Before Lichun 2027: Your 20-Minute Setup Checklist

The 2027 chart takes effect at Lichun — 4 February 2027. Everything below should be done by 3 February 2027. After that, you maintain, not install. This page gives you two versions: the 20-minute five that covers 80% of the year, and the full weekend checklist for those who want the complete setup.

The chart behind the checklist: Center 9 Purple, Southeast 8 White, Northwest 1 White, Southwest 6 White + Tai Sui, South 4 Green, North 5 Yellow, West 2 Black + San Sha, Northeast 3 Jade + Year Breaker, East 7 Red. The full map is on the 2027 flying stars chart, and the one-page version is the do's and don'ts checklist.

If you only have 20 minutes

Do these five things, in order. They are the difference between a tuned year and an untuned one.

1. Hang a metal wind chime in the North. The 5 Yellow — the year's heaviest star. Full guide: North 5 Yellow.
2. Hang a metal wind chime in the West. The 2 Black — the health star. Full guide: West 2 Black.
3. Put a warm red lamp in the Northeast. The 3 Jade + Year Breaker — the argument corner. Full guide: Year Breaker.
4. Make sure the Southeast is bright and tidy. The 8 White — the wealth star. Full guide: Southeast wealth corner.
5. Confirm nothing is scheduled for renovation in the North, Northeast, West, or Southwest. The four no-go zones. If a contractor is booked, reschedule.

That is it. If you stop here, you have done the year's essential work. Everything below is the full version — better, but not required.

The full weekend checklist

Work through this in order. Most people finish in a weekend. Tick each item as you go.

• Map your 9 sectors. Phone compass, center of your home, twenty minutes. Write each room's sector on a sticky note and put it on the room's door — you will thank yourself later. Small home? See the apartments guide for the small-plan method.
• Place the metal cures. North (5 Yellow) and West (2 Black): one 6-rod hollow metal wind chime or one salt-water cure with 6 coins per sector. Hang or place, done. The shopping details are on the cures shopping list.
• Set the Northeast. Warm red lamp or red-shaded lamp, soft furnishings, volume down. Year Breaker + 3 Jade means this is the year's calmest room project.
• Quiet the East. Blue or black accents, designated spots for keys and valuables, order on surfaces. Full guide: East 7 Red.
• Honor the Southwest. Tidy, dignified, gentle earth and metal tones. No tools, no drilling. If your desk is here, turn it so your back is to the Southwest. Full guide: Tai Sui.
• Activate the Southeast. Bright warm light, immaculate surfaces, red or orange accents. The wealth corner should look alive.
• Light up the Center. Brightest practical lighting, open and uncluttered, something worth celebrating visible. A ceiling light on a timer, so it is never dark, is the single best center enhancer. Full guide: Center 9 Purple.
• Set up the Northwest desk. If you work from home, this is your 2027 command post: clear, calm, blue and metallic accents. Full guide: Northwest career sector.
• Warm the South. Blue accents, a healthy plant, your creative tools ready. Full guide: South 4 Green.
• Walk the no-go zones. North, Northeast, West, Southwest — confirm nothing is scheduled there: no contractor visits, no DIY projects, no "we'll finally fix that wall" plans. Check the household calendar, not just your memory.

What to buy (before you start)

Buy these before the weekend, so placing day is placing, not shopping. The complete list with alternatives is on the shopping list page; the short version:

• 6-rod hollow metal wind chime × 2 (North and West)
• Glass or ceramic bowl + sea salt + 6 metal coins (alternative to a chime, for either sector)
• Warm red lamp or red-shaded table lamp (Northeast)
• Blue or navy cushions or throw (East)
• Bright warm-white bulbs for the Center and Southeast, if yours are dim
• One healthy green plant (South, if you don't have one)

Total cost for most homes: less than a takeaway dinner. Buy the chimes first — they are the only item doing elemental work that nothing else in your home already does. Check what you already own before you buy: a previous year's chime with intact rods, white bedding for the North and West, a blue throw that can move to the East, a plant that can move to the South.

What if you miss Lichun?

Set up anyway. Late is better than never: the cures and sector arrangements work from the day you place them. The Lichun deadline exists so the layout is ready when the year starts, not because late placement is forbidden. If you discover this page in March, do the 20-minute five that weekend and the full checklist when you have a free Saturday. Do not wait until next Lichun — that is a year of an untuned home for no reason.

The same applies if you only discover one sector's problem mid-year — a North renovation booked for June, a West bedroom that has been sleeping badly. Fix the sector when you notice it. The chart is a year-long map, not a one-day ritual.

If you move mid-year

Moving house in 2027? The chart follows the year, not the building — so your new home gets the same annual stars from your move-in date. Do the 5-minute sector mapping on day one, place the metal cures in the new North and West first, and handle the rest within the week. Moving and furniture-arranging don't count as "disturbance," so settle in normally.

One timing tip: if you can choose your moving date, avoid starting the move with heavy drilling or wall-mounting in the North, Northeast, West, or Southwest. Unpack first, drill later — and "later" means in a safe sector. The same rule covers the office version: see the offices and shops guide for workplace moves and refits.

When to refresh cures (the year's maintenance rhythm)

• Salt-water cures: check the water every few months; top up or replace if it is grimy. Replace the whole setup once a year — next Lichun is the natural moment.
• Wind chimes: dust them when you dust everything else. If a rod cracks or the chime sounds dead, replace it.
• Plants: the usual — water, prune, replace the dead without guilt. A dead plant in any sector is worse than no plant.
• Lights: replace bulbs as they burn out. A dark wealth corner or a dark center helps nobody.
• Seasonal check-in: once a season, walk the house with the one-page checklist — cures still in place, Center still bright, nothing newly scheduled in a no-go zone. Ten minutes, four times a year.

That is it. Set it up by 3 February, glance at the seasonal check-ins, and live your year. The checklist has done its job the moment you stop thinking about it — a tuned home should feel like nothing at all, just a house that is bright where it should be bright, calm where it should be calm, and quietly ready for whatever 2027 brings.