Preface

Please be wary of MISINFORMATION or malpractice of Feng Shui principles on the internet. Feng Shui practitioners are first and foremost consultants, not salespeople. The first step to get informed is to be aware of the different schools of Feng Shui in practice, which are mainly:

• Classical Feng Shui - The original Eastern practice, an amalgamation of Form School and Compass School. A practice heavily grounded in geomancy, numerology, and cosmology.
• Black Hat Feng Shui - The Western adaption of the original practice, also known as BTB Feng Shui (Black Hat Sect Tantric Buddhism Feng Shui). A combination of various religious concepts, transcendentalism, spirituality, and holistic healing.
• New Age/Modern Feng Shui - Borrows mainly from Black Hat, usually applied in other fields of related expertise, e.g. interior design, furniture placement, and/or spiritual product sales with a focus on enhancers.

Conflicting advice may arise as a result of the divergence, but knowing where they come from and their specialized field may help you decide on the appropriate course of action relevant to your objectives.

How to tell the difference

Classical Feng Shui - The Feng Shui Compass

The compass of a Classical Feng Shui Consultant is a highly complex mathematical system that mostly functions as a means for the practitioner to assess a geographical area while having key information easily accessible at a glance. While the practitioner have most of the knowledge already learned by heart, the compass can significantly reduce human errors as well as time spent that would be needed to plot or calculate any formulaic equations out in the field. Through these methods, the Feng Shui practitioner would assess a home and its geographical landscape, setting it up to attain a balanced and harmonious environment that beget prosperity, success, and personal well-being for its occupants.

Black Hat Feng Shui (And Modern Feng Shui) - The Bagua Map

The Bagua map is a blueprint of a nine section grid that has two methods of application; one is to layer it over your home's floorplan by aligning your main door with the bottom of the map, or the second method by aligning the latter with straight North. Within each square grid are colour coded conceptual energies related to various elements in your life that serve different goals. To activate and realise their potential, each sector can be furnished or decorated with objects associated with the specific grid's recommended colours and elements. Due to the relative ease at which this can be applied by anyone, consultation with a professional is generally unnecessary.

Compass vs Black Hat: Which one should I use?

While Black Hat and Modern Feng Shui acknowledges the legitimacy of Classical/Compass Feng Shui, the opposite is contrastingly not true. The main criticism against Black Hat/Modern Feng Shui stems from a great deal of inconsistencies in principle, and oversimplification to the point of deviating too far from the foundational groundwork of Feng Shui. Professional Classical/Compass Feng Shui take years of study and appropriate training to reach a level of competency that can be deemed adequate, as such it may be wise to adopt Classical/Compass Feng Shui methods if you're seeking for an authentic and well proven experience. Otherwise, if you simply want some inspirations for furnishing and decorating the interior of your home, using the Black Hat Bagua Map is perfectly fine.

When to consult with a professional?

So the question most people ask is what can Feng Shui do for me now? Why or when should I consult with a professional? The answer to that is as simple as having the desire to progress a step further in life, or in other words getting the "unfair advantage" through tried and tested methods passed down for millennia. Prosperity, success, and personal well-being are some of they key points that we seek to benefit.

But when exactly is the best time for a consultation? Literally anytime and anywhere. A consultation can be performed remotely, albeit with some help from the client's side in providing the necessary information, or in person if one so wishes. It can be as basic as a simple assessment of your current home, or a complete analysis when you're moving into a new place. Below is a list of other examples of what Feng Shui can do for you, and when:

• Assessing a space for misalignments that may be causing unexplained health issues, misfortune, and general feelings of things not going right.
• When reorganizing your entire home, carrying out renovations, or moving into a different house.
• Building a new house from the ground up. This gives you a lot of freedom in choosing the best configurations according to your landform.
• When you're looking to invite more wealth, success, and overall advancement/progress in life.
• Money going down the drain for totally ridiculous reasons.
• Experiencing a sudden windfall or success, and want to keep it going.
• Unsettling sensations about a house.

House Hunting Quick Guide and Debunking Misinformation

House hunting can be a daunting process, even before considering Feng Shui as part of the package. To dispel any and all misinformation from websites fishing for clicks or youtube personas pretending to be experts, here's a plain and honest guide to help you filter out the BS and apply measures to assess the essentials/non-issues.

Facing/Sitting Directions

As of Period 9 (years 2024-2043), main doors that face South, West, North-west, and North-east are decent options, but this does not mean that the other four directions are bad and must be avoided entirely. They can still be good with the right landform, or a few simple adjustments within the house itself. In fact, a "bad" facing direction with decent landform/adjustments could be better than any of the four "good" facing directions that are located in a bad neighborhood. Basically, pick any of the four good directions (S, W, NW, NE), but do not feel pressured to overemphasize its importance, especially not without professional guidance.

Near a Cemetery

A non-issue, as long as you're comfortable living near one. The oldest form of Feng Shui still in practice today is Yin Feng Shui, aka Feng Shui for the dead. This form of Feng Shui has nothing but respect for the deceased, and the aim is to hunt for the best resting place for them through a variety of geomantic methods. For this reason, cemeteries near your house do not automatically equate to being bad. Homes near cemeteries are known to slightly favour those whose professions or businesses lean toward the unconventional, e.g. night clubs, casinos, artists, and especially those bordering on the grey areas of the law. Outside of Feng Shui, some people may be uncomfortable living near the deceased, which may affect its selling price.

Near a School

A non-issue, but the noise may be an problem for some. Little concern from a Feng Shui perspective, but the noise pollution may affect its selling price, and is a negative for people with sensitive hearing.

Near a Hospital/Fire Station

Similar to being near a school, but usually avoided a bit more due to the stressful nature of such a location. As usual, selling price may be affected as a result.

House Numbers

Safe to disregard entirely. It's quite unlikely that a few numbers slapped on the front of a house will break the entire Feng Shui configuration that's been set up for you.

Tall structures directly in front of the main door

Tall trees, lamp posts, electric posts, and other similar objects directly in front of the main door should be avoided, but effects are generally milder the further it is from you. Even lesser if separated by a road or a body of water. Wall fencing is also an option to consider.

Simple landforms that can improve quality of life

As of Period 9 (years 2024-2043), there are some simple landforms to lookout for regardless of sitting/facing directions that can improve the quality of life, not only for your own house but potentially the entire neighborhood/area that you're living in. Start by simply looking for large bodies of water (lakes, creeks, etc) in the North from where your house or neighborhood is located (NW or NE doesn't count). If not, or additionally, look to the South (and only South) for presence of mountainscapes. If there's neither, replace water with lower ground, and mountains with higher ground. If you live in a flat, urban environment, no need to worry either because you can still achieve a similar configuration right in your own home, e.g. placing swimming pool, aquariums, water features, or water-based plants in the Northern-most section of the house.

Fun fact: realtors sometimes check in with Feng Shui consultants for insiders on which cities/provinces/neighborhoods have the best potential for growth and in turn take advantage of the surge in property prices as a result.

Ending

If there's something you would like added to the list, please feel free to leave a comment, or DM me if you have other personal inquiries.

Change log:

• 15 July 2024 - Added method to locate the Wealth Sector.
• 06 August 2024 - Added method to locate the studying sector (Star of Excellence).
• 20 September 2025 - Added Beginner's guide to achieving flow with the Bagua under section "Yin and Yang".

What is Feng Shui?

Feng Shui at its core is a divinatory practice based on geomantic principles that aim to improve different aspects of our lives through the harness of Qi in the environment. It's a method that utilizes precise formulaic calculations involving our immediate spatial and temporal circumstances, and from them deriving ways to achieve optimal prosperity, success, and personal well-being through the aforementioned means. Furniture arrangement, interior decor, and the act of de-cluttering are generally of little concern in Feng Shui and any procedures that draw from these ideas usually stem from collateral impact of Feng Shui's geomantic principles in application.

Yin and Yang

At the root of Feng Shui is the Taiji aka the Yin/Yang symbol. The Taiji splits into the 2 synergetic opposites Yin and Yang, which further expand into the Greater Yin, Lesser Yang, Lesser Yin, and Greater Yang. These 4 variants become the Bagua aka the 8 Trigrams that we know. See diagram below:

The 8 Trigrams do not end here, as they can be further expanded into the 64 Hexagrams by combining all of the 8 Trigrams together in every possible arrangement (8 x 8 = 64). An example would be: Trigram 2 (☱) named "Lake/Marsh", and Trigram 1 (☰) named "Heaven", both would combine to form Hexagram 43 (䷪) named "Displacement". Every possible combination of the 64 Hexagrams have their own unique names and order of Yin/Yang lines, and a competent Feng Shui consultant would have them memorized well for ease of application when needed. This is particularly true for the 64 Hexagrams method of Feng Shui, which is quite different from Eight Mansions Feng Shui, and Flying Stars Feng Shui.

Additionally, please see community highlights titled Beginner's guide to achieving flow with the Bagua for a newbie-friendly example on how to utilize the 8 Trigrams in a practical setting.

The Five Elements/Phases

Beyond the Eight Trigrams, Feng Shui also has a system of Phases, or sometimes known as the Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Their reactive properties go as below:

1. Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood
2. Metal controls Wood, Wood controls Earth, Earth controls Water, Water controls Fire, Fire controls Metal.

The 5 Elements form an important concept in Feng Shui, and especially so for the Flying Stars method. Unlike the 64 Hexagrams and Eight Mansions, within a Flying Stars chart the main objective often involves finding the "stars" in your home, and then deducing their various elemental combinations and the effects that they bring, which can be further influenced by the annual Flying Stars, monthly Flying Stars, down to the daily variant (although not used as much), all of which can be further induced by the geographic landscape of your home (aka landform).

8 Directions, 24 Mountains

Feng Shui being a form of geomancy, the cardinal directions make up an essential aspect in practice. Of the 8 directions, each direction of 45 degrees is divided into 3 directional sections of 15 degrees each, making a total of 24 directions which are called the 24 Mountains. Example, the direction North is divided into N1, N2, N3, and as we approach eastward, it becomes North-east, which divides into NE1, NE2, NE3, and so on.

3 Ages and 9 Periods

With the cardinal directions and landform aspects representing space, now comes the part that represents the 4th dimension of time. In Feng Shui, time is divided into the 3 ages (60 years per age), and 9 Periods (20 years per period). This is to say that every 3 period of 20 years each will complete one cycle of an age (1 age = 3 periods). The temporal factor in Feng Shui is generally influenced by (but not limited to) their Yin/Yang qualities, their associated Trigrams, and the 5 Elements. More precise temporal components are observed in some advanced formulas.

1. Age 1 (Upper age) consists of Periods 1, 2, and 3
2. Age 2 (Middle age) consists of Periods 4, 5, and 6
3. Age 3 (Lower age) consists of Periodds 7, 8, 9

Basic Interior Advice

1. Unobstructed front of the house (or living room for apartments)
2. Keep the living room spacious
3. Living rooms should be well lit
4. Avoid overhead beams above beds, desks, dining area, and resting places
5. Beds should have a headboard
6. Avoid having the bed too close to the door
7. Avoid clutter around doors
8. Have light source in corridors and/or an entry hall
9. Avoid visible bathrooms upon entering the front door (keep bathroom closed slightly or use curtains)
10. Keep mirrors to a minimum, especially not in front of a door, bathroom, or directly by the stove.
11. Command position for a bed: Find a solid wall and place the bed's headboard against it. Have a direct line of sight to the room's entry door while not being directly in front of it.

The Qi Generating Sector

The Qi Generating sector is a beginner friendly, entry-level procedure that only requires knowledge of three things: the numbers 1-9 associated with the 5 Phases/Elements, the cardinal directions, and the Luoshu formula. The Luoshu formula is a 9 section grid filled with the numbers 1 through 9, starting with 5 in the middle, and progressing in a specific pattern around the grid. To understand it better, study the diagram below:

Next, familiarize yourself with the numbers 1 through 9 and their associated elements:

1. Number 1 = Water
2. Number 2 = Earth
3. Number 3 = Wood
4. Number 4 = Wood
5. Number 5 = Earth
6. Number 6 = Metal
7. Number 7 = Metal
8. Number 8 = Earth
9. Number 9 = Fire

Using a compass, stand inside your living room facing out the direction of the front door. Take note of the direction your main door faces, and then use the opposite direction behind you as the number associated with your home based on the Luoshu diagram above. Example, if your home's main door faces East (number 3 on the Luoshu diagram), then your home is a number 7 (West) home. With the number associated with your home, place the number in the center of the 9 section grid in the Luoshu diagram/formula. In my example, the number 7 will now be in the center. Proceed to go in the same order as before, starting from 7 in the middle.

Going by the generative and controlling properties of the elements, this Metal (7) home is generated by the element of Earth which is in the South (2) and North-west (8). These two sectors in the living room are the Qi Generating sectors, which we can now locate by standing in the center of the room with a compass in hand. This is the sector of the living room where we can place an aquarium or a water feature to provide the home's occupants with a small boost of generative Qi. Otherwise, more activities in said sectors may also help.

Above is the simplest formula to making a small difference, and it's only a small fraction of what Feng Shui can offer. Feng Shui in its entirety is a pretty complex system that requires a level of expertise and care, and a misstep can result in ineffective set ups at best, or disastrous consequences at worst. Make sure to consult a trusted practitioner before attempting anything complicated.

Update - 15 July 2024

Important note: To locate your authentic wealth sector, you'll need to have read and have understood the method to find the Qi generating sector first. Things you may need for reference:

1. The 5 elements chart
2. The Luoshu diagram
3. The 3 ages and 9 periods chart (optional)
4. The elements associated with each numbers 1 though 9.

The wealth sector

If you've read and fully understood the method to find the Qi generating sector, then this should now be a rather easy process. When finding the Qi generating sector, what we're doing is basically finding the sector element that generates the element of our house. Below is an example with a house number 7:

As a metal 7 house, it is generated by the Earth element, which are sectors 2 in the South and 8 in the NW. Using the same chart, we can now also find our home's wealth sector using only 2 steps:

1. Locate the sector that the house generates.
2. The sector must be the number 1, 6, 8, or 9.

Using the Metal 7 house as example, the element that the house generates is Water. Here, the only Water element is the number 1, which is in the NE. So this fulfills the 2 conditions mentioned above. This can be done in your workplace, an office room, or anywhere that is an enclosed space with people in it. In such examples, having your desk be in said sector would be immensely beneficial.

To activate the wealth sector, the area must be made distinct from the rest of the house/office, either through means of renovation, or placing specific objects that would easily capture the attention of passersby. Basically, make the area standout and eye-catching.

There is however one important and specific requirement for the wealth sector to be effective, and that is it the sector itself must correlate with the timeliness of the current period and age. It is also important to note that the sector number is based on the original Luoshu chart's arrangement, meaning 5 goes in the middle, which would result in NE sector being the number 8. With this information, we can use a few methods to determine whether it will be effective.

1. Current period is period 8 (2004-2023).
2. Current period number is an element that generates (or same as) 8.
3. Current year's Kua number is Kua number 8.

If any of these 3 requirements are met, the sector would be an effective wealth sector. Please remember that the above method is performed with a number 7 Metal house as an example. While the method remains the same, the numbers used may differ slightly based on your property's facing direction.

Update - 06 August 2024

The Star of Excellence sector

By now if you've read and fully understood the method to find the Qi Generating and Wealth sectors, then this should begin to feel like a familiar process. For the Qi Generating sector, we locate the sector element that generates the element of our house. For the Wealth sector, it is the sector that the house generates. Now, to locate your Star of Excellence:

1. It must be the sector that the house controls.
2. The sector must be the number 1, 6, 8, or 9.

Below is an example of a number 4 house of the Wood element.

As a Wood 4 house, it controls the element of Earth, which are sectors 2 in the East, and 8 in the South. The sector with 8 in the South fulfills the two requirements mentioned above. This sector can then be used for any manner of studying, but like the Wealth sector, it has one more requirement of timeliness. Similarly, the sector number is based on the original Luoshu chart's arrangement, meaning 5 goes in the middle, which would result in the South sector being the number 9. With this information, we can use a few methods to determine whether it will be effective.

1. Current period is period 9 (2024-2043).
2. Current period number is an element that generates (or same as) 9.
3. Current year's Kua number is Kua number 9.

If any of these 3 requirements are met, the sector would be an effective study sector. This method can be used for the entirety of a house (especially for small apartments), or within the boundaries of a room (i.e. living room as the main space), using the door as the room's facing direction (although the smaller the context, the weaker it gets). Please remember that the above method is performed with a number 4 Wood house as an example. While the method remains the same, the numbers used may differ slightly based on your property's facing direction.