Category Archives: Feng Shui

Where do I Place the Altar?

February 12, 2014 Henry 274 Comments

Strictly speaking, the placement of the altar is not within the realms of Feng Shui. However Chinese culture, Feng Shui and the religions that the ancient Chinese practices – namely Taoism and Buddhism are so closely inter-twined that it is difficult to draw the line. Feng Shui consultants that practice in locales with a significant Chinese population are as a norm expected to provide advice on the placement of the altar in the house.

So where should the altar be? As a best practice the altar should be placed in the living area and either facing the main door or facing the front part of the house. One of the functions of the deities is to “protect” the occupants of the house. Thus it is appropriate to place them in the “entrance” portion of the house.

Can you place the altar in the kitchen or bedroom? The answer is absolutely not unless it is the kitchen god whose rightful position is in the kitchen. But why not? The Buddha, Bodhisattva and Heavenly Deities are of a compassionate nature. One of the precepts is no killing and it is therefore it is incorrect to place them in the kitchen where meat such as pork, beef and chicken are present. Placing them in the bedroom is also not appropriate as it is disrespectful. Imagine running around naked or performing the love act in front of them!

Other than the kitchen and bedroom, other place that are not suitable for the altar include places that are unhygienic or dirty such as the toilet/bath and store room.

The Buddha, Bodhisattva such as Guan Yin and Deities such as Guan Di or Monk Ji Gong are considered to be equal. Your ancestors represented by their ancestor’s tablets are not. Therefore in an altar, your ancestor tablets should be place at a lower level. If you have single level altar, the deities should be raised so that they are higher than the ancestor tablets. A piece or a block of wood would do the job.

For a Feng Shui perspective, what are the things that you should consider when it comes to the placement of the altar?

You can start by looking upwards. The altar should not be placed under a beam or under the stairs. There should not be a toilet upstairs either. Neither should the altar face a toilet or kitchen.

It should also not be place against the wall that is shared with the kitchen or toilet. It should also not be placed on a spot where there is an underground water pipe or drain.

Although the best place for the altar is in the living room looking out of the front of the house, it should not be too close to the door or to the windows.

Ideally it should also be in a quiet location. So placing the hi-fi or piano next to the altar is out. So is playing mah jong session in front of the altar! The air conditioner should also not be placed above or next to the altar.

To save on space, some people place the aquarium underneath the altar. This is not recommended as there is a “water-fire” clash between the aquarium (water) and the altar (fire).

How high should the altar be and what is the best colour? There is only one condition on the height of the altar. The top level for the positioning of the heavenly beings should be the worshippers head and not lower than the mouth. Looking up at the deities suggest respect. If the altar is lower then you will be looking down and it suggests disrespect for the deities.

The best colour for the altar is red as in signifies auspiciousness. It does not have to be solid red. A wooden altar stained in some shade of red will do very well. Black is not suitable as it signifies inauspiciousness.

Finally do remember to pick an auspicious date to move in and set up the altar.

Feng Shui

Is this the Right Way to Move?

February 12, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

As part of a house or office consulting audit, I provide my client with one or more auspicious date and time for moving. I also provide a ‘feng shui’ moving-in guide which list down the steps that they need to observe to ensure a successful “move”.

In the past the guide was very elaborate and contains many steps. It includes not just instructions to observe on the actual day of the move but also instructions during the days prior to the move. Nowadays these are greatly simplified.

The moving procedure can differs between practitioners and you should not be surprised if other practitioner’s procedures are slightly different from mine.

For me, moving is already a very stressful process for the home owner and as a practitioner, I should not add to it by prescribing elaborate processes. For me, there are only three things that you must do. First is to arrive and move into the house within the designated “auspicious” date and time. Second, use the stove to make a warm beverage and to cook a meal – a simple one will do. And lastly you should sleepover at the new house. This is all you need to do to ensure a successful move in.

In the past the occupants may be instructed to declaring loudly that they are the new occupants and letting off fire crackers (which are banned in most places) to signify the occasion. It may also include “cleansing” by jumping over a fire pit and washing with water infused with the leaves of a kind of citrus plant. This is to ensure that negative energies do not follow you into the new house.

Using the stove to cook a meal is an important process in the move in procedure. As such, some practitioners emphasis this by making the stove work overtime. He may ask you to cook a Chinese dessert that requires simmering over a low fire for many hours!

Some practitioners may want you to energize the house and would advise you to switch on all the lights and power appliances such as air conditioners, radio and TV for a few hours. There is nothing wrong with it. In fact I also advise my clients to let the tap water run long enough to clear the water tank. In a previously vacated house, the water in the tank may be contaminated having collected water and left stagnant for a long while. The last think you want is food poisoning amongst the occupants. Some will surely blame it on bad Feng Shui!

There are also many pre-moving rules that were popular in the past but rarely observed nowadays. Here are some of them.

For example, the house should be left vacant for a few days prior to the move. No one including animals (though I suspect it will be difficult to stop the rats) is allowed. All vents should be sealed and natural lighting blocked from entering by pasting dark coloured paper on windows and other openings.

They should only be removed when you move in on the auspicious day and time to signify a rebirth of sort and an infusion of new energies into the house.

It is also a popular belief that negative “yin” energies can accumulate in the corners of a vacant house. The last thing you want to do is share the house with them. To overcome or neutralize these negative “yin” energies you can scattered the inside corners of your house with a mixture of items with strong “yang” energies in the days prior to moving in. They include a mix of salt, rice, tea leaf and dried chillies.

While on the subject of moving, I would like to clarify a misconception on the moving time. An auspicious time is usually a span of two or more hours in a given day, for example between 9 am and 11 am. It means that you must arrive and first occupy the house any time between 9 am and 11 am. It does not mean that you have to arrive and complete the move within the two hours! After you have move the first item into the house, you can continue to move the other items later in the day, the next day or any time after that.

Have a good move.

Feng Shui

Which is the Facing Direction?

February 12, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

In my conversation with my clients, I realize that many are confused or uncertain about facing direction.

The usual question is whether they should look out of the facing of the house or the other way around. The correct answer is looking out. You always measure looking out of the facing of the house. The same apply to measuring the facing direction of the door. Again you measure from inside of the house looking out of the door. Please refer to the drawings above and below.

What about the facing direction of your study or work table. This is the direction that you are looking at when seated on the table. What about the facing direction when sleeping. There are two correct answers to this question and it depends on the system of Feng Shui that you practice. In the Eight Mansions or Eight House system, it is beneficial if we sleep on a bed that facing a direction that is beneficial to you. For example if you are an East Group person, you should sleep with your head facing north, south, east or south-east. But what you the books really mean when they say you should sleep facing north for example? In this system, the direction is measure from on the crown of your head. It is actually the direction that the crown of your head faces when your sleep. Please refer to the examples below.

Why did I say two correct answers? In other systems of Feng Shui such as those practised by Zi Wei masters, the facing direction is measure based on the soles of the feet. The ration is that facing direction is the direction that you intake air into your body. So when you are sleeping with the crown of your head towards the north, your facing direction is south as your nose is breathing air coming from the south! It is a matter of perspective and they are right too. So when we talk about facing direction, we should also specify the system.

Finally what is the facing direction of a stove? This is a popular topic amongst Eight Mansion’s practitioners as they believe that you can derive much benefit if your stove facings the right direction.

In the old days determining the facing is quite simply. It is based on the fire-mouth and it is always opposite to the direction of the person doing the cooking. With the advent of modern stoves power by gas, heating element, induction etc it gets harder. However as a general rule it is opposite to the direction that the person doing the cooking is facing.

We use to reference it using the knobs on gas stoves. But nowadays some gas stoves have knobs only on the stop which prompted one of my clients to ask if his stove is facing the ceiling!

Feng Shui

What is the Period of this House?

February 12, 2014 Henry 2 Comments

San Yuan derived Feng Shui such as Xuan Kong Fei Xing (Flying Star) has a time component.

A 180-years block is divided into sub-blocks of 20 years called period.

For example the 20-years time span between the 4th Feb 1984 and 3rd Feb 2004 is known as Period 7 while the 20-years time span between the 4th Feb 2004 and 3rd Feb 2024 is known as Period 8.

A house that is completed and occupied during Period 7 is known as a Period 7 house and acquires a “qi” distribution or energy map distinct to that period. A house that is completed and occupied during Period 8 is known as a Period 8 house and has a different “qi” distribution or energy map as shown below.

The date of completion is usually used to determine the Period of the house. For example a house is considered a Period 8 house even if construction commenced in 2003 (period 7) but completed and first occupied in 2005 (period 8).

Please note that some lineage uses the starting of construction date to determine the period of the house. Most schools however use the completion date.

But what is the period of the house if it was completed in 2003 (Period 7) but left vacant for two years and then occupied in 2005 (Period 8). Is this a Period 7 or is this a Period 8 house?

This is a hair splitting question and you are likely to get different answers from different practitioners.

For me I take the completion date and the date that it was first occupied to determine the Period of the house. If the house was completed in 2003 and first occupied in the same year, then I would consider it a Period 7 house. However if it was completed in 2003 but first occupied in 2005, then I would consider it a Period 8 house.

Why? This has to do with the trinity concept where an event is determined when three conditions are present. When a house is completed it has already met the heaven and earth conditions. The third condition is man and this is met when the house is occupied.

So, for houses completed just before the change to a new period, I would urge the occupants to move in if the energy map is auspicious and matches with the internal layout and external feature. On the other hand if the energy map and layout are better suited for the next period then I would urge them to delay the move in to the next period.

In Malaysia, it is quiet common for the main contractor to build temporary living quarters at the site for their workers. These quarters are not sturdy and do not last for long. When the houses are half completed i.e. when the four walls and roof are up, some contractors would move their existing or new workers into these half completed houses.

The question is, if the workers occupy these half completed houses in period 7 prior to the actual owners moving into these houses in Period 8, are these Period 7 or Period 8 houses?

This is really splitting hair! And it will take a long of research and case studies to arrive at an answer. For me I still use the completion date and occupancy date to determine the period. In the cases above the house was not yet completed in Period 7 even though it was occupied by the contractor’s workers. For me it is a Period 8 house.

Feng Shui

Feng Shui Frequently Asked Questions 1

February 12, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

In this article I will answer three (3) of the most frequently asked questions on Feng Shui that I have come across.

Why is north shown at the bottom of typical Feng Shui diagrams such as the Bagua, Yin Yang etc? Why not on the top like conventional maps? Are the directions reversed? Is north south and south really north?

The answer is absolutely not. Magnetic north will always be magnetic north. In western mapping convention, north is shown on the top of the page. Chinese mapping convention is just the opposite. North is always shown at the bottom of the page.

It is like reading a map upside down. Instead of the United Kingdom on the top of the page and Australia at the bottom, it is the reversed.

Should you attempt to redraw everything according to Western mapping convention with north on the top of the page? There is nothing wrong with this approach but I would advice you not to.

Almost all diagrams in Chinese metaphysics involving directions are traditionally drawn with north at the bottom. This include the Bagua – both the early and late heaven arrangement, Yin Yang, Lo Shu, Five Elements, Heavenly Stems and Branches, Seasons and Sub-seasons, Feng Shui Compass, Water Formulas and even the Zi Wei Dou Shu birth chart!

That is a lot of translations to do. Instead you can make life easier by simply getting use to north at the bottom and south on top. Think of this Chinese verse, “Heaven South, Earth North”.

The second most popular question is regarding home ownership. Here goes.

The house that I lived in is not mine (rented or under wife’s name). Will the Feng Shui of the house affect me? Or does it affect the owner who may not be staying in it?

Feng Shui is a metaphysical study on how the surroundings affect the luck of the occupants of the house. This include the profile of the land around your house, surrounding feature such as rivers, roads, buildings etc, house facing direction, internal space utilization etc.

Feng Shui does not and cannot differentiate between the occupants and the owner who may not be staying in the house. It affects those staying in the house, period.

It may sound strange but I know of at least one person who continues to pay rent a house despite having purchased two other houses. His argument is that the two other houses that he purchased do not have as good Feng Shui qualities as the one that he is currently staying!

The third is about wealth. With the right Feng Shui, will I become wealthy?

It depends. Whether you will be wealthy or not depends on a number of factors. Pre-destined factors include your destiny potential and your luck cycles. Non-destined factors include free will, learning, charitable deeds etc.

Some people are born with strong wealth potential. These people are likely to have money throughout their lives. Others, with weaker wealth potential, may have strong wealth luck cycles that support their wealth creation endeavour during these periods or cycles.

Feng Shui is a technique that can influence your destiny potential and luck cycles. When your destiny wealth potential is strong or you are in a strong wealth luck cycle, good Feng Shui can give your endeavour a boost. It is like a sail boat catching the wind.

On the other hand if your destiny wealth potential is weak and you are in a weak wealth luck cycle, then Feng Shui can only help to provide a buffer.

So, it depends!!

Feng Shui

What is San Yuan?

February 12, 2014 Henry 2 Comments

Do you know that we are currently (2011) in the Period of 8? If you have been reading up on Feng Shui, you are likely know this. It is a 20 years period that runs from 2004 to 2024. You are also likely to know that any house built and completed within this period is classified as a Period 8 house.

But is there a period 9, 10 or 11? Yes there is a Period 9 but it is as far as it goes. There is no period 10 or 11. More importantly, what is San Yuan? Let me explain.

San Yuan means three cycles. It is a system of time keeping. San means three while Yuan refers to a cycle of 60 years. Therefore San Yuan refers to three cycles of 60 years giving a total of 180 years.

Each of the Yuan (60 years) is further subdivide into 3 periods of 20 years each called Yun. Therefore in one 180 years cycle there are 3 Yuans and 9 Yuns or Periods. The current 180 year cycle which I will call Great Cycle, for lack of a better name, began in 1864. The table below shows the Yuan, and Yun or Period of the current Great Cycle.

Yuan	Yun or Period	Start Year	Stem Branch
Upper Period	Period 1	1864	Jia Zi
	Period 2	1884	Jia Shen
	Period 3	1904	Jia Chen
Middle	Period 4	1924	Jia Zi
	Period 5	1944	Jia Shen
	Period 6	1964	Jia Chen
Lower	Period 7	1984	Jia Zi
	Period 8	2004	Jia Shen
	Period 9	2024	Jia Chen

Unlike the Gregorian calendar which begins on the 1st of January, this system of San Yuan or Three Cycles is based on the Chinese Solar calendar. The Chinese Solar year begins on or around the 4th or 5th of February.

Therefore more accurately Period 8 runs from 4th February 2004 to 3rd February 2024 while Period 9 runs from 4th February 2024 to 3rd February 2044.

What happens after Period 9? The whole Great Cycle repeats itself. Therefore the period between 4th Feb 2044 and 3rd Feb 2064 is Period 1 Upper Yuan of the next Great Cycle!

The “qi” or energy distribution for property depends on the period that the house was built and the facing direction of the house. A house is characterised by this “qi” distribution and it does not change unless you carry out a major renovation. While the “qi” distribution in a house remains unchanged, the quality of the “qi” changes in different periods. A “qi” distribution that is good in one period may become bad in another. That is way luck changes over time. And feng shui has a time dimension as least for San Yuan based Feng Shui systems such as Xuan Kong Da Gua (hexagram) or Xuan Kong Fei Xing (flying star).

Feng Shui

What is a House Gua?

February 12, 2014 Henry Leave a comment

If you have read up on the Eight Mansion or Eight House Feng Shui system, you would have come across the concept of personal gua.

To recapitulate, it is a number or name of a gua that is derived from your Chinese solar year of birth and sex. Please refer to the Lou Shu and Early Heaven Pakua diagram below. There are eight numbers (from 1 to 4 and 6 to 9) and eight corresponding gua. If your gua number is 1, you are a Kan Gua person or if your gua number is 7, you are a ‘Dui’ gua person.

People with gua number 1, 3, 4 and 9 (Kan, Zhen, Xun and Li gua) falls into a group known as the East Life group while those with gua number 2, 6, 7 and 8 (Gen, Qian, Dui and Kun gua) falls into another group called the West Life group. For those in the East Life group, their favorable sectors and directions are north, south, east and south east. For those in the West Life groups, their favorable sectors and direction are west, south west, north west and north east.

What about the House Gua?

In the Eight Mansions systems, a house also has a gua. This is derived from the sitting direction of the house. For example a house that sits north (faces south) is known as a ‘Kan’ house. Similarly a house that sits east (faces west) is known as ‘Zhen’ house and so on.

Houses with sitting direction north, south, east and south-east is known as East Houses while those sitting west, south-west, north-west and north-east are known as West Houses.

Like the personal gua system, the house gua determines the favourable and unfavourable sectors of a house. The favourable sectors of a East House are north, south, east and south east and unfavourable sectors are west, north-west, south-west and north east.

A practitioner applying this system of Feng Shui would try to place the important areas of a house such as the main door in a favourable sector. For example for a ‘Kan’ house (sitting north), a practitioner would recommend to have the main door in the east, south-east or south sector of the house, all which are favourable sectors for a Kan house.

You may notice that the favourable sectors of a East Life person is the same as that for a East House and vice versa. This is why practitioners of this system urge (though not mandatory) East Life persons to live in a East House and vice versa.

In a typical household, you will find both East and West life group persons living in the same house. Does this mean for example that a West Life person should not or will not benefit from living in a East House. The answer is not. In theory a East Life person will likely benefit more from living in a East House but it does not mean that West Life person living in a East House will suffer.

Remember that in a East House, there are four favourable west sectors. Practitioners would try to place a West Life group person in the west sectors (west, north west, south west and north east) of a East House.

What if the husband is from one group whiles the wife is from another? In ancient Chinese society, the husband is always the breadwinner, and the selection is based on the husband’s gua.

In these modern times where the wife may be the breadwinner, it pays to ask first!

Feng Shui

Which Side of the Bed Should You Sleep On?

February 12, 2014 Henry 2 Comments

Are there any rules or best practices in Feng Shui regarding which side of the bed the husband or wife should sleep on? When I was asked this question very early in my practice, I remembered that I was momentarily stunned.

You see I cannot recall any of my Feng Shui or Chinese Astrology master talking about this in any of our lessons or discussions. But since there are rules governing bed position and sleeping direction, why not which side of the bed. It seems like a natural extension?

So I asked my fellow practitioner friends and the answer that I got from them is a categorical no. They have not come across any such rules. But, interestingly their clients have asked them the same question.

There is a Chinese saying, “Men on the Left and Women on the Right”. This is from time immemorial and many older Chinese stick to this convention without much thought to it. For example on the dining table the husband would sit on the left and the wife on the right. This same convention is adopted when taking photos, tea drinking ceremonies etc. Take a look at old Chinese family photos. You will see the husband seated mostly on the left and the wife on the right.

Is this the answer? Could be, but there is no scientific reason to support it.

Then I came across a book that throws some light on this issue. According to this book, our forefathers lived in caves and were the provider and protector of the family. The only way to enter the cave is through the cave opening and the father who is the head of the family always sleep on the side that is closer to the cave opening. This way he is in the best position to protect his wife and children from intruders.

So I did some corridor research among my friends and found this to be generally true. And it does not just apply to just husbands and wives or boyfriends and girlfriends. In the case of the single mother and child sleeping on the same bed, the mother would mostly sleep on the side closer to the door. In this case, she is the protector of the child.

Please do me a favour. What about you and your family members? Do you unconsciously follow this rule? Please let me know.

This brings me to the popular expression, “Getting up on the wrong side of the bed”.

If you are still not sure, I suggest you try this. Sleep on one side of the bed for a week. Then swap places with your spouse and sleeping on the other side for a week. Record your feelings every morning. The side that lets your sleep most comfortably and do not give you the “getting up on the wrong side of the bed” feeling, should be the right side!

Feng Shui

Eight House Feng Shui

February 11, 2014 Henry 4 Comments

I know of two versions of Eight House Feng Shui.

One is based on personal Kua (or Gua) while the other on the house Kua (or Gua). The personal Kua version is very easy to learn and I will attempt to explain to you in this article.

The first step is to measure the facing direction of the house. In this system there are only eight (8) facing directions. It include the four cardinal directions of north, south, east and west and the four inter-cardinal directions of north east, south east, south west and north west. Each direction falls within a 45 degree pie.

Once you have the facing direction, map the nine palaces to the house as shown. In this example the house is facing south.

Next find out the Kua number of the head of the household and breadwinner. This is usually the husband but in these modern times, it may well be the wife! If the kua number is 1, 3, 4 or 9 then he or she belongs to the East Life group. If 2, 6, 7 or 8 then it is the West Life group.

For an East Life person, the favourable directions and sectors are north, south, east and south east. And for a West Life person, they are north-east, south west, west and Northwest.

In this example let’s assume that the head of the household and breadwinner is the husband and he belongs to the East Life Group.

Like most other Feng Shui system, the emphasis is to locate the main door and master bedroom in auspicious sectors and corrected oriented. However unlike other system, this Eight House Feng Shui system requires the kitchen to be located in an inauspicious sector but orientated to face an auspicious direction.

Since the husband is an East Life Group person his main door and master bedroom should be in his favourable or auspicious sectors which are north, south, east or south east. His kitchen (or rather the stove) should be in his unfavourable sector of north-east, south-west, west or north-west.

In the first option, I have place the main door in the south sector (one of his favourable sector). The main door faces south (also one of his favourable directions). I have placed the master bedroom in the south east sector (favourable sector) with the bed facing south (favourable direction). Finally I have located his kitchen in the north-east (his unfavourable sector) but with the stove facing south (favourable direction).

eight-house-opt-2 — Error: Should be “Main Door in South East sector facing South”.

In the second option, the main door is in the south east (favorable sector) while the main door faces south (favorable direction). The bedroom is in the east (favorable sector) while the bed faces east (favorable direction). Finally the kitchen is in the north-west (unfavorable sector) while the stove faces east (favorable direction).

Both the options are favourable for an East Life person.

What if the children are from the west group? Not a problem. Simply try to locate them in a bedroom located in the north-east, south-west, west or north-west sectors.

But what if the wife is from the west group? Put her in a different room? Nope. She simply has the share the same bedroom and bed with the husband. At least this is how it was practice in the old days!

I must caution that while most schools of Feng Shui place the same emphasis on the main door, master bedroom and kitchen, the method that they use and the recommendations may be different. What I have described above is correct for this system whose foundation is the Ba Gua. Other systems have their foundation on others such the Lo Shu and are likely to yield different recommendations.

So if a consultant suggests that you – say an East person – sleeps in a room located in the west, it does not mean he is wrong. Please remember this! Different systems are founded on different principles. At the end its whether they yield the right results or not!

Feng Shui

Feng Shui Bed Position Best Practices

February 11, 2014 Henry 2 Comments

Here are some Feng Shui bed position best practices to help you decide on the best way to position your bed in your bedroom.

A bed should always be supported.

The bed head should ideally rest against a solid wall.

It should not be place in the middle of a room or against a window as shown in the diagram.

If you have no choice but to place the bed head against a window make sure that the window is closed and curtains drawn when you go to bed.

It should also not be placed directly under an overhead beam. Move the bed to another location. If you are not able to position the bed so that it is not under a beam you should consider installing a false ceiling to diffuse the ‘sha’ generated by the beam.

The bed should also not be in the path of the bedroom door. The diagram shows the path of the bedroom door in red and the various positions of the bed that are in conflict with this guideline.

The bed should also not be in-line with the toilet door as shown below. The remedy is to relocate the toilet door as shown. If there is enough space you can place a screen – removable or fixed – to block the bed from the toilet.

In some apartments that I have consulted on, the room is so small that it is not possible to position the bed out of the path of the toilet door. Neither can you relocate the toilet door. In such a case, the only option left is to keep the toilet closed at all times.

The bed head or bed should not share a common wall with the toilet or bathroom for obvious reasons.

Once you have decided on the position of you bed, look up and find out what is directly upstairs. You should not find a toilet up there! Next look downstairs and find out what is below. A toilet downstairs is okay but a stove is a definite no!

I hope you find the Feng Shui bed position best practices useful.

Absolutely Feng Shui

Category Archives: Feng Shui

Where do I Place the Altar?

Is this the Right Way to Move?

Which is the Facing Direction?

What is the Period of this House?

Feng Shui Frequently Asked Questions 1

What is San Yuan?

What is a House Gua?

Which Side of the Bed Should You Sleep On?

Eight House Feng Shui

Feng Shui Bed Position Best Practices

Feng Shui and More