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.

Types of buildings or structures (luan tao) that will affect the feng shui of the house

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

Part Two – Types of buildings or structures (luan tao) that will affect the feng shui of the house

1. Hospital:

- There are patients in the hospital and the opportunity of spreading the germs and disease.

- Most of the patients in the hospital are suffered from bad luck, and thus causing the culmination of misfortune and negative energy. This will affect the chi pattern of its surrounding.

- Since there are many operations (sha chi) performed daily in the hospital, it will also affect the surrounding.

Therefore, if you are now living near or next to a hospital, there are three ways to counteract its negative energy fields:

a) Make sure that the entrance door and windows are facing the auspicious directions in order to attract the positive energy to the house.

b) Keep the house well maintained, ample natural ventilation and hygienic to prevent germs entering into the house.

c) It is best to have some kinds of religious belief; this will help to cleanse the negative energy in the house.

2. Temple, Church

Under the traditional feng shui, temple and church are considered as “solitary sha” which is not auspicious. Since these buildings are the houses or gathering places for the gods and spirits, this will affect the chi pattern or energy field of the surrounding and will affect the behaviour of the people living next or close to them. For example, they will always feel lonely and easily have two extreme behaviour; either violent temper or very timid.

 3. Transmission Tower

The transmission tower for TV or cable signals will generate a very strong electromagnetic field, and therefore affect the chi pattern of its surrounding. Furthermore, because of its pointed shaped structure, people living near to them will most likely suffering from either accidents or metal problems.

4. Police Station, Fire Station

In feng shui, the police station is considered as a very strong yin energy building or “solitary sha” [孤陽不生, 獨陰不長] People living near to them will have poor health and many conflicts or arguments. As to the fire station, beside it has the same effect as the police station, additional it will cause serious accidents due to the front door of the fire station is painted with bright red color.

Note: If the profession of the people living close to the police station and fire station are also policeman or fireman themselves, then there will have no effect on them.

5. Government buildings or institutions

The government buildings like courthouse are considered as very strong yang energy buildings just like the police station and fire station at the above. If living directly facing at them, the family will most likely suffering from mental problems, law suits and serious accidents.

6. School 

There are a lot of people believe living near or close to a school is good feng shui because it is an education institute, nonetheless, in reality it is just a feng shui myth due to the following feng shui reasons:

- School is not a commercial building which has little economical influence.

-  Most of the schools only has students at the day time and become an empty place at night, and in the day time, it is mostly young students or small children which their yang energy are still very weak; therefore, this will create a weak yang energy and strong yan energy environment. Consequently, people living near tot the school will have poor wealth luck and difficulties in getting thing done.

 7. Market

In feng shui, we believe living on top and next to a market will cause poor and unstable conditions in the family due to the following reasons:

- There will be smells from the foods and fish; this is considered as “smell sha” [味煞] in feng shui.

- Poor hygienic conditions in the market which will cause the accumulation of germs, this is referred as “germ sha” [ 細菌煞] in feng shui.

- All the meats sold in the market will likely carry the spirits from animals and will accumulate in the market place; this will cause the accumulation of the yin or negative energy in the area.

8. Theatres, Opera House, Sports Arena

Every day, there are only a few shows scheduled in the theatres, concert hall etc., and when the show is on, there will be gathering of many audiences. When the show is finished, the place will leave empty after the audience are gone. This kind of phenomenon is referred as “uncertainty of gathering and dispersing of yang energy” [聚散無常] in feng shui which is not auspicious. This will affect the chi pattern in the surrounding; therefore, people living close to these kinds of buildings will most likely suffering from uncertainty in their luck and job.

9. Transformer station, High Tension Electrical Transformer Tower

These kinds of structures are associated with the fire element in feng shui and have immense effect on the chi pattern or magnetic field; this will also affect the brain, heart and blood of the human body. Thus, living close to the above structures will likely suffering the following health issues:

- Heart and cardiovascular disease

- Brain tumour or mental disease

- Impulsive behaviour and easily making mistakes

Note: According to a research study of children living near to transformer towers, the likelihood of them suffering from leukemia is almost double the chance from ordinary children.

 10. Garbage Collection Center

Under the belief of the Buddhism, the spirits will like to gathering at dark and smelly places, for example, the forests, garbage collection centers etc. Therefore, it is very likely that the spirits will enter into the surrounding houses. The haunted house will cause mental problems and bad fortune to the family. The effective feng shui cure to counteract this effect is to place a red light beside the entrance door and the light must turn on 24/7.

11. Wind Turbines

Recently, in many parts of the world, wind turbines are becoming a popular alternative green energy source. However, it is also one of the most controversial topics which lead to many legal disputes. A lot of the people living close to the wind turbine or the so-called wind farm claimed that they have suffered from many health problems and costing depreciation of their property value. However, up to the current moment, there is still no credited scientific proof that the wind turbine will cause health problems to the people living close to them. If the readers are interested in this topic, they can refer to one of my older posting about wind chimes in this blog site.