Ati marma are the nine most sensitive points of the Vastu grid, formed where six devta-to-devta lines cross. In a regular, proportionate plot almost all of them fall in the Brahmasthan, and any piercing, load or dirt on them blocks the energy of the whole plot and brings severe, lasting trouble, above all to the owner (griha swami).
The centre, zoning, devtas and marma are taken on every area the residents can access and use, such as parking, a small garden, terraces and balconies. Only when a large part of the land lies unused is the constructed area zoned on its own.
The corners of a plot are its biggest sources of energy, and energy flows diagonally from corner to corner through the brahmasthan like a highway. Piling or filling a huge mass over a whole corner zone creates a serious defect.
Whenever any item, such as a pyramid, is put into the ground for vastu treatment, yellow mustard is added with it as the strongest catalyst. It must be buried deep enough and kept away from moisture, or it sprouts and cracks the floor.
The space element sits at the centre, the Brahmasthan; its shape is shapeless or round, its colour black or colourless, and any vacant, open-to-sky area represents it.
In Vedic vastu the water element runs from NNE through NE to East, fire from East to about South, earth from South to before West, and air from West to before North. The space element sits in the Brahmasthan.
Rules to avoid in kitchen design: no south-facing door, no doorless or open kitchen, no central platform, no mirrors or water artifacts, no toilet on any of its six sides and no well, borewell or tank above or below.
Stairs are excellent in SSW (the heavier the better) and good to very good in South, SW, WSW, West, WNW and NW; they must never be in the NE zone, the Brahmasthan, the North or right in front of the main door.
The drawing room is the place for exchanging ideas, so its furniture is set in a square or rectangle, the person putting forward his views faces North, the colours are light and windows give cross-ventilation.
Four positions are forbidden for a toilet whatever the zone: the Brahmasthan, directly opposite the main door, directly opposite the kitchen and under the staircase.
A solid wooden false ceiling without gaps is the best; a glass ceiling is acceptable if fully sealed, while fibre, steel or other metal, synthetic fabric and PVC ceilings disturb energy.
A ceiling's shape brings its element into the room, so ceilings are shaped by zone: half-moon in water zones, a round dome at the Brahmasthan, a rectangle in South and West bedrooms, and never a triangle.
Furniture gives the best results when it is made of good wood, upholstered in cloth and arranged in the shape of the element of its zone.
Solid wooden flooring is the best, ceramic tiles suit business, vitrified tiles are acceptable, and laminate (melamine, a petroleum by-product) should be avoided.
Tulsi senses negative energy entering the home and drives it away, and the air rising from it cleans the whole house, so every home must have one, especially in the North-East and the brahmasthan.
A mirror deepens the surface it is on: on a wall it makes the space look extended, on the floor it creates a pit. Highly reflective tiles, marble or stone must not be used in the South to West zones or the Brahmasthan.