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ОглавлениеAlmanac
The Chinese book of auspicious dates. The Tong Shu (also T’ung Shu), or the Chinese Almanac, is one of the oldest books in the world. It originated more than 4,000 years ago and contains the largest number of divination systems ever gathered together in a single volume. The heart of the book is its calendar, which is based on the Chinese Ganzhi, or lunar system, of calculating the days and seasons of the year. The Tong Shu contains auspicious dates for undertaking a variety of daily activities, from selecting the best days for starting a new business to washing and cutting one’s hair, to performing harvesting and planting rituals. The Chinese Almanac is one of the most comprehensive and traditional collections of Chinese beliefs and practices in existence. The Tong Shu contains references to Feng Shui practice that are based on flying star calculations of auspicious and inauspicious days for undertaking a variety of domestic and business activities.
Altar
Let your altar face the door directly. There are basic rules for propitious placing of altars. The Chinese generally believe it is extremely auspicious to have the altar directly facing the front door, so that the minute we walk into our homes we can see the altar. From a Feng Shui point of view, it is also recommended that the altar be placed in the northwest section of the house or living room, since this sector represents the Chien trigram, which in turn symbolizes heaven and heavenly deities. Irrespective of where you place your altar, you should always ensure that your Buddha, Kwan Yin, or any other deity is in an elevated position. The Feng Shui dimension most suitable for altars is at least 60 inches (150 cm) high. The altar must always be clean. Keeping lights on continuously, apart from representing auspicious light offerings to the deity, also attracts good Chi energy.
Amulets
A practice popular with the Chinese is the wearing of amulets that are believed to ward off bad luck caused by wandering spirits in the environment. The Chinese believe that young children are particularly vulnerable to these wandering spirits, and many parents obtain special symbols from the temple or use those specially created for them by Taoist priests. It is debatable if this practice can be considered as part of Feng Shui practice. The author herself used to wear protective amulets as a child.
Antidotes
Feng Shui antidotes, or cures, are available for almost all Feng Shui problems. Some work better than others and correctly choosing which antidote to use is one of the skills of the Feng Shui master. There are many different antidotes and these are generally summarized as follows. Use:
• bright lights to dissolve bad energy.
• Yang energy – lights, sound, and bright colors – to overcome excessive Yin energy.
• windchimes, especially four-rod windchimes, to diffuse bad energy.
• the Pa Kua mirror to deflect killing energy.
• bells and singing bowls to purify stagnant space.
• crystals to soften excessive Yang energy.
• colors to correct element imbalance.
• curtains and blinds to deflect bad energy.
• the compass to change to more auspicious directions.
• element therapy (see “The Five Elements,”) to correct disharmony.
Antiques
Danger of harmful left-over energy. The danger with displaying antiques in the home is that you are unlikely to know the luck of the people who last owned the piece, or the quality of the Chi that still clings to the antique. It may contain very negative energy that could bring bad luck to whoever possesses it. It is particularly risky to keep antique cannons and firearms in the house, because these, especially if they come from clan homes, are likely to have “tasted” blood before.
Aquarium
A water feature that brings good Feng Shui. It is a good idea to activate the wealth sector of the office (the southeast corner) by introducing a water feature. An aquarium containing lively fish symbolizes growth and activity. You can also activate the southeast corner of your home with an aquarium. However, do not place your aquarium or fishpond on the right-hand side of your front door (standing on the inside looking out) for this may cause husbands to stray or encourage a roving eye.
Archways
Can be auspicious if they are not overdone. The curved shape of the arch is an auspicious shape because there are no angles to send out harmful poison arrows to the surrounding living space. An archway is more conducive to harmonious Feng Shui than square doorways in the home. Archways also suggest the circular shape that represents the element of gold. They are especially lucky when placed in the northwest and west of the home. They should preferably not be seen in the east and southeast.
Armchair
Formation in Landscape Feng Shui. A vivid way of describing the perfect location for your home is the “armchair formation” of Landscape Feng Shui. This symbolism is part of the Form School. The armchair formation suggests that ideally the home should have higher land at the back (known as the black turtle) to provide support, like the back of an armchair. The left-hand side of the home should be higher, because this is deemed to be the place of the green dragon. The land to the right of your home is the place of the white tiger and should be lower than the dragon. If land on your right is higher than land on your left, the tiger becomes overbearing and dangerous. In front of the home is the crimson phoenix, which acts as the “footstool.” Ideally there should be a small hump just in front of your home.
Arrowana
With its silver scales and sleek, swordlike body, the arrowana has long been used by Chinese businessmen in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand to bring good fortune. Also known as the “dragon fish,” it is best kept singly or in threes or fives, but never in pairs. When the arrowana is well fed and healthy, it emits a pink or golden glow; it is this glow which is said to bring good fortune. If you wish to keep arrowanas, you should make sure they are well fed and well-looked after. Only strong, vibrant arrowanas have the capacity to bring you great wealth. The aquarium which houses this fish should not be cluttered with water plants or seaweed or have too much sand. A large, bare aquarium will serve to accentuate the beauty and the abundance of the fish. The aquarium is best kept in the north corner since this is the water corner. The aquarium can also be kept in the east or southeast, which are wood corners. This is because water is harmonious with wood. Never keep arrowana in your bedroom.
Arrows
Symbolic of killing energy. Among the most dreaded Feng Shui taboos are secret poison arrows caused by hostile structures in the landscape.
Art
There are Feng Shui implications in the art you hang in your home or office and these can cause good or bad Feng Shui without you being aware of it. Indeed, the subject, color, and orientation of paintings all have Feng Shui implications; it is therefore important to consider your paintings seriously when you hang them. The rules for hanging paintings are:
• Avoid hanging abstract art in colors that clash with the element of the wall on which you are hanging the painting. Thus, do not hang art depicting metal objects or those that are painted substantially in white or metallic colors in the wood corners (the east or southeast). In the destructive cycle metal destroys wood; the elements are in disharmony and the painting is creating problems for the wood corner. If you occupy a room in this corner you will suffer from the clash of energies.
• If you wish to hang portraits of the monarch, or perhaps the founder of your company, the best wall would be the northwest, since this activates the luck of the Chien trigram. This trigram represents the patriarch, or leader, and hanging a painting of a leader in the northwest creates exceptionally good mentor luck.
• The best art to have in the office is landscape art, because Feng Shui is about the landscape. If you can fold landscape into your office in an unobtrusive manner, you will enjoy harmonious Feng Shui. A mountain painting behind your seat symbolizes support. This is one of the best features to create for good Feng Shui in the office.
• A painting of water or a stream in front of your desk at work effectively simulates water bringing great good fortune to your office. Paintings of rivers, lakes, and waterfalls are therefore to be hung in front of you and never behind.
• Similarly, a painting or a picture of a big, open field in front of you symbolizes the bright hall. This symbolism is enormously lucky, whether real or as a painting, since it suggests a complete and total absence of obstacles. A big, open field suggests that everything will be smooth in your business and in your career.
• Make use of the good fortune symbols of Feng Shui by hanging paintings of fruit and flowers that symbolize abundance and auspicious fortunes.
• Avoid paintings of wild animals such as lions, tigers, leopards, and eagles inside the home or office. They serve you excellently outside, to protect you and your family, but inside the home they can turn against you and bring illfortune, illness, and bad luck.
• Avoid so-called character or intellectual art that shows wizened old men or art that records the tragedies of our age. It is far more auspicious to hang paintings of new life and happy occasions. Remember that everything hung on the walls of your home or office affects the Feng Shui of your home or office.
The Harmony of Yin and Yang Energies
At its most basic, Feng Shui is a question of balance, but this balance is related to the complementarity of opposites, expressed in terms of the Yin and the Yang. According to the Chinese, all things in the universe are either the female Yin or the male Yang, the dark Yin or the bright Yang.
Yin and Yang together make up the wholeness of the universe, which includes heaven and earth. Yin and Yang breathe meaning into each other, for without one, the other cannot exist. Thus, without the Yin of darkness, there cannot be the light of Yang; without the cold temperature of Yin, there cannot possibly be the warmth of Yang, and vice versa.
When there is balance between Yin and Yang, the wholeness of the universe is represented. There is good balance and prosperity, health, well-being, and happiness. Feng Shui practice always includes a Yin–Yang analysis of room space, land configurations, sunlight and shade, dampness and dryness, bright and pale colors, and solids and fluids. Rooms that are too Yin are not auspicious; there are insufficient life energies to bring prosperity. Rooms that are too Yang are said to be damaging because there is too much energy, causing accidents and huge losses. Only rooms – and homes – with balanced Yin and Yang can be auspicious, and will be made even more auspicious if there is a good balance of Yin and Yang outside.
See “Rooms That Are Too Yin” and “Rooms That Are Too Yang”.
Astrology
Chinese astrology, or fortune-telling, is often confused with the practice of Feng Shui. This is due to the overlap of basic concepts, such as those of Yin and Yang, and the theory of the five elements used in both sciences. Also, many practitioners of the art of divination, especially in Hong Kong, incorporate Feng Shui advice in their recommendations, notably those who use the Four Pillars method of divination.
This method is also known as the Paht Chee, or Eight Characters, and is based on the element that is discerned to be “missing” from one’s astrological chart. The fortune-teller will advise siting a main door or a sleeping direction that energizes the element that is missing. This method thus uses the Five-Element theory exclusively and is also based on the subjective judgment of the person undertaking the astrological reading.
A second method of Chinese astrology is the Purple Star, said to be especially accurate in predicting good and bad periods of one’s life. It is the nearest thing to Western astrology but the “stars” it uses in the chart are imaginary stars. Unlike Western astrology, Chinese astrology does not chart the movements of the planets.
Auspicious Feng Shui
This means enjoying various types of Feng Shui luck. Good fortune in Feng Shui usually refers to eight categories of luck and these include:
• enjoying wealth, success, and prosperity;
• having good family life and relationships;
• enjoying good health and having a long life;
• enjoying a good love life/marriage;
• having good descendants’ luck, i.e. children who bring honor to the family;
• enjoying power and the patronage of mentors;
• having a good education; and
• enjoying a good reputation and becoming famous.
Specific Feng Shui measures can be energized to encourage each of these eight different types of good fortune. All the different schools of Feng Shui stress these eight types of human aspirations, and if even one of these aspects of good luck is missing, life, and therefore the Feng Shui, is deemed to be incomplete.
Bad Feng Shui
The antithesis of good luck. Misfortunes caused by Feng Shui often occur frequently and come so thick and fast that you will not fail to see a pattern developing. Thus, if everyone in the home takes turns getting sick, encountering loss, accidents, and problems at work, you should consider if some structure or alignment may be hurting your home. Almost every kind of negative Feng Shui feature can be diffused to some extent. Certain configurations and arrangements may be harder to deal with than others but all negative arrangements can be ameliorated.
Balance
Means applying the Yin and Yang concept to Feng Shui. Feng Shui is about balance. This balance is struck between two cosmic forces, Yin and Yang. These two opposing yet complementary energies shape the universe and everything in it. Together, they form a balanced whole known as the Tao – or “the Way” – the eternal principle of heaven and earth in complete harmony. Achieving good Feng Shui has much to do with balancing the concepts of Yin and Yang. One should never forget, when practicing the science of Feng Shui, that balance is everything. Without balance, your Feng Shui will not be auspicious. See “The Harmony of Yin and Yang Energies,” Yin Energy, Yang Energy.
Balconies
Must be oriented correctly vis-à-vis the entrance. It is not a good feature to have balconies that open in a straight line from the front entrance of the home. This creates an inauspicious flow of energy.
Bamboo
An excellent Feng Shui plant signifying longevity. It is also an extremely useful Feng Shui tool. Bamboo stems can be used in the same way as windchimes, with hollow rods or wooden flutes, to counter the heavy killing breath of an overhead beam. They should be hung in pairs, slanted toward each other at the top, in such a way as to allow the auspicious Chi to rise up to counter the killing breath being emitted from the overhead beam. Because bamboo stems emit no tinkling sound to provide the necessary Yang energy, to transform the Chi into friendly and auspicious energy the bamboo stems should be tied together with a piece of red string. The color red will bring out the Yang energy needed.
Bamboo stems are also an excellent tool for slowing down Chi. If you have long corridors in your house, the rooms at the end of such corridors suffer from Shar Chi, the killing breath, rushing headlong toward them. This fast-moving Chi can be slowed down using bamboo stems hung in the same way as described above, with a red piece of thread tied between them. These hollow stems encourage the poisonous Chi to rise up through them and in the process turn the Chi into friendly Sheng Chi. The best way to counter a long corridor is to block the room it hits by using a screen or divider of some sort; bamboo stems, flutes, and windchimes can only do so much to help. If these Feng Shui antidotes are, however, much smaller than the corridor itself the best solution is to use both stationary and hanging dividers.
Banking
The business of banking belongs to the water element, and thus the most effective Feng Shui enhancer for a bank is water. Building auspicious water features in the north or the southeast is especially recommended.
Barbecues
Because barbecues represent fire (as do all cooking appliances, stoves, ovens, and so forth), they are best held in the south of the garden, which is ruled by the fire element. This activates the corner that brings recognition and fame luck to the family. It is also the sector of the middle daughter, so holding barbecues here will assist her in her grades and her personal development. If you are not able to locate the barbecue in the south corner of your garden, you should at least ensure it is not placed in the east or southeast, as these sectors are wood sectors. The fire from the barbecue will (symbolically) burn the wood, thus burning away your wealth luck (southeast) and health luck (east).
Basement Apartments
These are usually not auspicious. Feng Shui does not recommend living below road level. Basement apartments are therefore not the best units to live in. If you have no choice you can enhance the Chi by installing bright lights at the entrance. This should “raise” the energy, encouraging Chi to flow into the apartment. If the basement apartment opens into a garden at the back, the Feng Shui will be considerably improved.
Bathrooms
Bathrooms are similar to toilets in the way that Feng Shui views them. They are not good to have in the house from a Feng Shui viewpoint. Try to minimize the size and décor of your bathrooms and keep the doors to your bathrooms closed at all times. Bathrooms should never be too large.
Beaded Curtains
A Feng Shui cure for afflicted doorways. The placement of doors within the home has great Feng Shui significance. You should never have two doors directly facing each other across a corridor. This confrontational positioning will bring about quarrels and misunderstandings between the members of the household, and particularly between the two people whose doors face each other. To soften the negative effect of such a layout, short of changing the placement of the doors completely, hang a beaded curtain across the doorway. This way, the door always appears to be closed. However, if one door faces part of another this has a worse effect. In such a situation, it is advisable to try to place something between the doors, such as a plant, which can act as a divider. Beaded curtains in this instance will not be a suitable solution.
Beams
Protruding overhead beams cause Feng Shui problems inside the home and office. You can either hang a five-rod windchime or hang two hollow bamboo stems tied with red thread to overcome the negative Chi. Do not sit directly underneath exposed overhead beams, especially structural beams.
Bedrooms
Important rooms that should always enjoy good Feng Shui. The main thing to remember is that the bedroom is a place of relaxation and rest. The energies that prevail in the bedroom should thus be more Yin than Yang, since a bedroom that is too Yang will cause the occupant to be too active, which may cause difficulties in sleeping. Because of this, many Feng Shui masters warn against activating the bedroom with too many good fortune symbols. Such symbols, which may work well in the other parts of the house, may work against you in the bedroom.
Water features are generally auspicious but they do more harm than good in the bedroom. Sleeping with water behind you will cause you to be robbed or to suffer a financial loss. Note that water does not only mean aquariums, fountains, and fish bowls. Paintings of water should also be kept out of the bedroom. It is, however, acceptable to decorate your bedroom in blue, a color of relaxation and calm. Black represents water and this color should not be a prominent feature of your bedroom.
The inclusion of mirrors is one of the most common mistakes in modern bedroom interior design. Mirrors are frequently used to create a sense of space. Whether the mirrors are attached to cupboards in the bedroom, or on the ceiling, the reflective edges of mirrors send out Shar Chi onto the sleeping couple. This will cause quarrels and misunderstandings, as well as ill-health. Mirrors also bring a third party into the marriage when they reflect the sleeping couple, causing husbands and/or wives to be unfaithful. Note that anything with a reflective surface, even television sets, which resemble a mirror, should be kept out of the bedroom. If you have mirrors that you cannot take down, cover them with a curtain. Similarly, television sets should be covered with a cloth each night before you go to sleep.
Open shelves should be covered up anywhere in the house, not just in the bedroom, where they do most harm. If you have such shelves facing your bed while you sleep each of the shelves will be sending little poison arrows toward you throughout the night. It will only be a matter of time before you fall ill. If you cannot close the open shelves with doors, another solution is to ensure the shelves are lined with books whose spines are set flush with the edge of the shelf, thus getting rid of the shelves.
Flowers and plants, especially growing plants, are potent symbols of Yang energy, and are not suitable for the bedroom. If you place plants in a girl’s bedroom, this will work against her in the romance stakes. If plants feature in the bedroom of a couple they will quarrel frequently. The only time flowers and plants are justified in the bedroom is when someone is recuperating from an illness and needs Yang energy to recover.
Your sleeping direction is a most important consideration if you are to benefit from good Feng Shui. It is therefore vital that your head is pointed in one of your four good directions while sleeping. Check your good and bad directions using the formula based on your Kua number (see “Compass Feng Shui,”.)
Beds
Sleep in a bed with Feng Shui dimensions. A Feng Shui bed has auspicious dimensions and is decorated with colors that harmonize either with the element of the corner in which the bed is placed, or the element of the year in which you were born. To be safe, it is better to use the element of the corner; this allows the bed to be auspicious for more than one person (i.e. for you and your partner or spouse). Beds with headboards are better as they provide support. Because a bedroom is a place of rest, too much Yang energy is bad and can cause sleepless nights. If you wish to use red, a dark red or maroon is better than a bright, chilly red. Bedspreads are also better in plain colors. Avoid any abstract designs with arrows and triangles: these represent the fire element, which is very bad for the bedroom. It also symbolizes many poison arrows attacking you while you sleep.
Bells
Use tinkling bells to improve turnover in your business. Chinese shopkeepers have long been aware of the efficacy of tinkling bells in attracting customers into their stores. When hung on the door or on a door handle, the ringing of these metal bells creates good Chi each time someone enters the store. This brings in the luck required to make people purchase your products, enhancing your store’s turnover. This method is particularly effective for stores selling personal items such as jewelry, clothes, and accessories.
The bells can be made of any type of metal. They should be tied with a red ribbon to increase their effectiveness, as this activates their intrinsic Yang energy. The ideal number of bells is six or seven, although most shopkeepers only keep one set of bells. Tiny bells can also be placed inside the store anywhere along the west or northwest wall or high up on the ceiling directly facing the door. This will entice the precious Sheng Chi to enter the store. The bells need not be seen, as long as they work. Their function is a symbolic one and as long as they tinkle a little each time the door is opened they will bring increased luck for the store. In the old days, bells were usually used to announce good news, being symbols of good fortune.
Birdbaths
Excellent water features suitable for the north, east, and southeast of your garden. Ensure that the water is clean at all times, replacing the water daily if necessary. The more birds you have visiting your birdbath, the better the energy that is created by this water feature.
Birds
Represent the auspicious phoenix, especially when they are placed in the south part of your home. Thus, keeping sculptures of any kinds of birds in your south-facing garden, or on the south side of your living room, brings luck in the form of opportunity. Live birds in captivity, however, spell bad Feng Shui, captivity being symbolic of retarded growth, and this may well curtail chances of progressing in one’s career.
Birth Dates
These are required in calculating Eight Mansions and Four Pillars Feng Shui. Birth dates are required in the calculation of personalized lucky and unlucky directions. There are two main schools of Feng Shui requiring the date of birth. The first is the Eight Mansions formula, which works out your Kua number. With this number you will be able to refer to a table that details your four auspicious and four inauspicious directions. The second is the Feng Shui method using your Four Pillars. This is the same as the Eight Characters (Paht Chee) method of fortune-telling. This method requires not just the date but also the hour of your birth. In using your birth dates, however, always remember that in using any of the Chinese divinitive sciences you must know your date of birth according to the lunar calendar.
Black Turtles
Celestial creatures that bring great good fortune. The black turtle is believed to be one of four celestial creatures that bring good fortune as well as good health and protection. The arrangement of the numbers on the Lo Shu magic square, one of the most important symbols of analysis in Formula Feng Shui, is said to have originated from the back of a black turtle which swam up from the shores of the Lo River. The arrangement of the numbers one to nine within the square is supposedly based on the markings found on this ancient turtle. Whichever way you add up the numbers, whether diagonally or in a straight line, the numbers always added up to nine. The black turtle is one of the four animals that make up the auspicious “armchair” formation in Landscape Feng Shui (or the Form School method of Feng Shui). The armchair is made up of the green dragon on the left, the white tiger on the right, the black turtle at the back (for support), and the crimson phoenix in front (as a footstool). When a home is built in the middle of these four animals, precious Chi is attracted and created there, leading to much good luck for the occupants of the home.
The black turtle is a popular symbol of good fortune for the home. Displayed either as paintings, or figurines, or kept as a pet tortoise or terrapin, the symbolic Feng Shui created is extremely auspicious. These smaller cousins of the turtle are believed to bring the same good fortune as the turtle. If you wish to keep a terrapin or tortoise, keep it in the north sector of the house, but keep only one, since this is the number of the north. Do not worry that your pet will feel lonely without a mate: terrapins are natural loners.
Blue Flowers
Good for the north, east, and southeast parts of the garden. Colors are powerful Feng Shui enhancers and playing with colors is a creative way of perfecting the Feng Shui of your garden. Blue flowers symbolize the element of water, thus planting them in the north, southeast, and/or east parts of the garden will activate the luck of these corners. The north sector is for career luck, the southeast is for wealth luck, and the east is for good health.
Blue Roofs
One of the danger signs in Feng Shui. Try to avoid having a blue roof since this signifies water on the top of your house. Change the tiles if you have to.
Boardrooms
These can be energized to bring excellent corporate Feng Shui. The best location for the boardroom of a corporation is the place that is diagonal to the entrance, deep inside the office. Boardrooms should not be on the top floor.
Bonsai
Though beautiful, bonsai trees are artificially stunted and do not give good Feng Shui. They are particularly harmful to businesses and commercial enterprises since they are the direct opposite of what needs to be energized for growth. If you have a passion for bonsai trees and simply must have them somewhere in your home, avoid placing them in the wood corners (east and southeast) of your house or garden. Placed in the north, they cause the least harm.
Book of Changes, or I Ching
The major source book of Feng Shui, and probably the main source book of most of China’s cultural practices. The seasoned wisdom of thousands of years has gone into the makings of the I Ching. Both branches of Chinese philosophy – Confucianism and Taoism – have their common roots in this ancient classic, known also as the Book of Changes. The I Ching alone, among all the Confucian Classics, escaped the great burning of the books under Emperor Chin Shih Huang Ti in 213 B.C.E. The origins of the I Ching go back to mythical antiquity, as a book of divination and as a book of wisdom. All that is great and significant in Chinese cultural history takes inspiration from the I Ching – aspects of the many related principles and symbols of the Chinese predictive sciences, its view of the trinity, heaven, earth, and man, the concepts of Yin and Yang, balance and harmony, positive and negative forces, good fortune and misfortune, are all derived from interpretations of the texts and judgments of the I Ching’s 64 hexagrams.
Bookshelves
These represent knives cutting into you and are bad Feng Shui. If you have exposed bookshelves in your office or study, change them into cupboards by covering them with doors. Unless you do this, the shelves will act as deadly poison arrows, causing you loss and illness.
Boulders
Signify earth energy and are an excellent Feng Shui remedy. Tied with red string, a boulder is an effective antidote if placed in a bathroom that is in the wrong place in your home.
Boundaries
For Feng Shui analysis, boundaries must be accurately measured and taken. Feng Shui is best approached as a method or technique. When using the compass methods it is vital to get measurements and compass readings correct. This enables you to establish the parameters of your space more accurately. Feng Shui works when the space has been accurately demarcated according to directions, locations, and elements.
Breath of the Dragon
The cosmic Chi.
Brick Walls
Feng Shui remedy for blocking out unwanted and inauspicious sights, especially structures that are sending killing breath to the home.
Bridges
Bridges near your home will be auspicious if they have three, five, or nine bends. They may be straight or curved, beamed, arched, suspended, or floating. They can be pavilion or corridor bridges and can be made of stone or wood, including cane. In China, bridges that are intended to enhance the Feng Shui of gardens are usually built of stone, and the arch formed is usually in the shape of a semicircle.
Bright Hall
An excellent Feng Shui situation. One of the most auspicious Feng Shui features a building can have is for the main door to open out onto a park, a football field, or any kind of empty land. This creates what Feng Shui masters describe as the bright hall effect, where auspicious Chi can first collect before entering the home. You should not try to achieve the bright hall effect at all costs. If, say, there is a statue or structure that forms a poison arrow directly facing the front door, it is better to give up trying to create the bright hall effect and the auspicious good fortune that it is supposed to bring than to suffer from the deadly Shar Chi from the poison arrow. Remember always to practice defensive Feng Shui first.
Brooms
Brooms, mops, and cleaning materials should never be left around the home. Keep them hidden away. As well as sweeping away bad luck, they can also sweep away good luck. Brooms are particularly bad fortune if left in the dining room, as they symbolize your rice bowl and livelihood being swept away. Brooms have another use in Feng Shui. They can be an effective tool to ward off burglars and intruders from the house when placed upside down against the wall and facing the front door, but outside the home rather than in. Leave a broom outside only at night; put it away during the day.
Buddha Statues
Holy objects must have good Feng Shui. Paintings and statues of Buddhas should be regarded as holy objects. Do not place them below, facing, or near bathrooms. The best place for displaying your antique Buddha statue is the northwest of your entrance hall or living room.
See also Altar.
Buildings
In modern Feng Shui, these simulate mountains. In old days, Form School Feng Shui examined surrounding hills and mountains to determine the quality of the Feng Shui terrain. Today, the practice of Feng Shui has shifted to big cities, where buildings form the landscape and surroundings for homes and offices. Because Feng Shui is symbolic, buildings are now analyzed in the way that surrounding hills used to be.
Bulbs
Usually considered to be good fortune flowers; they represent hidden gold. These are regarded as lucky flowers and indeed symbolize the blossoming of hidden talents and abilities when they bloom. The Chinese are fond of growing bulbs around the lunar New Year, especially the narcissus, because of their association with the advent of spring.
Business Feng Shui
This focuses on creating wealth and prosperity luck. In the West business Feng Shui is becoming increasingly important as more career professionals and entrepreneurs recognize the potency and effectiveness of Feng Shui in enhancing turnover and improving bottom lines. Retail businesses can benefit enormously from simple Feng Shui enhancers.
Cactus
Cacti and any other types of prickly plants create tiny slivers of poisonous energy which can cause bad luck, illness, and misfortune. They should not be placed in the home and are better outside, where they take on a protective role. Their thorns then counter any Shar Chi heading in your direction. Inside, rather than counter Shar Chi, they create harmful killing breath.
Cannon
To be used as a last resort to counter big poison arrows. Cannons are very effective in deflecting killing breath and pointed, hostile objects aimed at your front door. The negative force sent out can be very potent. Antique cannons that have been to war are the most powerful of all.
Career Luck
Can be energized with Feng Shui. Good career luck manifests itself in increased opportunities. It does not suggest instant success. When using Feng Shui to activate luck at work be prepared for an increasing workload and responsibilities as well as more opportunities for advancement. Activate the north part of your home, office, or personal space. Since the north is of the water element, a good way to energize this corner is to place an aquarium of energetic fish there, such as guppies. Their vigorous swimming will create the precious Yang energy needed to give your career a boost. Advanced practitioners can use the Feng Shui formula to activate professional career luck. It is also a good idea to make yourself an auspicious work desk whose dimensions have been measured with a Feng Shui ruler.
Cash Register
In retail businesses registers can be energized with coins and bamboo. Increase sales by taping three old Chinese coins tied with red thread, Yang side up, onto the side of your cash register. The Yang side has four Chinese words, the Yin side has two. Important files can also be treated in the same way to enhance Feng Shui at work. Alternatively, hang hollow bamboo stems above the cash register, also tied with red thread. The bamboo ensures that you will stay in business for a long time. Let the stems hang perpendicular with their tops tilted slightly toward each other.
Ceilings
Should neither be too low, nor have hostile designs. A ceiling lower than 8 feet (2.5m) suggests you will be weighed down with problems; it should clear the tallest person in the house by at least 4 feet (1.2m). Avoid corner angles or threatening, ornate designs. Beams should be avoided unless they are an integral part of the entire ceiling and especially if they stand alone. Paint your ceiling white or in a bright color, and never black or blue, both of which are very inauspicious.
Chandeliers
Create excellent Feng Shui if placed just inside or outside the home. They encourage good Chi to enter the house and they work just as well inside or outside the home. They are especially good when placed in the southwest, where the combination of fire (lights) and earth (crystal) brings wonderful romance and love luck to the members of the household. Try to activate the southwest of the whole house with a chandelier, rather than the southwest of a single room. The effect will be more powerful and will benefit the entire family.
Chen Trigram
This trigram symbolizes the dragon, thus a strong Yang line pushes upward below two broken Yin lines, which give way. Chen represents Spring, thunder, growth, and the eldest son, and is placed east on the Pa Kua.
Chi
The dragon’s cosmic breath and the key to good Feng Shui, it brings good fortune. The concept of Chi is central to the understanding and practice of Feng Shui. Chi is the word used to describe an intrinsic force or energy that is invisible to the eye but can nevertheless be felt and is very potent.
Chi Kung
A form of martial training that allows you to “feel your Chi,” its slow exercise movements are believed to enable practitioners effectively to move Chi energy within them. Such exercise is believed to help overcome serious illnesses.
Chien Trigram
The ultimate Yang trigram that signifies the patriarch. The first trigram in the I Ching. Made up of three unbroken lines, Chien is placed in the northwest quadrant of the Yang Pa Kua. Since this trigram symbolizes the patriarch the northwest is said to be the corner of any home that governs the luck of the male paternal.
Childlessness
Can sometimes be helped using Feng Shui. If you are having problems conceiving, suggest the man changes his sleeping location or direction. Use his Nien Yen direction, which will be based upon his personal Kua number.
Children
The manifestations of good descendants’ luck. Children represent the next generation and this is one of the eight aspirations addressed by Feng Shui practice. The west side of the house is the place to energize for ensuring descendants’ luck but the children of the house, especially the sons, should sleep in the east part of the house in rooms located in their personal auspicious locations, based on Compass Feng Shui.
Clothes
Affect the type of energies you attract. Clothes have a bearing on your luck. Wearing torn clothes is very inauspicious. It attracts poverty energy, which often translates into the most severe kind of ill-fortune. Wearing unflattering clothes has the same effect; as well as making you feel bad about yourself, it depletes your Yang energy and causes you to feel lethargic.
Coins
One of the more potent of symbolic Feng Shui tools. They represent wealth and are superb for activating Feng Shui for wealth. Authentic old Chinese coins can be used as Feng Shui coins. The square hole in the middle has Feng Shui meaning. The circle and square together represent heaven and earth. Three coins should be tied together with red string and hung on the inside of your front door to symbolize the money already inside your house. See also Cash Register.
Color
Amplifies the elements. Good color combinations bring good luck. Color therapy in Feng Shui is directly related to the concept of the five elements, each of which stands for a certain color or colors. These are summarized as:
| Wood | browns and greens |
| Fire | reds, yellows, and orange |
| Metal | white, gold, silver, bronze, and chrome |
| Earth | ocher and light yellow |
| Water | blues, purple, and black |
Each color on its own is neither good nor bad. Combinations of colors cause good and bad luck and this is again based on the destructive and productive cycles of the elements.
Some special combinations that are excellent luck: vermilion with gold; dark rich purple with chrome or silver; black and white.
Good color combinations: two blues one green; two browns one red; two reds one yellow; two yellows one white; two whites one blue.
Unlucky color combinations: two blues one red; two reds one white; two whites one green; two greens one yellow; two yellows one blue.
Columns
In the home square, freestanding columns can cause severe Feng Shui problems. Their sharp edges can send out poisonous killing breath, which should be deflected and dissolved by placing plants against the edges. Alternatively, wrap mirrors around the columns. Columns should never be facing the main front door, either inside or outside, where they represent bad Feng Shui. In such a case, the door or the column should be moved.
