# Nine palaces (Lo Shu) (九宫 · 洛书)

> The nine palaces are a 3×3 grid that divides a plan into eight palaces around a centre palace. In the Lo Shu square, the numbers 1 to 9 are arranged so every row, column and diagonal adds up to 15; each number belongs to one direction and one trigram.

- Vietnamese: Cửu cung (Lạc Thư)
- English: Nine palaces (Lo Shu)
- Chinese: 九宫（洛书）
- Chinese characters: 九宫 · 洛书
- Also called: Cửu cung · Lo Shu square · Luo Shu

## Explanation

The traditional verse runs "wear nine, tread on one, three on the left, seven on the right, two and four are the shoulders, six and eight the feet, five dwells in the centre": 9 south, 1 north, 3 east, 7 west, 2 southwest, 4 southeast, 6 northwest, 8 northeast, 5 at the centre.

Drawn like a map with north at the top, the rows read 6 · 1 · 8, then 7 · 5 · 3, then 2 · 9 · 4.

Classical source: Lo Shu (ancient number diagram, mentioned in the I Ching's Great Commentary)

## How Home Check uses it

Home Check uses the Later Heaven nine-palace grid with north at the top; the centre palace on this site and in the app is the Home Check logo. — [Feng shui check & fix](https://myhomecheck.ai/feng-shui)

## Related terms

- [Center palace](https://myhomecheck.ai/learn/glossary/center-palace): The center palace is the middle square of the nine palaces, around the centre of the house; in the Lo Shu it holds the number 5 and the Earth element.
- [Bagua](https://myhomecheck.ai/learn/glossary/bagua): The bagua are the eight three-line trigrams of the I Ching: Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun and Dui.
- [Xuan Kong Flying Stars](https://myhomecheck.ai/learn/glossary/flying-stars): Xuan Kong Flying Stars is a feng shui school in which nine stars, numbered 1 to 9, fly through the nine palaces in Lo Shu order.
- [Five Yellow](https://myhomecheck.ai/learn/glossary/five-yellow): The Five Yellow is star number 5 among the nine stars; each year it flies to a different direction in Lo Shu order.

## Questions

### How do the nine palaces differ from the bagua?

The bagua divides a circle into eight directions; the nine palaces add a centre square, making a grid of nine. The eight outer squares match the eight trigrams.

### Is the grid drawn as squares or as rays from the centre?

Both are common: a 3×3 grid over the house outline, or 45° rays from the centre. On long, narrow houses they can disagree near the corners, so say which one you use.

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Original page: https://myhomecheck.ai/learn/glossary/nine-palaces-lo-shu  
Other languages: [Tiếng Việt](https://myhomecheck.ai/vi/tri-thuc/thuat-ngu/cuu-cung/index.md) · [中文](https://myhomecheck.ai/zh/learn/glossary/nine-palaces-lo-shu/index.md)  
Updated: 2026-10-21