So what are those numbers that are on the floorplan of your audit? There they are, an inverted triangle, two numbers on top and one on the bottom. They are referenced in your report, but how one gets from the numbers to the conclusions makes any analytical person crazy. You can learn to wire a two-way switch, fix the icemaker or the lawnmower, read plans, plant seeds, build your own website, or design a nuclear power plant if you really want to. Why do those numbers have to be inscrutable?
This is the quick primer. It is not meant to take the place of solid instruction in feng shui, but as briefly as possible, here is what those numbers mean.
They look like this. 1 2
3
The number on the top left side is called the “mountain star”. The word “mountain” is somewhat maddening in learning feng shui because it has several meanings beyond the usual, physical meaning. “A mountain is a natural elevation of the earth’s surface larger than that of a hill.” Okay, knew that, but what is a “mountain star”?
“Star” in this sense in feng shui refers to an energy, not to the stars in the sky.
The number on the top left means it manifests as a yin rather than a yang energy. The pie segment it is shown in on the chart shows what direction it is coming from. It will quietly gain strength behind a wall, an actual mountain, or somewhere protected. Mountain stars govern health and relationships. They do not flourish with activity, but rather by inactivity. A good mountain star is great in a bedroom. It can be a battery charger while you sleep. A more negative mountain star can bring illness while you sleep.
If you have a floorplan showing the stars, the numbers on the left are strongest where physical forms support them. A mountain star is yin, and it grows stronger with physical protection. The protection could be, say, an actual mountain, or shrubbery on the outside, or a retaining wall, or an earth mound, or heavy furniture, or a nearby building. If it is a good number, you hope for a nice “mountain” there, whether actual or virtual. Your health and relationships will benefit.
If it is a number, or star, that carries negative connotations in the current time period, better to remove the physical objects that increase its strength. If the stars flying outside your bedroom walls have a negative number on the left, cut down the shrubbery outside along the wall. Do what you can to reduce the opportunity for that influence to grow to unhealthy levels. If it is a positive number and there are no shrubs, mountains, or other solid barriers outside your bedroom walls, then get some there and enjoy the health benefits.
The number on the right is called the “water star”. This represents yang, or active energy, coming from that direction. It is like flowing water. If the number is good, you want to open the windows and doors to let it in, and pursue active things in that space. You will strive not to block its entrance with walls, heavy furniture, or shrubbery. If it is a negative number, better to keep the doors and windows shut. Water stars represent wealth.
The number on the bottom is the “time star”. The energy represented here can help or hurt the mountain or water stars, but is not as strong. It is like a plate. If you were offered a gourmet meal on a used tin pie plate, it would not seem as palatable as the same meal presented artfully on china. Same in reverse; a corn dog on a fine dish with a garnish is more presentable than if served on a greasy paper napkin. Time stars help, hinder, or are neutral, but do not really change the character of the basic offering. Corn dog vs. gourmet is pretty much a mountain/ water star debate. Presentation matters, but to a lesser degree.
We have discussed the position of the stars, but not the meaning of the numbers.
Stars are numbered 1-9. Each has a five element character, or belongs to the energy of one of the five elements (earth, metal, water, wood and fire). As previously discussed in this blog, the five elements are simply names for different sorts of energy, or qi. Some are typically positive and some are typically negative. They all have the ability to help, hinder, or destroy each other. Ideally, we want them to be helping each other in our living/ working spaces. This is called a productive cycle.
Just to keep it complicated, the personalities of the nine stars change with time. A typically negative star will be extraordinarily positive during the time period when it is in favor. These time periods change every twenty years, and repeat after 180 years. The periods were established based on astronomical observation.
We are in Period 8 right now. This period started in 2004 and will last until 2024. Star 8 is king. When it appears on the left on your chart, get a mountain, virtual if not actual, there if you don’t have one now, because it will bring the best health benefits. If it is on the right, open the doors and windows in that area and let it in. Your health and wealth, respectively, will benefit.
A previous blog also discussed the five element relationships. Earth creates metal, which creates water, which creates wood, which creates fire, which again creates earth. Metal weakens earth, which weakens fire, which weakens wood, which weakens water, which weakens metal and so back to earth. Earth controls (or can destroy) water, which controls (or can destroy) fire. Fire controls metal. Metal controls wood. Wood controls earth. (“Or can destroy” is implied in all the above.) What feng shui is all about is using those cycles to enhance the positive and reduce the negative effects that those stars (numbers) on your floorplan are announcing.
If you have hung in there and read this far, congratulations! Comprehending this is a challenge.
Here is what the numbers (stars) themselves mean in Period 8.
1-Water- Future timely (read “less strong right now, but there”). Governs wisdom, fame, and fortune.
2-Earth-Untimely. In this period has the meaning of infertility and ill health. Metal weakens this influence.
3-Wood-Untimely but usable (meaning it will not have strong negative effects in this time period, but can be thought of as simply “wood”). Generally has the meaning of misfortune, quarrels and robbery. These qualities are not so apparent at this moment. It is to be thought of more as its contribution to the element cycles than as carrying negative qualities right now, unless paired with a disagreeable star. The combination of 2 and 3 is called “bull fight sha”, for example.
4-Wood-Untimely. This is generally a good star, bringing success with achievement, creativity, writing, and romance. Some caution is needed in Period 8, because it can bring affairs and sexual entanglements.
5-Earth-Untimely. This is the big daddy bad star in Period 8, bringing catastrophies, casualities, lawsuits, and sickness. Do something about it where it occurs on your chart. Metal is the cure.
6-Metal-Untimely but usable. In this period, this star is somewhere between authority, dignity and fame, and loneliness and lawsuits. It can generally be thought of as simply “metal”, without a good or bad connotation. In a good combination, it is good.
7-Metal-Unique in carrying a more positive than negative influence into the next time period, 7 can mean financial gain and fertility as well as fire, theft, and casualties in Period 8. It doesn’t hurt to tone it down a bit with water in this period. Much depends on its partner stars. 6 and 7 together are negative, for example.
8-Earth-Timely, ruling star. Support this star where you find it, for health or wealth. It trumps the 2 and 5 earth stars in this period, so if you have 2-8 or 5-8 combinations, no worries. As a time-star “plate”, it brings out the best. Its meaning is “Steady progress in Finance, Happiness, and Good Fortune.” Fire creates earth, so use of the fire element where you find the 8 star is excellent. Minimize metal around the 8 star. Minimize wood influences as well.
9-Fire-Future Timely. The 9 star generally means “Success and promotion”. When paired with an 8, it brings very good stuff (fire creates earth). When paired with a 2 or a 5, it accelerates their negativity (fire creates earth). 9-1, Fire and water, can be very good together if carefully balanced. The 9 star will be powerful when paired with 3 or 4, wood. If the 9 is on the left and the 3 or 4 on the right, this is a powerful health influence. A 9 on the right, with a 3 or 4 on the left, is good for wealth. Support as needed.
Stars 1-9 will appear once for each meaning (mountain, water, or time) in every chart. They will occur in the center and at each of the eight different directions. There are 144 different possible charts, based on the time your building was built and its directional orientation. In addition to the influence of the “stars”, surrounding forms need to be included in analysis of the chart to determine the strength of their influences.
Classical feng shui is complex. Its complexity is why some schools have sought to simplify it. The simplified versions, however, don’t do it justice. None of us would choose an acupuncturist who learned the “shortcut method”.
The analysis of a chart takes time and thought. No two buildings are the same. When you commission a feng shui practitioner, consider that far more goes into an analysis than the few hours you see the practitioner. It takes study to master and time to do correctly. An analysis prepared in less than two full working days is not likely to be on the mark. Complex studies will take longer.
If you are interested in pursuing feng shui, this isn’t meant to dissuade you. Feng shui needs educated practitioners to counteract the various popularized versions out there. Take the high road, though, if you have an interest, and invest in learning classical feng shui.