Don’t Move the Door; Just Direct the Chi
Question: We have been shopping for a home for more than a year now and recently found one that we like very much for both price and location. The only concern we have is that we could see the backyard directly from the front door entrance. It looks bright and open, but I have heard that this is not good feng shui.
Is this true? How can we fix this problem? Is it necessary to move the front door to a different direction or is there any other cheaper way to correct this problem? We await your answer before making an offer on this house.
SOON C.
Aliso Viejo
Answer: I hope you have already made an offer on this home. As you probably know, getting the location and the price you want in a house you like is a rare enough event to be considered a blessing in itself.
The fact that the backyard can be seen from the front entrance is less than ideal feng shui. But it is far from an insurmountable obstacle to having a happy home with good feng shui.
A direct line of sight from the front to the back of a home is considered poor feng shui because with nothing to slow or redirect it, chi will rush straight from the front door out the back. This allows the energy, which might bring luck or money, to leave your home without circulating and bestowing its benefits.
But don’t worry. You can live in this house and enjoy good feng shui without going through the trouble and expense of moving the front door. The most common method of fixing this problem is to place a folding screen or large plant (such as a ficus or palm) near the entrance. The screen will deflect the energy’s path and permit chi to circulate rather than rush directly ahead and out. A plant works well because it brings its own energy to the area and also encourages the entering chi to circulate.
Depending on the home’s layout and your own preferences, you may be able to accomplish the same thing with another decorative piece such as a round entry table with a vase of flowers on its surface.
The basic idea in both these “cures” is to interrupt the straight line running from the front to the back of the house. Just be sure that whatever you use to interrupt the direct line from front to back does not completely block the path of chi (or people) entering your home.
Different Schools, Different Results
Q: I’ve read three books about feng shui by different authors and each one of them talks about the ba gua map differently. I’ve tried mapping my house according to their interpretations, and each one gives the locations of my house differently.
Which one is accurate or which one should I follow? I’ve read books by Lillian Too, Terah Kathryn Collins and Richard Craze. Please enlighten me.
CATHY D.
Via e-mail
A: You are getting different readings because you’ve been looking at books by people who use different and (incompatible) schools of feng shui.
I follow and recommend that you use classical compass style feng shui. This school evolved directly from feng shui’s earliest days and plots relevant locations according to major and minor compass points. An ordinary scout or camping compass gives perfectly fine readings for this purpose.
You can find reliable information on compass method feng shui in my books or in those by Lillian Too, Master Lam Kam Chuen, Johndennis Govert, Evelyn Lip and Angi Ma Wong, to name a few of the most accessible experts in the field.
Reception Area Must Be Tied to Office
Q: We are a small company with limited available office space. However, we do have a “reception” area just inside the front door where one of our office staff has a desk. For some reason, over the last six months, we have had a steady stream of bizarre employees in that place. Seemingly normal people have sat at that desk, and they have become incompetent and blundering. Because this is a separate area, people are anxious to have that desk, but as soon as they do, whammo! Nut case!
The thought occurred to me that perhaps there is bad energy trapped somehow in the area. There is no long hallway from the front door out the back. On the surface it seems like an innocent office area. We really need to get this sorted out because it could hold us back if we have to continually retrain new employees all year. The rest of the office area appears stable enough. Any thoughts on this?
VICKI HINES
Via e-mail
A: Your situation makes me smile because it reminds me of the long string of wacky receptionists who graced the entrance to Murphy Brown’s office during the run of that CBS sitcom starring Candice Bergen. But your situation is no laughing matter. While that running gag made for good comedy, bumbling employees and rapid staff turnover is no joke in the real world.
Without seeing your office firsthand, I can only suggest a general remedy for the problem you describe. You may want to call in an expert if simple remedies don’t work and the problem continues.
You have described the physical layout of this strange area by saying that it’s off by itself and not at the end of a long hallway. Given this description, I’ll hazard a guess that the coveted desk location has bad feng shui. Because it is set apart from the rest of the office, it may be cut off from the chi flow of the rest of the business. Consequently, whoever occupies the desk in this isolated location is in some literal sense “out of it” in terms of the rest of the staff.
Try hanging a large, attractive mirror so that it reflects both the main office and the area that is ordinarily cut off from view. This new “connection” should have a practical as well as a symbolic effect. It will help the person seated away from the group to feel more a part of the staff and at the same time it will allow at least occasional monitoring of his or her activities, possibly discouraging the eccentric behavior you mention.
Kirsten Lagatree is a Washington, D.C., writer whose books include “Feng Shui, Arranging Your Home to Change Your Life” (Villard 1996) and “Feng Shui at Work, Arranging Your Work Space for Peak Performance and Maximum Profit” (Villard 1998).
Feng Shui Questions
Mail your questions on feng shui to Kirsten Lagatree, Real Estate section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, fax them to (213) 237-4712, or e-mail them to kfengshui@aol.com or Real.Estate@LATimes.com. All questions will be considered for use but cannot be answered individually.
