F A Q
Q: I have read some Feng Shui books and the more I read the more I get confused.
A: If you end up being more and more confused then you have probably been reading books from different schools of Feng shui. Each school has its own rules and way of doing things. My suggestion to you is that you find a school that you are comfortable with and stick to it to avoid this confusion. I practice the Western or Black Hat School of Feng Shui. This is the school that most resonated with me and the one I am most comfortable with. Here are the basic differences between each school.
The Compass School Feng Shui divides the structure into the eight compass directions using a lo pan compass. Each person has four good compass directions and four bad compass directions based on their year of birth and gender and belong to either the East Group or the West Group. A building's sitting direction determines whether it is an East or West Group structure. Each compass direction has an element associated with it, either water, wood, earth, metal, or fire. Utilizing your best compass directions for sleeping and working will help support your life goals.
The Flying Star Feng Shui is the traditional Chinese Feng Shui and is based on numerology. A lo pan compass is used to calculate the facing and sitting degrees of the structure. It takes into account the influence of time and direction on a building. The date of construction and facing/sitting degree is used to determine energy patterns within. Form is also taken into consideration as form affects the stars. Flying Star is the most complex form of Feng Shui.
The Form School Feng Shui uses the shapes and forms of the surrounding landscape and waterways and how these shapes will affect people living or working in a structure. The four cardinal directions of the compass are represented by four animals. The Green Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West, the Red Phoenix of the South and the Black Turtle of the North. Interior forms and the layout of the structure are also analyzed.
Western Feng Shui/ Black Hat Sect is a modern version of feng shui developed in the mid 1980s and is a combination of Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, Psychology and Traditional Feng Shui. It is based on a more spiritual approach than scientific. The structure is divided into eight sections and a bagua or Ba Gua map is aligned with the entry door, rather than actual compass directions. Each section corresponds to a different life aspiration. Placing of symbols and intent is emphasized.
Q: If my life seems to be out of control and things are just not going well does this mean I have bad Feng Shui?
A: A Feng Shui adjustment doesn’t guarantee a particular outcome good or bad. Our lives are ruled by the Heaven realm, the human realm and the earth realm. The Heaven realm includes karma, astrology, fate, the time & place you were born, etc. You have little influence on this realm. The human realm is affected by your attitude and effort, and by the people you surround yourself with. Here you have the most opportunity to make changes. Applying Feng Shui to your environment (earth realm) maximizes the positive influences and minimizes the negative influences of the environment on your life. Feng Shui can’t overcome a negative attitude, but coupled with positive intentions and effort it can produce profound results.