How to determine the proper facing direction of the bed for a couple who belongs to different Group of person (East and West Group) in the Eight Mansions feng shui ?

                                                                Earlier Heaven Ba Gua

                                                                  Later Heaven Ba Gua

In our life time, we spend around 1/3 of our time in the bed; therefore the feng shui of the bed is very important to us. For example, if we place the bed at the inauspicious sectors, it will affect our health and the relationship between husband and wife. According to the guidelines of the Eight Mansions feng shui, it is auspicious for the East Group person to sleep at the four (4) auspicious East sectors and the West Group person to sleep facing the four auspicious (4) West sectors of the house. However, there are many times that this is not possible because of the limitation of space and structural restriction. Therefore, we will then concentrate on having the bed (headboard of the bed) facing the four (4) auspicious directions; based on the kua number.

Well, in theory this will works perfectly if both the husband and wife are belong to the same Group. However, what happened if the husband is an East Group person and the wife is a West Group person? The reason is the auspicious directions for a West Group person is the inauspicious directions for an East Group person and vice versa.  As a matter of fact, this is a very common scenario for people who are following the Eight Mansions feng shui. Sadly, there are little explanations about this dilemma in many books and web sites in the market by the self-proclaimed feng shui masters!

Here I want to introduce a work around method to solve this problem by using the theory of the Earlier Heaven Ba Gua and the Later Heaven Ba Gua (refer to the above drawing). In traditional Chinese feng shui practice, the Early Heaven Ba Gua is used for reference and the Later Heaven Ba Gua is used for the actual application. Now, let me demonstrate this idea with an example:

Let say a couple want to know which is the appropriate direction the bed shall face, with the husband’s kua number is 4, which is xun (East Group) and the wife’s kua number is 6, which is qian (West Group).

Solution:

First of all, the four auspicious directions for the husband’s ming kua are: zhen (east); xun (south-east); li (south) and kan (north). Furthermore, by comparing both the Early Heaven and Later Heaven Ba Gua, we can notice that his xun kua on the Earlier Heaven Ba Gua is located at the kun (SW) sector of the Later Heaven Ba Gua. That is to say, the kun (SW) direction is also suitable for the husband. Since the kun direction is also the auspicious direction for the wife (West Group), that means the bed can be placed at the SW direction and will suit both the husband and wife.

On the other hand, the four auspicious directions for the wife’s ming kua are: kun (SW); dui (west); chien (NW); and gen (NE); and her qian kua at the Earlier Heaven Ba Gua is located at the li (south) sector of the Later Heaven Ba Gua, that means the li (south) direction has no harmful effect to the wife; in addition to the fact that the li (south) direction is also auspicious to the husband.

In short, based on the above method, the couple can place the bed either facing the kun (SW) or the li (South) direction without any conflict to their kua number. However, since in most cases the husband is the bread earner in the family, thus it make more sense to have the bed facing the li (south) direction!

 

Feng shui interpretation of “balance does not always equal symmetry”

Feng shui interpretation of “balance does not always equal symmetry”

On the Toronto Star dated April 20, 2013, there was an interesting article where the author, Yanic Simard written about his "new" ideas of arranging the furniture in the bedroom from the conventional bedroom suites: two side tables, two lamps, all matching, and change to different size and form of furniture on each side of the bed and still managed to achieve a “balance” look and feel. The reason that this article draws my attention is this idea is nothing “new” if he is following the traditional Chinese feng shui!

For someone who follow the traditional Chinese feng shui shall know the concept of yin and yang, which is one of the most fundamental and important theories of feng shui. Based on this theory, our universe consists of two opposing but interconnected cosmic forces that shape the universe and everything in it. The yin and yang accomplish changes in the universe through the five materials or “elements” in feng shui (metal, wood, water, fire and earth), which produce one another and overcome one another. Together yin and yang constitute a balance whole known as Tao or “the way” – the eternal principle of heaven and earth in harmony.

Thus, achieving goo feng shui results has much to do with balancing the yin and yang elements in our environment, and it is the appropriate interaction of these two forces that creates harmony or balance around us.

In the article, the author basically taking a conventional “symmetry” set up for the bedroom, namely two matching side tables and two matching white lamps, and started to throw in different forms, shapes and colors objects/ items besides the bed to create a “asymmetrical” but balanced look, and even moving the bed off to one side of the wall and free up space for a miniature home office.

 

On the other hand,  the ultimate feng shui goal is also to balance yin and yang naturally and instinctively in our homes. For example, we add soft seat cushions to hard wooden chairs; we paint one wall a darker accent color to keep an all-white room from looking too bland; we place tall furniture on the left side (yang or “green dragon”) and low furniture on the right side (yin or “white tiger”). Simply put, if these two equal and opposite forces are in balance in our interior surroundings, we feel at peace and in harmony with the universe.

To conclude, although the “asymmetrical” approach is a good idea as it is basically in line with the yin and yang concept, but if we look carefully at the finished design by the author, we can see that there are a lot of conflicting elements and colors. Furthermore, if we did not factor in whether these elements are auspicious to the occupant of the bedroom, this will in fact creates a non-balance environment which is not auspicious to the person in feng shui. Therefore, I will advise that if someone want to adopt this approach of furniture arrangement in the bedroom, make certain that it must be also in harmony or balance with your birth element!

 

 

 

 

Modern "window wall" high rise condominium - Is it good feng shui?

Modern “window wall” high rise condominium - Is this good feng shui?

In an article titled “The broken reality of glass walls” on the Toronto Star dated March 23, 2013, the writer is raising the concern of the resiliency and energy efficiency about the popular floor-to- ceiling glass walls of the masses of towering condos in the city. One building experts even commented it is due to the laziness of the architects and builders. I believe it is more about the economics as the builders want to have these buildings build fast and cheap.

If we look at these kind of buildings in feng shui perspective, they are in fact not auspicious in many ways. Listed below are some major feng shui deficiencies for these kinds of buildings:

The window glass is related with the metal element in authentic feng shui. In other words, people are basically living in a metal “skin” unit. Therefore, it is not auspicious for wood and earth element person to live in these types of building.

In feng shui, the windows and doors are considered the “mouth of chi”, therefore, this kind of design will allow the positive chi to escape through the floor-to –ceiling window wall, and unable to contain the positive chi such that they can circulate through the unit.

Most of the time, these kinds of high rise condos are built so densely together, the reflection on the window walls will become the “light sha ” in feng shui, which will affect the feng shui of other buildings which are close by.

In feng shui, there is a saying that “if it is not visible, it is not considered as sha chi". Therefore, unless there are full height curtains or blinds installed on the floor-to-ceiling window walls, all the units of the building will be affected by the outside “sha chi”.

When is the Right Time to Hire a Feng Shui Consultant?

When Is the Right Time to Hire a Feng Shui Consultant?

With so many feng shui books and web sites available in the market, it is not surprising that a lot of people have picked up this ancient Chinese wisdom which showing us how to live in harmony with our environment. Any feng shui beginners can easily find all kind of "tips" and "advice" from the so-called  experts, or read a "DIY" book so that they can start applying feng shui themselves in five minutes; because these types of  so-called New Age feng shui  does not require us to know anything about the cardinal directions and how to use a compass! At first it does seem fairly easy for the beginners to follow this type of feng shui. But after a while, when bad things start to happen in the house or in their personal life and they start to realize that this type of "simple" feng shui doesn't able to identify the cause and solve their problems; they will be wondering whether feng shui is good for them and it is just a Chinese superstition after all. When this happened, I believe it is the right time to seek some professional help from the authentic Chinese feng shui consultants:

Listed below is a list of events or problems happened to us that we shall consider seeking help from the feng shui consultant:

1. Many unexpected things happened suddenly without any reason or indications.

2. When we are facing the changing of job and moving of office.

3. Outside the house, there is a new building or a bridge being constructed, the removal of a big tree, large boulders or the construction of a new swimming pool.

4. Before moving in to a new house or apartment.

5. After moving in to a new house, there are many unexpected events happened in the house.

6. Crisis of losing a normally secure and steady job.

7. Family members start to have health issues.

8. Arguments between husband and wife are happened more frequently.

9. Numerous accidents happened to the family members.

10. Family members are suffering from sleeping problems.

11. The children in the house are failing at school or loss of concentration in their study.

12. Family members like to wander away from home.

13. Many "uneasy" feeling at the house.

14. Cannot stop our bad temper and changing of moods.

Should we turn the ba gua around as we are in the Southern hemisphere?

Question:  Should we turn the ba gua around as we are in the Southern hemisphere?

Answer: This is one of the most common asked feng shui question for people living in the Southern hemisphere like Australia, and has created heated arguments among the feng shui practitioners and professionals. Listed below is the typical argument between the “yes” and “no’ camp:

“Yes” Camp:

“Because of the origin of Feng Shui in northern China several thousand years ago, and the lack of awareness that a southern hemisphere existed, original Feng Shui methods did not consider the differences between the northern and southern hemispheres. Because so many Compass School determinations and calculations are dependent on seasonal changes and solar orientation, differing in the two hemispheres, these adjustments have made it possible for Feng Shui practitioners in the southern hemisphere to make accurate Feng Shui”  - International Feng Shui Guild

“No” Camp:

“There was for a short time some misconception that you need to flip the directions for North and South hemisphere, but when you understand advanced feng shui where we actually use three measurements of North, then you know that the recommendations apply the same to every place wherever you are. In feng shui, accurate compass directions are important as a point of reference.” – Lillian Too

As a feng shui professional, I have been doing some research in this topic and have read different arguments from both camps and here are my personal inputs for this controversial feng shui topic:

First of all, the primary reasoning and argument from the “Yes” Camp is that the weather or temperature in the Southern hemisphere is directly opposite to the Northern hemisphere. For example, in Australia, the cold comes from the South and the warmth from the North, in China, it is reversed. This is a true fact and no one can argue about it, but this is based on the perspective of the weather pattern. However, in feng shui, we are primarily dealing with the magnetic fields of the earth. For instance, the needle of the Lo Pan or compass is always pointing at the magnetic North, it will not change whether you are standing in the Southern hemisphere or Northern hemisphere.

Secondly, I believe all these arguments are basically stemmed from the configuration of the Earlier Heaven Ba Gua (先天八卦), where the North is located at the bottom and the South is located at the top of the ba gua, which is created with the climates in China as the basics. The heat mainly comes from the South and thus the Fire element of the ba gua is assigned to the South. Since there is abundant storage of water in the form of ice in the North and thus the water element is assigned to the North.

In my many years of professional experience, I have the opportunities of working with clients living in both hemisphere, and I basically applying the authentic Chinese type of feng shui, namely the Xuan Kong Flying Star feng shui and have achieved positive results; without having to flip the ba gua upside down to suit the conditions in the Southern hemisphere. The reason why I do not need to make any adjustments is the Xuan Kong Flying Star feng shui is it is dealing only with the magnetic fields (the facing and sitting direction of a site) measured by the Lo Pan when I am calculating the natal chart; therefore, a house with the facing reading of 16 degree North means the house is always facing North and sitting South even in the Southern hemisphere. 

To conclude, I believe this argument will carry on for a long time and it will be difficult to reach a consensus of opinions among the practitioners in the near future. Therefore, I believe we need to experiment and decide for ourselves. I will list below the links to some web pages regarding this topic for people who are interested:

http://www.renascentcollege.com/feng%20shui%20southern.htm

http://chienergy.co.uk/northsouthfs.htm

http://fengshui.com.au/juicy_feng/southern_hemisphere.htm

http://www.oocities.org/zhen_qi/02fsappssh.html

http://www.fengshuinetwork.net/jodi/images/articles/defusing_ns_issue.htm

http://www.fengshuiseminars.com/fengshui-for-the-southern-hemisphere.html

 

Is this feng shui or accident?

 

Recently, there was a car accident happened in my neighbourhood which is in Markham, Ontario. On December 8, 2012 around 1am, an intoxicated driver lost control of his car and smashed into the driveway of a house, hit a car parked at the driveway and pushed it back into the garage and causing serious damage to the garage (see attached picture). 

Many people will think that this is just an unfortunate accident. However, what caught my attention is why it was only happened at this particular house? The house is not located at a T-junction road anyway. Therefore, I picked up my Lo Pan and walked down to the house which is very close to my house and done some measuring and took some pictures. What I have found out is this accident was in fact related to feng shui.  This is based on my studying of the flying stars combinations at the North sector of the house which is the garage and the main entrance. Let me explain this in details below:

1. The natal chart for the house, a Period 7 house with North, offset facing direction [兼向]:

1                3             6	6                 7              2	8                 5              4
9                4             5	2                 2              7	4                9             9
5                8             1	7              6              3	3                 1              8

The [7, 6] flying star combination at the North sector is referred as the “sword-fencing sha” [交劍煞] in XKFSFS. This implies the 7- red metal star clashes with the 6- white metal star; which denotes the opportunities of conflicts, accidents, most likely car accidents. However, it doesn’t mean that the house will suffer from these effects all the time. It will depend on whether there are any supported flying stars (which include the annual, monthly, daily and hourly flying stars) at this sector to trigger its happening. So, let us now take a look at the natal charts of all the above flying stars to see whether any of the above flying stars are responsible for this accident:

  2. 2012 annual flying star chart

5	1	3
4	6	6
9	2	7

 

In 2012, the untimely number 2 earth star is located at the North sector. Since the North sector of the Later Heaven Ba Gua is associated with the male household, this indicates the male household will suffer from serious illness or misfortune in 2012. Furthermore, since the number 2 star is associated with the fire element in the Early Heaven Ba Gua, its interaction with the number 7 metal sitting star, which was [2, 7] combination implies serious accidents and most likely fire hazards.

3. 2012 December monthly flying star chart

3	8	1
2	4	6
7	9	5

 

The number 9 monthly star at the North sector destroyed the metal element of the [6, 7] flying star combination at the North sector.  This will serve as the “trigger” of its effect.

 4. 2012 December 8 daily flying star chart

3	8	1
2	4	6
7	9	5

The number 9 daily flying star at the North sector had reinforce the power of the number 9 monthly flying star and its effect on the [6, 7] flying star combination at the North sector.

 5. 2012 December 8, 1am hourly flying star chart

8	4	6
2	9	2
3	5	1

 

The number 5 hourly flying star at the North sector also served as the “trigger” of this accident, as it is the most vicious flying star in Period Eight (2004-2023). This star will cause serious accidents and misfortune and even causing death. Its effect in this incident was very powerful because it was being enforced by the fire element from the above annual, monthly and daily flying stars.

 Final conclusion:

Based on the analysis of the above natal charts, we can see that all the various flying stars (annual, monthly, daily and hourly) have all contributed to “trigger” this accident. Therefore, it has explained why the above accident occurred at this house and at the precise month, day and time. This was definitely not a random accident. In fact, should the house owner is a follower of the potent  Xuan Kong Flying Star feng shui and had applied the preventive feng shui cures at the North sector of the house, I am certain that this accident will be avoided.

 

 

Nine (9) feng shui taboo for master bedroom

DIY Feng Shui – Something that the Feng Shui Masters will not reveal to you

Part Three – Nine (9) feng shui taboo for master bedroom

The feng shui of the master bedroom is considered as one of the most important sectors in a house. While the feng shui of the living room will affect the husband, the feng shui of the master bedroom will affect the health and relationship of the couple, and even the offspring luck.

There are numerous feng shui guidelines for the master bedroom, here I will list the nine most important guidelines for the reader’s attention, and hopefully this will help them to enjoy a good feng shui master bedroom:

1. The lighting cannot be too bright

- Unlike the living room, the lighting in the master bedroom cannot be too bright, as this is a room of serenity and sensuality. If the lighting is too bright in the master bedroom, it will cause relationship and health problems.

2. The master bedroom cannot be too big or too small

- If the area of the master bedroom is too large, this will cause overwhelming and betrayal behaviours, gossips and difficulty in getting things done. On the other hand, if the area of the master bedroom is too small, this will creates male chauvinism behaviour to the husband, and narrow-minded attitude to the wife.

3. There must no overhead beam above the bed

- If there is a beam above the bed, it will cause health problems to the couple, especially to the head and the nervous system. This will also cause sleeping issues, and because of the psychological feeling of the pressure from the beam, it will affect the performance in work and achievement.

Note: In feng shui, the beam is considered as wood element. Thus, if the person’s birth element is wood, then sleeping under the beam will have little effect on this person.

 4. No solid support for the bed

- Under traditional feng shui guidelines, there must be a solid support for the bed, like a solid wall.  If the bed is against a glass window/door, or there is empty space behind the headboard, this will cause lack of communication and bad relationship between the couple. In the case of a single person, he/she will have difficulty to attract romance luck.

5. No blockage of the bedroom door

- If the master bedroom door is always blocked by objects or furniture, besides causing bad luck, this will cause the relationship of the couple to deteriorate from misunderstanding to each other. Many times, one of the partners will have the tendency of not wanting to stay at home.

6. Mirror facing the master bedroom door

- If the mirror is the first thing that someone see when entering into the bedroom, this indicates the opportunity of deteriorating relationship of the couple because of the involvement of third party. If single, this will cause tremendous difficulty in attracting romance.

7. Hanging religious or negative meanings pictures or calligraphy

- In feng shui, it is not auspicious to hang or display religious or negative meanings pictures or calligraphy as this is considered as “lonely or solitude sha” [孤煞].For single person, this means the remote possibilities of marriage; while for the married couple, this will cause misunderstanding and communication problems, and lack of intimacy relationship.

8. Hanging beautiful girl pictures on the sides of the bed

- This will attract inauspicious yin energy and causing health issues. This will also attract extramarital affairs causing breaking up of the marriage.

9. There must be no fish tank inside the master bedroom

- If there is a fish tank inside the master bedroom, this will cause upset feelings and will affect the relationship of the couple.