Factor in that the Luo Pan is also a calendar and that the effects of the movements of the heavenly bodies affects different locations and those living there over time, and you have a powerful method of determining the energy of a location and why our ancestors built where they did.
The author has spent the last 30 years looking at and dowsing landscapes, examining archaeo/astronomical incidences and working as a Feng Shui consultant here and abroad. With a research background, she has left no stone unturned in looking into how all these things are related. Much of the input into the ancient Chinese Luo Pan emanated in 139 BCE from the Han Province in China, now translated by John S. Major et al. in The Huainanzi, Columbia U.P, 2010. Gill is not afraid of challenging established views and has challenged those who take a Chinese system based in the East and have imposed it elsewhere, to go back to first principles in order to make it work 'where you are - now'.
The astronomical/astrological derivation of the many rings of the Chinese compass are complex. It is only by studying them that other cultures can unpick their own understanding of the natural world around them and assess how they live in it. In our own Western culture, much of our own 'secret' information has been lost whereas the Chinese have preserved theirs' intact.
Several of the rings incorporate the 12 solar signs of the Chinese zodiac and their relationships with the five elements - Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. Factor in the movement of Saturn, Jupiter and the stars of the Great Bear constellation and an astronomical picture begins to build. Those familiar with the I-Ching oracle will recognise the 64 hexagrams which also appear in various rings and the numerical complexity of the compass begins to emerge. The Lunar Mansions are there, in varying sizes and not equal house as they are now used. Before the Jesuits interfered and reduced the original 365.25 sectors down to 360 to align with degrees, the Mansions would have indicated the fortunes of a person in a specific place on a daily basis. The author points out the discrepancies in the current use of the Luo Pan and challenges its users to start researching in order to test its accuracy and consequently its effectiveness in the present time.
Gill is recognised in her field as making complex principles simple. A world first, one chapter in the book shows how a Luo Pan ring is aligned to the musical scales - and if you have ever heard medieval music in a cathedral - built to sacred geometry proportions, and the same in a modern concrete box, you will understand that previous generations, including the Greeks and Romans, had something to tell us about living in harmony with ourselves and our surroundings.
The derivation of the Luo Pan rings has never been explained before, nor has the Luo Pan been translated into English. This is a recommended, if challenging, read for those interested in landscapes, how we live in them and make them work for us over time.
The Luo Pan Revealed: The Construction and Use of the Chinese Feng Shui Compass by Gill Hale. Quicksilver Publications. Oct. 2020. ISBN 978-1-9160627-1-9
Available from: www.ypdbooks.com : £40 + £3.25 p&p or the usual internet suppliers.