What is Fengshui?

Fengshui can be used to create Harmony, Health and Fortune in everyday life. It achieved this by manipulating the physical placement of objects (walls, furniture, equipment, buildings, roads, towns, etc.) in space as well as the invisible energies associated with those objects. Fengshui goal is to make life easier and more conducive to the achievement of personal, communal, or institutional potential. Because they are holistic and holographic by their very nature, principles and strategies proper to Fengshui can be applied at any scale in the physical world, from a single room in an apartment, to whole towns or even whole regions in the geographical sense.

Fengshui is concerned with the forces in Nature which, through their interactions, affect and influence human destiny. These forces are considered to either tangible or intangible. Tangible forces are those which can be seen with the naked eye and which are therefore categorized and referred to by their formal characteristics. Intangible forces are invisible forces which act on the physical forms and which are considered to be directional in nature and bound to certain rules in time. Hence, the study of Fengshui is the study of form, space, and time, and of their interactions with the intangible forces behind matter which are constantly acting upon reality.

Fengshui

The term feng itself means wind or air, and shui, means water. In a broader sense, however, shui also embraces all physical circumstances such as rivers, lakes, mountains, and the landscape. In a modern environment it also refers to buildings, roads, and highways. The word shui therefore embraces the totality of the physical environment, whereas the word feng refers to the more abstract or intangible forces of the Cosmos, which, like the wind, are invisible to the human eye. These intangible forces are by nature mysterious and their understanding requires knowledge of the compass, the cosmology of the I Ching, the pattern of movement of the stars and planets, and the pattern of time and change in the Cosmos.

Fengshui is concerned with the impact of the environment on human life. It is interesting to note that Fengshui has reappeared in the west precisely at a time when the degradation of the environment requires that we play much closer attention to the impact of our behavior and our thinking on Nature. Fengshui is first and foremost an ecological discipline whose roots in ancient China combined magical practices with a profound concern for and a deep understanding of Nature’s processes.

Fengshui is considered to be one of the pillars of oriental philosophy. There is a saying in China which illustrates the importance of this discipline to the oriental mind:

“First: destiny; second: luck; third: Fengshui; fourth: philanthropy; fifth: education…” In some interpretations, Fengshui is considered to be a branch of oriental medicine. Whatever the fact, the philosophical and intellectual foundations of Fengshui are the same as that of oriental medicine. Both are based on the cosmology of the I Ching and the dynamic interactions described by the theoretical system known as 5-Element Theory or The 5 Transformations. In this system, change in Nature is described as occurring either within a cycle of growth or a cycle of destruction. The forces of Nature are considered to be in balance by virtue of this interaction. Everything in nature therefore corresponds to a phase in this changing pattern, and all forms, events, or time spans can also be classified according to the 5 Transformations. In effect, the adjustments required to resolve an imbalance at any point in time, are based in the cycle of these transformations.

Fengshui knowledge is generally classified as belonging to one of two broad schools of thought: the “form” school, which is based upon the physical form, characteristics, and relationships of the tangible world, and the “compass” school, which is based upon the interactions of the invisible directional forces of the Cosmos as revealed by the geomancer’s compass, known in China as the Lo Pan. These two branches of knowledge originated in separate parts of China, with the form school predominating in the highly mountainous areas of Kiangsi and Anhui, and the compass school predominating in the vast flat expanses of Fukien and Chekiang provinces. Today no competent Fengshui practitioner, or Fengshui master, is qualified to practice the discipline without knowledge and mastery of both.

Applying Fengshui

At a personal level, Fengshui is useful for enhancing success in private and public life, as well as for improving relationships, health, joyfulness, creativity, career, reputation, prosperity, self-knowledge, and spirituality. At the institutional level, Fengshui has wide application as a tool for the enhancement of productivity, efficiency, profitability, communication, satisfaction, and creativity.

Fengshui achieves this by harmonizing and balancing the environment, which supports the individual, community, or institution. A harmonious, well-balanced environment liberates creativity and vitality. It also opens up opportunities for new purposes, visions, and objectives. Fengshui is a valuable tool in creating such environments, simultaneously working toward the realization of immediate goals as well as long term plans. The primary strategy toward this goal consists in maximizing positive energetic potential while simultaneously minimizing negative or destructive factors. The job of the Fengshui consultant is therefore to identify positive and negative factors in the environment and to suggest strategies and cures toward the balancing of both.

Fengshui techniques are subtle by nature, although in some cases a client may be asked to reposition a wall, a staircase, or move a door in order to take better advantage of the tangible and intangible forces acting upon the structure or structures in question. Because forces also change in time, clients are often asked to make yearly, monthly or even daily adjustments in their space. In some cases, a client may even be asked to relocate if the forces are deemed to be of an injurious nature. Because Fengshui is concerned with the totality of reality, it has applications in settings where ordinary building practices may not have tools. These applications include cases of serious illness, mental disease, or sheer bad luck, and such paranormal situations as ghost hauntings or spirit possessions.

Fengshui Process

A basic consultation uses all of the techniques outlined above. The end result is a strategy which is designed to alleviate the problems uncovered by the analysis and to help maximize the potential inherent in the site. A good Fengshui consultant is subtle in his or her approach, and the cures recommended should be simple, direct, and within the client’s budget. Only in cases where it is absolutely needed should extensive remodeling or reconstruction be recommended. Of course, Fengshui works best if it is used from the onset of a construction of planning project. In a typical consultation, the client will be given an assessment of the site and its potential for wealth, power, health, and success. The site will also be rated for its compatibility with the client. Any negative factors will be adjusted for and strategies will be outlined to this effect. The site will also be broken down into sectors and each will be evaluated for its relative potential for creating or destroying wealth, health, or satisfaction. In addition, the client will be informed as to the likelihood of events both positive and negative into the future. The consultant will also make general recommendations as to the preferred colors, shapes, and objects in the space, with specific recommendations as to their location. Results can be expected within several days to several weeks, although deeper problems can obviously take longer. It is important to keep in touch with the consultant, particularly if changes are slow in coming or if change becomes too swift. It is recommended that a space be evaluated at least once a year, to take account of the changes in energy proper to the times.