Basic Fung Shui Theory

Introduction to Traditional Chinese Feng Shui

So, your friends have been telling you that you have to check out this Feng Shui stuff, "it's just magic" they say. "Put a plant in the back left hand corner of your home and you'll get more wealth" the magazines say. "Put a pair of wooden ducks in the back right hand corner and you'll finally get that man riding up on his white stallion to sweep you off your feet" the person on the radio says. "Paint your front door Red to promote yourself" the New Age books say. Right? Or is it?

Well, the above is not Traditional Chinese Feng Shui, it's actually closer to Witchcraft because it is solely based upon your powers of belief. You will get some results whilst being focused upon your desires, but when you start relaxing this focus, it all falls apart. I've met countless folk that have had some results for a week or two, but then....... nothing! Apart from the really odd looking decorations left around their homes and workplaces!

There are a great deal of people out there who will gladly sell you a "Lucky Feng Shui 8 Fingered-Doosey-What's-It's" without a care in the world, and unfortunately here in the West, anything that seems even remotely mystical or intriguing, we have a habit of falling for hook-line-and-sinker! My recommendation to you if you must persist with this line of thought is that you use your own heritage for these sorts of items or rituals. What's the point of telling a person of Jewish ancestry that they must have a statue of Buddha in their living room? It goes against the grain, doesn't it?

Feng Shui is really concerned with balancing the energies of your place through the use of the Five Chinese Transformations (commonly known as "Elements") and Yin/Yang theories. As such, there are no Feng Shui items to sell, only knowledge, which I am more than happy to be freely passing on to you.

The influence of the ever changing Universe upon your place (Flying Stars Feng Shui), the observance of your surroundings, the layout of your place, and the people within it are actually the things that need to be analyzed before any recommendations can be made, so that your life then progresses in a smooth manner, allowing what should be, to be.

We are not all destined to be millionaires, or rocket scientists! So the results will be different for us all, but rest assured that what we have come to this Earthly plane to do, will become a synchronous and much easier endeavor after correct application of Traditional Chinese Feng Shui! In simple terms, we have less distraction and deviance from our true life path by living in harmony with our place.

Through parts 1 to 10 of this simple series of lessons about Traditional Chinese Compass Feng Shui, you will end up being able to interpret your Ming Gua (or lucky directions) and the Ba Zhai (intrinsic energies present) for your place! The next sections - parts 11 and on - will enable you to draw up, analyse and interpret the Feng Shui Flying Star Chart for your own premises!

Yin and Yang

Welcome folks! You made it through my preamble, so let's get right down to it!

In this first part we will be looking at the concept of Yin and Yang.

You've all seen folks walking around with those black and white swirls that look like two tadpoles within a circle on surfboards, necklaces, rings, ear-rings, back-packs, stickers, etc..... right? Well, let's have a good look at what that symbol is actually about, OK? It's not really the lucky amulet type device that we Westerners think of it as.......

Here is the Tai Ji symbol, referred to as the Yin/Yang symbol by most folks.

First things first, alright? This is not a 2 dimensional (flat) symbol, it is actually 3 dimensional. Think of a tennis ball with its two sections, imagine one part being white, and the other part being black. The white part is Yang, whilst the black section is Yin. Notice how there is always a part of Yin within the Yang half of the Tai Ji symbol, and vice-versa through the use of those little dots? Why is this drawn so?

Well.... things change constantly. There is no absolutely correct way to draw the Tai Ji symbol, feel free to orient it however you like. Let's grab that tennis ball again. Now throw it up into the air and catch it. Look at it briefly. Quick, throw the ball in the air and catch it again, look at it briefly, then repeat this over and over until the reality sets in that there is not always the perfect balance of the 2 dimensional figure we are used to seeing.

Now take the ball and turn it so that you are staring at the largest proportion of the Yang side, you can still see a little bit of Yin there can't you? There is no absolute Yang or absolute Yin. That's all that the dots are telling you in the 2 dimensional drawing. That there is always the seed of Yin within Yang, and vice-versa. We'll come back to this in a moment, let me digress for just a little bit....

How does this apply to life? Go outside on a bright sunny day (Yang) is there just light? No, of course not, there is darkness in the shadows (Yin), is there not? But which is the greatest proportion, the Sun or Shade? Well that all depends upon the weather, the local areas landscape, etc.... doesn't it? And guess what, it's constantly changing isn't it?

So what is Yin and Yang used for, and how, you ask? Well, Yin and Yang is merely a comparison of two things. Sort of like the ratio symbol in math, physics and chemistry. It is always used to compare something against its counterpart.
Day (Yang) and Night (Yin),
Summer (Yang) and Winter (Yin).

Now let's go back to my comment about there being no absolute Yin or Yang. Lets take water as an example. Compare water to fire, water is Yin, and fire is Yang. Now lets look at a mountain with a waterfall, the water is Yang, and the mountain is Yin. So in the first comparison, water was Yin, but in the second comparison water was Yang. So no one thing can ever be absolutely Yin or Yang. Think about it laterally and you'll find millions of examples throughout your daily life.

In Feng Shui we use Yin and Yang to help balance the energies of a place, here is a short list of Yin and Yang qualities to use, add your own qualities on to this as you progress.

Where would we want Yang energies? In a fast food restaurant or cafe, but definitely not in a high class intimate restaurant. In a living space, but not in a bedroom. In an office, but not in a funeral home. Starting to get the idea?

OK, so how can you use this knowledge? Have a look at the rooms in your home, start with the entry-way, is it over-crowded with coats, bags, hats, rubbish, all sorts of stuff from the car, or over-shadowed by large trees so that it appears gloomy? This would be excessively Yin, and hopefully none of you out there have this situation. Tch, tch, tch if you do! The entry to your home, referred to as the Ming Tang or Bright Hall, should ideally be a Yang area. Take a look at your lounge or living space, is it too Yin, with thick heavy drapes, soft lounge covers, piles of cushions, thick soft carpet, etc.... Take a look at the size of this room, is there too much furniture shoved in there reducing free movement throughout the room?

Do you find that you come home collapse into the lounge and just veg. out? Chances are the room is excessively Yin. Add more hard surfaces, or expose them for those of you with mountains of clutter, tch, tch, tch...... Of course if you work in a job where you are talking and on the go all day long you will be wanting a more relaxing space, so look at your job and whether it is Yin or Yang natured also, when trying to balance your lounge room.

We can look at people in the same way, the Yin natured person is the timid one who apologises for everything, the Yang natured person is the gregarious loud-mouth who can never admit they are in the wrong!

Look at your bedroom, what don't we want an excess of here? I've got an elephant stamp for you if you answered Yang! What happens if there is an excess of Yang surfaces in your bedroom? Difficulty sleeping right through the night, constant headaches, waking up tired instead of refreshed are just a few of the ailments that may be suffered from by living in an excessively Yang bedroom. What can you do about an excessively Yang bedroom? Soften it. Cover all those hard surfaces, use nice thick material runners on top of your side tables and dresser, hang a tapestry on a wall, use thick luxurious curtains instead of cold, hard blinds on the windows. Place soft, warm rugs on the floor, covering over those hard tiles and wooden floorboards. I can't think of anything worse than having cold tootsies first thing in the morning! Look at the Yin clues given above; soft, quiet, still, dark.... think laterally about how you can achieve this. If using green for example don't use fluorescent green, go for a nice refreshing pale green colour on your walls, if using yellow we would avoid canary yellow and go for a more muted yellow nearing the ochre tones.

Get the idea? Good, now spend the next week looking at Yin and Yang in your place, achieving the right balance for you. Don't go painting just yet though..... we've got a ways to go before we're even close to getting out the colour swatches!

Qi and the Transformation Cycles (WuXing)

In some books it is spelt as Chi, and should be pronounced as "Chee."

So just what is Qi? Well it's a tough concept for us Westerners to grasp, but try to imagine an invisible spider web that keeps the Universe in order. OK, you've got that? Now think of the concept of Karma, where every thing that we do has a reaction with the Universe, where every thing is interconnected, and at the same time individual. I said it was a difficult concept for us Westerners to grasp!

Qi is everything, yet is nothing.

Confused yet? OK, basically Qi is energy, and initially comes in two forms. Sheng Qi which is positive natured, and Sha Qi which is negative natured. These two forms can then be broken down into a further five types, known as the Five Transformations, which are all too often incorrectly referred to as the Five Elements. An element is fixed in nature, whereas a transformation is in a constant state of transition. These five Transformations are named Water, Tree, Fire, Soil and Metal.

Let's see what J. Needham wrote about these Transformations in his book
"Science and Civilisation in China" Cambridge University Press, 1956, Vol. II, p. 243.

"The conception of the elements was not so much one of a series of five sorts of fundamental matter.... as of five sorts of fundamental processes. Chinese thought here characteristically avoided substance and clung to relation."

Which leads me to the WuXing or "Five Transformations." Think of them as small children. Let's see how they relate to each other, how they interact, how they behave if you like.

There are four energetic interactions that you need to be aware of, and the Chinese were the ones who worked out the patterns here that form the underlying relationship between everything in the Universe. If you can learn these off by heart, you will breeze through the rest of this series. At the very least print up or write out your own cycles, so that you can refer to them as is needed further on down the track.

Tree is enhanced by Water
Fire is enhanced by Tree
Soil is enhanced by Fire
Metal is enhanced by Soil
Water is enhanced by Metal

Water enhances Tree enhances Fire enhances Soil enhances Metal enhances Water.... and so on.

So, if Tree is enhanced by Water, what enhances Metal?

I have an Angel stamp for those of you that answered "Soil." 

Metal is weakened by Water
Soil is weakened by Metal
Fire is weakened by Soil
Tree is weakened by Fire
Water is weakened by Tree

Water weakens Metal weakens Soil weakens Fire weakens Tree weakens Water.... and so on.

Notice a pattern here? These two energetic cycles are merely the opposite flow to each other!

So, if Water is weakened by Tree, what is weakened by Soil?

Another Angel stamp for those who said "Fire." Well done!

Think of a fireplace, with the Tree becoming Fire and then Soil. Seeing the picture?
Getting the idea of why they are referred to as Transformations now?

Fire is controlled by Water
Metal is controlled by Fire
Tree is controlled by Metal
Soil is controlled by Tree
Water is controlled by Soil

Water controls Fire controls Metal controls Tree controls Soil controls Water.... and so on.

So, if Metal is controlled by Fire, what controls Tree?

A Butterfly stamp for those who said "Metal." Smarty pants!

Picture an axe chopping down a tall tree.

Soil is insulted by Water
Tree is insulted by Soil
Metal is insulted by Tree
Fire is insulted by Metal
Water is insulted by Fire

Water insults Soil insults Tree insults Metal insults Fire insults Water.... and so on.

Again, notice a pattern here? Yup, the above two cycles are the reverse of each other.

Don't get too caught up on trying to picture this last cycle, it only happens on occasions when an element is really weak and vulnerable. Picture what would happen if you threw a bucket of water on a house fire, in all likelihood you'd get scalded. Or picture a flash flood wiping away the coastline. Try to cut down a Gum tree with a razor blade, what happens?

OK, by now you're asking yourself "what in the heck has this to do with Feng Shui?" Well through the observation of these cycles over millennia the Chinese were able to actually nut out a couple of Feng Shui methods for predicting what would happen to whom and when, just from knowing the direction your home is facing, and when it was built. These methods of Feng Shui are known as "The 8 Houses" and "The Flying Stars." They also did similar things for our physical bodies through acupuncture, massage and herbalism. Smart, hey?

The Transformations!

When do we use the interactions of the Transformations and how, I hear you asking.

Well, say we have an excess of a particular type of negative energy, how do we reduce it? Hang a mirror or crystal and hope for the best? Not on your nelly! We need to identify exactly what we have an excess of, or what is creating the problem, and then use the appropriate Transformation and cycle to reduce or nullify the impact within our place.

Let's look at an example;
Take a house positioned at the end of a dead-end street, or directly opposite a T-junction.
We have a potential Tree Sha being omitted towards the house. How do I know it's a Tree Sha? Through the shape of the Sha. (The shapes of the Transformations are covered a little lower, as well as colours and some other attributes.) How do we weaken a Tree Sha? Think back to the Transformation Cycles.... what weakens Tree? A white chocolate Tim-Tam is yours if you said Fire! (Sorry, I ran out of stamps!)

Say we want to strengthen a particular positive natured Qi form, let's use Soil as an example. What enhances Soil? It's Fire isn't it?

How do we know what particular energy we want to enhance or suppress? Through the use of the Flying Stars form of Feng Shui, and that is what this entire series is about. Teaching you how to draw up your charts and interpret them correctly, but before we get to that you need to understand these basics first. If this series were a baby, we'd still be lying on our backs at the present moment gazing around the room at the shapes and movement! We haven't even got on to our hands and knees yet!

Let's have a look at the following attributes of the Five Transformations, colour, form and objects.

Water

Tree

 Fire

 Soil

 Metal

A special note about not confusing Tree and Soil shaped buildings:
A Tree shaped building is tall, lay it on its side and it is looked at as Soil.

A special note about looking at colours:
When looking at colours, the Fire tones are the only ones that can easily set off problems.

Let's get a little more complicated now.
Say that we have a house with a red painted front door opposite an extremely busy T-junction and we require Metal Qi at the front for wealth, as ascertained through the use of the advanced Flying Stars Feng Shui method. Just to throw a spanner in the works, the owner refuses point blank to change the colour of the front door because they read that it was good luck in a Feng Shui book somewhere, what do we use here?

In this example we would use Soil for three reasons;
1 - Soil weakens the Fire of the front doors red colour, which is actually fairly strong Fire because of the Tree Sha from the road hitting it (Tree enhancing Fire). This Fire is against/controlling the Metal, isn't it?
2 - Soil enhances the Metal that we so desire for wealth.
3 - Tree controls Soil, give the source of Sha Qi (Tree in this case) a little something to control and it is going to take its mind off of creating mischief with the front of the house. It's sort of like giving a boisterous child something engrossing to do.
 

Don't worry if this seems too complicated at the moment, there will be lots of examples along the way in the following parts for you.

Over the next weeks, start looking at the things in your home, suburb and city, such as buildings, cars, houses, people, and learn the shapes and colours of the Five Transformations.

Also start looking at what you would use if you had to balance out the following situations:

1.      Metal controlling Tree
2. Fire weakening Tree
3. Water being controlled by Soil
4. Water against Fire
5. A house opposite a T-junction, where we actually want to have Water Qi according to the Flying Stars
6. A Mosque with a dome shaped roof directly across from where we want Tree energy at the front door

The Transformations at work!

In the last session I asked you to start looking at what you would use if you had to balance out the following situations:

1. Metal controlling Tree

2. Fire weakening Tree

3. Water being controlled by Soil

4. Water against Fire

5. A house opposite a T-junction, where we actually want to have Water Qi according to the Flying Stars

Why have we not used Fire here? you ask. Well have a look at the Controlloing Cycle again on the previous page, how do Water and Fire get along? There is always the chance that you may place too much Fire there, and Insult the Water also!

6. A Mosque with a dome shaped roof directly across from where we want Tree energy at the front door

Starting to get the idea of how to use the Transformations?

Good, let's move on to some more qualities of the Transformations through the use of the BaGua.

The BaGua is really a reference tool, that enables us to see qualities of compass directions and areas, people, family members, body parts, and even offers cryptic clues for more advanced interpretations of Flying Star Feng Shui. All this, through the use of 8 simple symbols, and a good memory of course.

What does BaGua mean?

So what is a Trigram you ask?

A trigram is made up of three lines, each of these lines is known as a Yao.
These Yao can be either broken and Yin (Female), or solid and Yang (Male).

Through the arrangement of these lines and dashes, we can tell which family member any trigram represents, simply by knowing that :

To work out whether we are looking at a Male or Female trigram, and which family member it represents, all we need do is look at the odd line in the trigram, and its location.

In the following trigram example the odd line is the middle one and it is Yang (Male), so we have the trigram representing the Middle Son or a Middle Aged Man.

The Mother and Father trigrams will have three lines all the same.

Three Yin lines for the Mother,

and three Yang lines for the Father.

Each trigram has a home position on the Chinese Feng Shui Compass known as the LuoPan, and also has a Transformation quality associated with it. For example; the trigram of Xun is in the Southeast between 112.5 and 157.5 degrees. Xun is the oldest/first born daughter, and has a transformation quality of Yin Tree (the seedling or small bush). One of Xuns' cryptic clues taken from the I-Ching is "triple the profits". This trigram is also associated with learning and romance.

So, from the above we can see that Feng Shui is not as simple as putting a plant or fish-pond in the Southeast for wealth, or Fire in the South for fame, etc.... It is not until you can draw up and interpret your 8 Houses or Flying Star chart that you should even contemplate what to place where, or what colours to use where.

Following is a list of the trigrams, with their most basic Feng Shui attributes present.
Print these out and keep them handy for when we cover the Stars themselves later on.

You will be able to see who is being affected through this template when it comes to your place in regard of the 8 Houses and Flying Stars methods. This is as easy as looking to the South for information on how a middle aged lady is going to be affected, or looking to the NW for the Patriarch or Father, etc....