Feng Shui

Feng Shui is an ancient Taoist method of geomancy. It is based on the traditional Chinese method of arranging and remedying the human and social world in auspicious alignment with the forces of the cosmos, including the many manifestations of qi (chi or energy) and yin-yang forces. The practice of feng shui can also be used to understand the past and as a predictive tool. http://www.indobase.com/fengshui/types-of-feng-shui.html The art and science of feng shui concerns two dimensions - space (how things are placed) and time (for instance, when it is best to build or make changes). An ideal environment is created by balancing nature's five elements: fire, earth, metal, water, and wood, as they are represented in the ba gua symbol of Taoist alchemical theory. Auspicious, or favorable alignments and timings result in balanced and nourishing energies for a particular space (good feng shui), while inauspicious alignments and timing cause deterioration (bad feng shui). http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/home/3fengshu.htm

According to feng shui practice, all spaces have a ba gua, or energetic profiles - rooms, houses, and plots of land. http://www.fastfengshui.com/feng_shui_bagua.htm Feng shui is used in many different professions, including architecture, landscape architecture, interior decoration, and in the remodeling and construction industries. This web site features information that you can use to optimize the feng shui in your home using the Eight House method, and has other information on feng shui, such as relevant links, blogs and featured photos and videos that help explain in more detail the concept of how to become more in tune with your environment by using the science of feng shui.

The most ancient school of Feng Shui, called KanYu at the time, developed during the Tang dynasty and was called San He, (Triple Harmony School). http://www.loktinfengshui.com/feng-shui#Eight_House_Feng_Shui_School This school emphasized the importance of environmental and geographical features, giving special importance to mountains, topography and water. Water features were especially important. Building plans were contingent upon a synthesis of proper flow, layout, shapes and direction. http://www.indobase.com/fengshui/types-of-feng-shui.html

Another school emerged around the mid 17th century, called San Yuan, which placed greater importance to temporal aspects relating to the change in the quality of chi during seasonal and longer periods of time. It takes into consideration the age of structures as well as directions and placement. The luo pan, or directional compass and symbol template for the San Yuan school, has 360 degrees, while the San He luo pan has 365 1/4 degrees. These differences make dividing plots different, with 24 sectors of 15 degrees each in San Yuan and 8 sectors of 45 degrees each with San He. According to San Yuan theory, the San He method, if used on large plots, can classify sectors that contain 2 or 3 different forms of energy. The Xuan Kong Flying Stars model (a tool of the advanced Compass School) is used on land form and buildings for assessing energy forms in the San Yuan school, as opposed to the land form bias of the San He School. http://www.fengshuichua.com/Fengshui%20san%20yuan.html http://www.indobase.com/fengshui/types-of-feng-shui.html

In modern times, the Form School of feng shui reflects the philosophy of the ancient San He practices, with its emphasis on environmental influences. There are variations of the Compass school, which is derived from San Yuan practices. Sometimes Form and Compass Schools are combined by different practitioners. http://www.artofplacement.com/FengShuiSchools.htm

Eight House Feng Shui, also know as Ba Zhai, Yigua, Eight Mansions and East-West Theory, is a respected school of Chinese feng shui in the East. Like San Fe, it doesn't use the age of the structure for making assessments and it divides the ba gua into four good and four bad directions. The directions are fixed, unlike in the San Yuan school. People are assigned different guas depending on birth date and have different optimal directions. Houses are also assigned different auspicious and inauspicious directions, depending on the compass orientation of the front door. http://www.fengshuiweb.co.uk/advice/eightmansions.htm

The Black Hat School of Feng Shui is a practice that combines many different traditions, Taoist, Buddhist, and folkloric traditions, and the Compass School ideas of geomancy are used. http://www.environmentalbalance.com/Page.html This practices was developed by Thomas Lin Yun, who is Grandmaster and founder the contemporary BlackHat Tantric Buddhism movement. Although this is a popular and a simpler system to learn, this system is criticized by Chinese scholars and practitioners of traditional forms of feng shui. http://www.indobase.com/fengshui/types-of-feng-shui.html

Lastly, there are some practitioners that use what is called Intuitive Feng Shui. In this case, these individuals have the capability of sensing and differentiating good and bad energy flows and can give advice based on that ability. Some of these practitioners use this ability in conjunction with other methods.

In Eight House Feng Shui, each person is assigned a gua number that depends upon their birth date. A table of those gua numbers from 1930-2007 is listed to the right of this page. For those whose number is not listed, the method of calculating numbers is given. Below you will find tables for favorable and unfavorable directions for guas in the East and West groups and the wandering star designations assigned for each direction, beginning with the most auspicious, Sheng Chi. There are alternate spellings of these wandering star designations, which are given in the section below the gua numbers. A description of the four favorable and the least unfavorable directions follows:

1. Sheng Chi - Money and Career. A great location for your front door, this direction helps bring prosperity, personal energy, and esteem. Point your work desk and conduct important business in this direction.
2. Tien Yi - Good Health. Besides promoting health, it helps self confidence, patience and amicable relationships. You can place the head of your bed and locate your kitchen stove in this orientation.
3. Nien Yen - Family and Marriage. Beside helping with family relations, this direction favors a long life and the ability to make it on your own. If you can have your master bedroom in this location it is recommended. Also favorable for work involving management of employees or computer networking.
4. Fu Wei - Self-development and Education. This energy fosters tranquility and thus assists personal development, introspection and meditation. Orient the head of the bed of young children and your own in this orientation if you are on the path of self improvement.
5. Ho Hai - The least unfavorable direction which is associated with frustration and financial loss. Avoid it if possible, but it is a better choice than the Wu Kwi, Lui Sha and Chueh Ming directions.
6. Wu Kwei - This is known at the "5 Ghosts", associated with loss of income and property, perhaps even robbery.
7. Lui Sha - Known as the "Six Killings", associated with legal problems, illness, accidents.
8. Chueh Ming - Disaster, fatal illness, bankruptcy, total loss.
   
   

Here are the Gua (Kua) numbers for males and females for each year. If the birth date you are interested in is not here, you can calculate it. For a female, born in 1995, add the last two digits together, 9 + 5 = 14. Reduce this by adding 1 + 4 = 5, then add 5 to this, 5 + 5 = 10. Reduce that to 1 + 0 = 1, the female gua number.

For males, add the last two digits together and reduce if the result is 10 or more as shown above. Then take this number and stubract from 10. If a male was born on 1993, the series of calculations would be: 9 + 3 = 12, 1+ 2 = 3, 10 - 3 = 7.

In the table, note that the Chinese New Year begins on either Feb. 4 or 5, so if you were born on Feb 3 or earlier, your birth year would be one year less using the Chinese calendar. http://www.absolutelyfengshui.com/fengshui/what-is-my-kua-number.php

http://www.fengshuiweb.co.uk/advice/eightmansions.htm

Because there are different translations of the Chinese language, there are several alternate spellings of the wandering star designations, as given below:

• K'un - Kun, Kuen
  
  
• Tui - Dwei, Dui
  
  
• Chi'en - Chien, Chyan, Qian
  
  
• K'en - Gen
  
  
• Chen - Jen, Zhen
  
  
• Sun - Hsun