Feng Shui
9 Feng Shui is the Chinese art of mystical placement, using locations and orientations to create harmonious and even advantageous arrangement within our lives. 2By having certain items placed in particular points of our homes and workplaces, we can effect a significant impact on the way the universe treats us.
3This is a passive technique that can help improve your life. 41t s a quiet process that slowly adds influence in the background without any additional work. 5Once you ve oriented the right elements in your home, you can see for yourself whether there are noticeable changes in your circumstances.
Qi
6Before you can understand the nature and practices of feng shui (pronounced rung sh-wei), you have to know about qi (pronounced chee), discussed briefly with respect to Chinese traditional religions. 7The energy force known as qi is at the very foundation of feng shui. 8Qi flows through all things and it binds the universe together. 9A very contemporary way of looking at qi would be the concept of the Force used in the Star Wars fictional universe. 1OOnce you see that there is flowing energy between all things around us, you can understand that freeing that flow can be beneficial to our lives. 11And conversely, blocking the movement of qi is going to have negative repercussions.
12The idea of qi is found in many aspects of Eastern philosophy, not just feng shui. 131t is a major part of many disciplines of martial arts and traditional Chinese healing techniques.
14After qi, you have to know the significance of the elements and directions that are important aspects of feng shui.
The Five Elements
15Yes, there are rive fundamental elements in Chinese philosophy rather than the four we are used to in the West. 16Their placement within your space is the main factor in feng shui, so you will need to be familiar with them and their relevance. 17Each one is connected with a direction, colour, season, animal, and area of your life. 18Since feng shui is mostly about location and placement, the directions are the most important aspect of the elements.
1. Water – north, blue, winter, snake, travel and journeys
2. Wood – east and south-east, green, spring, dragon, family and blessings
3. Fire – south, red, summer, phoenix, fame and recognition
4. Earth – north-east and south-west (and centre), browns, between seasons, ox, relationships
5. Metal – west and north-west, white or silver, autumn, tiger, children and nurturing
19The elements can be thought of as a natural cycle that holds them in order (as listed above). 2OEach one is seen to beget the next, as follows:
21Water nourishes a tree (wood), which creates fuel for fire. 22Ashes from burning return back to the earth, which is the source of metal. 23Cold metal causes water to condense on its surface to complete the cycle.
24This is a circular cycle of creation, but there is a relationship of destruction between each element as well:
i. Fire destroys metal
ii. Metal destroys wood
iii. Wood destroys earth
iv. Earth destroys water
v. Water destroys fire
25So there is going to be conflict if one element is located in the wrong place or in conjunction with other elements that are not complimentary. 26If you are looking to create additional energy from the water element, you definitely want to keep anything related to earth away.
27You don t necessarily require the actual elements, though it is best if you can. 28The section below on other symbols lists some alternatives if you don t have the actual elements.
The Eight Directions
29The directions used in feng shui are the same as any other, with the four cardinal directions of north, south, east and west, and then the intercardinal points to make a total of eight. 30The centre is also important though it's not really considered to be a direction. 31Each one holds its own influence over your life.
1. North – career, employment, livelihood
2. South – fame, recognition, ambition
3. East – health, well-being
4. West – children, heirs, descendants
5. South-west – romance, marriage, love
6. North-west – patriarch, bread winner
7. South-east – wealth, abundance, money
8. North-east – knowledge, wisdom, education
Centre – general luck for the household
32The items located in these sections of your living (or working) space will impact these areas of your lives, and this is where the concept of placement comes in.
Other Symbols
33To add a further layer of meaning to all these ideas, there are more items that represent universal forces that you can incorporate into your feng shui arrangements. 34Placing these objects in the right location will create the right mix of forces:
i. Pagodas – education
ii. Abacus – career
iii. Bells or chimes – general good luck
iv. Ducks – love or marriage v. Globes – element of earth
vi. Mirrors – element of water
vii. Triangles – fire
viii. Circles – metal
ix. Squares – earth
x. Rectangles – wood
xi. Wavy lines – water
Your Bagua
35This is where you can start to utilise feng shui principles in your own space. 36A bagua is a map of the directions within your home (or whatever space you are working with).
37Use a compass to accurately determine the cardinal points in your space. 381t s important to be accurate and not just guess. 39Each direction takes up 45 degrees, with 22.5 degrees on either side of them for the intercardinal points. 401n other words, east isn t just a single point in your home. 411t creates a section that is 22.5 degrees on either side of true east.
42Make a drawing of your living space, including the doors and walls. 431t doesn t have to be perfectly to scale, but try to get it as close as you can. 44Then use your compass to start marking off directions. 45You ll end up with an eight-piece pie over the drawing of your home, which will give you a good idea of how to maximise the use of each direction in various rooms.
46Note that some schools of feng shui operate a little differently and do not use compass readings in this way. 47An alternative approach is to take the location of your front door (where qi enters your home) as the north and orient the rest of the map based on that. 48Further study and a little personal experimentation can help you determine which approach works best for you.
How to Implement These Ideas
49The basic principle of feng shui is to place items in your space that will harmonise with the natural energies to produce the wanted effects. 50For example, if you want to improve your employment prospects, you would look to the north. 51Since it has the element of water, you should add more water features to the northern part of your home. 52You could also add images of a snake, mirrors or anything that s the colour blue.
53Another scenario might be a desire to have children. 541n this case, add more metal in the west along with tigers and objects made of silver.
55Conversely, you may also find that the improper placement of items in your home may be getting in the way of your goals. 56To use the above example, regarding kids, make sure to keep items of fire away from the west, as fire destroys metal, which makes it a destructive force in this location.
57This is just an overview of the subject to get you familiar with the concepts and how you can apply them to your life. 58Further research will be necessary to truly master the art of feng shui.