 10o of the sixty Dragon Points - once the geomancer has identified a suitable angle, he will automatically read the 10o that span that position. The 10o then correlate with one of the sixty dragon points.
34. This ring indicates the latitude and longitude of the site.
35. When the Ten Heavenly Stems and the twelve Earthly Branches are combined there are always two branches left over, and this ring lists the dead branches at various positions. The geomancer is able to check that the dead branches associated with the direction of the site do not appear in the eight character horoscope of the person concerned.
36. The twenty-eight constellations that appear in this ring do not direct or control the deceased. They are used by the geomancer to correlate a constellations with the burial site of the deceased.
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