Feng Shui Rules, Tips, & Meanings

Q: Since a big part of feng shui is raising the energy levels of your living space, and since women's energy levels regularly rise and fall with their monthly cycles, are there certain times of the month that are better or worse for practicing feng shui? I'm guessing that since hormones can have such a powerful affect on women's moods, that must affect the power of their intentions too?

A: The best time for anyone, male or female, to do feng shui (i.e., move things around, place remedies/imagery, etc.) is when your energy is high, your mind is clear and undistracted, and your outlook is optimistic and enthusiastic. If your hormonal cycles, or a poor night's sleep, or family/work stress, or whatever, put you physically or emotionally or mentally in a frazzled, low-energy state, it's a good idea to wait until you feel "up to it" to implement feng shui changes.

Two questions have come in asking if a ba gua mirror can be used inside an apartment or in an apartment house hallway, to deflect noise and/or "negative energy" coming from a neighbor's unit.

The short answer is no: hoping that it will help with a bad-neighbor situation doesn't negate the rule that a ba gua mirror should never be used in an interior space. That includes an apartment building hallway. The hallway is outside your apartment, but it's inside the building, and it's a space that you use on a daily basis. Be careful what you put there.

I believe that a ba gua mirror is only used appropriately as protection against inanimate sources of sha chi -- such as a road aimed at your house, or the sharp corner of a neighboring building. Bouncing "behavioral sha chi" (noise, or other inconsiderate behavior) back at your neighbors with any kind of mirror may feel empowering, but I think it's a bad idea. You want to defuse the situation, not add fuel to the fire.

A better solution is to find a way to send positive intentions to those troublesome folks next door -- no matter how irritated or exasperated you may feel. Hang an image that conveys blessings of some kind (whatever religious or spiritual heritage feels right to you) either within your home or above your front door so it faces the neighbors and showers them with good vibes.

If your neighbors often play loud music at night, visualize them making lots of new friends and socializing with those friends at a bar or club... so they make noise in a more appropriate place than next door to you. Feel happy for them that they're having such a good time, and happy for yourself that you now can enjoy some peace and quiet, even before it happens.

Truly aggravating neighbors may prompt you to wish the problem would be solved when they get hit by a bus. If you're tempted to imagine that kind of fate for anyone, try to rise above it. Imagine instead that these irksome pests encounter great good fortune, such as getting a fabulous job offer in another city so their luck literally moves them out of the building to somewhere far away from you.

This will be much better for both of you than focusing on annoyances and frustrations, which is unlikely to result in a pleasant outcome for anyone.

I've had nothing but fabulous neighbors for many years now, and wish the same for all of you.

Stephanie

PS: If it turns out you're the one who gets that irresistible offer to move, be sure to include "wonderful, quiet, considerate neighbors" on your list of what you're looking for in your new home.

I've received several questions recently asking about use of the ba gua and/or ba gua mirror, and whether or not it's "bad luck" to have one in the home.

No wonder people are confused. There are many styles of feng shui (some much more superstitious than others) and a lot of conflicting or even misleading information out there. I'm wondering if this tip, which recently appeared in someone else's newsletter, may be why I've been getting ba gua-related questions lately:

"The Bagua is an all-powerful tool to ward off bad energies and poison arrows from your home, and they are expressly created to be hung at the exterior of one's home. Do not under any circumstances hang one inside your house as a form or decoration!"

This tip was accompanied by photos of various ba guas and ba gua mirrors as though they are the same thing. But according to the contemporary style of feng shui that I practice, the advice quoted above applies to ba gua MIRRORS only, not to the ba gua itself.

A ba gua mirror is a round mirror in an octagonal frame. The frame is usually yellow or red, with black and/or green accents, marked with the eight I Ching "trigrams" arranged like this:

The ba gua MIRROR is a powerful tool for deflecting negative energy, and yes, it should only be used outside the home.

BTW: I have occasionally seen octagonal mirrors marketed as "ba gua" mirrors, but they're not. It's the octagonal frame and trigrams that make it a "ba gua mirror." An octagonal mirror is just an eight-sided mirror. While the octagon itself is considered an auspicious shape because it references the ba gua, an octagonal mirror has no special qualities in and of itself.

However, the BA GUA is not the same as a ba gua MIRROR. The ba gua is a representation of the univeral energy qualities of a space, and as such is a HIGHLY AUSPICIOUS object that can be used anywhere in the home. It is particularly good to place in the center of the home as a symbol of good chi and good fortune. This includes a feng shui compass, because the compass includes the trigrams on one of the innermost rings.


The trigrams on the ba gua symbol or compass are in a different arrangement than they appear on the mirror. The ba gua map/symbol/compass shows the trigrams in the later heaven sequence (on the left, below), while a ba gua mirror should have the trigrams in the early heaven sequence (on the right, below).


So, to summarize:

Ba gua MIRROR: a protective remedy used only to deflect NEGATIVE chi, and only outside the home.

Ba gua (no mirror): a positive symbol that can be used INSIDE the home to add POSITIVE energy to your space.

As always, that's my opinion, coming from the contemporary style of feng shui practice. Practitioners from other traditions may disagree.

 This past week, the city replaced the sidewalk on our street. And of course, they were digging to the north of our house.  This year the annual 5 earth is in the North.  When the earth is disturbed in the direction of the 5 earth sha, there can be unfortunate problems that occur. To [...]

Happy Chinese New Year! This is the Chinese Year of the Ox. This year will have both auspicious and inauspicious events based on the annual 9 Purple You Bi Star being the key influence this year. While auspicious for the young leader, it can bring trouble in the way of fires or bombings. If you wish [...]

The Lunar Chinese New Year has arrived, ushering in the Year of the Ox. (Sorry this post was delayed; we had some technical difficulties with the FTP feed.)

If you would like to learn more about Chinese New Year, and how it is celebrated, Wikipedia's page is a good place to start.

Those who want to know what the Year of the Ox might hold in store, will find detailed Chinese Astrological forecasts here. Note that understanding/using this page requires knowledge of Chinese astrological 5-element theory and your personal element strength/weakness.

For a beginner-friendly annual forecast based only on birth year, Suzanne White (author of The New Chinese Astrology) offers 2009 overviews here.

If you are looking for a daily Chinese Almanac for the 2009 Ox year, you will find a
good one (and lots of other info) here.

And there's good 2009 Flying Stars information here. Note that the Flying Stars annual forecasts kick in on the SOLAR New Year (February 4th), not on the Lunar New Year (today).

Please keep in mind that these are all links to other sites' pages. I am not an expert in Chinese Astrology and do not specialize in the traditional Chinese Flying Stars style of feng shui. Should you have questions/concerns about the Flying Stars or other Chinese astrology forecasts for 2009 please consult with the authors of these sites or other experts in these areas of study.

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous 2009,

Stephanie R.

I just taught a series of Feng Shui classes this past two weekends at the American Feng Shui Institute. It has been awhile since I have taught in person, since mostly the classes are online and Master Sang has been in China. But it was like stepping back into a pair of comfortable [...]

We are really excited! As of today, the 168 Feng Shui Advisors site http://www.168fengshui.com has been completely revised. It has a new, more efficient theme and layout. You will probably first notice a quick navigation box that allows you to see the latest posts, categories, popular posts, and archived posts. There [...]

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