TEOFS - 7 - Feng Shui In The Home

THE MAIN DOOR

One of the most important features to take into account when buying a house is the position of the main door. The main door is subject to more traffic than any other part of the house, it is the door that protects the house, and is the means by which destructive spirits can enter the house and one of the ways lucky stars can spread their influence. In general, it is believed that a well-placed front door will encourage health, wealth and long life.

  The main door should always be well-hinged, upright and in scale with the size of the house. If the main door is unusually large, it is said to cause a dent in the house and the residents are likely to encounter financial difficulties. If the main door is comparatively small, the residents will be prone to petty arguments.

  The door frames are regarded as the supporting poles of the family and should be straight and free of rot. If the frame is bent or weak, the family's fortunes will suffer. It is also advisable to place two lamps outside the front door but if one of the bulbs fails it is considered a bad omen, so remember to replace it immediately. Lamp-posts standing in the garden are regarded as guards of the house and, again, if the bulb of the post is damaged remember to replace it immediately. You should, however, avoid placing a lamp-post directly outside the main door since this could cause finalcial loss.

  Avoid planting trees directly in front of the main door since the strong yin nature of the tree not only blocks the yang entering the house but also sends additional yin inside.

  The main door should not face the corner of another house since this corner is likened to a dagger stabbing the main entrance to your home. It will encourage ill health and financial loss. The main door should never face a 'dead end' since the ch'i is unable to circulate, and like still water the energy will stagnate and sha accumulate. Family life is likely to slowly degenerate into petty squabbles arising from continually walking into the malign forces surrounding the houses. From a practical point of view, a dead end can also make escape difficult in case of fire.

  If you are building a house you should place the main door towards the left-hand side, the Green Dragon site, so the dragon can exert his energetic spirit over the house. It is acceptable to place the main door in the centre, but unless your horoscope dictates the direction of the White Tiger you should avoid the right-hand side of the house.

  Before buying a house, ensure that the neighbouring building on the right-hand side is not taller or larger than the house you are looking at. Although this is good feng shui for the neighbouring house, it is bad feng shui for you. The spirit of the White Tiger at the right-hand side will outweigh the spirit of the Green Dragon on the left who does not have the power to control the tiger.

  The main door should never face directly onto a 'Y' shaped road or path since each time you leave the house you are faced with a choice of direction which will eventually cause misfortune in the family or at work. The main door should never face directly onto churches, temples, monasteries or cemeteries. All these places are full of yin spirits and it is believed that they are the refuge for homeless ghosts, souls and unknown spirits. It is, however, acceptable to buy a house with side or back walls facing religious buildings or cemeteries.

  Beware of a main door that faces a narrow gap between two buildings which is likened in feng shui to a slice that has been cut out of a cake. It could cause the family's savings to be slowly frittered away. If could cause the family's savings to be slowly frittered away. If you plan to build walls or fences around the house, this will create a beneficial feng shui to protect the house as long as the fences are not too close to the house itself. The protective power of the feng shui is lost if the walls are less than two metres from the house.

  A main door facing a mountain or a hill could result in work difficulties or business loss, but you should also avoid buying a house built on a steep hillside and facing a deep valley since this could bring about mental illness. The feng shui of a house located in a bend caused by a stream, river or flyover will encourage ill health and accidents in the family. The watercourse or road is likened to a blade stabbing the house. From a practical point of view, it is believed that the damp air blowing in from the water will cause arthritis or influenza.

CORRECTING BAD FENG SHUI

If you do have a house that has bad feng shui, it is possible to place mirrors at stractegic points to divert the malign influences. If, for example, there is a tree directly facing your front door, you are advised to place a feng shui mirror surrounded by the eight trigrams above the door frame so that the bad feng shui is deflected. If you need a second feng shui mirror, choose one without the eight trigrams and with small indentations on the surface of the mirror. If the mirrors are needed in the same place, position the indented mirror on top of the trigram mirror and fix both to the wall above the frame of the door. These mirrors cannot, however, deflect the feng shui caused by a house facing a fork in the road, a dead end or a valley.

THE SITTING ROOM

The master bedroom, kitchen and sitting-room are the three most improtant sites for positive feng shui in the house. Since the sitting-room is the area where family and friends gather, it is best situated on the ground floor, within easy access of the main door. It is, however, bad feng shui to have a straight view of a large sitting-room from the main door and, if this happens, and you should try to position a piece of furniture in an appropriate place so part of this view is obscured. This rules does not, however, apply to a small sitting-room. Here you should attempt to create more space by hanging a mirror, but be careful that the bottom steps of the staircase are not reflected in the mirror

  When you are positioning furniture do not place a sofa directly under a beam that can be seen since this will put pressure on whoever is supporting the family. If there is no other place for the furniture, you are advised to have a false ceiling put in to hide the beam. Avoid a cluttered sitting-room since this blocks the flow of the ch'i. It is far better to have paintings or ornaments hanging on the walls than have them gathered on tables or on the floor. An aquarium containing goldfish with also help to increase the flow of ch'i in your house.

  The most important point in th sitting-room is know as the wealth point and it is situated on the top left-hand corner as you enter the room. It is believed that a door or a doorway beneath this point will encourage your money to seep away. A kettle or a coffee-maker will  also encourage your money to evaporate. If you are suffering from financial problems you are advised to grow a plant with large rounded green leaves there and the growth of the plant will reflect the upturn in your income. The larget the plant and plat pot, the greater the fortune. Avoid growing azaleas or other plants with sharp pointed leaves. It is advisable to place three coins wrapped in red paper under the pot and any dying leaves should be cut away immediately since this is bad omen. An artificial plant can improve the feng shui in this corner but only a fresh plant can provide the energy and power to attract posotive forces.

 THE BEDROOM

Since almost a third of our time is spent in bed the feng shui of the bedroom, particularly the master bedroom, is very important. The position of the bed can have an effect on health, prosperity and marriage. You can take a general feng shui reading on the position of your bedroom and bed if you stand at the centre of your house and use the Pa Che compass. However, the more attention that you pay to the positioning of furniture in your bedroom, the greater your fortune.

  The base of the bed should be on wheels, never in contact with the floor since this will prevent air from circulating and eventually cause damp in the bed and resulting backaches. Do not store articles under the bed since this will also bring about ill-health. Never set the head of the bed towards the west unless you are advised to do so in your horoscope. This is logical advice in the East since the western side of the house is always the hottest side.

  Never set the head of the bed behind the bedroom door, that is when the bedroom door is open only the foot of the bed can be seen because this will result in restless nights. The bed should never be directly opposite the door since this will drain away your energy. If a bed is positioned too close to the window thunder storms will cause restlessness, wet weather may encourage damp and in the long term this positioning may cause liver damage. The bed should never be placed directly under a beam that is visible since this will provoke headaches, mental disorders and loss of creative energy. A beam that crosses over the width of the bed, that is over your stomach as you are lying down, will cause digestion problems. If it crosses over your legs and feet, it will cause swelling in your lower body and problems in your career. To avoid accidents, the bed should never be more than three feet off the ground. Never position a bed directly opposite a mirror since this could not only frighten you should you awake suddenly but may lead to nervous disorders.

  If the bedroom is big enough it is easy to follow the rules above but if the bedroom is small it is advisable to follow the traditional Chinese system for setting a bed so that yin and yang are correctly balanced. If you were born in the summer the head of the bed should face north to the cool spirits; if you were born in the winter the bed should face south to the warm spirits. If you were born in the spring or autumn months use the Pa Che system to determine a favourable direction.

  Bedside lamps should not be fitted onto the wall directly above the head, if they are, the a lower watt bulb should be used. Very bright overhead bulbs may not only damage eyesight, it is believed they could eventually cause liver disease. A bulb that has blown should be quickly replaced as this is a bad omen for the future. Avoid leaving hand mirrors or make-up sets on a dressing-table directly opposite the foot of the bed since this cuold have the same effect as a wall mirror in this position. Do not position a dressing-table directly opposite a door since this causes bad temper and emotional problems and a dressing-table that is positioned directly under a beam will create a feeling of general illhealth.

  The bedroom door should never face directly onto a kitchen or lavotory door since the steam and other vapours will not only cause sickness but could have a detrimental effect on the family's fortunes.

  Decorate your room with colours that correspond to your elements iin the Pa Che system. It is advisable to paper or paint the walls in light colours but if you do prefer strong, dark colours then choose patterns that have a light background.

THE KITCHEN

A good feng shui reading for the position of the kitchen and the cooker will encourage good health, family prosperity and harmony. The most favourable positions for the kitchen or cooker are at the southern or eastern side of the house. The element of fire is linked with the south and the element of wood with the east. These are the directions chosen for an eating area since wood is traditionally needed to produce fire to cook food.

  In ancient China the majority of stoves were built on the eastern side of the house, and since the majority of the houses faced south it would have been unlucky feng shui to have the cooking area directly opposite the main door. Since wood and charcoal were the two main sources of fuel the south-easterly winds that blew across China were useful for igniting fuel. These were also the two coolest directions and therefore the most suitable places to store food.

 The kitchen should be square or rectangular, never triangular. To avoid strong smells or steam entering other rooms the kitchen door should never face directly onto other rooms,

  The kitchen is regarded as a 'treasure', so if the doors at the front or back of the house face the kitchen door the good fortune can easily seep out of the house. A kitchen door that faces a living-room will encourage bad health and arguments and a kitchen that faces a bathroom and lavatory will encourage the spread of germs. You should also check that the plumbing from the lavatory does not run under the kitchen floor.

  The cooker should not be set next to a washing basin or close to the sink. If the cooker is next to the sink or refrigerator the elements of fire and water will clash. If the cooker is next to the window, wind can extinguish the gas or sun spoil the food.

  It is traditional in many Chinese homes to have a small shrine to the kitchen god set close to the cooker. It is believed that he guards the kitchen listerning to the arguments, looking out for good deeds and making a note of mistakes. On the 23rd day of the twelfth month he travels to heaven to offer his annual report to the Jade Emperor, the ruler of heaven. Before setting fire to his portrait so he can fly to heaven, the family smear his lips with honey and burn joss-sticks to ensure a favourable report.   

THE BATHROOM AND LAVATORY

The bathroom and lavatory can be built at any side of the house but never in the centre since the odours will spread throungout the house. Do not build a bathroom close to the main door of the house since the excess of yin spirits will clash with the yang spirits coming through the main door.

SHRINES IN THE HOME

If there is adequate space, Chinese and Buddhist families will choose a room close to the centre of the house to build a shrine. If the space is limited, the family will usually place statues and offerings on a shelf in a quiet, clean corner of the house. There should always be an odd number of statues places in hierarchical order. The Buddha should be at the centre with bodhisattvas standing on either side. Kwan Ti, the god of wealth should be placed to the right of the bodhisattvas and a photograph of the ancestors should be placed to their left. If there is only one statue, for example, Kuan Yin, goddess of mercy, it should be placed in the centre. The shrine should be fixed on an auspicious day chosen from the T'ung Shu, the yearly almanac. The height of the shelf or table on which the statues are placed is measured with a feng shui ruler. Finally, the shelf or the table must not face the lavatory or kitchen door, or be placed under exposed beams.