Looking for a New Home with Feng Shui

These days when people look for homes on the internet it is common for people to make decisions based on a floorplan before going to see the place. While this process speeds things along it can make for some unforeseen problems. Ideally you should go to the actual area you want to look in first even before choosing a home. Seeing pictures and floorplans of houses and apartments can bring us to overlook the environment in which the home is found. The environment comes first.

When looking at the environment you have to be aware of what you feel. A good fengshui practitioner should know how to read the levels of Chi, the basic energy in the ground and in the atmosphere. There are three kinds of Chi: Shang Chi, Ssu Chi, and Shar Chi. An environment whose Chi is Shang feels uplifting and healthy. An environment whose Chi is Ssu feels tired, depressed and weak; Ssu Chi is unhealthy. An environment whose Chi is Shar feels unstable. It has subtle influences that spell danger, and that can cause unforeseen misfortune. Shar Chi, when it comes from underground, or extra-dimensional influences, can be detected by dowsing and by divinatory means, and when it comes from discordant elements in the general environment it can be detected by a trained eye. A home that has Shar Chi is best avoided, but can be effectively treated.

The best, healthiest feeling means the best home. An environment whose Chi is Shang has the most vibrant life force; business goes well, and people are happier than elsewhere. Shang Chi does not necessarily mean an environment that looks glamorous or that is unusually expensive. A good looking environment can have Shar Chi spelling sudden danger.

Environments can also be judged by whether they have Yang or Yin energy. A Yang environment is lively. Yang energy is found on street corners, in the front of buildings, and in high places. A penthouse apartment is Yang. A Yin environment is restful and quiet. Yin energy is found in the middle of the block, in the back of buildings, and low to the ground. A basement apartment is Yin. Some people prefer living in a Yang environment, and others prefer living in a Yin environment. In traditional fengshui the choice of Yin or Yang environment is sometimes determined by looking at the person’s face, and by referring to their Chinese astrological chart.

In choosing a home it is best to avoid odd, irregular shapes. Triangular rooms or rooms with sharp, acute corners are not considered desirable as they may have the effect of arousing anger. Rectangular and square spaces are easiest. Not that we should consider irregular shapes all that bad, sometimes they offer very interesting possibilities for fengshui treatments.

Long narrow hallways cause Chi to shoot through a home like an arrow. While these are best avoided, they can be remedied.

The two most important things in a home to consider are the position of the front door and the position of the bed. Based on your Chinese astrological chart certain compass orientations work better for you than others. Also, based on the traditional compass methods, especially the Lo Shu method, different door orientations have different auguries, some desirable and others undesirable.

Considerations of the compass notwithstanding, note if the front door is in direct, visible line with a window, balcony, bedroom door, or stove. All of these bring bad luck, and call for fengshui remedies.
The best positioning of the bed is determined by what your Chinese astrological chart reveals about you. Most desirable is to have the bed oriented to your Vital Element. Your Vital Element is determined by special Chinese astrological calculations based on your date and time of birth. Your Vital Element is that which supports your wellbeing. Each of the five elements in the Chinese system corresponds to a direction in space and a color. For example, Water corresponds to North, and to the colors black and deep blue; Wood corresponds to East and Southeast, and to the colors green and light blue; Fire corresponds to South, and to the colors red, rose, pink, and purple; Earth corresponds to Southwest and Northeast, and to the colors yellow, orange, brown, beige, and tan; Metal corresponds to West and Northwest, and to the colors white, grey, and silver. These can only be determined by having your Chinese astrological chart calculated and analyzed.

Aside from the astrological and compass indicators, in positioning your bed you should neither have it facing the front door or a bathroom door. And the wall against which you have your head should not have a toilet or a stove on the other side.

Raphael Simons is an internationally recognized expert in fengshui and Chinese astrology. He has been practicing, teaching, and writing on fengshui since 1988. Raphael’s best-selling book on fengshui, Feng Shui Step by Step, has been reprinted and is available at Amazon.com and at www.createspace.com/3472024.

To find out more about Raphael’s work in fengshui and Chinese astrology visit www.trs-fengshui.com.