New to me - vintage geomantic compass and perpetual calendar

nice but not great workmanship that could be authentic

About 5” in diameter

Ideas

Mo

 

Authentic what?

 

Leaving the “what” for others, authentic means the piece may have been made to be used and not just to be admired

 

It's a Feng Shui compass, is it not?

Why couldn't it be authentic, whether used or unused? It just looks a little beat up, is all...

For those not familiar with these:

True Feng Shui always requires a compass. Without a compass, one is only practicing interior design and personal preference. A Feng Shui analysis is very specific: There are eight directions, North, South, East, West, Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, and Southwest. On a Lo Pan, or Chinese Compass, these directions are divided into three different sections. There are 24 divisions on a Lo Pan of 15 degrees each. Each division's orientation can result in a different house in terms of its prosperity. A few degrees one way or another is a completely different house type.

There are many different levels of Chinese Feng Shui. The commonly used teachings include:
Form - The Form method only addresses the external or internal environments.
Eight House (Also known as the East/West teachings) - This method addresses the basic orientations and how best to align one's self to the favorable directions.
Xuan Kong (Also known as Flying Star Method) - This is a time specific Feng Shui which looks at orientations and time factors.

One of the first things newcomers will notice is that the arrow or red mark on the compass needle points South and not North, which is correct for Chinese Feng Shui Compasses. On a Lo Pan, the arrow or red marking (red for fire) always points South, the other side of the needle points North.

from: https://www.stanleylondon.com/chinese-feng-shui-compass.html

 

Feng Shui is a form of magic. Magic does not work. Therefore Feng Shui does not work. It is just one of the many ways people extract money from gullible people by promoting nonsense.
This does not mean the item does not have some modest value as a curio. Now you know what it is you should be ablke to find comparable items

 

Many people use a Lo Pan (Feng Shui compass). Also in the West.
Feng Shui is not a form of magic, it is part of the Chinese philosophy of balance and harmony. It includes the famous concepts of Yin and Yang.
Feng Shui is related to other Asian philosophies of balance, particularly those involving dualism. The origin of these philosophies lies in ancient Persia, and through Persian Zoroastrianism it also made its way into Judaism and Christianity.

 

Feng Shui is just an ancient way of understanding and explaining the world and the cosmos, just like any philosophy or religion.
Can philosophies and religions do harm? Yes they can, because there are always people involved, the most untrustworthy part of creation.
But philosophies and religions also mean a lot to many people, which is why I for one would never dismiss them. And certainly not religions or philosophies that are part of another culture than my own.

 

part of the Chinese philosophy of balance and harmony.

But philosophies and religions also mean a lot to many people, which is why I for one would never dismiss them. And certainly not religions or philosophies that are part of another culture than my own.

Without empirical evidence of their effectiveness it is all just woo. There are plenty of things in Western culture that are jsut as silly and baseless, like the world of conspiracy theory for example. Ancient wisdom is isusually ancient ignorance articulated.

 

Empiricism is also a philosophy, even though it has very few followers nowadays.
No one needs empirical proof of effectiveness of philosophy or of religion, that is not the point of either.

No one said anything about ancient wisdom.

 

This is interesting....please keep going...

 

It seems that would mean first explaining what philosophy and religion actually are. My philosophy and theology lectures are in a very distant past, where I prefer to keep them. I do think we can be respectful about other peoples beliefs. Besides, we have Chinese forum members, I don't see the point of hurting their feelings.

 

I'm not wanting to hurt anyone......but I find the back and forth to be revealing..

Sorry if I sounded crass..

 

I know you didn't.

You didn't.
It seems to me af's idea of what Feng Shui and Eastern philosophy entail is influenced by the popular Western perception of those philosophies. Popular Western perceptions of non-Western philosophies are usually hardly related to what those philosophies actually are. You probably know that in regard to NA beliefs v people's perceptions of them.