Moving into a new house is an activity that is significant enough for various Chinese metaphysics systems to set aside a dedicated section to.
A big reason for this is that by moving in, the energy of man is brought into play with reference to the cosmic trinity of heaven-earth-man.
Not only that.
With the entrance of man, the yang energy of life force acts as a catalyst for metaphysical engines to get started.
While people account for man luck and the property accounts for earth luck, the date and time accounts for heaven luck.
This is why the choosing of an auspicious day and time can be such a critical criteria for living in harmony with the energies. It’s a shame that this segment of the cosmic trinity does not garner as much attention to feng shui enthusiasts as it deserves.
Even though one can access the Chinese Almanac to find generic dates that are auspicious for property-related activities like moving in, groundbreaking and the start of renovations, those who are more engrossed into the finer details of date selection often prefer to evaluate dates using the Xuan Kong Da Gua (玄空大卦) system.
The Xuan Kong Da Gua (XKDG) method of date selection uses the bazi of selected days and times to match up with the elemental foundations of a property. This also implies that the Hsia calendar plays a primary role in the practice of XKDG.
For the date and time in question, we are particularly interested in the element number on the day pillar.
For example if the day pillar is 庚寅, then the element number is 3 as referenced from the XKDG table here.
For the property, or building, we are particularly interested in the sitting direction in terms of the degrees. Take note that different practitioners, especially at the grandmaster level, might have a different opinion on which reading to use. Some might use the facing direction or even main door direction.
For instance if a house is sitting on North2 359°, it would then have the element number of 1. Which is of water element.
In this case, a date with the element number 3 would not be suitable for such a house with number 1. This is because 3 is wood and 1 is water. If these two components are put together, then the date would be drawing on the property rather than feeding it with auspicious energy.
For a home with number 1, a more suitable date for moving in would be one with either the element numbers 1, 9, or 6.
Number 1 because it is of the same Gua number as the property. Number 9 because it exudes metal energy which helps the water-based property to grow, and it combines to the auspicious number 10. Number 6 because 1-6 is the hetu combination of water.
In view of the above, a date with the element number 9 would be the most ideal for residents to first move in.
In addition, 1 is an yin number while 9 is a yang number. This puts the 2 factors into a yin-yang balance.
For refinement, after creating a shortlist of suitable date to move in, homeowners can also sieve out date that clashes with their zodiac (grand duke), afflicted with the 3 killings, or dominated by the 5 yellow.
It’s worth noting that if the apparent ideal date clashes with the home owner’s personal grand duke, then it might be better to select the second best date if it can avoid these celestial clashes.