Stairs steps?

[myfs_125833]

Hi,

What's to confirm the auspicious number of steps in a staircase. I know that it's best to have odd number but my ? is would that be including the landing floor like for example 17 + another step as the landing floor.

Thanks.

nbyrnes

[Robert Lee]

Dear Anon,

Anonymous wrote:
What's to confirm the auspicious number of steps in a staircase. I know that it's best to have odd number but my ? is would that be including the landing floor like for example 17 + another step as the landing floor.

Introduction:

1. In Feng Shui, there are two traditional methods of determining the number of steps.

2. The first method is a 3 number combination. Where the first two steps are Auspicious but the last step is inauspicious.

METHOD 1 - THE THREE-STEP CYCLE
========
3. Thus under the `Three-steps formula' step No. 1 (Auspicious), Step No. 2 (Inauspicious) while Step No. 3 is considered inauspicious. Usually this 3rd step is known as the `death' step.

3.1 Thus:-

Following this method, one should be able to work out the number of steps:-

3.2 Auspicious steps are:-

1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20,

3.3 Inauspicious steps:-

No. 3 is the third step
No. 6 is the following third step
No. 9 is again the following third step
No. 12 is again the following third step...etc...

METHOD 2 - THE FOUR-STEP CYCLE
===============================
4. However, Method 1 should be used in combination with Method 2 below:-

4.1 What is the four-step cycle:-

Step 1: Auspicious
Step 2: Auspicious
Step 3: Inauspicious
Step 4: Inauspicious

4.2 How to calculate under this method:

Step 1 is Auspicious
Step 2 is Auspicious
Step 3 is inauspicious
Step 4 is also inauspicious

4.3 Next 4 steps:-
=================
Step 5 is auspicious
Step 6 is auspicious
Step 7 is inauspicous
Step 8 is inauspicious

4.4 Next 4 steps:-
=================
Step 9 is auspicious
Step 10 is auspicious
Step 11 is inauspicous
Step 12 is inauspicious

4.5 Next 4 steps:-
=================
Step 13 is auspicious
Step 14 is auspicious
Step 16 is inauspicous
Step 17 is inauspicious etc...

4.6 One can do similar calculations for 17 or more steps.....

5. After finding out the numbers for both Methods (1 and 2) we now derive the following sets of steps:-

5.1 Under Method 1: The Three-Step Method:-

1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26

5.2 Under Method 2: The Four-Step Method:-

1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18, 21, 22, 25, 26

Thus we have to eliminate the following numbers which are considered inauspicious in either one of the above methods:-

Number 4 - inauspicious under method 2
Number 6 - inauspicious under method 2
Number 8 - inauspicious under method 2
Number 11 - inauspicious under method 2
Number 16 - inauspicious under method 2
Number 18 - inauspicious under method 1
Number 19 - inauspicous under method 2
Number 20 - inauspicous under method 2

5.3 Thus the final result are the following numbers:-

1,2, 5, 10, 13, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26 etc...

6. Steps Landing

Yes, the number of steps is important.

Each step including the steps at landing is included as a count.

Warmest Regards
Robert Lee
GEOMANCY.NET - Center for Applied Feng Shui Research

[myfs_128705]

Hi Mr. Lee,

A clarification on the steps counting after the landing, do you consider the landing the immediate wide space after the contiguous steps or is the landing considered thelast leveltill you reach themain floor?

When I asked my architech to come up with 10-steps for the main entrance, he counted 9 from sidewalk to porch then the 10th step from porch to foyer (same level as main house).

At the back of the house, I required 5 steps. The architech counted 3 steps from driveway to garden,after a 7 meter walk, +1 stepfrom garden to terrace, then +1 step from terrace to ground floor, a total of 5.

Are the computations correct? Or do we justcount the contiguous steps of the stairs?

I'm attaching the floor plan for your reference.

Thank you in advanced.

-Earl

[Cecil Lee]

1. Thank you for the layout plan. I have reviewed it and the good news is that: Yes, your architect interpreted correctly.

2. The 9 continous steps should be counted together. And a separate step i.e. step 10 should be counted separately.

3. In general, usually exterior steps are tiled and often, they are tiled using the same material. And when we step on them, they "flow-together".

4. Sometimes, we may not have a choice i.e. we cannot have two or one step but no choice to have three (inauspicious) steps. Here, we can have either :

4.1 : Two tiles share the same colour (material) while the third tile of a different material or just cement screeding. This can symbolically be considered as different counts i.e. two steps then one step.

5. So long as the step is not "continous" i.e. after a 7 meter walk, the next set of step(s) should be counted differently.

Quote:

Anonymous wrote:

Hi Mr. Lee,

A clarification on the steps counting after the landing, do you consider the landing the immediate wide space after the contiguous steps or is the landing considered thelast leveltill you reach themain floor?

When I asked my architech to come up with 10-steps for the main entrance, he counted 9 from sidewalk to porch then the 10th step from porch to foyer (same level as main house).

At the back of the house, I required 5 steps. The architech counted 3 steps from driveway to garden,after a 7 meter walk, +1 stepfrom garden to terrace, then +1 step from terrace to ground floor, a total of 5.

Are the computations correct? Or do we justcount the contiguous steps of the stairs?

I'm attaching the floor plan for your reference.

Thank you in advanced.

-Earl

[Cecil Lee]

Further to what I had mentioned:-

1. Please see attachment: Illustration showing how a THREE-STEPs staircase can be "broken-down" into a TWO-STEPs plus ONE-STEP staircase.

2. Where ONE-STEP and TWO-STEPs are considered auspicious while THREE-STEPs is consideredas "death-steps".

[Cecil Lee]

1. The idea, here is to use any combinations of ONE-STEP with TWO-STEPs.

2. In this illustration, Four Steps in-total is considered inauspicious. Thus we may consider "breaking" it down "mathematically using Para 1 above.

3. Please see attachment. To fully understand: 2 + 2 OR 1 + 1 + 2.

[myfs_128705]

Dear Mr. Lee,

Thank you very much for your clarification and advice.

I have learned a lot from your site andused it heavily to guide meduring the planning stage of my house.

Regards,

Earl