FENG SHUI BASICS
Feng Shui (literally "Wind and Water" in Chinese), is all about balance and harmony between us and our environment. Just like the Yin and Yang energies, Feng Shui is about balance. Where there is light, there will always be darkness; where there is fire, there will always be water; and so forth.
Feng Shui teaches that every individual interacts differently to their environment. Sometimes, a particular environment - such as a house or office - is so suited to you that you find that everything in your life is great. However, if you have troubled relationships or financial woes, it is quite likely that there is some discord or imbalance between yourself and your environment, manifesting in your daily life.
By subtly modifying your environment, you will be able to restore this balance, and consequently improve your life. Modifying your environment can be as simple as changing the angle or position of your work desk, or by buying Feng Shui items such as mandarin ducks and placing them in proper locations in your home or office.
There are many systems of authentic classical Feng Shui. This article describes the Xuan Kong (pronounced "Shu-en Kong") system. Xuan Kong (literally "Mysterious Void" in Chinese) is a complete system which includes complicated formulae to calculate optimal positioning and composition of an environment.
EIGHT MANSION (PA-KUA) SCHOOL OF FENG SHUI
There are a few sub-schools within the Xuan Kong system, including the popular Flying Stars school. The descriptions in this article are based on the Eight Mansion school, also known as the Pa-Kua school. In the Pa-Kua technique, the compass is divided into eight directions, each of which is depicted by a trigram. Each of these directions have different significance. For example, one of the Pa-Kua directions is the personal or relationship direction, which will be of the most interest to someone with troubled relationships. Furthermore, the significance of each direction differs for each individual.
To find out how each Pa-Kua direction affects you personally, you will need to calculate your Kua Number.
The calculator will provide you with your Kua Number, and more importantly, what each Pa-Kua direction means to you. In short, four of those directions will be positive and favorable to you, while the other four will have negative connotations for you.
The eight Pa-Kua directions can be briefly summarized as follows:
Sheng Chi (Life Generating) - This Pa-Kua direction is your prosperity and wealth direction. You would focus on this direction if you are interested in financial strength.
Tien Yi (Heavenly Doctor) - This direction is your health direction. You would focus on this direction if you are interested in health and physical matters.
Nien Yin (Relationships) - This direction is your relationships direction. You would focus on this direction if you have troubled relationships and would like to improve your love life and/or your marriage.
Fu Wei (Stability) - This direction is your stability and knowledge direction. You would focus on this direction if you want to achieve tranquility and knowledge.
Ho Hai (Mishaps) - The first negative Pa-Kua direction is your accident or misfortune direction. You would focus on this direction if you want to reduce unforeseen accidents or loss.
Wu Gwei (Five Ghosts) - This direction is your financial loss direction. You would focus on this direction to prevent theft and other financial woes.
Liu Sha (Six Killings) - This direction is your "evil" direction. You would focus on this direction to ward off malevolence against you.
Chueh Ming (Total Loss) - This direction is your loss and death direction. You would focus on this direction to reduce physical loss and death around you.
Steven maintains the Mandarin Duck Feng Shui website at http://www.mandarin-ducks.com It provides information on how mandarin ducks are able to help improve relationships using Feng Shui principles.