Category Archives: Feng Shui

Pa Kua Chart

February 10, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

The Pa Kua is normally arranged in a octagonal pattern.

There are eight kuas and there are many ways that you can position them but only two arrangements are used. They are the Early Heaven and Later Heaven arrangement shown below.

The Pa Kua Chart of the Early Heaven arrangement was believed to be arranged by Emperor Fu Xi (2852BC) based on the patterns found on the back of a tortoise . This pattern is known as the HeTu or ‘River Map’. The Later Heaven arrangement was attributed to King Wen based on symbols found on the back of a Great Tortoise near the Lo River. This pattern is known as the Lo Shu or ‘Lo Writing’.

(Pa Kua Chart Trivial: The Pa Kua is pervasive in Chinese Metaphysics and its application is not limited to Feng Shui and the Yi Ching)

Feng Shui

Meaning of the Ba Gua

February 10, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

Each of the Kua (or Gua) represent the energies of the universe and has a Pa Kua meaning associated with it.

Qian Kua is the symbol of heaven. It is pure Yang energy and represent the creator, father, male, active, virile etc.

Kun Kua is the symbol of the earth. It is pure Yin energy and represent responsiveness, mother, female, passive, yielding, quiet etc. Qian and Kun by themselves do not result in anything but when combined create a variety of things.

Li Kua is the symbol of fire. It represents heat, natural solar heating, light, radiating and the color red. It implies intelligence, wisdom and justice. In a property, whether apartments for rent or large urban houses, Li Kua is also associated with the south sector.

Kan Kua is the symbol of water. It represents danger, difficulty, sinking, below and the color blue and black. It implies darkness and also represent the moon.

Zhen Kua is the symbol of thunder. It represents the initiating energy. Qian creates but it is Zhen that makes things grow.

Xun Kua is the symbol of the Wind. It represents penetrating energy. It implies proceeding gently like the tree penetrating the ground.

Gen Kua is the symbol of the Mountain. It is the energy that compliments Xun. It sooths the penetrating energy. It implies stillness, resting, halting etc.

Dui Kua is the symbol of Lake (or rice field). It represents joyful energy, pleasing, cheerfulness, delighting and happiness.

Feng Shui

Feng Shui Kua

February 10, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

Yin and Yang are represented symbolically by a broken line and a single solid line respectively.

If you take two Yang Lines, place it at the bottom and then add a Yang Line and a Yin line on top, you get a combination known as Greater Yang and Lesser Yin. Do the same with the Yin Lines and you get another two combination known as Greater Yin and Lesser Yang as shown below.

Finally if you add a Yin or a Yang line to each of the symbols generated above you get eight different symbols each known as a Kua.

Gua or Kua refers to the same thing. This is due to translation from the different Chinese dialect resulting in different pronunciation and spelling. A Kua is also frequently called Trigram.

Notice that there are eight Kuas. Collectively they are known as Pa Kua or Eight Gua. It is also written in many text as Ba Gua which means the same thing. In English it is known as the Eight Trigram. Each kua is given a name. They are Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Ken and Kun.

Like Yin Yang and the Five Elements, the Pa Kua is pervasive in Chinese Metaphysics and is reputedly invented by China’s first legendary emperor who live around 2800 BC!

Historian belief that the Kuas are symbolic representation since written text most likely did not exist then. But what do they represent? More the Pa Kua here.

(Feng Shui Kua Trivial: Kua or Gua, the same)

Feng Shui

Chinese Feng Shui Compass

February 10, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

The Feng Shui compass, also known as a Lo Pan, is an indispensable tool for the Feng Shui consultant.

The Feng Shui compass is nothing more than a compass with Feng Shui formulas embedded into concentric rings on a metal plate known as the heaven dial. In most versions, it sits on a wooden base known as the earth plate.

The Feng Shui compass does not point to north like its western counterpart. Instead it sticks to Chinese mapping convention and point south. You may be interested to know that the direct translation for a compass in Chinese is “Pointing South Needle”.

Feng Shui Compass Type

The Chinese Feng Shui compass can be classified into three types. They are the San He, San Yuan and Chong He compass. The San He compass incorporate many formulas from the San He or Three Harmony schools while the San Yuan incorporate many formula from the San Yuan or Three Cycles schools. Flying Star Feng Shui is an example of a system from the San Yuan schools.

The Chong He compass is a combination compass that includes some formulas from both the San He and San Yuan schools. All three compasses have some formula rings in common. They include the 24 mountains, early and later heaven arrangement.

The Feng Shui compass can also be made to order. I have seen one that incorporates the Gua numbers and directions from the Eight Mansions School.

Some masters also make their own compass and they incorporate formulas that are used by their school only. Some masters also add their own spin into their compass. For example I have seen one that incorporates the flying star chart for the current and previous period. With it, you can take the measurement and read the flying star chart off the Feng Shui compass.

No need to refer to formula book or draw the chart manually!

Feng Shui

Door Facing Direction

February 10, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

In the previous article we discussed house sitting and facing.

In this article we will focus on the front door facing. Please refer to the diagram. This house is the same as the one in the previous article except that the main door facing is now East instead of South. The facing of the sitting and facing of the house is still North and South respectively and the qi distribution remains unchanged..

In the Flying Star system the Feng Shui front door facing usually matches the house facing.

In the Eight Mansions system however the direction of the front door can be totally different from the facing. Let take the example of the house on the right. Let’s say that the house owner is a East group person with Kua number 9. His best ‘Sheng Qi’ direction is East. Living in a North Sitting (East Group) house is fine for him. His main door can face either South, South East or East which are his good directions (South West and West cannot be used because they are his bad directions). In this example he has chosen to orientate his main door to face East because it is his best direction!

You may notice that the toilet is in a wrong sector but that is a story for another day!

Identifying the sitting and facing for landed properties like town houses and detached houses is quite easy to do. The same however cannot be said about apartments and condominium. Trying to identify their sitting and facing can often be a nightmare.

To be fair, apartments and condominium are a new phenomenon. They did not exist during olden times and hence there are not many documented case studies for practitioners to rely on.

Like many other studies, Feng Shui is evolving and many of the observations that current practitioners make will become the basis for future generations to refine.

I will discuss apartments and condominiums facing as well as their front door facing in later articles.

Feng Shui

House Facing and Sitting

February 10, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

Every house has a facing direction and a corresponding sitting direction.

The facing direction is the orientation of the facing of the house measured in degree. The sitting direction is always magnetically opposite the facing. So if a house is facing 5 deg then the sitting is 185 deg.

Why is it important to identify the house sitting and house facing correctly? Most Feng Shui system make use of either the sitting or facing direction (plus other factors) to determine the qi distribution in a house. If you make a wrong assessment of the house facing or house sitting, then the subsequent recommendation will be incorrect.

In most houses the facing and sitting are easy to identify. In some cases however, it can be quite tricky but when you are in doubt, you can use the following guidelines to determine the house sitting and house facing.

The main entrance is usually the facing.
The street address usually corresponds to the facing.
Traffic is usually heavier at the facing.
The larger windows are usually at the facing.
The living room is usually at the facing side of the house.
The back-lane is usually correspond to the sitting.
The backyard is usually the sitting.

Please refer to the diagram.This is an example of a south facing house (or north sitting house). In this example the main door is also facing South.

The orientation of the main door can be different from the facing of the house (more on this in the next article). Please note that in systems like the Eight Mansion and Flying Star, the sitting or facing of the house is used to determine the qi distribution of the chart, not the orientation of the main door. A lot of people are confused about this!

The diagram uses the Chinese mapping standard where South instead or North is on the top of the page.

Feng Shui

The Overhead Beam

February 10, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

Other than living at a house located at the intersection of a T junction, the other thing that most Feng Shui enthusiast are aware of is, the overhead beam.

In Feng Shui study, the overhead beam is believed to generate downwards cutting (and inauspicious) qi. If you sit or sleep underneath such beams for extended period of time, you may end up with illnesses or suffer relationship problems.

Overhead beams are however a feature of most houses. If you are sitting or sleeping underneath, one all you have to do is to reposition your chair or bed and avoid them completely.

But what if you cannot avoid them? I would recommend that you install a plasterboard (or similar) ceiling to shield the offending beam.

In addition to where you sit or sleep, watch out for overhead beams over your stove and altar. The stove is a very important component of Feng Shui and an overhead beam pressing down on it is inauspicious. The Altar on the other hand is sacred and should be protected.

Another area to look out for it the main door. In some houses I have see one end of the overhead beam rest on top of the door frame. This should be avoided.

Overhead beams over locations that are infrequently used, for example the storeroom are not a problem.

Feng Shui

The Dreaded T-Junction

February 10, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

Everyone that I know, who is a little into Feng Shui knows that it is taboo to live in a house that is located at a T-junction.

Why is that so? In Feng Shui, qi should flow slowly. If qi is allowed to accelerate, as in a straight line, then the resultant fast flowing qi becomes destructive and anyone standing in its path will suffer. The T-junction is an example of how qi can accelerate and and then brought to a sudden stop by the house located at the intersection. The occupants are the ones that will bear the brunt of the destructive qi.

Logically it make sense too. There have been many cases of cars crashing into such homes either due to mechanical malfunction, drunk driving or simply due to carelessness. Also during the night time the headlights from vehicle at the intersection can disturb the occupants and prevent them from getting a good night’s rest. What is less obvious is the noxious fumes emitted by the vehicles that rush towards the house. In the long run, it can affect the health of the occupants.

The same applies to a Y-junction which is quite similar to the T-junction and suffers from the same problem.

What if the T-junction is located is a quiet neighbourhood? I would think that the destructive effect is much lesser.

I would nevertheless advise against buying such a house especially if you live in a community with a strong Chinese presence. You will very likely find difficulty in securing a buyer or may be forced to accept a lower resale price!

What if you are already staying in such a house and cannot move?

You can block of the strong incoming bad qi using a wall or hedges. You can also relocate the main so that it does not directly face the T-junction.

In the long run, and especially if the traffic is heavy at the intersection, you are still better off moving to a more Feng Shui compliant house.

Feng Shui

The Five Elements Exhaustive Cycle

February 10, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

In the five elements exhaustive cycle the elements exhaust or reduces each other as shown in the diagram on the right.

In this cycle, Wood is exhausted or weaken by Fire. Fire in turn is weakened by Earth which in turn is weakened by Metal. Metal is weakened by water. Finally Water is weakened by Wood and the whole cycle starts again.

It is the opposite of the productive cycle and is the hardest to remember.

The principle behind the five element exhaustive cycle is the fact that when an element produce another e.g. wood produce fire, the producing element in this case Wood is exhausted in the process.

The best way to remember the exhaustive cycle is remember it as the opposite of the productive cycle. For example Earth produce Metal. When metal ore is removed from the ground, Earth is exhausted!

How do we apply this in Feng Shui?

In the Flying Star system of Feng Shui, certain inauspicious energies are associated with the earth element. Since Metal exhaust Earth, Metal element items are introduced into the sector to exhaust the bad earth energy and keep it in check. This is the reason why feng shui consultants sometimes recommend placing metal coins or pendulum clocks in certain sectors of the house. It is use to exhaust the inauspicious earth energies!

(Five Elements Exhaustive Cycle Trivial: Also referred to as the weakening cycle)

Feng Shui

The Five Elements – Destructive Cycle

February 10, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

In the five element destructive cycle the elements control each other as shown in the diagram.

In this cycle, Fire controls Metal which controls Wood which controls Earth which controls Water which in turn controls Fire.

Again try not to think of it as one element destroying another. Instead, think of it as one energy influencing another in a controlling manner!

The five elements destructive cycle is not so intuitive but you can easily remember it like this. Think of a metal axe. You use it to chop down a tree hence Metal destroy Wood. Think of a large tree. It extract water and minerals from the earth to grow hence Wood destroy Earth.

When a river burst its bank, you use bags of sand (earth) to stop the overflow hence Earth controls Water. You can extinguish fire with water hence Water destroy Fire. Finally as in a iron foundry, you use fire to metal. Hence Fire destroy Metal. See, it is easy!

Again, how do we apply this in Feng Shui?

Classical Feng Shui systems normally divide a house into nine sectors called the Nine Palaces. Let’s say the a particular sector has a lot of fire and it makes the sector inauspicious.

Normally you would use earth, which you will learnt later, to reduce fire. But as you might already guess it is not a very effective method. You need a lot of earth to put out fire. Think of throwing sand at a fire to stop it from burning.

A more effective way is to use water to put out the fire! This is an example of five elements destructive cycle or controlling cycle in action.

Absolutely Feng Shui

Category Archives: Feng Shui

Pa Kua Chart

Meaning of the Ba Gua

Feng Shui Kua

Chinese Feng Shui Compass

Door Facing Direction

House Facing and Sitting

The Overhead Beam

The Dreaded T-Junction

The Five Elements Exhaustive Cycle

The Five Elements – Destructive Cycle

Feng Shui and More