About Feng Shui

Traditional Feng Shui

Feng Shui is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and it literally means “wind, water”. Feng Shui comes in many different type of schools and the one common denominator for them all is that they are based on the concept of Qi (pronounced chi).

The way I see it, Feng Shui is an outer representation of your internal world. What you think, how you feel and your beliefs are represented in your surroundings. The energetic vibration you have within you will resonate with objects and places in your surroundings and you will feel drawn to, and at home with, energies at the same level as those within you. This means that your home is an external representation of your internal world. The same goes for your workplace, but to a lesser extent, especially if you’re employed and working in someone else’s business.

I’m trained in Form, Compass and Flying Star school Feng Shui, and I believe these forms of Feng Shui to be the most accurate and helpful to use.

Qi

There isn’t really an English word to directly translate Qi (pronounced chi), the closest we can get is “energy”. Qi is a state that is not easy to describe and it can be quite hard for the mind to grasp what it really is. In its original meaning Qi is energy about to materialise or material about to become energy. Qi moves between places via the air or water and it’s important to attract as much positive Qi as possible into a building for the occupants to live a prosperous life. The more positive energy you have in your home, the more effect any changes you make there will have. Attracting positive energy will support you in making positive changes in your home and in your life.

All forms of Feng Shui look at how Qi flows, both inside and outside of buildings. By supporting and enhancing Qi we can bring good energy, people and events into our lives. Using Feng Shui you can make sure your home is a place that supports your dreams and goals and where you feel good.

The West and Feng Shui

Feng Shui has developed over a long period of time in China. It was only about 40 years ago this knowledge was starting to spread to the Western world and when it did, it was predominantly a “Westernised” version of Feng Shui that was taught outside of China, often referred to as BTB or Black Hat Sect Feng Shui. Today knowledge in the traditional schools of Feng Shui is spread across the world as well and it is these schools that I work with, rather than the Westernised “modern” version.

By using Feng Shui adjustments and enhancements we can create positive results for our health, wealth and relationships. Bringing balance and harmony to your home can be accomplished in many ways, for example by moving furniture, choosing the right colours for a room or building, using water features, moving bedrooms within a home, repositioning your desk, using certain elements in specific sectors of your home etc. Used correctly, Feng Shui can support you in creating an amazing life!

Three main schools of Feng Shui

The first known record of Feng Shui was found in the “Yellow Emperor Classic of Internal Medicine” over 2000 years ago. There have been several different teachings of Feng Shui historically, and over time they developed into three main schools; Form School, Compass School and Flying Star School. When performing a Feng Shui consultation at your home I use my combined knowledge in all three of these traditional schools to help you balance your space and maximise its potential.

Form Shool

There are five different elements or forms according to Feng Shui: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. They all related to objects in our surroundings. Anything that has physical form is considered a form/element. An object is classified into a certain form due to what it’s made of and what shape and colour it has. As such any object or piece of furniture can be said to have either fire, earth, metal, water or wood energy and attributes. The thing you notice first about an object is normally what would classify it into a certain form and this will be different for different objects.

The five elements represent the way of the Universe, everything in nature is built up by cycles and is forever changing. Each element receives energy from the one before and in turn gives energy to the one after. This is what is referred to as the “growth cycle” (in green). So Fire receives energy from Wood and gives energy to Earth. You can also see that there is a star-like pattern in the middle of the circle, this is called the “controlling cycle” (in red). Each element controls, and is controlled by, another element. If one element has too much energy, or takes up too much space, it will suppress the element that it controls and create an imbalance in energy.

When using Feng Shui to transform your home or workplace, many of the suggestions I make are about bringing more of a certain element into a certain room or area to create balance. When your home or workplace is in balance, the energy resonates with an even frequency and you will feel the difference.

Compass School

Compass School relates to the actual compass directions (North, South, East, Southeast etc.). Any building can be divided into nine sectors, one for each of the compass directions, and one for the centre of the building (called the Tai Ji). Each sector relates to a specific compass direction, number, element (form), shape, family member, colour, body part and organ. By dividing a building into sectors, I can recommend which furniture and what colours are beneficial for each of the rooms in your home. It is also possible to create support for specific family members by analysing the Compass School findings for a home and adding appropriate support and rearrangements.

Here is a simple overview of the compass directions and the areas they relate to:

Flying Star School

Flying Star School is based on numerology and considered the most advanced form of Feng Shui. In order to calculate the Flying Stars of a building, I need to know the year the house was built and what compass direction it faces. Once I have this information I can calculate the Flying Stars for the building. The Flying Stars is really an energetic map, or blue print, of your home or workplace and will tell me in detail what type of energy is present in the different compass sections of the building you are in.

From the energetic map I can draw conclusions as to what rooms are best used for active (yang) activities, such as an office or living room, and what rooms are best suited for inactive (yin) activities, such as sleeping or storage.

The Feng Shui of a building will never be perfectly set up to begin with (unless Flying Star Feng Shui was incorporated when it was built). Please keep this in mind! I find that there are always areas that are out of balance in any building I work with, unless they are supported by certain forms, objects or colours. Using Flying Star Feng Shui I can recommend the actions you need to take and any enhancements you can make to create a balanced and happy home or workplace.