Editing Geomancy (section)

===Indian Vastu shastra===
{{main|Vastu shastra}}
{{see also|Vashtu}}
[[Vastu shastra]] is a traditional Indian system of architecture<ref>{{cite book|last1=Quack|first1=Johannes|title=Disenchanting India: Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press |page=119 |isbn=9780199812608|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TNbxUwhS5RUC&pg=PA119|access-date=17 August 2015}}</ref> which literally translates to "science of architecture".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Narlikar|first1=Jayant V.|editor1-last=Percy|editor1-first=John|editor2-last=Pasachoff|editor2-first=Jay|title=Teaching and Learning Astronomy: Effective Strategies for Educators Worldwide|date=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=165|chapter=Astronomy, pseudoscience and rational thinking}}</ref> These are texts found on the Indian subcontinent that describe principles of design, layout, measurements, ground preparation, space arrangement, and spatial geometry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vastukarta.com/principles_of_vastu.php|title=GOLDEN PRINCIPLES OF VASTU SHASTRA Vastukarta|website=vastukarta.com|access-date=2016-05-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405212738/http://www.vastukarta.com/principles_of_vastu.php|archive-date=2016-04-05|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=pka>Acharya P.K. (1946), [https://archive.org/stream/encyclopaediaofh07achauoft#page/n9/mode/2up An Encyclopedia of Hindu Architecture], Oxford University Press</ref> Vastu Shastras incorporate traditional Hindu and in some cases Buddhist beliefs.<ref>{{cite book|title=Vastushastra|first=Vijaya |last=Kumar|publisher=New Dawn/Sterling|year=2002|isbn=978-81-207-2199-9|page= 5}}</ref> The designs are intended to integrate architecture with nature, the relative functions of various parts of the structure, and ancient beliefs utilizing geometric patterns ([[yantra]]), symmetry, and [[Direction (geometry, geography)|directional]] alignments.<ref name=stellakramrisch76>Stella Kramrisch (1976), The Hindu Temple Volume 1 & 2, {{ISBN|81-208-0223-3}}</ref><ref name=vsgt2>{{cite book|last1=Vibhuti Sachdev, Giles Tillotson|title=Building Jaipur: The Making of an Indian City|url=https://archive.org/details/buildingjaipurma00sach_849|url-access=limited|date=2004|isbn=978-1861891372|pages=[https://archive.org/details/buildingjaipurma00sach_849/page/n156 155]–160}}</ref>

Vastu Shastra are the textual part of ''Vastu Vidya'', the latter being the broader knowledge about architecture and design theories from ancient India.<ref name=vsgt1>{{cite book|last1=Vibhuti Sachdev, Giles Tillotson|title=Building Jaipur: The Making of an Indian City|url=https://archive.org/details/buildingjaipurma00sach_849|url-access=limited|date=2004|isbn=978-1861891372|page=[https://archive.org/details/buildingjaipurma00sach_849/page/n148 147]}}</ref> Vastu Vidya knowledge is a collection of ideas and concepts, with or without the support of layout diagrams.  These ideas and concepts do not follow rigid rules but rather are models for the organization of space and form within a building or collection of buildings, based on their functions in relation to each other, their usage and to the overall fabric of the Vastu.<ref name=vsgt1/> Ancient Vastu Shastra principles include those for the design of ''Mandir'' ([[Hindu temple]]s),<ref>George Michell (1988), The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms, University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|978-0226532301}}, pp 21–22</ref> and the principles for the design and layout of houses, towns, cities, gardens, roads, water works, shops and other public areas.<ref name=pka/><ref name="GD Vasudev 2001 pp 74-92">GD Vasudev (2001), Vastu, Motilal Banarsidas, {{ISBN|81-208-1605-6}}, pp 74–92</ref><ref name="Sherri Silverman 2007">Sherri Silverman (2007), Vastu: Transcendental Home Design in Harmony with Nature, Gibbs Smith, Utah, {{ISBN|978-1423601326}}</ref>