Feng Shui - East Meets West
Feng Shui - East Meets West
With a history of three thousand years, the extensive rules of Feng Shui are not something that you can learn overnight. Gaynor Edwards gives an overview of this surprisingly complex approach to interior design.
With a history of three thousand years, the extensive rules of Feng Shui are not something that you can learn overnight. Gaynor Edwards gives an overview of this surprisingly complex approach to interior design.
For the past ten to15 years Far Eastern influences have increasingly griped the Western imagination – from yoga to art to oriental-style furniture.
Possibly the most popular area in which many people have dabbled is Feng Shui. The idea of organising your surroundings to benefit your health, wealth and creativity is an attractive idea that can be implemented in the home, office and garden.
It’s An Ill Wind…:
Feng Shui (literally meaning wind and water) is based on the theory of exposure to favourable winds and discouraging evil spirits.
Although many westerners are sceptical and view the practice as superstitious nonsense, some flailing businesses that have implemented the rules saw their company’s fortunes turn around. An ideal site for a home is on higher ground facing the sea or a river, protected from cold winds by a background of hills – which explains the ridiculous price tags on Marbella’s beachfront property!
Maximum Curvature:
Curves are favoured as protection from evil spirits that are known to only travel in straight lines. Many of the principles of Feng Shui are based on Taoism with the belief that the universe is divided into substance and spirit. The real element is governed by ‘Yin’ and ethereal element by ‘Yang’. The former has come to symbolise dark, night, female, stillness, winter, the north, down and inner. Yang is associated with light, day, male, activity, summer, the south, up and outer.
Tao-ing The Line:
Traditionally the Feng Shui practitioner – known as the hsien sheng – was a Taoist priest. A complicated compass is used, called a Lo Pan, which includes information on constellations and even the ’72 dragon’s veins’ as well as the most familiar 360 degrees and main points of a compass we are familiar with in the western world.
The Feng Shui compass is divided into eight areas, called enrichments, relating to: your career and pathway in life (north), knowledge and learning (north-east), elders and ancestors (east), prosperity and blessings (south-east), fame and illumination (south), relationships and harmony (south west), creativity (west) and helpful friends (north west). Ideally the front door (or the man door used for entering and leaving the house) should face south so that you step out into your fame area.
Elemental Approaches:
The energy flow that moves through a house when a door is opened is called Ch’i, which picks up residual energy from anything it passes – eg. grief from a nearby cemetery. Ch’i has different energy depending on the direction it is flowing, traditionally symbolised by different colour animals: the Red Pheonix, the Black Tortoise, the White Tiger, the Green (or Golden) Dragon. Each has its own characteristics and significance.
On top of this there is also influence from the five elements of earth, water, fire, metal and wood that relate to the year of your birth. There are also four symbols – sun, moon, mountains, lake – that relate to the four principal compass points.
Clearly there’s a lot that influences Feng Shui, which is why there are specialist practitioners.
What Is A Consultation? With Feng Shui consultant Jane Hart:
I trained with Roger Green, who is a very well known Feng Shui specialist, in the U.K, South of France and New York. I studied form school, compass school, flying star techniques and astrology and four pillars horoscope.
When I do a consultation in a home or business, I visit the building and gather as much information as I can from the occupants. I find out about the past history of the building and then make plans and take photographs which I take home to make my study.
The report comes in a four or five page document. I begin with looking at the form school; the basic lay of the building in relationship to the surrounding countryside, the actual plan of the building and where the directions are. I then study the elements to balance and harmonize them. This harmony brings the all important Chi or energy into the building bringing, health, prosperity, and happiness and success.
I meet with the occupants again and go through the report with them, so they understand what they have to do. Sometimes it is necessary to space clear a building because of built up negative energy.
Once I feel that the client has a sound understanding of balancing the elements then we move on to studying the flying stars, which are the energies that are moving on a daily basis and the four pillars, your personal horoscope relating to the elements and the energy of the world.
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