The Kua Number comes from Chinese Feng Shui rather than from numerology proper, but the two sit together well and most complete charts include it. It is calculated from your year of birth and your gender, and the answer tells you which compass directions work in your favour.
The practical use is simple. Point your desk, your bed and your front facing seat toward one of your good directions and away from your worst one. People who take Feng Shui seriously treat this as a starting move rather than a finishing touch.
How to calculate your Kua Number
The formula differs for men and women, which is the part people usually get wrong.
- 1
Add the digits of your birth year and reduce to a single number.
- 2
For men, subtract that number from 11.
- 3
For women, add 4 to that number.
- 4
Reduce again if the answer has two digits.
Example for a woman born in 1990
- 1 + 9 + 9 + 0 = 19, then 1 + 9 = 10, then 1 + 0 = 1
- Women add 4: 1 + 4 = 5
Kua Number 5
There are several regional variations of this formula, and some traditions use the Chinese lunar new year rather than 1 January as the year boundary. The app uses the calculation shown here.
East group and west group
Kua numbers 1, 3, 4 and 9 belong to the east group. Their favourable directions are east, south east, south and north. Kua numbers 2, 6, 7 and 8 belong to the west group, with west, north west, south west and north east.
Couples from different groups are common and it causes no real problem. The usual compromise is to orient the bed toward the direction that suits the person who sleeps worse.
What to actually do with it
Start with the head of your bed and the direction you face when working. Those two account for most of the hours in your day, so they carry the most weight.
Do not rebuild your house around it. Feng Shui applied sensibly is a set of small adjustments. Applied obsessively it becomes another thing to worry about, which defeats the point.
Questions about the Kua Number
Why do men and women use different formulas?
Classical Feng Shui treats the two as different energy polarities within the same system. It is part of the tradition rather than something added later.
What if I was born in January or February?
Some practitioners use the Chinese lunar new year, which falls in late January or February, as the cut off. If you were born in that window, it is worth checking both years and seeing which reading fits you better.
Is Kua Number 5 valid?
Yes, though it is handled specially. Kua 5 is usually treated as 2 for men and 8 for women when looking up directions.
Read next
- Birth gridLo Shu GridYour date of birth placed on a fixed three by three square. What is present tells one story and what is missing tells a louder one.
- Core numbersLife Path NumberThe single most used number in numerology. It comes from your full date of birth and points to the direction your life keeps pulling you toward.
- Vedic numerologyVedic NumerologyThe Indian branch of the practice, where every number is ruled by a planet and the planets have long standing relationships with each other.