Andor's Tome of Stuff : )

The Art of Feng Shui

The art of feng shui is centuries old, traced back to the teachings of China's shamans, kings and diviners, they established the components that are the science of feng shui. The Bagua, The Pa kua, The Theory of Change. Feng shui brings the forces of nature into balance within your home, office, life, property, business, friendships, family and loved ones, combine this with meditation and you will feel in tune, energised and peaceful.

The Bagua – The Bagua is the feng shui compass, it comprises eight directions, North, South, East, West, Northeast, Northwest, Southwest, Southeast. When purchasing a compass make sure it is a reliable one, go for quality.

The Pa kua – The Pa kua comprises the eight major trigrams found in the ancient divination oracle the I Ching.

The Theory of Change -The concepts of transformation found in the I Ching, describe which elements destroy or enhance another element. Knowledge of these basic cycles helps you create a destructive or productive cycle of fortune in your life.

A navigational compass was used in prehistoric China and later modified to be used in feng shui. Emperor Wen of the Chou dynasty (1122-207 BC), used the pa kua as a tool to describe and define patterns of change in the natural world. In the eighth century BC, to encourage peace and wealth into a kingdom, the Chinese used pa kua with its theory of change.

During the Han dynasty (206 BCE-210 CE), the study of Kan yu, Kan (mountains), yu (low places), was absorbed into the science of feng shui. Kan yu was the study of the energy of landforms, and the effect on individuals living close to them. The theory of mountains and rivers being filled with vital nourishing energy was developed by the Taoists Hauang-Shih Kung and Ch'ing Wu. Waterways were called water dragons, the pathways of energy in the mountains were called dragon veins.

It was believed the layout of the land affected the fate of an entire kingdom, and if the capital city was built on land that had good features, including mountains and rivers, the country would prosper. Anything built on land with bad magnetic energy, fierce winds, or a generally inhospitable setting, would suffer disasters and chaos.

An emperor buried near landforms with positive energy, would have a dynasty with longevity and have many descendants. An emperor buried near landforms with negative energy, would have a dynasty that toppled. The nobility first use Kan yu to select burial sites, this is to ensure the longevity of their regimes. Centuries later, during the Chin dynasty (265-420 CE), kan yu was adopted by laymen for all matters associated with property, they did this to make sure they picked the best real estate for their needs.

A geomantic compass called the lo-p'an, was invented by the T'ang (618-906 CE) dynasty, the compass was used to pinpoint the most auspicious location for a dwelling. It was a circular object containing seventeen rings with twenty four directions.

The Emperor Hsu Jen-wan, broadened the practice of Feng Shui to include the diagnosis of buildings and landforms during the Sung (960-1279 CE) dynasty. He founded the Hsuan-k'ung Mysterious Subtleties, or Flying Stars system of feng shui. The system used information associated with the direction a building faces, the year of construction. The pakua was used to foretell the future of a buildings residents. The Flying Stars School of feng shui became more popular as cities grew and residences were built away from the positive energies of natural landscapes.

The Republic China period (1911-1949), and the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911), coincided with the final phase of development of Feng Shui. During the Ch'ing dynasty, Jo-kuan Tao-jen, a feng shui master, founded the Pa-chai (Eight Mansions) school. It is used for residences and Pa-chai is used to match the occupant's guardian star. This is pinpointed by the year of birth and the direction faced by a dwellings front door. The guidelines of Landform Classification, the compass, and the Flying Stars system, was used by the Hsuan-k'ung school to gauge the feng shui of a building during the Republican years.