The time period of a property for Feng Shui purposes is the 20 year period during which it was constructed or underwent a major change. The periods are numbered 1 to 9 and then repeat in a 180 year cycle.

The period changes on the Chinese new year's day, in early February, for any given period. We are currently in period 8 which started on February 4th 2004 and ends on February 3rd 2024.

The chart below shows the last 9 periods and their changeover dates.

To find the time period of your property you need to know the construction date, then read the period number from the above table. If your propery was constructed earlier than 1864, just work backwards subtracting 20 years for each period, ie 1844-1864 is 9, 1824-1844 is 8 etc.

If your property has undergone a major renovation or alteration, especially if the roof has been removed for any reason, then it is possible that the time period may be reset to that date. There are many rules governing this, but a redecoration or simply the move-in date rarely has enough impact. Often it is necessary to draw charts for the possible periods and compare the findings.

Possible reasons for a period reset include removal of the roof for a significant time, building a new extension to the building - especially if it is at the front or is larger than the original property, a complete gutting of the internal fixtures such as plumbing, wiring, walls, floors, ceilings etc. In the case of an enlargement of the building there must be a physical connection between the parts, otherwise the new part will simply have its own chart with the relevant period.

For a business unit, a change of use will often create a new period.

The period number is the starting point in drawing up a Flying Star chart for a building and is indispensable. If the property is old this can be difficult to find out, but local records offices or neighbours can usually help.