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When I first started this column, one of the earliest issues I addressed was the misconception most people have about Feng Shui and Wealth. If there are two things in this world that can make people try anything, it is money and love. Feng Shui, unfortunately, has been used as a means to sell people all kinds of items, in the name of helping them acquire more of one and find the other.
So this week, I want to talk about what 'wealth' means in classical Feng Shui, and what is the rationale behind certain common practices that have become associated with 'wealth enhancement'. By understanding these basic fundamentals and appreciating the philosophy of Feng Shui, I hope that people will then be able to understand how to respond when they are faced with a 'Feng Shui' wealth-enhancing claim, or offered a magic 'Wealth' formula.
Think Vibrant Qi, not Wealth
The word 'Wealth' has sort of crept into the technical vocabulary of Feng Shui. Feng Shui practitioners use it as a short-form to explain the outcome of using certain energies or sectors in a property. Rather than getting all technical, they cut to the chase. Somewhere along the way, the concept of 'Wealth Sector' turned up. As I have said in my previous article on this subject, Feng Shui doesn't actually in any of the classics speak directly of 'Wealth' or 'Money'. So a Feng Shui magic money-making formula is something that should definitely make you ask question rather than reach for your wallet.
What then do the classics like Di Li Bian Zheng speak off? They speak of 'Prosperous Qi' (or Wang Qi) and means of identifying where Prosperous Qi resides. They speak of techniques and methods for gathering the Qi, and avoiding or transforming negative Sha Qi.
The Book of Burial (one of the oldest classics on Feng Shui), by Kuo Pu, which explores the central tenets of Feng Shui, says Qi gathers at the boundaries of water, and is dispersed by wind. It does not say, MONEY appears wherever there is an aquarium. It does not say, put 8 goldfish into the aquarium and you will inherit a thousand/million bucks. It does not say anything about ships of gold, paw-waving kitty cats above cash registers and building a fountain in your backyard.
Getting the Vibrant Qi
Feng Shui, like many Chinese Metaphysical sciences, is one of those practices in which complexity and simplicity are embedded within each other. You need to understand the basics to appreciate the complex formulas. But at the same time, mugging formulas and being able to recite them by heart, without understanding the fundamentals of Feng Shui, is of no benefit either. That is why formula books are not the answer to successfully applying Feng Shui, because without an understanding of the fundamentals, the formula is just a bunch of numbers. A cookie recipe doesn't make much sense to a person who doesn't know how to bake.
When it comes to using Feng Shui to enhance Wealth opportunities, first, we need to understand the type of Qi that can promote Wealth opportunities. In Feng Shui, we need to locate the 'Prosperous Qi'. To the average lay person, this is usually called 'Yang Qi'. However, Feng Shui practitioners refer to it by its more technical name, 'Prosperous Qi' or 'Wang Qi'(in Chinese) because Qi can be classified into 5 types of Qi, according to its timeliness and at the professional level, it is important to know exactly what type of Qi and what stage of timeliness it is at.
I must dispel the notion that 'Prosperous Qi' can be somehow 'created'. You cannot 'create' Prosperous Qi by making an area more 'Yang', say by putting red lights or bright lights in a certain area. The Qi has to have the Prosperous quality in the first place, based on the time period. Remember, in Feng Shui, it is about what is natural, and prevailing in the environment that we are interested in, not the artificial or the man-made. In any case, you cannot simply decide that you want your Front Door to be where the Prosperous Qi is located and try to force the situation. The location of the Prosperous Qi is not dictated by convenience, but by the Qi map, as derived from the calculations. The name of the game is to work with what you have, without having to make costly and needless aesthetic changes to your house that make it obvious you are trying to 'Feng Shui' the place!
The location of the Prosperous Qi is determined through two methods: through calculations based on the direction of the property, such as Eight Mansions or Xuan Kong Flying Stars and through evaluation of natural environmental features. Usually, calculation-based methods are used for Interior Feng Shui and the environmental features observation method, known as Forms, is used for External Feng Shui.
So for example, we want to locate the Prosperous Qi in a house that is facing the South 2 direction. The Prosperous Qi of the house is located where the Facing Star #8 position is, as you can see from the chart below. Each house of course will have its own Prosperous Qi location and the role of the practitioner is to locate this Prosperous Qi area.
As the location of the Prosperous Qi is different, based on the Qi map of the property, as derived by the calculations, it is a fallacy to think that there is a standard universal 'Wealth Direction' for everyone. There isn't - it depends on your house direction. Now, you might notice that not everyone living on the same row as you (with houses facing the same direction!) is equally rich and wealthy. In the Feng Shui context, the external forms still have to be taken in consideration. But there is also the Destiny context - a person who lives in a house with a direction personalised to his/her Destiny will definitely have an edge over a person's with a house that is less in-tune with his/her BaZi.
Once the location of the Prosperous Qi has been pinpointed, the Qi must be activated. Locating an activity room (such as the television room or living room) in this sector is one way of stimulating the Prosperous Qi in a location. Placing a Main Door in the Prosperous Qi location is also a form of activating Prosperous Qi to a suitable area. Sometimes, for the purposes of activating the Qi, Feng Shui consultants recommend clients place Water in certain locations. It is purely to activate the Qi. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Water itself or fish in the water, but the Yang quality of the Water. Water, even when still, is always moving because the molecules continue to move. The fish just help to keep the Water active and also, provide some aesthetic appearance.
When you have the right type of Qi at hand, then you need to collect that Qi. There's no point in having the Wealth stars in the right location on the Flying Star chart, or locating the sector of Prosperous Qi, if the Qi cannot collect. This is where the landform of the environment, and the internal forms of the property, make all the difference. An extremely important aspect of Qi collection is having a good Bright Hall or Ming Tang as it is known in Chinese.
A Bright Hall is not a hallway with a lot of lights. Nor is it present because your porch happens to be well-lit or you have a 100 bulb chandelier in your house. If this is what a Bright Hall is, all the shops selling lights would be minting it! Instead, a Bright Hall is a broad spacious and open area that enables Qi to settle and collect. Ideally, a property should have three Bright Halls, in tandem with the principle of Three Divide, Three Harmony (the San Fen San He formation).
Having it, making it and keeping it
Making more money and having more wealth opportunities is not just a case of fixing your Feng Shui. Your personal Destiny Code comes into the equation as well. Feng Shui cannot fix or give you what you do not have (in your Destiny) in the first place. So, you may need to re-align or moderate your goals, adjust your perspective, change your attitude, and see how Feng Shui can help you, within the path that Destiny has laid out for you. Sometimes that means having realistic expectations. Sometimes, that means being prepared for hardship or be willing to take on certain challenges. Sometimes, that means adjusting the timing of your plans.
I might add, being rich does not mean you have great wealth. It means you have the capacity to make money, and keep it for long enough to enjoy it. And even where people have the capacity and destiny for great wealth, that does not guarantee that they will actually become rich, or fulfil their destiny.
Yes, you read it right. Some people actually do not fulfil their Destiny!
A Destiny chart may show a tremendous capacity for wealth or opportunity for wealth, but it will not become a reality if the person is unwilling to do what it takes to achieve his/her Destiny. BaZi tells you that you can be rich, but it does not always also say, it will come easy. There are no short-cuts in life!
Why does Bill Gates still go to work every day? Has being the richest man in Asia stopped Li Ka Shing from continuing to pursue business opportunities? Destiny is but one part of the equation. Being willing to take the chance, make the sacrifice, face the challenges - that is the other component. Some people have a Destiny that demands hardship, great personal sacrifice, even going through bankruptcy, divorce, bad relationships, bitter family ties, before they can emerge to see the pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow.
Next week, I will show you how to use Flying Stars Feng Shui to identify and tap into the Wang Qi in your property and unlock Wealth opportunities.
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