What you need
- A floor plan drawn roughly to scale (a printout or an image on screen).
- A compass reading of north, taken at the centre of the house.
- A ruler and a protractor — or Vastu software, which does the drawing for you.
Step 1 — Mark north on the plan
Stand near the centre of the house, away from metal, electrical equipment and cars, and take a compass reading. Take three readings from slightly different spots and use the average. Draw an arrow on the plan pointing to magnetic north as you measured it.
Rule of thumb: if two readings differ by more than about 5°, something metal is nearby — move and measure again.
Step 2 — Find the centre (Brahma Bindu)
Square or rectangular plan
Draw the two diagonals from corner to corner. Where they cross is the centre.
Irregular plan (L-shape, cuts, extensions)
Diagonals don’t work here. The usual method is to find the centre of area (centroid): split the plan into rectangles, find the centre of each, and take the average weighted by each rectangle’s area. Small projections such as a balcony or a bay window are usually ignored; large cuts and extensions are part of the shape and are also noted as features of the analysis.
Step 3 — Draw the 16 zones
From the centre, draw lines outwards every 22.5°. The first zone, North, is centred on your north arrow — so the first lines are drawn at 11.25° on either side of it. Going clockwise, the zones are:
N · NNE · NE · ENE · E · ESE · SE · SSE · S · SSW · SW · WSW · W · WNW · NW · NNW
Step 4 — Read what falls in each zone
List each room and the zone (or zones) it sits in. A kitchen in the South-East, for example, is ideal; a toilet in the North-East is a major dosha. Our 16 zones guide shows what every zone stands for and which rooms suit it.
Common mistakes
- Wrong north. Taking one reading next to a fridge or a car. Always take several readings.
- Wrong outline. Using the plot boundary when you meant to analyse the house — or the reverse.
- Diagonals on an irregular plan. They give the wrong centre for L-shaped or cut plans.
- Starting the first line at north. North is the middle of the North zone, not its edge.
- Ignoring rooms that cross two zones. Note both zones.
Do it in minutes instead
In Vastu Software you import the plan, set north once, and the software finds the Brahma Bindu and draws 8, 16, 32 or 64 zones — then lists every room by zone. For a quick check of a single room, try our free Vastu tools.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use the plot or the built-up area?
Use the outline of the house or flat you are analysing — the built-up area. For a plot analysis, use the plot boundary.
What about cut or extended corners?
Small extensions are usually ignored when finding the centre; large cuts and extensions change it and are themselves part of the analysis.
Is a phone compass accurate enough?
For a first check, yes — if you take several readings away from metal and electrical objects.
Vastu is traditional guidance about spaces. It is not medical, legal or financial advice, and results can vary between schools of Vastu.