Feng Shui: The Chinese Art of Placement
There is a spot in my garden, tucked in the back right hand corner, where two beautiful plants, not identical but equally lush and healthy, hang from a double shepherds hook. Choosing this placement was not a random act – I did it to enhance my marriage. If this seems puzzling perhaps it’s because you haven’t yet been introduced to Feng Shui. Feng Shui is the Chinese art of placement, and while its true there are many aspects involved it is not difficult to learn.
Central to the study of Feng Shui is “chi” – an Eastern concept that might be simply stated as the flow of energy or life force. The Chinese believe chi flows everywhere and through everything. Chi moves in spirals; it meanders, its flow is gentle and unhurried. Look to some of the most pleasing aspects in your environment and you will likely see this principle in action. A garden path that curves slows you down and invites you to linger whereas a straight path hurries you along your way - just as you are more likely to linger on a gently flowing path so too will the positive flow of chi.
Feng Shui originally developed as part of Taoism and central to that philosophy is the concept of “yin” and “yang”, which is the division of heaven and earth and of spirit and matter. The circular white and black symbol is familiar to many. It is always depicted the same way. The white yang at the top represents summer and the direction south, and the black yin at the bottom represents winter and north. Within each of the halves is a dot of the opposite color, signifying that there are no absolutes, there will always be an element of yin in yang and vice versa. In Feng Shui we are taught to keep a balance of elements to enhance our flow of chi.
There are five elements with corresponding directions that are used in Feng Shui. They are: Fire/South, Water/North, Wood/East, Metal/West, and Earth/Center. Knowing the five elements and their directions is necessary when applying cures for an area you feel needs a general improvement, or an enhancement for an area you would like to improve upon specifically.
Before you can cure or enhance anything, you need to know what it is you are working with. Each home, office or garden can be divided into “eight aspirations”. You may also see this referred to as “eight enrichments”. In general this is known as the BaGua, and is usually represented by a rectangle divided into eight equal boxes, each box represents an area of your life. They are: North/CareerNortheast/Education and KnowledgeEast/Family and HealthSoutheast/Wealth and ProsperitySouth/ Fame and RecognitionSouthwest/Relationships and MarriageWest/ChildrenNorthwest/Mentors and Networking
The BaGua is superimposed over your space and each area will fall into one of the eight aspirations. If your home is oddly shaped you may notice that one or more areas are missing in whole or part. This is a place you would look to apply the appropriate cure. When you know where the eight aspirations fall in your home or office you may decide to apply an enhancement specific to a goal in your life. For example, a single man or woman might wish to place in the relationship sector a pair of something such as plants, candlesticks, or a statue of entwined birds. This can be done in the room that represents marriage and relationships, it can also be done in each room based on where that sector falls in each room.
Your entire home can have a relationship sector and each room can also, on a smaller scale have a relationship sector. I keep a photograph of my husband and me on the corner of my desk that corresponds to this sector. In the kitchen, hangs a framed picture of a pair of purple onions (well, it means something to me and my husband!). For the relationship sector in our bedroom, I framed an anniversary card that depicts a couple gaily dancing atop a heart. These are all seemingly small measures but after twenty years we still smile a lot, make time for one another and take care of each other. Maybe it’s not the Feng Shui, but it sure can’t hurt!
There are many wonderful books on Feng Shui, some more user friendly than others. There are also different schools of Feng Shui, and a beginner might find it confusing (as I did initially) if they do not realize this. The Form School focuses on the environment, the actual contours of the physical landscapes, their size and shape and any watercourses. The four directions of the compass are represented by animals. The East is the green dragon, the West the white tiger, the South the red phoenix, and the North the black turtle.
Traditional Chinese Compass School Feng Shui uses the eight trigrams of the I Ching, the eight-sided BaGua to divide the home or office into equal segments. Usually the career sector is oriented to the North. These tools are used to diagnose the Feng Shui quality and the chi flowing from different directions.
The Black Hat sect of Feng Shui is a more recent addition and widely used in the U.S. Developed in this country in 1985 by Thomas Lin Yun it is a simplified cross between Feng Shui, Taoism, and Tibetan Buddhism. With this school of Feng Shui, each house or room is oriented from the position of the front door, which is said to face the career sector regardless of the actual compass position. This is the school of Feng Shui that I find works best for me. When I pick up a new book on Feng Shui, I can easily adapt it to Black Hat School even if it wasn’t written that way.
There is so much more to learn about Feng Shui- if you’re a little curious now – take a class, read a book or two and dig right in! Even a few small changes can make a difference.