Feng Shui : Two Schools Use Directions Differently

Question: Your Aug. 22 column has me totally confused about directions. I’m referring to the lady whose house faces south--the fire direction. My house faces south, but if you place the ba gua at my front door, that would be my career or water area--unless you are using the Chinese compass where everything is backward. Please clarify this direction thing. It is very confusing.

D.A.T.

Via e-mail

Answer: You’re not alone in feeling confused about “the direction thing.” I frequently receive e-mail from readers baffled by it. (T.N. in La Mirada, Nancy in Los Angeles and C.D.L. are among those who’ve written recently.)

There are two methods of feng shui practiced in the U.S. today. The 3,000-year-old compass school, which I write about, and the Black Hat Sect, which was developed about 50 years ago.

The Black Hat school places the ba gua chart in relation to the entrance to a room or building and does not use compass directions at all.

For example, to find the part of your home that governs career and business success, you’d use the same ba gua chart as in the compass method, but you’d line up the bottom of the chart (career area) with the door to the room or building you were analyzing.

Each of the life “sectors” (relationships, money, health, etc.) are determined from that point.

In the classic compass method, you get out your compass and locate north, south, east and west. The ba gua chart tells you the rest because the north compass point always governs career and business; south on the compass always governs fame, fortune and festivity; east is always health and growth; west is creativity and children.

I frequently meet people who don’t realize there are two schools and who are accordingly baffled and upset as they attempt to practice feng shui.

If you’ve been reading about feng shui and come across the entrance or door method, you are following Black Hat. If you’ve been using a compass to determine which parts of a room or building correspond with the various aspects of your life, you’re using the classic compass method.

I hope this helps clear up the confusion.

Wood Beams Disrupt the Flow of Chi

Q: My family and I moved into our home over two years ago. Before moving there, we were a relatively healthy family. Even minor ailments, such as flu and colds, occurred infrequently.

Since moving to our new house, we seem to be under siege from illness. Serious ailments to minor but annoying illnesses are affecting someone in the family at one time or another.

Our home has a peaceful feeling that I noticed when I first walked into it. [But] it does have exposed, darkly stained wood beams in every room, with one large beam crossing each room, north and south.

I don’t know a great deal about feng shui, but it is my understanding that the beams could be a problem. Any help or ideas you might have would be greatly appreciated.

CARI L.

Via e-mail

A: According to feng shui, a home with exposed beams may negatively affect the health of the people who live in it.

Overhanging beams can be particularly dangerous to the health and well-being of those who sleep under them regularly because the beams block proper circulation of chi around the sleeper. Further, dark hanging beams can be oppressive to the mind and spirit.

You have a few options as to feng shui “cures” that may mitigate those negative effects.

The most common methods are to suspend either hollow bamboo flutes or small Chinese firecrackers from each beam. The bamboo flutes (hung upside down so the mouthpiece points toward the floor) are said to conduct chi through the beam, permitting energy to pass through it. The firecrackers symbolically explode the beam, “removing” it altogether.

If you prefer, you can hang a small crystal sphere from the beam. Crystals will encourage a vibrant chi to circulate around the beams and bring more positive energy to the part of the room blocked by the overhang.

Please remember that feng shui should never be used exclusively to treat any problem, and this is especially true when you’re dealing with health concerns. Where good physical health is at stake, feng shui should be way down the list of “cures” you employ.

Feng Shui Helps Keep the Home in Balance

Q: What exactly is feng shui in a short answer? Just curious.

S.D.

Via e-mail

A: A short answer as to what feng shui is will be fairly simplistic, but it’s at least a place to begin thinking about this ancient art.

Feng shui is a system for arranging the elements in your environment in such a way that they are in harmony and balance with the universe.

You will benefit from this balance by experiencing more harmony and balance in your life--leading to success, better health, relationships and so forth.

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.