Feng Shui And Business
The Chinese art of feng shui can be used successfully by those in business to ensure profits and to create a sound business environment. A professional geomancer would say that the quality and pricing of the goods and the reputation of the district can only partially compensate for a site or shop interior that has a bad feng shui.
Many of the feng shui priciples used in the home can also apply to the place of work although there are several additional features to take into account.
THE SITE FOR A SHOP
Choose an area with a dense population, even if there are many other shops in the area. Look for premises built on higher ground to avoid flooding in heavy rains and do not build or choose a shop at a lower level than the neighbouring buildings since the good fortune will drain away. Make sure that the paving or garden area in front of the premises is smooth, clean and well-tended since awkward access will deter customers. The level of the shop floor should also be higher than the level of the road.
THE SHOP INTERIOR
The main entrance of the shop should be wider and higher than domestic premises. Since the house is a private place a small entrance helps to encourage a restful atmosphere and the opposite should apple to a shop. It should be spacious and welcoming to avoid a sense of pressure. The design and colour of your front door is one of the major factors in determining your business fortune. It is the feng shui of the door that will attract the casual passer by. The Chinese say that it is the spirit of good fortune coming from the door that attracts customers into the shop, even if, at first glance, there is nothing in the shop that they particularly need.
After entering the main door, pay particular attention to inside doors directly facing you: they should never be larger than the front door since they exert too much control over the positive spirit off the front door. The Green Dragon is the most fortunate site for the main entrance since the active spirit associated with it will attract business. But if thw whole of the shop front in given over to an entrance then make sure that access is through the Green Dragon side. Avoid creating access on the White Tiger side since this is traditionally the quiet side. If the spirit of the White Tiger is disturbed, he will symbolically react by devouring those who enter. In practical terms, this will herald accident or disaster.
The main door should never face the corner of another house or apartment building. This corner represents a dagger ready to stab the accsess into the shop and this is one of the strict feng shui rules that applies to business or domestic premises. At home this position would cause accident or sickness and at work it will result in long term profit loss. If this positioning is unavoidable the danger can be averted by fixing a screen inside or outside the door so entrance to the building is moved slightly to the side and the bad fortune is blocked.
The main door should never open directly inwards towards a staircase since it will force the wealthy spirit out into the street. This stems from the belief that the staircase is the route that ch'i takes to circulate the house and it could easily be misdirected through an open door into the road.
The main door should not open towards the direction of a lavatory since the yin spirit of this room will rush headlong into the incoming yang spirit from the main door. This sudden clash of opposite spirits is likely to cause illness and misfortune. If the business premises have a kitchen or cooking facilities these must never be seen by someone entering the shop since this could be the cause of fire. This rule does not apply to restaurants or cafes since cooking is at the centre of the business.
The main door should not face temples or churches since the Chinese believe that homeless ghosts and yin spirits dwell in these buildings. These restless spirits will not, however, disturb premises which sell religious statues or artifacts.
As with domestic accommodation, the main door must not face a mountain and the back of the premises should never face a valley or the sea. To avoid debt, make sure that the main door does not face a fork in the road and a main door facing a stream or a river will cause personal sickness as well as a loss in profits.
The main door should not face an outer bend in a fly-over or bridge. The angle of the road can be likened to a sickle cutting into your profits. If, however, the shop faces towards an inner bend, this is likened to your premises being wrapped in a jade belt and, therefore, promises great wealth. It is important never to choose a shop that has an entrance facing the bottom end of a cul-de-sac since there is no escape for the malign spirits that become trapped in the road.
Always keep the main entrance and the area in front of it clean and you should also ensure there are no exposed drain pipes since this will not only block the path of the wealthy spirits as they try to enter the house but it will also drain the good fortune. The best place for drain pipes is at the back of the premises so rainwater is channelled away from the front of the shop. The Chinese say that drains at the front of the house will also cause your capital to drain away.
FENG SHUI IN THE OFFICE
The feng shui of a business is largely determined by the position of the account's office or cash register and the manager's office. The accounts should be reckoned on the White Tiger side of the office; since money is yin in nature it should be matched to the quiet nature of the tiger. The money should be kept in a quiet, concealed and safe place away from windows or doors or mirrors.
It is advisable not to have living accommodation and office space in the same building but if this is unavoidable you should make sure that there are separate lavatories for the two areas. If the accommodation is above the shop, the first-floor lavatory should never be positioned above the manager's room, the accounts office, the cash till or any statues or photographs that you respect. This is done in order to avoid accidents or illness at work. If you run a cafe or restaurant, the cooking area should always face south or east.
The desk is the most important item of furniture in the manager's room. Unless your business is reliant upon visits from clients, the desk should always be in a quiet place away from the public eye. It should be placed against a wall which is likened to a strong mountain offering support and protection. The manager's back should never face windows or doors since the force of the ch'i is too great. This is known in feng shui as the 'empty door' and implies lack of support, concentration and power. The height of the desk should correspond to the 'wealth' and 'prosperity' markings on the feng shui ruler. The desk should never be placed under an exposed beam since this exerts too much pressure non should it be set at an oblique angle to the shape of the room itself. This would only encourage financial setbacks and staff disagreements. If this does not clash with the directions of your horoscope, a desk placed in one of the corners opposite the door will encourage healthy profits. Other desks in the office should be placed in regular rows around this desk to allow for free movement.
If your feng shui life corresponds to Li or Chen, represented by the elements of fire and wood, you are advised to keep several large leaved green plants in your office. If your feng shui life corresponds to Ken or K'un you should keep the amount of greenery to a minimum, since wood is capable of destroying earth. Two plants at the office door and one plant at the wealthy point will be sufficient. The plants could be replaced by photographs or paintings.
An office devoted to education is suited to landscape paintings in soft colours. Brightly coloured paintings of water lilies, peonies and other large bloomed flowers (except azaleas), are suitable for an office that deals with trade. Police and military offices need stark and regular designs. Black and white calligraphy is well-suited to this environment. Offices that deal with the media are allowed more freedom with their choice of colour and content, but in all cases it is important not to crowd the walls with too much detail or to fill the room with too many plants.
An aquarium containing goldfish is an effective way of combating malign influences and converting negative spirits to positive spirits. There should always be an odd number of fish and the tank should be placed in one of the unlucky directions of your feng shui life.
The rules that govern houses are mostly the same as those that govern shops or office. You are, however, warned not to choose a shop or office building that combines several shapes in its groundplan,
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