1.      Earth disturbances such as digging the ground for
trees planting, creating ponds and wells, road construction,
renovating driveways or any form of building construction.    
 
2.      Renovation and repairs such as drilling and hammering
of the walls. Do not renovate the location of the Three
Killings. Should you need to do urgent repair to this location
of the house, you should consult a professional consultant who
will be able to provide you with a good month or day for it.  
 
 
3.      Loud music, or loud noises from screaming, shouting
and slamming of doors.  
 
 
Where are the annual locations of the Three Killings?
 
The Three Killings is a direct translation from the Chinese
San Sha . Although the concept of The Three Killings is
associated with three earthly branches, its annual position is
defined according to one of the four cardinal compass
directions, namely North (water), East (wood), South (fire)
and West (metal).  
  
 
Tracing the Three Killings
 
This is quite easy once you have the concept in your mind.   
 
The twelve earthly branches are matched into four groups of
harmonious alliances (trinities). In order to determine the
location of The Three Killings, we must firstly explore the
trinities of the earthly branches and their phases. The four
trinities are:   
 
Rat, Dragon and Monkey (Water phase) to the North  
 
Rabbit, Sheep and Boar (Wood phase) to the East  
 
Horse, Dog and Tiger (Fire phase) to the South  
 
Rooster, Ox and Snake (Metal phase) to the West    
 
These earthly branches are not The Three Killings but merely
indicate the position of The Three Killings. The Three
Killings sits in the opposite cardinal direction (spanning 75
degrees of that direction) of the phase represented by the
year s earthly branch. For example:  
 
2005 earthly branch is the Rooster. Rooster belongs to the
trinity of the metal phase to the west. As such, The Three
Killings sits in the east.  
 
   
Another example; 2009 would be the year of the Ox. The Ox
belongs to the trinity of the metal phase to the west. This
means The Three Killings will be located in the east in 2009
as it will in 2013.   
 
The caution attached to the Three Killings is to avoid
disturbing the ground where the Three Killings sits. One
should pay attention to this especially if the house facing
also faces this same direction.  If the location of the Three
Killings is disturbed by noisy renovation or digging
activities, there may be undesirable consequences for the
residents involving illnesses, loss of wealth, accidents,
injuries, serious arguments and, in extreme cases, separations
and fatalities.   
 
The opening and closing of a frequently used doors (front,
back or side doors) that face The Three Killings  direction in
any given year are considered a disturbance too. Care should
be taken to avoid slamming of doors especially with youngsters
around the house.    
 
In Chinese tradition, Chi Lin dragons were placed in the
location of the Three Killings supposedly to appease the
affliction but it serves more to mark the location as a
reminder to the occupant of the afflicted area during the
year. As long as the afflicted area is not disturbed, there
should be no real cause for concern.    
 
What if the area is disturbed with building projects by the
town council or your neighbour?   
 
Well, the traditional cure is to place metal between your
property and the area of disturbance. This could be any metal
object, preferably still objects (e.g. no metal wind chime).
There is another traditional school of thought that advises
placing a symbolic statue of deities. One famously used deity
is a bronze  Kwan Gong  (God of War).   
 
Feng Shui also advocates that you should never sit with your
back to The Three Killings. Instead you should sit facing it.
This refers mainly to if you are moving your desk around
during the year.    
 
What about sofas?  
 
This reminds me of the many emails I have received asking
about the positioning of sofas in the living room. Although
the advice is that you should not sit with your back to the
Three Killings, this refers not so much to isolated incidents.
It is prolonged periods of time spent in this position that
affect you more.    
 
For example, if you happen to move your office desk to face
west this year 2005, with your back to The Three Killings in
the east, this could affect your performance at work or your
relationships with people with whom you work in the office.
These effects include poor performance, obstacles, lack of
focus or loss of concentration. There may also be gossip and
back stabbing.    
 
However, if you are watching TV with your back to The Three
Killings, no harm will come to you provided you have not
disturbed the ground where the Three Killings is located.
Disturbing the grounds of the Three Killings is the main cause
for concern. To antagonise the Three Killings is asking for
big trouble. Be very careful.