Friend:
Hi Henry, which is green dragon side of a house? Right or left?

Henry:
It depends.

Friend:
What do you mean? I thought it is fixed.

Henry:
It depends on your point of reference. Most practitioners reference areas in a house from within the house while looking out of the facing direction of a house. Every house has a facing direction (and a sitting direction which is the opposite). You can get more information on how to determine a house’s facing from my article on sitting and facing.

Friend:
You still have not told me which is the Green Dragon side?

Henry:
I am sorry. Stand inside the house and look out towards the facing. The left side is the Green Dragon which the right side is the White Tiger.

Friend:
Oh I see. But I remember reading a Feng Shui book where the author says the opposite.

Henry:
I remember reading that book too. In fact after reading the book, I checked with my teachers and fellow practitioners from many different Feng Shui schools. All tell me the Green Dragon side is the left when standing inside the house and looking out in the facing direction.

Friend:
One more question Henry. How do you measure the facing direction of an apartment?

Henry:
It depends on the system of Feng Shui. For example most Flying Star practitioners treat the whole block as one unit and determine the facing based on the apartment block and not the doors or windows of the individual units. Some other systems such a Zi Wei Feng Shui consider the side that brings maximum ‘yang’ energy into the apartment unit as the facing (for the unit). This is usually the balcony but depending on the design, can also be the entrance door to the unit.

Friend:
Is this a contradiction?

Henry:
Not really. There are different systems and adopt different methodologies to improve the Feng Shui of the apartment. So it is not a contradiction if they have different reference points.

Friend:
I see. So there is nothing to worry.

Henry:
No but you should really worry when practitioners of the same school apply a different facing direction for the same apartment block!

Friend:
Oops! Then what can I do?

Henry:
You should consider getting a second opinion – or in the case a third opinion! 🙂