Feng Shui

New Year is a good time to assess how the Feng Shui of your home has affected your life. Maybe you’ve had a consultation during the year, or you’ve been reading some Feng Shui books and started to apply the techniques to your own home or business.

Feng Shui can take up to three months to take effect. This is evidenced by an old Feng Shui master’s tale; he is Master Shen Zhu Reng and he lived in the Ching Dynasty, about 200 years ago.

Master Shen is of the Xuan Kong lineage (that is, the time-space school of Feng Shui that considers the space in which we live, and also the time Period in which we live there). This is an holistic school of Feng Shui, just as we change, time changes, so our building�s Feng Shui changes as well.

One of the branches of the Xuan Kong school is the famous Flying Stars School (Fei Xing Pai).

Master Shen first studied the San He (3 Combinations) methods of Feng Shui (not part of the Xuan Kong School). In fact he spent 10 years of his life studying this school; at the end of which he declared that the San Yuan Jiu Yun (Three Cycles and Nine Periods) methods, based on space and time were far superior and he regretted spending so much time, which he considered was wasted.

As you’ve gathered by now there’s many schools and techniques of Feng Shui, which is where the confusion arises. Each school has different formulas used to calculate the Feng Shui of a building. The formulas are based on the earth�s magnetic field (measured with a compass), and various mathematical factors. It�s actually quite scientific.

Master Shen has one very famous case study. His friend, a scholar, was sitting for the imperial Examination so he could earn the right to a position in the government. In the old days in China this was the utmost aim of a scholar, to be in the service of the emperor.

Master Shen’s friend asked him to check the Feng Shui of his house. Master Shen agreed and went to visit him. After inspecting the internal and external environment, he declared, “You have very good academic energy but you are not making the best use of it; move your bed from here to here and within three months you�ve receive a post as Governor of that particular county.”

Master Shen’s friend said to him, “I am disappointed, how could you be so accurate to know that I will be assigned to that particular county and within that period of time? I find it hard to believe.”

Nevertheless he did as advised.

As the friend was not a wealthy man and had no servants, he and Master Shen literally moved the bed themselves from one wall to another. Later, Master Shen left.

A few months later Master Shen received a letter from his friend, who replied in amazement, “Dear Master Shen, how can you be so accurate? Within three months, just as you predicted, I received my post at that particular county, how did you know when and which county? You are some sort of magician, you should be in the service of others with your wonderful magic.”

Master Shen replied, “Dear friend, I could see you have good study and academic success energy in your house, so I knew you would be successful in your examination after we moved the bed; as then you could take advantage of this kind of energy.” (The word he used was ‘Qi’ pron. chee).

“Also,” continued Master Shen, “I could see in your house you do not have the good wealth energy, so I knew you would not be assigned a post to a wealthy county, but rather to a poor county, and the obvious one was that particular county.”

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So, can Feng Shui be used for predictions? In a way it can; because Feng Shui shows the potential of a house to bring certain outcomes to its occupants. Once this is known, then the occupants have the choice as to how they use these energies. For instance, Master Shen’s friend was a scholar and chose to use the study energy for his benefit. If the person in question was not a scholar, academic, artist, then he may not have taken advantage of that type of good energy and it may have been ‘wasted.’

So Feng Shui reveals how a house can bring certain influences to the occupants.

Every year the Feng Shui of your building has annual influences, what we call the ‘Annual Stars.’ These stars will interact with the existing Feng Shui stars for your house (which generally do not change).

In 2006 the Annual Stars are:

Keep in mind that the Chinese new year commences on February 4th 2006, this is based on the Chinese Solar calendar, not the Lunar calendar - which is used to celebrate Chinese New Year (the Lunar new year in 2006 commences 29th January 2006).

Firstly some background work: take a compass reading and divide your house into eight sections to show how the qi is distributed throughout:

Stand at the front of your house and take a compass reading, find the direction your house is facing
On a floorplan of your house, find the centre and then draw a line from the centre to the front of the house, parallel with the walls of your house (see the diagram, the dashed green line indicates the direction the house is facing)
Take a protractor (a circular one is best) and find the degrees (in this case 76 degrees). Place the protractor on the centre of your floorplan and line it up so the degrees match with the green line. Mark off the 8 sectors:

Draw a line between the sectors, running through the centre of your house (as in the diagram).

If your front door or bedroom are located in one of these eight directions let�s see what it may foretell:

1 White is in the east this year, this is a good time for travel to make money, or being invited to travel for business or intellectual pursuits. 1 White also represents wisdom and love so is well placed for the people sleeping in the front bedroom in our case study.

2 Black is in the southeast. This is the sickness star so if it’s at the front door it can mean sickness of income and wealth, or may mean that there is ’sickness’ in the wealth aspect of a business which will show up easier this year (which can be a good thing). If your bedroom is in the southeast part of your house, then this type of qi can bring illness.

Our case study has a window in the southeast which is part of the office area so may incur such sickness problems associated with wealth this year.

Think back to 2005, if your bedroom was in the east, then last year was a sickness year for you. The sickness can show up a number of ways from a common cold to a more serious type of illness, depending on the Feng Shui of your own house (which changes from place to place). I have seen many cases of minor niggling sicknesses through to more serious ones where the annual star 2 is located.

If the bedroom is located in the southeast this year, then you need to do a few things:

Don�t use this room
Avoid the colour red in the room as it will fuel the sickness qi
Place a Wu Luo next to your bed. A Wu Luo, or Calabash is a type of gourd in the shape of a Figure 8. This is placed next to the bed and a hole pierced in the top to absorb the bad qi.
Some people are sceptical of this cure say it’s a psychological fix-it. From my experience and according to the advice of my Feng Shui mentor, Master Joseph Yu, it is not psychological. Master Yu has seen many times in China, mothers placing a Wu Luo next to the bed of a sick child and afterwards the child’s health improves. The child doesn’t know what it’s for, so how can it cure them through psychology?

Here�s an image of a Wu Luo, this one is painted with Quan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, it can also be painted gold or a metallic colour. A hole should be pierced in the top to allow the sickness energy to be absorbed and retained inside.

Hang some chimes outside so the wind can create the sound of metal to repel the bad qi. A lot of Feng Shui books specify that the chimes have to have the right number of rods; this is unnecessary, as long as the sound is of good quality metallic tone.
Hang a bell on the door, or use another door this year (if your wealth is already good in your house, then continue to use the same door, the good will take care of the bad; but if you notice a downturn, try another door).
If you are a doctor, then having your front door facing the southeast in 2005 is very good for you, as more sick patients will come in this year! In 2005 one of my Feng Shui students, who is also a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, said that he and all his colleagues with east facing entrances did exceptionally well last year as the sickness star was at their door.

3 Green is in the centre this year so has less influence on your Feng Shui.

4 Dark Green is in the northwest and is the star of romance, art and academic success. If you study in this area of your home it is good to place 4 sticks of water bamboo in a clear glass vase in this area to assist the flow of good academic and artistic skills. If you don’t study or are not artistic, then it may bring romance, but beware, it’s only suitable for singles, the type of romance is not suitable for couples and can bring love affairs but not serious love.

In our case study, the northwest is the location of the lounge, so sitting here will help with these life aspects this year, and careful not to place any moving water (such as water feature or fishtank) here unless you want romance.

5 Yellow in the west is the other star to be aware of; we call him the Emperor as he is quite powerful and doesn�t like to be told what to do. He especially doesn�t like to be disturbed so no digging, creating holes in the ground or the walls of your home or garden as this type of disturbance can affect any and all aspects of your life detrimentally.

If your front door is in the west then this year be extra careful and hang a bell on the door and if you have one, a chiming clock in the entrance hall to pacify the Emperor�s qi.

If your bedroom is in the west then a golden yellow colour will calm the Emperor and definitely again avoid the colour red which will inflame his unpredictable nature.

In our case study the back door is in the west so the occupants should avoid using this door, or at least hang a bell here so the sound of metal can pacify the emperor somewhat.

6 White in the northeast is a good star for authority, power and career success. It can bring riches and fame (good reputation) in business and is especially good in its location this year. It has a good personality in general.

In our case study this is the location of the front door, so the 6 White can come in and enhance the careers of the occupants.

7 Red in the south is related to the mouth, speech and communication so this year can bring problems associated with the mouth, with excessive talking or foot-in-mouth disease, drinking eating or drug taking, mouth related illness, especially if in the bedroom or at the front door. There is also a fire hazard so purchase a fire extinguisher and be careful not to leave the stove on; check for faulty appliances.

8 White is the most benevolent and happy star and in 2006 is in the north. If your front door is here, expect a good year of stable, steady income and financial success. Even if the 8 White comes into your bedroom, it will tell the other stars there to ‘behave’ so if you were having a hard time in 2005 expect improvements this year!

9 Purple is in the southwest and is a pushy, nosey star so watch the neighbours on this side of the house! (Only kidding�sort of). 9 Purple is so pushy it will push other stars to do work so it all depends on the nature of the stars in your house as to how they will be affected and thereby affect you and your life.

Under certain conditions the 9 Purple can also bring illness as it is fire in nature and can enhance the sickness star 2 for your home. Therefore if the 9 Purple is in your bedroom then there�s no harm with placing a Wu Luo here either.

In our case study the 9 Purple is in the dining room this year so having dinner parties here will promote lots of gossip and possible scandal � depending on what you gossip about of course! If the dining table is used for study or work it can also push you to work harder and be more productive.

It takes about a month for the annual stars to have a real effect, so wait until March if unsure of a major change such as repainting a room or changing a door. What I mention here will not necessarily happen for everyone, but is a guideline to what can happen this year.

Also, the Annual Stars should to be read in more detail in conjunction with the Feng Shui Fei Xing (Flying Stars) chart for your house. Consulting a reputable practitioner is recommended.

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On another Feng Shui note, in February 4th 2004 we changed to a new 20 year cycle, known as Period 8. This has affected the lives and livelihoods of many people. You have probably sensed a lot of changes happening in the past two years and now that we’ve had time to assess the impact, I can say that:

The Feng Shui of north facing business established between 1984 and 2004 has changed dramatically. These buildings are the worst affected. We must assume we’re talking here about the average shop or business facing north with windows facing out to the street and other buildings or an access laneway at the back.

These businesses have been affected the worst because in Period 7 they had the best kind of wealth qi coming in through the front door. Once we changed to Period 8, the best wealth qi moved and is now right at the back of the building.

If there’s no windows or doors at the back (that is no way for the ‘Feng’ or ‘wind’ to enter), then this will affect the business greatly and I�ve seen a lot more problems with these businesses than any others.

It could mean that whole shopping strips are affected.

The solutions:

Move premises
Place real large water at the rear, such as a water feature or fishtank
Open up a window or knock a hole in the wall and create a window or door for the wind to enter
Encourage customers to park and enter from the rear of the building, thereby bringing the good qi into the business
Renovate the entire shop by moving everything out, changing everything around and then moving everything back in again. This is a complex solution and needs to be discussed in detail with your practitioner.

About the Author

Master Jodi Brunner is Australia�s Foremost Feng Shui Expert who conducts commercial and residential Feng Shui consultations, teaches courses on behalf of the worldwide Feng Shui Research Centre, is a presenter at conferences and seminars, runs regular workshops, conducts Feng Shui Tours of Melbourne�s Chinatown and runs a shop at the Queen Victoria Market called Feng Shui Cures and Crystals. Contact Jodi on (03) 9662 1011 or visit www.fengshuimaster.com.au