Feng Shui
There are more than a dozen feng shui disciplines or schools, some
of which are described below. Regardless of differences among them,
they all incorporate principles of yin and yang as well as an understanding
of five elemental energies.
| Yin/Yang Principles |
| The Five Elements |
| Compass School |
| Form School |
| The Eight Life Aspirations |
| Black Hat Feng Shui |
| Qi-Mag Feng Shui |
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| Yin/Yang
Principles |
| Everything on earth and in the universe exists
in a pair of opposite polarities. One has predominantly male
(Yang) characteristics and the other female (Yin) qualities.
Also, each Yang unit has elements of Yin in it and vice versa.
Examples of Yang characteristics are light, hot, active, and
forward. Yin qualities include dark, cold, static, and backward. |
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As human beings, our bodies have Yin and Yang
responses to the outside environment. Healthy cells and organs
have their Yin and Yang polarities in balance. If there is a
lack or an excess of one or the other, it results in imbalance
in our bodies that manifests as physical discomfort, minor illness,
or serious disease.
The tai chi symbol represents Yang (white area with black spot)
and Yin (black area with white spot) within the universe (circle). |
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| The
Five Elements |
Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water are the
physical building blocks of all matter on earth. These five
elements can be classified more than a dozen different ways,
including by color; material; compass direction; sound; number;
taste; body organ; and animal (based on behavior).
Also, they interact with one another in two complementary cycles÷Productive/Nurturing
and Destructive/Controlling÷that can promote balance and harmony
in oneās environment. |
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| Compass
School |
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| One aspect of compass school feng shui is the
East/West system. Compass school feng shui is based on the eight
compass directions and uses various formulas, some involving
complex mathematical calculations, to determine favorable or
unfavorable directions for front doors, sleeping positions,
furniture placement, and more. |
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The eight compass directions correspond to
the Eight Trigrams, which are the building blocks of the 64
hexagrams of the I-Ching (The Book of Changes). Each
trigram is represented by a three-line symbol associated with
yang (s olid line) and/or yin (broken line) energy. Also, each
trigram is assigned an element, a number, a family relation,
a season, a natural phenomenon, parts of the body, and more.
This information is traditionally shown in the pa kua ("eight
trigrams") grid.
People are divided into two groups, East or West, depending
on their Kua (as in pa kua) number. The Kua number is
calculated with a formula based on a personās birth year. Each
group has four positive directions and four negative directions,
information that can be used to decide everything from where
to place your bed to get optimal rest to where to sit around
the table at an important staff meeting. |
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| Form
School |
| Form school or landscape feng shui focuses
on landscape and terrain, both natural and manmade, by interpreting
elevations, bodies of water, mountains and hills, and physical
structures. The five elemental energies and the Four Animals
Formation are important, especially with regard to site assessment.
For example: The ideal place for a home is one with dragon hills
on the right (as you face the front of the house), a turtle
mountain in the back, lower tiger hills on the left, and a phoenix
lake in the front. |
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| The
Eight Life Aspirations |
There are eight life aspirations (also called
stations or enrichments) common to all of humankind. These
are:
- Career (hobby)
- Knowledge (education, self-cultivation, spirituality,
wisdom)
- Family (ancestors) Wealth (prosperity)
- Fame (reputation, recognition, command)
- Marriage (relationship, partnership)
- Children (creativity, future)
- Helpful People and Travel (mentors, benefactors)
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| Each of these aspirations corresponds to a
trigram, compass direction, color, element, and so on. They
make up the ba gua (American spelling for pa kua)
map, which can be placed over a floor plan to discover where
enhancements or remedies need to be applied. For more information,
see "Black Hat Feng Shui." |
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| Black
Hat Feng Shui |
The Eight Life Aspirations and ba gua
("eight trigrams") are core tools of Black Hat-style Feng Shui.
This intuitive type of feng shui is the most well-known and
practiced in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as in the United
States in general. Its name comes from the Black Hat Sect of
Tantric Buddhism. The spiritual leader of Black Hat Feng Shui
is Grand Master Professor Lin Yun, who founded the school in
Berkeley, CA, in the mid-1980s.
A buildingās orientation is based on the location of the front
door, and the ba gua is used to assess the whole home
or office as well as individual rooms. All cures or remedies
are activated by a combination of intention, ritual, and/or
ceremony.
There are nine basic kinds of remedies: lights and bright objects;
mirrors; sound; living things; heavy objects; color; moving
objects; electrically powered objects; and water.
A tenth "other" category includes gemstones, fragrances, art
objects, and almost anything else that is personally meaningful
to a client. |
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| Qi-Mag
Feng Shui |
Qi-Mag Feng Shui is a comprehensive discipline that embraces
compass and form schools as well as the Eight Life Aspirations,
Flying Stars, Western geomancy, and more. Practitioners emphasize
improving oneās health and well-being by creating a high-vitality
environment at home and in the office.
This all-inclusive, modern approach to feng shui was developed
by Prof. Dr. Jes T. Y. Lim, who founded the Qi-Mag International
Feng Shui & Geobiology Institute in 1990. Diploma and certification
courses, plus an international degree program, are offered
in Europe, Australasia, and North America. For more information,
visit www.feng-shui.com.
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