My husband and I did not buy a home right when we first step foot into the working world. We received a lot of criticism from friends and co-workers alike, as paying rent was deemed as throwing your money into someone else’s pocket (mortgage). Circumstances were such that we did not know where we would end up, being very young and green, yearning for a different life/work experience. True enough, we had moved so much, across different countries in the past 10 years. It was actually a good thing we did not tie ourselves down with a home purchase.
Right now, we have children who are soon to be at a schooling age. It is necessary for us to settle in and stay put at one place for awhile. House hunting is never easy, especially when you know what you want. Most people have a list of things they’d like in a new home such as design, counter tops, flooring, space, location, etc. I love watching HGTV and it is interesting to see different perspectives on what makes a good home. Growing up in Malaysia has provided me with a lot of insight into the subject of Feng Shui. From moving homes ourselves, and visiting friend’s homes, to witnessing giant corporations flourish in business with their newly built shopping malls every couple years. Although considered by the community to be a pseudoscience, Malaysian communities are very much driven by Feng Shui when it comes to seeking well-being and prosperous business opportunities. In North America, the subject is much less explored. But to truly know its origins and what really matters in Feng Shui, you have to understand the Chinese history of the metaphysical and philosophical approach to the subject.
I received most of my Feng Shui knowledge from my mother. She is one who reads alot about it, and practises most of it as long as it is within reasonable logic. Like any other subject matter, Feng Shui encompasses a wide area of discussion. To truly delve deeper into the science of Feng Shui, one needs to understand the Chinese conceptual term describing how a person’s fate/destiny is created through birth into this world – “Four Pillars of Destiny” (生辰八字, Shēng Chén Bā Zì), which translates as “The Eight Characters of Birth Time.” There’s quite a bit of math to get good at this Feng Shui business, if you ask me. Hence, for the purpose of this light-reading blog post, I will only share what I know which is very general. Detailed Feng Shui assessments usually require the service of a Feng Shui master as they incorporate the household members’ birthdates and times (Four Pillars of Destiny).
Still, just like superstitions, I lean towards believing if it makes sense in my head, and is not overly far-fetched. The fact that we will be living in this home, and we want good fortune and harmony for our family, makes it a no-brainer for us to explore the subject deeper when buying our first home. No home is perfect, but at the very least we can avoid what is an absolute no-no, which applies to the surrounding environment of the home as well as the layout/inside the home. While there are many books written by famous Feng Shui masters, and different schools have different opinions about what’s accurate or not, I just go with what my mom taught me. It is simple to understand because using the technique advocated by Feng Shui masters, she has narrowed it down to a few major points to follow. At its highest level, it is simply the evaluation of the flow of life energy (Qi) around and within the house. In my opinion, Feng Shui is all about achieving comfort and balance in a home. Have you noticed how you feel when you walk into different homes? How some homes give you a very comfortable feeling and others don’t? That’s essentially what it is all about.
First, the most important criteria we were told is to determine the directions that are good for the household. In a household, we usually use the breadwinner’s best directions as a guide in choosing a home. This Feng Shui theory we used is called the Eight House Feng Shui School.
Under the Eight House School of Feng Shui theory, all houses are divided into eight sectors, two groups, the East and the West Group based on the eight trigrams from the Later Heaven Trigram.
Each trigram represents a direction in the compass, we have eight directions (45 degree per direction) and we get eight types of houses by the sittings.
For the occupants too are also divided into two groups, the East Group and the West Group. And according to the Eight House Feng Shui School, the East Group people should live in the East Group houses. The West Group people should live in the West group houses.
So in this case, as my husband is the sole breadwinner of the home, we determined the four best directions for him in the West Group (I fall under the East Group actually). See the image below for a better understanding:
Within these four best directions of the West Group, there is the best and least best direction as well. Using this guide, we ensured we could find a home that fits the following criteria:
- The House facing direction
- The sector in which the master bedroom is at (NW is generally the best for the household’s breadwinner)
- The kitchen must never be in the NW sector of the home (NW is a water element, which clashes with Fire, represented by the kitchen stove)
- Generally, best direction for the kitchen is in the SE sector (wood element).
- Generally, is best to place your TV in the W sector (metal element)
Of course, all these are just guidelines. It would be impossible to find a home that fits every single Feng Shui criteria unless the home is custom built from scratch. Therefore, if the House facing direction doesn’t meet the guidelines, at the very least we hope the home’s master bedroom is in a good sector. Although, Point #3 is very important for any home. This talks to the wealth of the household; a kitchen that is situated in the least ideal sector (NW) means the household’s wealth will tremendously be affected. The home will have difficulties seeing any wealth generate and stay within the family.
The city which we are living in right now had very little choices of homes for us to pick from. Once we narrowed down on the neighbourhood and type of home design we’d like, we only saw three homes before deciding to purchase. For some reason, split-level or bi-level homes are very popular here. However, from a Feng Shui perspective this type of home is not ideal because the entrance of the home immediately splits the energy flow upstairs and downstairs into the living areas. Some of the bedrooms are usually in the basement level as well, which is not as ideal for occupants living there for a long time. So we were aiming for a two-storey home, on a balanced shape lot with a balanced home layout.
In all honesty, Feng Shui inside the home can be corrected to some extent depending on what it is. Things like the structure of the home, and the environment surrounding the home is more crucial as one cannot change that once the home is built to stay. There are other general Feng Shui tips my mother taught me as well. I have listed them here in the most laymen terms I could muster up. Have a read and see what you think! If you have any to add, please let me know in the comments!
Avoid hanging a clock facing the main entrance of your home
The Chinese believes the clock represents time in our life. Therefore, a clock being hung inside the house, facing the main entrance of the door symbolically means “sending off” your life. In Mandarin we call this 送钟 (song zhong), in which literally it means “seeing off the time”. By doing so, it is believed you are inviting death to the door and it is seen as a bad omen for the occupants in the house.
Avoid having the sink directly opposite, or in the same row as the stove in a kitchen
I remember looking at some homes with my hubby in Houston, Texas, and we noticed many kitchens had this configuration. Either the sink or stove was built on the kitchen island. It is definitely convenient to have them set up this way, but from a Feng Shui perspective, it is a huge no-no because the elements fire and water clash. It is believed that this kitchen layout will bring about much arguments and instability in a household. It could also bring about frequent accidents or injuries in the home. On a related note, any water feature such as fish ponds or swimming pool in the compound of the house may not be suitable for every household depending on the birth elements of each household member, and other items in the house layout that could clash such as the example mentioned above. What I meant by birth elements: In the practice of Feng Shui, your date and year of birth (even time of birth if you really want to be super-accurate) can tell you what natural element you are born with (Wood, Fire, Water, Earth, Metal). If you notice the Chinese who practice ushering in each year according to the 12 Zodiac Animals will use the elements as well. Last year (2013) was the year of the Water Snake. This year is the year of the Wood Horse. My mother used to joke and say I should avoid finding a spouse who is of a Metal element. Literally speaking he won’t cut me apart (haha!), but our relationship may not be as smooth.
Avoid mirrors in the bedroom if possible. Otherwise, never let a mirror or TV reflect the bed where you sleep in.
I think this has some influence from religious beliefs. In layman terms, mirrors are believed to be of yin (negative) energy. If you have watched Asian ghost movies, or even just horror movies in general … mirrors always tend to be one of those spooky items featured in there. If you think about it, mirrors reflect our daily lives, actions, whatever we do in front of the mirror, it is a witness. When we sleep in front of mirrors, it is believed that the mirror is constantly “watching” over you. Imagine the feeling of someone constantly looking at you when you are sleeping – creepy isn’t it? More so uncomfortable. This is simply the idea behind this. If you want a good night’s sleep without nightmares or such, cover any reflective surfaces such as a monitor screen or mirror that is directly facing the bed.
Purchase a property/land that has a balanced layout/shape – square
This is a very basic principle of Feng Shui in achieving the concept of balance and harmony. Odd shapes such as triangle or L-shape properties do not distribute the universal energy or “Qi” well. With a square layout, everything is divided into equal parts. Not much to elaborate here!
Never have a staircase facing out the entrance of the house
Still following me so far? I hope my terms are laymen enough! There are two different explanations to this one. A staircase of a home is seen as the main/supporting pillar of the structure. In other words, think of it as the “neck/spine” of the home. Having the backbone of your home directly facing the front entrance/door is like exposing your bare self to your visitors, and it is believed to cause unstable relationships within the household. From a theoretical Feng Shui perspective, good “Qi” (life energy) is suppose to flow evenly into your home, and out of your home to create a balanced atmosphere. At anytime the flow of “Qi” is disturbed, causing too little of it or too much of it in an area, everything becomes unbalanced. When the “Qi” flows into the house, and directly goes up the stairs, no Qi is flowing through the rest of the ground floor. What if you have already have a home with this setup, you may ask? Most people hang a curtain or something sheer at the entrance to the stairs to give it a “wall” so that not all the “Qi” flows up directly through the stairs.
This is also similar to making sure your main entrance of the door doesn’t directly face another back door or sliding door. In most cases this can be corrected by placing a solid bookshelf or create another wall partition in its direct path. But if you can find a home that does not have this set up is best.
Avoid displaying dolls or figurines with human faces in the home
This one is more of a religious belief. Some say it’s an old wives tale, but I’m going to share it anyway since we were instructed by the Feng Shui master to keep away all our Barbie dolls that were in the glass cabinet, overlooking our beds. I have to say, my sister and I got much better sleep at night after we did that, and we never looked back and questioned it again. Superstition has it that a spirit (if you believe in ghosts), can take refuge and live in a doll when the conditions. Suddenly, I am reminded of the Chucky (Child’s Play) horror movie … Anyway, back to the my story *ahem*, the Feng Shui master had told us that anytime, and especially dolls with very similar human faces, are exposed to daylight (yang) and night (yin) over time … they tend to become more “real”. All I know is this freaked us out and we immediately kept those dolls into boxes or cupboards that are not see-through.
Your bedhead must always be against a wall (not a window). Avoid having the bed oriented directly towards a window, mirror, bathroom door, bedroom door (this means when you lie down on the bed, your feet is facing towards a window or door).
It is advisable to have bedhead for your bed as it is seen as a “strong/solid support” for you. Additionally, it must always be pushed against a solid wall. This means no windows above or directly behind the bed. It is akin to having a solid wall directly behind where you sit in the office, especially if you are looking to have a good support in your role when you are taking up or advancing into leadership responsibilities. Nowadays, modern house designs incorporate many windows around the house to let more light in. Yes, it is very nice but from a Feng Shui perspective, too many windows and doors lets good “Qi” energy flow out. So it is imperative to note the placement of windows and doors too, especially in bedrooms, where you spend the most time recuperating from the day’s events.
When you sit up on your bed from your normal lying down position, you must be able to see your bedroom door, but not directly facing towards it. This all boils down to “Qi” again, and it is believed that a good orientation of a bedroom can give you a better night’s rest, which leads to a smoother work-life balance and etc … If you think you’re not getting good rest every night for long while now, try shifting the orientation of your bed. Additionally, it kind of make sense not to have your bed facing directly at the toilet …
Little Brown Bag 