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I
have read lots of Feng Shui books and am totally confused. Some say I should
overlay the Bagua onto my floorplan and use my front door and others say I should
use the compass directions, irrespective of where my door is. Which is correct?
What
are traditional Chinese Feng Shui cures?
I've heard about the Five Elements, but what are they?
Why do you use fish tanks and water features in Feng Shui?
I have a Bagua mirror and would like to know where I should
put it?
I understand that plants are wood, but where should I put
them?
Are
wind chimes part of Feng Shui?
I live in an apartment on the first floor. I have one door that
enters through the hallway and one that enters from the outside. Which door
is The Front Door?
I have read in a Feng Shui book that the number 4 means bad
luck or death. Will the figure 4 in our address have any bad influence on us?
Does Feng Shui have anything to do with religion?
I
have read lots of Feng Shui books and am totally confused. Some say I should
overlay the Bagua onto my floorplan and use my front door and others say I should
use the compass directions, irrespective of where my door is. Which is correct?
The
school of Feng Shui that you are referring to is Black Hat Feng Shui, not traditional
or classical Feng Shui. Black Hat is a very recent invention loosely based on
traditional Feng Shui, although very much simplified. The bagua is placed over
a plan of the building, with the main door as the primary focus. Sometimes,
the books use the compass directions together with the bagua and may even call
it traditional Feng Shui or Compass School Feng Shui. However, this method is
still very far removed from traditional Chinese Feng Shui because it does not
take into account the specific type of qi or the effects of time on the building.
After all, you are not the same as you were ten years ago, why should the home
you live in be any different?
Traditional Feng Shui Masters are more interested in the type of qi that enters
a site and to do this they use more than just the simple bagua. In addition,
a Feng Shui Master will also use Chinese Astrology in conjunction with Feng
Shui because using Feng Shui in a building without finding out the energy of
the people who live or work there, is meaningless. We suggest that if you are
concerned about the Feng Shui of your home, you either take the time to learn
it yourself or employ someone qualified in traditional Feng Shui to conduct
a Feng Shui audit on your house.
What
are traditional Chinese Feng Shui cures?
All
traditional Feng Shui cures relate to the Five Elements and Feng Shui masters
of old would have used colour, shape, sound, natural materials and of course,
water. Modern
"cures" such as money toads, resin tortoises, wind chimes, coins,
balls and Buddhas are not used by traditional Feng Shui consultants. If you
like to have these things in your home, that's fine, but they are nothing to
do with traditional Chinese Feng Shui and would not be recommended by a traditional
consultant. It is for this reason that clients of traditional Feng Shui consultants
are often pleasantly surprised when the remedies recommended are practical and
straightforward, perhaps moving items of furniture or introducing certain colours
and shapes into specific areas.
I've heard about the Five elements, but what are they?
The five elements consist of wood, fire, earth, metal
and water and together with yin and yang, form the basis of I Ching divination,
Chinese Astrology, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Feng Shui, although there
are other considerations used in Feng Shui, such as the external environment,
also known as "forms". The five elements are considered the fundamental
components of the universe and all life.
The
term "Five Elements" used in the west implies that like the four elements
of earth, air, fire and water, the energy is fixed and inactive. However, the
Chinese five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water are merely an attempt
to describe the nature of the five types of energy and therefore the names given
to them should not always be taken literally.
In
Chinese, the five elements are known as "Wu Xing" or Five Transformational
Phases and this more accurately describes the flow of energy or chi. Energy
cannot be created from nothing but can only be transformed from one form to
another. We can perhaps best explain this as being like the seasons, winter
giving way to spring, spring giving way to summer, naturally changing over time,
a never-ending cycle of nature, a smooth and harmonious transition from one
phase to another. The following is a brief outline of the five elements and
what each represents;
Wood
Wood energy represents nourishment, flexibility and
growth and therefore Spring. Wood chi is expansive and its colours are greens
and light blues. Shapes associated with it are tall and narrow.
Fire
Fire represents heat, light and summer. It is the most
yang and its motion is upwards. Fire colours are red, purple, pink and peach
and its shape is triangular.
Earth
Earth is the symbol of stability, gravity and grounding
. Its motion is to rotate. Colours associated with it are yellow, cream, beige,
terracotta and stone, shapes are wide and squat.
Metal
Metal Qi is cutting, controlling and cold. It is associated
with autumn and its motion is condensing and consolidating, therefore its shape
is circular or domed. Its colours are white and all metallic colours such as
gold, silver and brass.
Water
Water is the source of all life on earth. Water chi is
the most yin; deep, quiet and cold, representing the resting time of winter.
Its motion is descending and colours include dark blue and black. Shapes are
wavy and flowing .
Water cures can be in the form of colour and shape or by the use of real, flowing
water in fish tanks or water features.
Why
do you use fish tanks and water features in Feng Shui?
Aquariums are widely used in Feng Shui. You may read in
popular Feng Shui books that by placing six red fish and a single black one
in a fish tank, bad energy or "sha qi" will be absorbed and that the
poor black fish will need to be replaced frequently as it is he who will always
die! This is not correct and has come about because the combination of the numbers
one and six has a special significance in Feng Shui.
We use aquariums in Feng Shui because we want to place water in certain parts
of the building. Qi is said to "ride with the wind and is dispersed, while
it is retained on encounter with water". This ancient Feng Shui saying
means that wherever water is placed, there is an interaction between the the
air (or wind) and water and energy is released. The fish are merely used to
keep the water moving, as stagnant water is particularly unhealthy.
Water features are used for the same reason
as fish tanks; to have a body of flowing water in order to activate and harness
"sheng qi". Water is one of the most potent of Feng Shui cures and
care should always be taken when placing water in and around the home. If you
notice detrimental effects in your home after installing a fountain or aquarium,
it is probably best turned off!
I
have a Bagua mirror and would like to know where on the front of my house I
should put it?
Mirrors are of the metal element and are used by traditional
Feng Shui consultants to introduce this element to an area. They were never
traditionally used to deal with the effects of having an unsightly feature or
construction nearby and the use of a bagua mirror on a front door to repel "sha
qi" is a very recent invention. Quite simply, this does not work, as the
greater part of any negative energy will still attack the door. In
addition, putting mirrors on the outside of toilet and bathroom doors looks
rather strange and should be avoided.
I
understand that plants are wood, but where should I put them?
House plants are frequently used as a cure in Feng
Shui for one of two reasons. Firstly, a plant has the elements of wood and earth,
the plant being wood and the soil being of the earth element. Secondly a large
plant is sometimes used to represent a "mountain" and is used to aid
health and well-being or cure bad areas. Where they should be placed in a home
is dependent upon the energy of your home.
Are
wind chimes part of Feng Shui?
Wind Chimes are also a recent addition to our homes and
gardens and can be used as "metal cures" as it the sound of the chime
that can be used as a remedy, although they are not a necessary Feng Shui recommendation;
other, less intrusive metal elements can be added. Care must also be taken when
putting up wind chimes, as placing them together with certain energies can create
a particularly undesirable combination of energies.
I
live in an apartment on the first floor. I have one door that enters through
the hallway and one that enters from the outside. Which door is The Front Door?
Feng Shui deals with qi, the quality of that qi and how it arrives at a site.
When a main door is shut, which it is most of the time, it is just the same
as a wall - no qi can enter. We are more interested in the type of qi that enters
a site. Traditional practitioners first determine which is the most yang side
of the building or in your case, apartment. This we call the "facing"
direction. The facing of a house in basic Feng Shui is determined by the landscape.
In towns and cities this would be roads and in the countryside, it would be
hills and watercourses. This can be difficult to decide upon, as there are many
factors involved but generally, it is the side of the building that admits the
most light. So,
where the door is sited is not the primary focus for traditional Feng Shui practitioners.
I
have read in a Feng Shui book that the number 4 means bad luck or death. Will
the figure 4 in our address have any bad influence on us?
The
Chinese believe that the number four is bad because it sounds the same as death,
but this is just a superstition, similar perhaps to the western superstition
of Friday the 13th. Classical Feng Shui deals with Forms (Mountains and Water
in the correct direction) and the influence of time. Having a door number 4
will not do any harm to you and your family. True Feng Shui is that which can
be applied everywhere on our planet, irrespective of place, culture, superstition
and language.
Does
Feng Shui have anything to do with religion?
Feng
Shui is a natural science and requires no belief structure. It is not religious
in anyway.
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