What Is a Kua Number? A Modern Feng Shui Explainer

What is a Kua Number?

A Kua Number is a personal Feng Shui profile used in Eight Mansions Feng Shui, one of the main schools of traditional Feng Shui. It is calculated from your birth year and gender, and it sorts every person into one of eight numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, or 9.

Each Kua Number comes with a set of directions traditionally associated with different areas of life — focus and success, rest and health, relationships, and stability. At ModernQiHome, we treat these as gentle layout prompts for your bedroom or home office, not guarantees of any outcome.

Why isn't there a Kua Number 5?

Kua 5 exists in the raw calculation, but Eight Mansions Feng Shui folds it into a different number depending on gender: Kua 5 becomes Kua 2 for female calculations and Kua 8 for male calculations. That's why you'll only ever see a final result of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, or 9, and why there's no standalone "Kua 5 guide" on this site.

East Group and West Group

Every Kua Number belongs to one of two groups. Kua 1, 3, 4, and 9 are the East Group. Kua 2, 6, 7, and 8 are the West Group. Each group has its own four supportive directions and four directions to approach more mindfully. If you want the full comparison, see our guide to East Group vs. West Group Feng Shui.

How is a Kua Number calculated?

The formula uses the last two digits of your birth year, reduced to a single digit, then adjusted differently depending on whether the calculation is for a male or female profile — and the formula itself changes slightly for birth years before and after 2000. Because of these variations, most people find it easier to use a calculator rather than do the math by hand. For the full step-by-step formula, see How to Calculate Your Kua Number, or just use the free Kua Number Calculator to get your result in about a minute.

What do I do with my Kua Number?

Once you have your number, the most useful next step is reading your specific guide. Each number has its own supportive directions for a desk, a bed, and a shared space, plus a note on directions to approach more mindfully with modern-friendly fixes. Explore your guide directly: Kua 1, Kua 2, Kua 3, Kua 4, Kua 6, Kua 7, Kua 8, or Kua 9.

A modern approach

A Kua Number is best treated as a starting point for reflection and room layout, not a rule to follow rigidly. Good Feng Shui, in our view, should feel like a calmer, more intentional home — never a source of anxiety about getting something "wrong."