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What is Feng Shui

Part of ancient Chinese belief is that the luck (good or bad) that happens to you during your life depends on the state of the universe when you were born. You use Feng Shui to determine the various enhancements and remedies required to prevent or avoid any bad luck, but first you need to know what that luck is likely to be and when it is likely to occur. The Chinese use a system based on Yin and Yang and their five Elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water) to determine a wide range of information about your life and how the world interacts with you.

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of placing and arranging objects around us that enable us to live in greater harmony with our environment. It is believed that Feng Shui has its roots in Taoism, and there are a number of incidences that show this art to be more than three thousand years old.

For instance, the tombs of Shang kings and their consorts at the cemetery of Xibeigang near Anyang lie on a north-south axis, ten degrees east of due north. The Xia and Shang palaces at Erlitou are also on a north-south axis, slightly west of true north. These orientations were obtained by astronomy, even though the magnetic compass or zhinan zhen was not invented until the later Han era;
At Lamao, an excavation recently yielded an artifact (c. 3000 BCE) that researchers claim to be marked with the Twelve Branches commonly used for calendars and feng shui calculations. Other markings appear to be constellations of the time.
Feng Shui devices in the late Qin and early Han eras consist of two-sided boards with astronomical sightlines. Liuren astrolabes (ancient astronomical calculators based on the most famous of Chinese oracles), have been unearthed intact from Qin-era tombs at Wangjiatai and Zhoujiatai. These devices date between 278 BC and 209 BC. The earliest feng shui manual unearthed by archaeologists dates back to the Qin era.

“Feng Shui” can literally be translated into “wind and water”, both of which are considered to be the strongest forces of nature, where if Feng is considered to be a stream of energy passing overhead just like the wind, Shui is likened to the water in the earth. Other personifications of Yin include passive, dark feminine, etc., where Yang is considered to be the exact opposite. If Yang refers to start or life, Yin personifies the end or death.

Classical Feng Shui addresses the design and layout of cities, villages, dwellings, and buildings in order to harness beneficial chi from one’s surroundings. While Feng Shui primarily addresses the “Yang” or the living aspect, it can also be applied for Yin, depicted in the careful construction of graves and tombs. The rules for yang dwellings however, differ from those applied to yin houses.

The basic theory of Feng Shui utilizes the 5 elements and the Bagua theories. The 5 elements are Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, while the Bagua consists of 8 trigrams: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kan, Dui and Gen. Their combination is used to deduce the events to occur later in a house, a region or anywhere on Earth. Being a holistic science, Feng Shui takes into consideration the philosophical factors, environmental factors, spiritual factors, etc. A Feng Shui house is a house where any change that you make, any cure you introduce into your home or home design is a conscious and deliberate (and well thought out) action that you have taken specifically with the intent of improving your life. It is important know that Feng Shui in home works only when the practitioner puts full mindfulness into each task along the way.

3 steps to wealth and prosperity

Feng Shui works by first identifying ailments in your living/working space and showing you how to cure them.
Next, it shows you how to add energy into your space, and thus into your life.
And finally, to direct that energy toward your goals and dreams.

While it is advisable to employ the services of a Feng Shui consultant, this article addresses some do-it-yourself tips which could be useful in enhancing your wealth potential.

Step 1: Make room for Energy (Remove clutter)
Start by removing the physical clutter in your house. All of use have things we buy at some point in our lives which we get attached to, and which tend to outlive their usefulness with us. Without meaning to, out homes soon start resembling a garage of objects which no doubt represent very fond memories, but in order to move on from the past and to invite a fresh inflow, it is important to make room. Clutter generally negatively impacts us, as it prevents us from moving forward from the past and it only takes a small step from you to embark on a new life.

Remove mental clutter
What most people forget to remove, is the mental baggage they carry which also prevents them from leaving their past behind and starting a new journey. While making physical space for the energies to flow, we also need to open our minds to greater possibilities and that can only be done, by removing the baggage we all carry with us, and bringing in fresh ideas and intentions to take their place.

Step 2: Add energy (placement of the object)
Part of Feng Shui deals with the placement of objects within the physical space created by removing the clutter, and hence inviting and channelizing energies towards a goal. Some of the objects which when properly placed serve to add and channelize energies include:

Three legged toad with a coin in its mouth
This auspicious creature attracts good fortune into your home. Place the toad in any of the corners diagonally opposite your front door for best effect. The best to have in a room is nine, but you can also keep them in three’s or sixes. You should definitely have one toad facing out to collect the money and one facing in to bring the money back into the house. You can keep your toads below the table, behind the couch or in other discreet public areas of your home, but never in the bedroom. To enhance their effect, you can try placing them on top of paper currency.

Auspicious Arowana (Golden dragon fish) The arowana, or golden dragon fish, is an especially powerful energizer of wealth, luck and happiness. In Hong Kong, many well-known Chinese businessmen swear that their good fortune is due to keeping live arowanas in their offices. Arowanas are best suited as wealth enhancer by displaying them on the desk or table in a group of nine.

Prosperity gold coins
Round with a square hole in the center, these Chinese coins represent the powerful union of heaven and earth. You should display them with the yang side facing up, which typically has four Chinese characters. The reverse is the Yin side. You should carry three coins tied with red cord in your bag to bring endless wealth luck. Alternatively, you could hang nine coins above the front door of your house to attract wealth and luck into your home, or six coins in your car to bring happy ventures and good tidings whenever you travel. Try taping nine coins to the underside of your floormat or stick three coins to all your important files. You could even attach three coins to your telephone for successful conversations Prosperity gem trees
The Prosperity Gem Tree signifies continual growth, and hence assists business people to acquire greater wealth and help maintain their state of finances as well. Its branches are laden with coloured gems which symbolize the growth of prosperity. Crystal empowers the mind and expedites problem-solving by promoting creativity with intelligent decisiveness. Display one in your office to give you an edge in business negotiations, or at home to bring wealth luck to the household.

Step 3: Direct Energy (change your attitude about wealth and prosperity)
Now that you have succeeded in creating both physical and mental space, and have taken the necessary step to attract energy into your home, you need to wrap it all up by focusing your own energies towards wealth and prosperity, and hence paying the way to greater success. This can be done by changing your attitude towards money. If you have any negativity towards wealth and money, try and see the advantages that wealth brings you, and channelize your thoughts towards generating greater wealth.

This will help you get the maximum that Feng Shui can offer on your road to financial freedom and success.

Guide to some Feng Shui terms
Yin and Yang
Yin and yang are the be all and end all; the cause of life and death. The Chinese equate the earth or creation with yin and the sky or heaven with yang. Pictorially, yin is represented by a line of two dashes while yang is a continuous line, each derived from the square and circle which in turn represent the earth and heaven, respectively. The origin of this lies with the fact that yin and yang were used as ancient oracles. Oracles of ancient times gave a yes or no answer to any question put to them where yes was represented by the yang, unbroken line and yin, no by the broken line.
Yin and yang are inextricably linked because while yin is restful and yang is active, activity invariably ends with rest and likewise rest leads to further activity. The activity of yang ends with the inactivity of yin. This is graphically shown in the well known symbol for yin and yang which is often called the T’ai ch’i, something quite different from the system or exercise for which the full name is T’ai chi chu’an.
Although yin and yang are effectively opposites, together they produce a balance and within each there is some part of the other, represented in the symbol by the dot of contrasting colour - white in black and black in white. Yin and yang and their negative/ positive aspects also relate to the individual, the home and his or her occupation.