Internal and External Feng Shui: Direction and Location!

Special Review Internal and External Feng Shui: Direction and Location!

Feng Shui: an Introduction

Understand Feng Shui at even a basic level and begin to organise your environment accordingly and you will soon start seeing positive results. Feng Shui is extensively used in both homes and offices all over the world, particularly in China and South East Asia (and increasingly in the West) because of this.

Feng Shui offers a variety of 'cures' and remedies to improve your life. The Feng Shui use of aquariums, water features and crystals can attract prosperity into your life. Appropriate use of colors, materials and objects according to Feng Shui principles, can improve the energy flow in your home or office, encouraging healthy activity and improved fortune generally.

This is achieved by re-arranging and re-ordering the contents, decoration and placement of objects within living spaces appropriately, according to Feng Shui Principles, in harmony with the 5 Elements. As these comprise (in varying blends) all matter in the universe, this would imply living in harmony and 'in tune' with the natural flow of universal energies.

These energies change in a long-known, predictable, endlessly repeating pattern (the 10-year Cycle of the 5 Elements is the key to this). Consequently, tremendous wisdom has accumulated over millennia (especially in China) about the practicalities of harmonising with these, known as the Principles of Feng Shui. These Principles, too, are becoming increasingly well-known in the West.

Interior

You can apply these Principles to your choice of home location, garden-layout and most famously to your house, flat or room's interior. This is where the 5 Elements come in. The interior of dwellings contains furniture and objects directly linked to these. Similarly, their colours and of the interior's decoration in general (including paint-work, carpets, curtains, and wall-paper) can be related to the 5 Elements and organised to facilitate a beneficial and healthy Qi-flow throughout.

The 5 Elements and Their Locations, Directions and Associations

Water is Associated with the North-West Sector of Rooms and Dwellings and the Black Warrior

Objects and motifs for design and placement include: glass, stained glass, crystal, aquaria, seascapes (especially pastels and watercolours) roads, lakes, and waterfalls. Shapes: serpentine and wavy. Water also symbolises wealth. Colours: blue and black.

Wood is Associated with the East and South-East Sectors of Rooms and Dwellings and the Green Dragon

Objects and motifs for design and placement include: Chinese (not Western) dragons, flowers, plants, trees, wood furniture, wood-crafts, wicker chairs, rattan mats, cloth, paper, and paintings depicting nature. Shapes: cylindrical and rectangular. Colours: green and brown.

Fire is Associated With the South Sector of Rooms and Dwellings and the Red Bird

Objects and motifs for design and placement include: candles, lamps, incense, heating appliances, fireplaces, stoves, sun-bursts and Sun images generally, animals, birds, children, wool, leather goods, feathers; pictures of fire, people and animals. Shapes: triangular and sharp-edged shapes. Colour: red.

Earth is Associated With the North-East, South West and Centre of Rooms and Dwellings

Whilst the other four Elements have animal associations (linked to Exterior Feng Shui, which follows) Earth has none as it represents the vacant living-space occupied by the Feng Shui practitioner.

Objects and motifs for design and placement include: ceramics, bricks, crystal, porcelain, glazed tiles, stones, sculptures, globes, and pictures of mountains, cliffs, and deserts. Shape: square. Colours: yellow, beige terracotta and ochre.

Metal is Associated With the North-West and West of Dwellings and the White Tiger

Objects and motifs for design and placement include: metal objects, mirrors, quartz crystals and diamonds, bells, coins/money, swords, jewelry made of precious metals, pictures of metal objects. Shapes: oval and round. Colours: white, silver, gold, bronze and grey.

Overall

1. Mirrors, classed as Yin Metal, intensify the effect, positive or negative of whatever they reflect (better flowers in the garden than the loo).

2. Good feng shui design avoids dark spots in interiors as these impede the flow of Qi.

3. Couches and chairs should allows those seated to see the door and note peoples entries and exits.

4. Beds should not be at right-angles to or face the bed-room door. Ideally there should be a wall at one side for protection.

The above details provide general guidance according to the Compass and Form Schools of Feng Shui. As the name suggests, a simple compass is a necessary tool to aid you in your endeavours and allow you to identify the eight sectors. Single, room-at-a-time, approaches and more ambitious whole-floor or house ones are equally viable, as long as you are consistent.

Exterior Feng Shui

Feng Shui Principles are and always have been an important, even integral, feature in the design, construction and location of buildings in China. This has not been the case in the West, however.

Nevertheless, should you be in process of changing your location, you could consider these features when evaluating or comparing potential sites.

1. The South and Fire.

Ideally the main living/working area and entrance should face South. This is the location of the 'Red Bird', the Sun at its mid-day height and the direction of maximum light and warmth.

Large picture-windows and an unobstructed Southern aspect can help produce a welcoming 'Ming Tang' or 'Bright Hall' effect.

2.North and Water

The intriguing composite symbol comprising a snake coiled around a tortoise called the 'Black Warrior' represents Feng Shui ideals in this direction. Cold Northerly winds emanate from here and steep hills behind you, providing shelter (the tortoise) can make a real difference especially in Winter. Such features still provide the fresh-water streams (the snake) filling our modern reservoirs. Here is the ideal location for ponds, pools and exterior water-features generally.

North-facing windows and doors should be much smaller to reduce the effects of such inclement weather.

3.West and Metal

Lower, more gently rising hills here help shelter buildings from the 'White Tiger' the powerful Westerlies sweeping in (in the case of the U.K) from the Atlantic Ocean and (in China) from the Himalayas.

This can be an ideal location for out-buildings and garages.

4.East and Wood

Some more hills, slightly higher than those in the West, covered with growing things, represents an ideal Green Dragon location.

Keen gardeners take note!

Poison-Arrows

There are no straight-lines in nature, human-beings alone produce these. Natural Qi-flow can be held-back, trapped or caused to rush through locations designed without thought of its existence and filled with angular shapes. Such irregular Qi-flow can bring invisible and mysterious ill-health and misfortune to individuals unaware of its potential to do so.

Triangular, and arrow-head shaped protrusions, in particular, pointed at buildings can affect inhabitants adversely via the turbulence in Qi-flow they produce directly opposite. Such locations should be studiously avoided. Counter-measures (like planting a high-hedge or erecting a fence) are essential otherwise.

Overall

1. Avoid spots facing 'T' junctions or locations on the outside of sharp bends to prevent unwanted incursions of traffic.

2. Street-lights outside bedroom windows can lead to sleepless nights.

3. Deciduous trees present a skeletal, spectral appearance outside windows for half the year--Conifers and ever-greens are to be preferred.

4. Water is Year Element in both 2012-13 and 2014-15 for Feng Shui purposes.