The problem with simply facing south The sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. your left and west on your right. Wood can still arise on the left and Metal descend on the right. If you face south in Australia, east is still on But something important has changed. In China, south is equatorward and therefore toward greater solar warmth, while north is poleward and toward greater cold. In Australia, this is reversed. North is equatorward and warmer; south is poleward and colder.  So if an Australian practitioner simply faces south and copies the traditional Chinese directional diagram, Fire points toward the colder poleward direction and Water toward the warmer equatorward direction. Something no longer fits. What is the solution?