The Theories of San Sha,
Tai Sui, and Sui Po
Joey Yap and Bill Clement
July 1999
Each year, certain directions are considered inauspicious because they can exert evil influences generally referred to as Sha Qi. Referred to as the San Sha, Tai Sui, and Sui Po, these portents of Sha Qi change directions and locations annually, the change coinciding with Li Chun, the annual beginning date of the Chinese Solar Calendar.

However, unfortunate effects generally will only manifest under specific circumstances, such as when the earth is disturbed. Detrimental effects will not occur without cause.

These Sha directions are considered by some Feng Shui Masters to be of extreme importance in the applications of Feng Shui. However, not all Feng Shui Masters subscribe to the validity of the theories of San Sha, Tai Sui, and Sui Po. As with many aspects of feng shui, these theories are controversial, some stating that the theories are based in genuine phenomenon, others stating that the theories are based in psuedo-theoretical premises.

The theories of San Sha, Tai Sui, and Sui Po originated from the San He system of Feng Shui and were incorporated into the San Yuan system of Feng Shui during the late Ming Dynasty.

San He, one of the major traditonal schools of feng shui, uses the concepts of Four Pillars to read feng shui. San He literally translates as Three Unities or Three Combinations. Since the name of the system is the same as the formula for determining the San Sha, it would appear that this relationship is critical to this style of feng shui.

In order to understand these three components of Qi, comprehension of specific critical information concerning any given year is prerequisite. This includes knowledge of the the 12 Earthly Branches, the 24 Mountains, and the Five Elements. Also notice that aspects of the 12 Branches and the 24 Mountains charts are interchangeable, although quite different.

The primary factor involved in recognizing the location of San Sha, Tai Sui, and Sui Po is the Branch of the Year. This factor will determine all of their annual positions.


The 12 Earthly Branches
[Courtesy of Ray Langley, © 1999, All Rights Reserved]

The 24 Mountains
[Courtesy of Ray Langley, © 1999, All Rights Reserved]
The San Sha

The Theory of San Sha is derived from the Gua (Hexagrams/Trigrams) of the Yi Jing. The basis of the San Sha is in the San He which refers to the three Branches involved in forming the San Sha.

San Sha is generally referred to as Three Sha, Three Evils or Three Killings. San He Masters consider the San Sha as the most dangerous component of Sha Qi when examining Feng Shui.

The San Sha are allocated to three separate and separated Mountains in one of the four cardinal compass directions. These three Mountains, referred to as San Sha Major, each span the entire 15º of the Mountain they occupy. But these three Mountains are not adjacent to each other, separated by two secondary Mountains, San Sha Minor, sometimes also referred to as "sitting sha" because, although not technically part of the San Sha, they sit with the San Sha.

The effects exerted upon these two secondary Mountains are refered to as Jia Sha (Pinch Sha) because, as they are "pinched" between the evil Mountains, a detrimental pressure is applied to them on both sides by the San Sha Major. So, although the San He technically assert a detrimental influence to three specific Mountains, they actually assert a detrimental influence to five Mountains.

The San Sha are associated with three of the 12 Earthly Branches in any given year. These three Branches change by progression in a yang direction each year. These three Branches are not the San Sha, but determine the position of the San Sha.

The three Branches are framed as a trine, one Branch at each point of the triangle. The relationship of the three Branches of this Trinity is called San He. This Trinity is the Frame of the San Sha.

There are four distinct Frames within the 12 Branches. Each of the four specific Frames displays the nature of a specific Element, either Wood, Metal, Fire, or Water. The Elements of the Frames are in opposition to the Elements of the San Sha direction.

Year	Element Frame	San Sha Direction	San Sha Mountains
Rat, Dragon and Monkey	Water Frame	Wu (South)	Si - Wu - Wei
Rabbit, Goat and Pig	Wood Frame	You (West)	Shen - You - Xu
Tiger, Horse and Dog	Fire Frame	Zi (North)	Hai - Zi - Chou
Ox, Snake and Rooster	Metal Frame	Mao (East)	Yin - Mao - Chen

The Four Frames of the Twelve Earthly Branches
In any given year, the Frame is determined by the Branch of the Year. The position of the San Sha is then determined by the specific Frame. The San Sha are the three Branches opposite the Frame.

One Branch in each Frame occupies a Xing location, a cardinal compass direction. The four Xing Palaces are Wu, You, Zi, and Mao, respectively assigned to the South, West, North, and East.

These Xing locations are the factors which determine the annual locations of San Sha. The San Sha always occupies the Xing direction diametrically opposed to the Xing direction extant within the Frame related to the year. The center of the San Sha is always located in the North, South, East, or West.

The three Branches of any given Frame are also assigned specific influences referred to as the Sui Sha, Jie Sha, and Zai Sha, generic names which refer to the specific type of Sha Qi they exert. It has been suggested that the three names Sui, Jie, and Zai Sha were a later convention designed to fit the idea of San He. The details are not actually in the names.

The assignment of specific Branches to the Sui Sha, Jie Sha, and Zai Sha are enveloped in controversy. Different Four Pillars schools maintain differing interpretations. However, observing a chart of the 12 Earthly Branches, beginning with the Year Branch and moving in a yang (clockwise direction), it is generally considered that:
[1] Sui Sha, the first component of the San Sha, is the wrath of the Tai Sui.
[2] Jie Sha, the second component of the San Sha, is the Robbery Sha, which is in charge of robbery, betrayal, and depravation.
[3] Zai Sha, the third component of the San Sha, is the Calamity Sha, which is in charge of bringing mishaps and calamities.

The Jie Sha and Zai Sha do not exert evil influence into the palace itself. They exert their influence into the San Sha. The Sui Sha however does exert influence into both the Palace which it occupies and into the San Sha.

Essentially, the entirety of the Frame amplifies the Sha, focusing the Sha from the Xing direction to interject the Qi into the Mountains of the San Sha.

Offending or disturbing the San Sha may cause various levels of effects including illness and injury. Minor effects could entail short term illnesses and loss of money. Medial effects could entail blood-related injuries and loss of wealth. Extreme effects could entail severe injuries, calamities, destitution and fatalities.

If the San Sha are not disturbed they are usually not a problem.

Avoid disturbing the earth or engaging in renovations or construction in the San Sha direction as this is Fan Sha (touching or against Sha). It is advisable to avoid the San Sha, it is acceptable to face the San Sha, but it is not advisable to sit in the San Sha ("yi xiang bu yi zuo", Shen Shi Xuan Kong Xue, Volume 3, p 286). It is also advisable to ensure that there is a good annual or monthly star at the San Sha and to choose correct dates from the Tong Shu if it is necessary to perform construction or renovations in the San Sha direction.

It is also advised not to engage in new construction of a building that, during the specific year, sits on the San Sha.

In a Zi year, a building with a Zi sitting is acceptably facing the San Sha, but a building with a Zi facing (sitting at either Si, Wu, or Wei) is detrimentally sitting on the San Sha.

Also, when the San Sha is at a door entering into the building, opening and closing the door is considered to be a disturbance. The cure is to place a pair of metal Qi Lin inside or outside the door.

Remedies can be employed to subdue or vanquish the effects of San Sha. If the San Sha are disturbed, place metal between the building and the disturbance. This cure remains the same from year to year and from Period to Period.

The classical remedy is to use statues of protective animals, either a Pi Xie (a figure "to ward off evil") or Qi Lin (Chinese Unicorn). These are usually made of metal, clay, or porcelain. For use as feng shui remedies there are two separate schools of thought: According to the theories of San Yuan the cures must be made of metal because it is the Element, not the figue itself, which effects the cure. According to the theories of San He, metal, clay, and porcelain are acceptable materials, consideration focused on finely detailed symbolic representation of the figure, the actual Element of the material bearing less critical consideration.

Feng Shui Masters in ancient times also advocated the use of a God of War figurine on the location of the San Sha because, traditionally, San Sha is believed to be a group of thieves. If you sit with them they will rob and injure you. It is better to face them from a distance than to sit with them. Guan Di, the God of War, with all his exuberance and power can easily subdue or banish all three thieves.

Tai Sui

The Tai Sui, generally referred to as the Grand Duke of Jupiter, Grand General, or the Commander of the Year, is an intangible star which always corresponds directly to and occupies the Year Branch in any given year. The detrimental influence of the Tai Sui spans the entire 30º of the Year Branch.

The ancients observed the effects of an intangible star in relationship to the position of the tangible star Sui Xing (the planet Jupiter) along the Yellow Belt. This intangible phantom star was identified as the Tai Sui. But while the Tai Sui is in relationship with the Sui Xing, the Tai Sui is not the Sui Xing. The Tai Sui moves in a yang (clockwise) direction around the Yellow Belt.

The Sui Xing, known as the Year Star, completes one sidereal revolution around the sun in approximately 11.86 years. Sui Xing moves in a yin (counterclockwise) direction around the Yellow Belt.

The phenomenon of the progression of the Tai Sui and the Sui Xing in opposite directions causes the positions of the Tai Sui and the Sui Xing to coincide and occupy the same location in conjunction every 6 years.

However, a relative discrepancy exists. The Tai Sui operates on an exact 12 year cycle and the Sui Xing operates on an 11.86 year cycle. The consequence of this time differential is that approximately once every thousand years +/- the sequential order of the Sui Xing actually advances one Branch in its yin progression in relationship to the Tai Sui, thereby changing the order and observance of conjunctions.

The Tai Sui is related to the 12 Earthly Branches. Progressing in a yang (clockwise) rotation and operating on a 12 year cycle, the Tai Sui spans the entire 30º of the Year Branch. The Tai Sui determines the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of the year.

The Tai Sui, although encompassing one of the three Branches of the Frame of the Year, is technically not a component of the San Sha. However, when the Year Branch corresponds to a Xing direction the Tai Sui occupies the location diametrically opposed to the central Mountain of the San Sha.

Tai Sui sha is stronger than Sui Po sha.

Offending or disturbing the Tai Sui may cause various levels of effects including illness and injury. Minor effects could entail loss of money. Medial effects could entail blood-related injuries and loss of wealth. Extreme effects could entail severe injuries, calamities, and fatalities.

If the Tai Sui is not disturbed it is usually not a problem.

Avoid disturbing the earth or engaging in renovations or construction in the Tai Sui direction as this is Fan Sha (touching or against Sha). If the Tai Sui is not disturbed it is usually not a problem. However, it is advisable to avoid the Tai Sui, it is acceptable to sit with your back to the Tai Sui, but it is not advisable to face Tai Sui. It is also advisable to ensure that there is a good annual or monthly star at the Tai Sui and to choose correct dates from the Tong Shu if it is necessary to perform construction or renovations in the Tai Sui direction.

It is also advised not to engage in new construction of a building that, during the specific year, faces the Tai Sui.

In a Zi year, a building with a Zi sitting is acceptably sitting on the Tai Sui, but a building with a Zi facing is detrimentally facing the Tai Sui.

Also, when the Tai Sui is at a door entering into the building, opening and closing the door is considered to be a disturbance. The cure is to place a pair of metal Qi Lin inside or outside the door.

Remedies can be employed to subdue or vanquish the effects of Tai Sui. If the Tai Sui is disturbed, place metal between the building and the disturbance. This cure remains the same from year to year and from Period to Period.

Sui Po

The Sui Po is referred to as the Year Clash, Broken Year, or Qi Sha (7 Sha because it is the 7th Palace of the year counting from and including the Year Branch). The Sui Po is also an intangible star which always diametrically opposes the Tai Sui. In any given year, the Sui Po always occupies the Branch known as the Year Clash, which is always directly opposite the Tai Sui. The detrimental influence of the Sui Po spans the entire of 30º of the Year Clash.

The Sui Po is related to the 12 Earthly Branches. Progressing in a yang (clockwise) rotation and operating on a 12 year cycle, the Sui Po spans the entire 30º of the Year Clash.

The Sui Po is not a component of the San Sha. However, when the Year Branch, and subsequently the Tai Sui, corresponds to a Xing direction the Sui Po occupies the same location as the central Mountain of the San Sha. This interactive combination of Sui Po and San Sha compounds the evil to exert additional detrimental influence to the specific Mountain affected.

Also, the Sui Po has erroneously been associated in some conventions as Sui Xing. But, the Sui Po is not Sui Xing. This is evidenced by the fact that Sui Po, as the Tai Sui, operates on an exact 12 year cycle, while Sui Xing operates on an 11.86 year cycle, and that they progress in opposite directions.

Sui Po sha is weaker than Tai Sui sha, but disturbing the San Sha may cause fatality when combined into the Year Clash with the Sui Po.

If the Sui Po is not disturbed it is usually not a problem.

Avoid disturbing the earth or engaging in renovations or construction in the Sui Po direction as this is Fan Sha (touching or against Sha). It is advisable to avoid the Sui Po, it is acceptable to face the Sui Po, but it is not advisable to sit in the Sui Po because it is unfortunate to set yourself up as opposing the year. It is also advisable to ensure that there is a good annual or monthly star at the Sui Po and to choose correct dates from the Tong Shu if it is necessary to perform construction or renovations in the Sui Po direction.

It is also advised not to engage in new construction of a building that, during the specific year, sits on the Sui Po.

In a Zi year, a building with a Wu sitting is acceptably facing the Sui Po, but a building with a Wu facing is detrimentally sitting on the Sui Po.

Also, when the Sui Po is at a door entering into the building, opening and closing the door is considered to be a disturbance. The cure is to place a pair of metal Qi Lin inside or outside the door.

Remedies can be employed to subdue or vanquish the effects of Sui Po. If the Sui Po is disturbed, place metal between the building and the disturbance. This cure does not differ from year to year or from Period to Period.

The 5-Yellow Star

Although the 5-Yellow Star is not associated with the San Sha, Tai Sui, or Sui Po, it should be noted that it also exerts detrimental effects to one of the Palaces of the Ba Gua. The annual location of the 5-Yellow Star should also be considered as a Sha direction.

The 5-Yellow Star, associated only with the San Yuan, is related to the Luo Shu. The 5-Yellow Star is associated with extremely evil influences and detrimental effects. When activated by proper forms the 5-Yellow Star can cause extreme calamity and misfortune.

Prerequisite to understanding the Annual Stars is knowledge of the Luo Shu and the subsequent progressions of associated mathematical formulae.

The Annual Stars, related to time and subsequent changes incurred over time, are portents of both Sheng and Sha Qi dependent on the nature and timeliness of the specific star. These stars change locations annually, the change coinciding with Li Chun, the annual beginning date of the Chinese Solar Calendar.

The annual location of the 5-Yellow Star is determined by mathematical formulae. The stars fly in a yang progression of the Luo Shu, but in a descending order (i.e., the palace occupied by the 5 Star this year will be occupied by the 4 Star next year). Operating on a 9 year cycle, the 5-Yellow Star spans the entire 45º of each of the 8 Palaces of the perimeter of the Luo Shu, but unlike the San Sha, Tai Sui, and Sui Po, the 5-Yellow Star will also occupy the Central Palace once every 9 years.

Summary Examples

1999 - Mao, Year of the Rabbit

Tai Sui occupies the Branch Mao in the East

Sui Po occupies the Branch You in the West

San Sha occupy the Mountains Shen, You, and Xu in the West

Jia Sha occupy the Mountains Geng and Xin in the West

5-Yellow Star occupies the Fire Palace Li in the South

2000 - Chen, Year of the Dragon

Tai Sui occupies the Branch Chen in the East

Sui Po occupies the Branch Xu in the West

San Sha occupy the Mountains Si, Wu, and Wei in the South

Jia Sha occupy the Mountains Bing and Ding in the South

5-Yellow Star occupies the Water Palace Kan in the North

Joey Yap and Bill Clement, © 1999, All Rights Reserved