Useful Formula May Point You in Right Direction

Question: As a Chinese American, I have been exposed to feng shui as a part of my culture. Although I do not actively practice it, I try to avoid conflicts with its rules whenever possible. If not much effort is required to comply with a rule, I usually comply.

My understanding is that each person has his or her individual magnetic compass direction that should interact with the universal one in a harmonious and balanced way. Is it necessary to account for individual differences when we apply feng shui principles?

MICHAEL G. RELICH

Via e-mail

Answer: In feng shui theory, everyone has lucky and unlucky compass directions (also known as trigrams) based on gender and year of birth. I think this is what you are referring to, although I’ve just expressed an extraordinarily complicated theory of yin and yang in grossly simplistic terms.

Because you want to keep your practice of feng shui uncomplicated, you should know that it’s possible to apply basic feng shui principles to your environment and achieve positive results without getting into these complexities.

But for those who are interested, I’ll give the two formulas men and women would use to calculate their lucky directions.

First, the formula a man would use to calculate his lucky direction:

(1) Add up the numbers in his year of birth (e.g., 1963 equals 19).

(2) Divide the answer by 9 (19 divided by 9 equals 2, with a remainder of 1).

(3) Subtract the remainder from 11 (11 minus 1 equals 10). Because this number is greater than 9, he must subtract 9 from it (10 minus 9 equals 1).

That number represents his most auspicious direction on the feng shui compass. The number 1 corresponds to the north, so north is his luckiest direction.

A woman does the calculation a bit differently.

At step 3, instead of subtracting the remainder from 11, she adds 4 to it. If that number is greater than 9, she subtracts 9.

A few other notes on this formula for both males and females doing the calculation:

If there is no remainder when you divide your birth year by 9, use the number 9 for the rest of the calculation. If your final number is 5, use number 8 as your answer.

Here are the directions that correspond to each number for both men and women: south, 9; northeast, 8; west, 7; northwest, 6; southeast, 4; east, 3; southwest, 2, and north, 1.

You can also look up this information in chart form in Lillian Too’s “Applied Pa Kau Lo Shu Feng Shui,” available in many bookstores and libraries, or get help calculating your best and worst directions using Angi Ma Wong’s “The Wind and Water Wheel.”

When you know your most auspicious direction, you should use it whenever possible. For example, if there is an east-facing entrance to the building you work in, use it. Also, try to face your lucky direction when you make important decisions.

Stripes Can Have Poison-Arrow Effect

Q: I recently saw a clothing and housewares catalog that offered a bit of feng shui advice. Among other things, it cautioned against having striped walls in a bedroom. Is this truly a concern, and does it apply to walls and to bedrooms only? Stripes are my favorite pattern, so the rug in my children’s room has alternating bands of color. Also, I was hoping to decorate the walls of a living room or hallway with stripes.

LISA GRACIA

Los Angeles

A: Curves, swirls or really any patterns that echo nature are preferable from a feng shui standpoint. I suppose the catalog copy writers were discouraging stripes because straight lines of any kind can become “poison arrows,” shooting sha, or negative chi, into a room.

However, lines running quietly up and down in a wallpaper pattern, would hardly destroy your quality of life. More to the point, I think, is that one should incorporate nature as much as possible while exercising one’s own taste in any room of the home.

For your living room or hallway, consider choosing a wallpaper with a vertical vine pattern to mix nature with the striped effect you enjoy. The rug in your children’s room sounds fine; alternating bands of color don’t suggest poison arrows pointing at your children as they sleep.

New Home Coincides With Boost in Luck

Q: I recently moved to a new apartment, and ever since I moved here, I have had tremendous good luck. Before this move, I had a string of bad luck that lasted for about three years. I can’t see anything different about this new apartment that really stands out.

Is it possible that something about the previous renters’ luck has rubbed off? Or is it possible that the direction or placement of the apartment could have something to do with better feng shui? The front door of the apartment faces a beautiful park. The apartment is spacious and has lots of windows and good light.

LISA HER

Via e-mail

A: I don’t know what your last apartment was like, of course. And I don’t know which way your new building faces. But sitting across the street from a beautiful park encourages good feng shui for any building. The flowers, grass, trees, birds, etc., that are found in any lovely park suggest that the entire neighborhood has a steady supply of healthy chi flow.

Also, your new apartment sounds as if it has two other critical feng shui elements going for it: spaciousness and good light. But let’s face it, lots of room, plenty of windows and good light add up to an apartment pretty much anyone would want to live in--whether they were interested in feng shui or not.

I think your first piece of good luck was in finding this large, sunny apartment. It’s just possible that you live in a great apartment in a wonderful neighborhood and that all your “good luck” stems from the fact that you’re happier and more serene in this new environment.

I’d be surprised if your current happiness has anything to do with luck that “rubbed off” from the apartment’s previous residents.

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). 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.

Feng Shui for Agents

Feng shui consultant Shari Clemens will offer the workshop “Feng Shui for Realtors” Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 401 N. Newport Blvd., Newport Beach, and again Oct. 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. at 25552 La Paz Road, Laguna Hills. The cost of the workshop is $45. For more information, call (949) 675-3811.