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| What is Classical Feng Shui ? (Revised )
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From the many questions we receive from our clients, via email, and at lectures, there is much confusion about the different schools and methods of feng shui: "They all conflict." "Which one is right?" "How do I activate my wealth corner?" "Where is my wealth corner?" To address these concerns, we developed The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui, a book that seeks to set the record straight about what feng shui is and isn't, and how you can use this ancient Chinese tradition to create a more harmonious, balanced life.
Currently, there are over 300 feng shui books available on the mass market. The books are split into three categories: Black Sect, Life Aspirations (sometimes called Eight Aspirations), and Classical Feng Shui, the vast majority falling into the first two groups. Yet, before we define the different schools (in three articles), it's worth taking a step back for a moment to understand from where feng shui is derived.
Feng shui has its roots in ancient China. As early as 6,000 years ago the Neolithic Chinese were practicing some sort of astrological/astronomical feng shui. We know this because of a gravesite unearthed in Henan province. While the body faced north, it was flanked on both sides by depictions of a dragon (on the east) and tiger (on the west) outlined in shells. In the center of the body lay an illustration of the Big Dipper. For reasons unknown, these ancient peoples oriented their graves around the revolution of the Big Dipper. Despite the specific reason, was can assume that direction or SPACE was an important consideration.
The creatures represented in the grave are actually macro-constellations. Formally called the Four Celestial Palaces, the four macro-constellations are the crimson bird (south), the cerulean dragon (east), the white tiger (west) and the dark turtle (north). Composed of seven constellations each, the macro-constellations comprise the 28 constellations of the Chinese zodiac. You may wonder about their choice of creatures. With the exception of the fantastic dragon, birds are more abundant in the south. They travel south. Tigers are indigenous the more west one travels toward India. Like the eastern dragon, the northern turtle is puzzling. An educated guess tells us that the turtle is symbolic of turtle shell divination, a practice stemming from northern China.
These creatures were ancient Chinese totems. All primitive societies had its own totems that encapsulated their environment and which perhaps possessed qualities that tribe members revered and aspired to. In China, the tiger, dragon, turtle, and bird totems were deified as celestial bodies and worshipped in exchange for protection, fair weather, and good health (among other things). Over the ensuing centuries, these totems transformed into superstitious tokens that many believed could help foster a better well-being. While the tiger is certainly a powerful animal, can a representation of the fierce beast provide us with courage or shield us from wrongdoers? In the same way, does a rabbit's foot bring us good luck? Will stepping on a crack really break our mother's back? Of course not! Unfortunately, the primitive belief in totems has seeped into the practice of feng shui. Besides the aforementioned dragon, tiger, turtle, and phoenix, foo dogs, frogs, and gold fish are other revered animals that have become superstitious tokens that cannot and will not affect the quality of qi (the physical and metaphysical life force at the heart of all things) in your environment and living space. Similarly, mirrors, flutes, windchimes, and calabash cannot change qi's vital essence.
Somehow, the Four Celestial Palaces (the macro constellations of the dragon, tiger, turtle, and phoenix) came down to earth to represent landforms. The key word here is 'form.' Form School feng shui, therefore, studies how landforms (mountain ranges, watercourses, the shape of the terrain) affect your livelihood and health. In fact, Form School (Xingfa, in Chinese) is the first and oldest school of feng shui. Formally dating to the late Han era's (C.E. 190-220) Zangjing (Classic of Burial) by Qing Wuzi, the text describes how to locate the most auspicious place in which to bury the dead. You see, the Chinese believed that if their forebears were properly propitiated, then they would aid the living. They could bestow good weather to improve crop yield, for instance. On the other hand, if the ancestors were not properly honored, then they might send harsh weather and disease.
Besides finding a favorable burial site, locating a favorable site on which to build a settlement was also an important concern. In fact, feng shui masters were paid handsomely to find an area where qi was carried by the wind (feng) and accumulated in water (shui). Specifically, these learned masters were looking for the dragon's lair (long xue, in Chinese), the place on the geophysical terrain where qi converges. In the modern world, buildings and roadways are synonymous with mountain ranges and watercourses. While we won't dwell on this here, understand that Form School feng shui is all about studying external SPACE.
Besides studying the affects of one's surrounding environment, Classical Feng Shui studies how TIME influences the quality of your living space. In fact, TIME and SPACE are two sides of a coin. One cannot exist without the other. For example, your body (your own personal SPACE) changes over TIME. Everyone and everything moves through ceaseless cycles of birth, growth, decay and death. Nothing can escape this fate.
The TIME your home was born into and the TIME you were born are important factors in a Classical Feng Shui analysis. What's this mean, you ask? Well, the Chinese believe the first breath you take at birth marks your innate destiny. In the same way, when the foundation is set and the roof is affixed, your home is born. It, too, has a core personality. But, remember, despite our inherent personality, we still change! So, an inherently good home will encounter TIMES of misfortune. Likewise, we go through lucky and unlucky TIMES.
In Classical Feng Shui we use several methods to measure how TIME and SPACE affect a building. Perhaps the most sophisticated method is Flying Star (Xuan Kong). In a nutshell, this theory combines the numerology of the Luoshu, the After Heaven sequence of trigrams, and the Five Phases of fire, earth, metal, water, and wood to analyze the quality and movement of qi in one's home. (You can learn more about the Luoshu Magic Square, the trigram sequences, and the Five Phases in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui.) The intention is to balance qi so that the dweller's living SPACE will productively enhance the likelihood of better health, wealth, and relationships.
In short, Classical Feng Shui studies TIME and SPACE. Specifically, Classical Feng Shui analyzes the environment, buildings, and people, and how the qi of each interacts over time. It is a complex, yet fascinating study that takes years to fully comprehend and master. Learning Classical feng shui requires patience, perseverance and a willingness to peel away the many misconceptions plaguing the tradition in order to uncover the truth. With the dedication of like-minded people, feng shui will soon be recognized as a legitimate form of therapy on par with acupuncture and acupressure.
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This article is brought to you by |
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Elizabeth Moran
Elizabeth Moran and her husband Val Biktashev, are the authors of the book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui. The book seeks to educate the public about what Feng Shui is and isn't, debunking many of the modern misconceptions and myths. Moran and Biktashev have studied with Master Sang and Yu.
Her new book with Joseph Yu, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the I Ching, will be available in the spring, 2001.
Elizabeth also co-moderates the Basic Feng Shui list on egroups.com. If you're a beginning student of Feng Shui, there is a lot of free interactive information. Please Join! [email protected].
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