- Feng Shui in its Essence
- by Maggie Z.
Mathews
Feng Shui in its essence centers
on finding the ideal site, the ideal spot and shapes of your
land, home, rooms and furnishings.
The ideal Feng Shui site is said to be where the descending heaven
qi meets the ascending earth qi. There is no hard and fast rule
about the perfect site but there are general conditions that
you can look for. Generally halfway up a hill facing the sun
is considered good feng shui because you will have a distant
view. Further you will get cool summer breezes and warm winter
ones.
The ideal Feng Shui spot for a house is called the xue (shu).
It has an open space in front, the “bright hall” or
ming sang, with four mythical animals or spirits surrounding
it. The red bird is the distant front view, the black tortoise
is the protective hill at the back; the azure dragon is to the
left and the white tiger to the right. Ideally you should have
a stream flowing across in front of the site because water is
regarded as a source of food and a means of transportation. It
is also believed that the heaven qi descends down the hill and
is contained by the water. |
|
You will find that the value
of this protective armchair shape can be applied not only to
the site of your home but to the feng shui of a particular room,
where the chairs are placed so that the backs are protected and
there is an open space in front of you, or to your garden, where
you can plant protective trees at the back if there is not a
hill. After all feeling safe and secure is a very large part
of being happy.
Next in the basics of Feng Shui is the actual geographical shape
of your block of land, your house, your rooms and even your furniture.
These shapes play a most important part of the intrinsic Feng
Shui of your home and indeed of your community and communities.
Symmetrical shapes are considered ideal – an L-shape, for
instance and example, poses problems as it is fundamentally considered
incomplete and unbalanced. Simply said when you have irregular
shapes, you need to look at how you can balance them.
The shape of your land will come into play. A rectangular block
of land, wider on the northern and southern ends, is considered
to have the very best Feng Shui values. There are a number of
ways to balance your block of land. Firstly put a lamp or plant
a tree in the opposite corner, if a corner juts unto your block
of earth. Next plant a creeper or hedge around the offending
corner to counter any negative energy ( sha qi) that this land
might be generating. Lastly if the plot of land is triangular
make sure to fill out the corners so that the qi does not get
trapped inside.
It can be said that square or rectangular homes are thought to
be the most beneficial because homes that are of an irregular
shape leave rooms in a condition of “dangling” outside
the flow of the vital qi.
If you do have an L-shaped house then you can fill out the missing
corner by either – planting a tree or shrub, using a lamp
or spotlight or building a conservatory or patio. If your abode
is an apartment and you are not permitted by the property owners
to install or upgrade the property try instead installing a light
or handing winds chimes or a mirror to square the L shapes.
Lastly furnishings finish and enhance the completeness of Feng
Shui. Symmetry is important when it comes to your home’s
décor. Whether you are choosing a table or a tiny faceted
glass crystal think whether its shape is balanced.
Generally speaking, the shape of the furniture should reflect
the shape of the room. For example, if you have square rooms
use a square, round or octagonal table. If it is rectangular
rooms use a rectangular table. If course if the room is a dining
room use a round table which is often best for entertaining friends
and large family events and celebrations. Feng Shui! |
