FACING and SITTING

FENG SHUI  8 MANSIONS

FACING and SITTING

Always remember the importance of the external environment in Feng Shui.  The area around a property accounts for something like 70% of the quality of energy (Qi) that enters and influences the internal.

One of the many systems of traditional Feng Shui is Eight Mansions and is one of the more straightforward to understand.  There are eight types of house in Eight Mansions and each one is named after the Sitting direction of a property.   Each sector around the Luo Shu Grid : North, South, West, East, Northwest, Northeast, Southeast and Southwest also represents a member of the family.  For example a LI house faces North and sits South.  LI relates to the middle daughter in a family; a QIAN house faces Southeast and sits Northwest.  QIAN relates to the head of the household, the father.

So what is the Facing and what is the Sitting direction of your property?  Easy huh?  The front is Facing and the back is Sitting - right?  Well, in theory - yes!  However many people wrongly assume that the direction the main door faces automatically represents the Facing direction.  In the past this may have pretty much always been the case however modern homes and housing developments tend to be a little more imaginative in their designs.  Main doors are located at the front, side, hidden in the corner next to the garage and so on...

So when determining the Facing direction of your property what do you look for?

You are seeking the direction of the most Yang energy; the direction of the best view from your window; the direction of a road or a river passing by your property.

What is the view you naturally gravitate towards?  You are probably going to find that is the right Facing direction for your home. 

Facing is Yang, it is generally the place where the most activity is identified.  Sitting is Yin, it is the place of quiet and signifies protection for your property.

It is important to choose carefully because the Facing determines the Sitting direction and it is this Sitting direction that identifies the good and bad sectors of your property based on the Eight Mansions system of Feng Shui.  From this information it makes it easier to choose the location for the best areas of key rooms such as the kitchen, bedroom and home office (if appropriate).

To the fulfillment of your dreams

LynC

www.fengshui8mansions.com

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FENG SHUI and BEDROOM LOCATION

In Feng Shui your bedroom is one of the three most important areas, together with the main door and kitchen. 

It is a place of rest and recuperation where you go to refresh your body, mind and spirit.  There is no doubting you are at your most vulnerable when you sleep so your bedroom has to reflect a sense of peace and tranquility, of safety.

In Personal Eight Mansions Feng Shui each person has four positive and four negative directions.  In Eight Mansions for the Home there are four positive and four negative locations.  If you are able to match the two and personally benefit from the location of your master bedroom and your place within it you have made a good start in creating your personal sanctuary.

Ideally this Yin room will be situated in an auspicious location for you.  Whether you belong to East or West Group the best location would be your Yan Nian.  Covering longevity and relationships this area would help consolidate the bond with your loved one.  Having the bed head positioned to 'face*' your Tian Yi location will give you the best of both worlds. Tian Yi means Heavenly Doctor so having your bed here will aid your rest and help maintain your good health.

*'face' indicates the direction the top of the head points when lying down.

When you and your partner belong to different Groups you have to make a call and decide whose Yan Nian location to go with.  In this situation one solution is to locate your bedroom in the Yan Nian location for one and position the bed head in the Tian Yi location of the other.  

Alternatively having the bedroom in an auspicious location for one of you and the main door in an auspicious direction for the other will enable both of you to benefit from positive energies.

Another consideration with your bedroom can be the Natal Chart of your home based on Flying Stars.  Having the 1/4 combination (among other things known as a combination of romance) as the Facing (Water) and Sitting (Mountain) stars in your bedroom and being able to activate them correctly will create harmony and promote your relationship.

Unless you are having a Feng Shui audit on your home it is better to use either Eight Mansions or Flying Stars and not attempt to combine the two.

To the fulfillment of your dreams

LynC

www.abundance-chi.com

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Visit http://www.abundance-chi.com to discover more about the joy of Feng Shui.

Feng Shui and the 24 Mountains

What are the 24 Mountains and how do they relate to Feng Shui?

When undertaking a Classical Feng Shui audit use of the Luo Pan compass is an important part of the process.  The 24 Mountains appear as one of many rings on a Luo Pan and it represents 24 directions employed by consultants when analysing a property and the fortunes of its residents using formulas like Flying Stars and Eight Mansions Feng Shui as well as studying the BaZi charts of the occupants.

How are the 24 Mountains calculated?

A standard compass is separated into 360⁰ with the primary directions of North, East, South and West and the four secondary directions of Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest each covering 45⁰.  The 24 Mountains of the Luo Pan is no different, however the 45⁰ are then further sub-divided and it is this sub-division that sets the 24 Mountains ring apart.

Each of the 8 sectors are sub-divided into three; eg N1, N2 and N3; totalling 24 (each 15⁰.) 

What do they represent?

The sub-sectors are all either Yin or Yang; they represent one of the four elements* of water, wood, fire and metal or one of the 12 Chinese Astrology animals.  Finally, each of the four corners is denoted by four of the eight trigrams (four members of the family unit.)  Northwest (NW2) is the position of Qian (male), Northeast (NE2) houses Gen (youngest son), Southeast (SE2) is the home of Xun (eldest daughter) and Southwest (SW2) is the location of Kun (female.)

The primary directions are the location of the four celestial guardians in Feng Shui, the Green Dragon (East), the Red Phoenix (South), the White Tiger (West) and the Black Turtle (North.)  They also represent the Rat (N2), Rabbit (E2), Horse (S2) and Rooster (W2.)  As well as being one of the cardinal directions these animals are also known as the Peach Blossom Stars.  Peach Blossom represents relationships in all its many forms and each year there is a 'reigning' Peach Blossom Star.  As an example, during the year of the Horse the Peach Blossom animal is the Rabbit (E2.)

* You may have noticed there are only four elements around the 24 Mountains and that Yin and Yang Earth are 'missing.'  Yin and Yang Earth, being the transitional element between seasons, sits at the centre of the 24 Mountains.

The four elements represent Heavenly Stems; the animals represent Earthly Branches, both used in the BaZi chart.  They each have many meanings from the existing energy; years, months, days and hours; Yin and Yang to name a few.

You can begin to see that each sector has multiple meanings. Understanding and analysing this deeper knowledge makes the 24 Mountains such an important ring in the Luo Pan compass.

To the fulfillment of your dreams

LynC

www.abundance-chi.com

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FENG SHUI and EIGHT MANSIONS-East Group

“If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking”

Buddhist Saying

Personal Eight Mansions is well-known in Feng Shui.  Your date of birth identifies your Gua number which in turn identifies your four good and four bad locations. 

Knowing the Eight Mansions of your home, which takes into consideration the distribution of energy throughout the building will determine whether you and your home are meant for one another. 

Looking at an example of a person with Gua number 1; your personal east group locations and directions and how you can live in a home inauspicious for you based on its sitting direction.

Gua number 1 auspicious directions are southeast, east, south and north; the inauspicious directions are west, northeast, northwest and southwest.  Looking at the worst scenario of your house you would be living in a Kun House (facing northeast/sitting southwest.)  In effect your house is sitting in your total loss location.  Before you run away screaming let’s take a more in-depth look at the situation.

Remembering that location is more important than direction, the first thing to do is consider the internal layout of your home.  Can you arrange it such that you --- a) Have your living area in the southeast (your best direction); b) Have your bedroom in the east (your health direction); c) Place your kitchen in the southwest (your total loss direction)?

This allows you the luxury of choosing which of your four auspicious directions you face when sitting, playing and sleeping, which will in turn bring harmony and positive energy into your life.  Having your kitchen in the southwest will press down on your bad luck (total loss) associated with the southwest.  It is important to remember to have the stove facing one of your auspicious directions, depending on the aspiration important to you at this particular time in your life.  If bad health is an issue for you then having the stove facing* your tien yi (doctor from heaven) or nien yen (longevity) directions will benefit you.  *The facing direction of the stove means the direction the knobs are pointing.)

Another thing to consider is the direction your living room door (unless you have an open plan layout in which case it will mean the direction the entire space is facing), and your bedroom door, face.  It is beneficial if they face one of your auspicious directions.  This is inviting positive Qi into the space each time the door is opened and closed.

So although you may live in a house that is not in harmony with you and your personal directions you can see it is still possible to arrange the internal space such that it beneficial for you.

Looking briefly at Chinese Astrology, if you are born in the year of the Sheep (SW1) or the year of the Monkey (SW3) you will gain some benefit from the Southwest regardless of your Kua number.  Just be aware of the annual afflictions for each year and take suitable measures to avoid misfortune when it comes calling, in your animal location.

To the fulfillment of your dreams

LynC

www.abundance-chi.com

We hope enjoy our blogs and leave any comments below or email: crystal@abundance-chi.com visit: www.abundance-chi.com LynC

FENG SHUI and EIGHT MANSIONS

“Use awareness to make changes”

Are you and your home in harmony? 

Personal Eight Mansions is well-known in Feng Shui.  Your date of birth identifies your Kua number which in turn identifies your four good and four bad locations.  This gives you a head start when it comes to knowing which direction to sit or sleep.  Or which direction to face when you are working/playing/studying.

However this is only half of the picture.

To look at the bigger picture, knowing the Eight Mansions or the Natal Chart of your home, which takes into consideration the distribution of energy throughout the building will determine whether you and your home are meant for one another.  The Eight Mansions of your home is based on its facing and sitting direction. The facing direction of your home is the direction of maximum yang energy.  This is often, but not exclusively, the place where the main door is located and it is important to determine the facing direction before beginning.  The sitting direction is exactly opposite and benefits from more yin than yang energy.  The yang of movement, of positive chi, is best entering your home from the front and the yin of stillness, is best at the back of your home providing quiet, stability and support.

Ideally your front door will be located in the sheng chi (overall good fortune) location of your home.  Depending on the stage you are at in your life, your bedroom will be best located in your tien yi (health) or your nien yen (relationships) location.

Your kitchen, the third most important sector of your home, is different.  While it is a vital part of the overall picture in ensuring the health and wellbeing of your family, it is best located in one of your four bad locations.  In effect, it is best being in a location where it can press down and suppress the bad chi of a location.  The kitchen itself however, and in particular the stove, can be designed to bring good luck to the family.  The stove (the knobs) are most auspicious when facing the best direction of the breadwinner of the house.

So how do you deal with a less than auspicious layout?  Where do you sit?  Which direction do you face?

Location is more important than direction.  If you can sit, or work, or sleep, in one of your four good locations you then also have the option to face one of your four good directions thereby increasing the auspicious chi you are exposed to.  If you have to sit, work or sleep in one of your four bad locations you then only have the option to face one of your good directions within that location.  

It is never going to be possible to have the perfect configuration (unless you are building your own home and you have more control over the finished product) so the answer is to benefit as much as possible from what you can do and then get on with your life.  Being aware of Eight Mansions for the home, and knowing your good and bad directions based on your Kua number will definitely give you an advantage if you are house-hunting.  Taking along a standard western compass to determine the facing and sitting directions of a property, will definitely help you in your house search.  It will also allow you to find out whether the location of the master bedroom and the kitchen will benefit or restrict you.

To the fulfillment of your dreams

LynC

www.abundance-chi.com

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West Group and East Group Houses

Your Kua number, is your personalised number based on your date of birth as identified by the lunar calendar, and once you know this you can practice the Eight Mansions Formula of Feng Shui.

 

This is a straightforward and personalised Formula of Feng Shui which determines auspicious and inauspicious locations in the home for each individual and in future blogs we will look at each of the nine Kua numbers found in the Lo Shu Grid and their characteristics in more detail.

However, additionally the Kua formula can be used to divide houses into eight types; it calculates the facing and sitting directions of a home which in turn identifies whether the residents are in harmony, or in conflict with their living space.

While we will concentrate mainly on the personalised Formula for individuals, what follows is a brief description of the eight types of houses and their attributes.

The eight types of houses are based on their facing and sitting directions and will either be east group or west group.  Whether they are auspicious for the residents is dependent on personal Kua numbers which will place them in either east group or west group.

 

As with all formulas in Feng Shui compass directions are important so the first step is to take the compass reading of the front of your house from the inside looking out, the place where the maximum of Yang energy is generated.  This is usually, but not exclusively, where the front door is located.  Once you know this direction, the ‘facing direction’ you turn to find the ‘sitting direction’ which is where the group, and the name of the house, is determined.

If your back door, or your sitting direction is not directly opposite the facing direction of your main door, the sitting direction takes precedence when determining the type of house you occupy.

Following is a list of all the facing and sitting directions, the type of home, and whether it is an east group or a west group home.

Facing NORTH	Sitting SOUTH	East Group	LI House	Fire
Facing NORTHEAST	Sitting SOUTHWEST	West Group	KUN House	Earth
Facing EAST	Sitting WEST	West Group	TUI House	Metal
Facing SOUTHEAST	Sitting NORTHWEST	West Group	CHIEN House	Metal
Facing SOUTH	Sitting NORTH	East Group	KAN House	Water
Facing SOUTHWEST	Sitting NORTHEAST	West Group	KEN House	Earth
Facing WEST	Sitting EAST	East Group	CHEN House	Wood
Facing NORTHWEST	Sitting SOUTHEAST	East Group	SUN House	Wood

It is the sitting direction that determines the group of the house.  It is the group that will determine whether a home is auspicious for its residents.

As an example:                 

If your house faces North it sits South.  This is a fire element home and is auspicious for an east group person. 

There are only two examples where the facing and sitting directions belong to the same group and that is the North/South axis (east group) and the Northeast/Southwest axis (west group.)  In all other cases compromises will be required because if the facing direction is east or west group, the sitting direction will be west or east group.

The sitting direction always takes precedence.

In circumstances when your home is in the opposite group to you (based on your Kua number) and it is not possible to change an east group house into a west group house, and vice versa, whilst not ideal, the answer is to arrange the internal layout in harmony with your auspicious directions.

In a family home, the Kua number of the breadwinner of the home takes precedence as without them the source of income and wealth will be lost.  There may have to be compromises in the home of a couple, both working on equal terms, if they belong to different groups.

These are basic principles of this method of determining your house type, however it does give some idea of things to look for when exploring the fascinating world of Feng Shui.  It can also be particularly useful to bear in mind if you are looking to move home.

To the fulfillment of your dreams

LynC

www.abundance-chi.com

We hope enjoy our blogs and leave any comments below or email: crystal@abundance-chi.com visit: www.abundance-chi.com LynC

Feng Shui and the Lo-Shu Grid

There is much to discover about the nine numbers of Feng Shui synonymous with the original Lo-Shu Grid or the Magic Square as it is also known.  When Feng Shui was first conceived the Lo-Shu Grid numbers were placed in different locations around the grid.  For example the 2 and the 6 were placed south and north respectively.  This was known as the Early Heaven Arrangement or Yin Feng Shui and the grid was, and still is in some cases, primarily used to determine burial sites.  The ancient Chinese believed that ensuring an auspicious burial site would bring good fortune to future generations of the family.  The Early Heaven Arrangement is used in Flying Star Feng Shui, a Formula which deals with the dimension of time.

 

However the Lo-Shu Grid now more commonly used is known as the Later Heaven Arrangement or Yang Feng Shui; Feng Shui of the living.  

As mentioned in an earlier post each line in the Lo-Shu Grid, straight or diagonal, adds up to 15 which is the number of days it takes for the moon to wax and then to wane.  The total of all the numbers adds up to 45 which when divided by 3 brings us back to 15. The 3 x 3 grid gives us the nine numbers of Feng Shui the odd numbers of which are Yang and the even numbers are Yin.

When the Yin/Yang symbol is superimposed over the Lo-Shu Grid we begin to see more of the balance and interaction of Yin and Yang. 

Adding the numbers opposite each other excluding the centre number 5, both in a straight line and diagonally, on the above grid the total is always 10.  They also combine Yin and Yang.  For example 8, is located in a Yang area and its opposite number, 2, is located in a Yin area.  

The number 8 is also a Yin number resulting in an element of Yang within the Yin.

10 is said to signify completion of a cycle and when we reduce this to a single number it begins a new cycle.  It also represents the basis of all computer code, the binary system.

 

The number 5 in the centre has an equal balance of Yin and Yang.

The Yin/Yang symbol is cyclical moving as it does from winter in the north (1) to late winter/early spring (8), spring (3), early summer (4), midsummer (9), early autumn (2), autumn (7), to late autumn/early winter (6.) 

This clockwise cyclical movement also refers to the path of the sun from its lowest point during the night (1), early morning (8), sunrise (3), late morning (4), midday (9), afternoon (2), early evening (7), to late evening/early night (6.)

This creates yin (waxing) and yang (waning.)

The central number 5 is the Tai Chi (the centre) of the grid and it represents the heart of the home when it is superimposed over a house plan.  Add any of the other numbers to 5, reduce them to a single number where necessary and the Lo Shu grid is complete.  And it is this grid that forms the basis of the Eight Mansions (Eight Houses or Eight Palaces) Formula of Feng Shui; the personalised formula based on the birth date of an individual.

To the fulfillment of your dreams

LynC

www.abundance-chi.com

We hope enjoy our blogs and leave any comments below or email: crystal@abundance-chi.com visit: www.abundance-chi.com LynC