Black Turtle Feng Shui

Reaching Home

Some people have an uncanny knack for finding homes and spaces that suit them to a tee. It has been  fascinating as a practitioner to encounter these places. For example, healers and mothers make good use of the star combination 2-1, though it can lead to sickness for others. Now when I create a chart for a massage therapist, healer, or in one instance, for a mom who does day care in her home, I am no longer surprised to find the combination present.It seems to be there for them more often than not, yet I rarely find it in the homes or businesses of others.

I recently did audits for a gentle couple's home and business. They are massage and Reiki therapists. The 2-1 was present in both places. The charts were similar to an almost unbelievable degree, with a lot of general harmony and good health influences in their most-used spaces. 

They sought audits to help boost prosperity, and no wonder. The business did not give access to the ruling water star for wealth, and their home barely did. Rather than being attracted by money, they were drawn to places that resonated with what most matters to them-peace and healing energy.

We were able to boost the prosperity of both, with good result at last report. Healers need to pay their bills, too.

In another couple's home, the musician husband's practice room/man-cave had a combination that usually brings trouble. For most, I would have recommended metal remedies and avoiding using the room actively. For him, it was no big deal. A powerful cure for the combination is music, and he had a lot of music going on. 

There has been a trend noted that can backfire when people choose homes. People tend to fall in love with a home when the mountain star at the entrance matches their gua number. This can happen even when the home has a chart that is unsuitable for the person, or has more negative influences than usual. It is always a good idea to know the chart of a home or apartment you want to purchase or rent before you commit.

One's ming gua, by the way, is determined by birth date. It is one of the five elements. Audits take your gua into consideration, because what is personally suitable for a fire person, say, may not be as auspicious for a metal person. This will be a topic for another day.

 

Feng Shui for the People

During medieval times in China, feng shui was reserved for the elite. Feng shui masters might pay with death for helping common men. One admired exception was a master named Yang Yunsong, nicknamed "Save the Poor", who managed to use feng shui from the mountains of Northwest China to aid everyday people. He also shared some of its traditional secrets, making it more accessible for all.

This should be the ideal. Feng shui and Chinese metaphysics are about all mankind living in harmony with nature, not just a handful of the privileged. 

Lisa Rohleder, author of The Remedy:Integrating Acupuncture into American Health Care(available online at http://www.lulu.com/content/466287/ ), has made an excellent case for making acupuncture widely available by rethinking how it is offered to the public. After reading this gem of a book, worth the cost of admission if only for its brief, clear explanation of Tao, I began to wonder if a similar effort could be put into place for feng shui.

At first glance, this doesn't seem doable. No two audits are the same. Each one, if done well, takes much individual time and at least two site visits. There are typically factors that affect an audit that are puzzling, requiring investigation.

Still, it is striking that those who might most benefit by an audit are less likely to be able to pay the full cost for one. If a home or business is locked for prosperity, the people living or working there are also less likely to spend limited resources on feng shui. Similarly, if someone is ill, the last place one might consider for investing limited time or money resources may seem to be feng shui, especially if one has had too much exposure to schools or practitioners that make it seem only glorified home decorating.

I have realized, though, that the most severe problems encountered simply by living where you ive are usually readily identifiable on a building's energy chart. Preparing this chart takes only an accurate compass reading and a floor plan. A practitioner can zero in on areas most needing attention simply by seeing the chart, then asking questions relating to those areas only, without needing to complete a full audit.

With this in mind, I am trying out a new kind of audit; the problem-solving audit. If there is no money coming in, if household members are having a rash of accidents, if someone is sick, or if relationships are suffering, there may be something you can do about it with a five element cure. Sometimes the only remedy is to move, but these cases are unusual. More typically, some relief can be had by using a different door to come in the house, by using some rooms less, or by installing a powerful remedy, as examples.

This sort of audit-one looking at simply the most powerful qi at work-can be accomplished remotely. With the chart and an idea of the problems being encountered, relief may be possible. Keep in mind that feng shui is about a third of the major influences one encounters (the other two are an individual's life path as described by Four Pillars Astrology, and one's own choices and priorities in life).

It is my goal to make feng shui accessible to the people who need it most, at a far more affordable price-to help solve some of life's gnarliest problems-using this abbreviated audit method. Interested?  See my website (www.blackturtlefengshui.com) for details. The best part is that I don't have to personally visit your home or business, so where I live relative to where you live does not matter. If you have access to the internet, I can make classical feng shui accessible for you. 

  

   

Mini Audits

New Service

Black Turtle Feng Shui is now offering mini-audits for specific reasons. If you are considering adding a pool or water feature, an outdoor kitchen with a barbecue or a firepit, painting or changing color schemes for the interior or exterior of your home, or exterior landscaping, a mini-audit will give you the information you need regarding these improvements.

The locations of water and fire are both powerful outside of your home. A correctly located and sized water feature will bring beneficial influences, particularly concerning money, while water in the wrong location can have very negative influences.

Fire is an accelerator of other elements, particularly the element earth. There are three earth influences in your home or business. Only one of the three will bring enhanced prosperity with the use of fire. Locating fire elsewhere may accelerate health problems, increase argumentativeness among residents, or sometimes even increase chances of an actual, physical fire.

The locations of flowering shrubs, retaining walls, and walkways around your home have an impact on heath issues in particular. For every building, there are good and not-so-good locations to gain health benefits from the form your landscaping takes. 

A mini-audit will address the issues concerning the improvements you are planning without the expense of a full residential audit. Simply making these improvements in line with traditional feng shui practices can bring you results. See my website (www.blackturtlefengshui.com) for more information.     

The Nine Flying Stars

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.       

 

When Stars Fly

Time-space school feng shui uses a sytem called Flying Stars. This sounds esoteric. It is complex, but this system is mathematically based, and really does not describe the stars in the sky flying in some mysterious way into your home to create either mischief or utopia. "Stars" are simply names given to observed influences over long periods of time by the Chinese.

There are nine stars, logically enough labeled 1-9. Each is associated with one of the five elements (earth, metal, water, wood, and fire). To reiterate a previous post, the elements themselves are simply names that were given to certain types of energy. Energy that is sharp and pointing forward is metal, for example.

So there are nine stars, each associated with a certain type of energy. Each star expresses that energy in a characteristic way. Some typically lend themselves to positive expressions of energy. Some are more often negative. As cycles of time go by, the positive and negative influences of the stars wax and wane. In a great cycle of 180 years (determined by astronomical events), each of the nine stars will have its time of greatest positive strength and influence, and each will also have periods of lesser or even negative influence. Great cycles repeat themselves from the beginning when they are complete. Time is cyclical. So are the influences of the stars.

When you have a feng shui audit done, you will receive a floorplan with numbers superimposed on it. Your floorplan will be divided into a pie. Eight pie segments will radiate from the center of your house or business. Each of these segments will have four numbers written on it. These are the stars. The position of each of the numbers tells a practitioner how the energy associated with that number is affecting health or wealth in that space, and what may be done to enhance good effects and minimize bad ones. What is sought is a balance of energies, or a way to maximize the productive element cycles for the people living or working in the space. What is good for an adult may not be good for a child, as an example.

The position of three of the four stars was fixed at the moment in time when the structure was "born", that is, when the roof was put on. At that moment, the energies were finalized. They do still evolve. Time changes their meanings, but the numbers themselves do not change, with the exception of annual stars. These stars change positions year by year, lending helpful or not so helpful element influences as time goes on.

The years 2004-2024 comprise Period 8 in feng shui. The annual stars will change year by year, but the other three stars on a chart will have the same meanings until 2024. In Period 8, star number 8 is the most powerful and meaningful beneficial influence. Where it occurs, superimposed on the floorplan of your space, will show the healthiest, wealthiest places in your space.        

What Is A Feng Shui Audit?

Black Turtle Feng Shui of Asheville, NC, practices a form of feng shui called Time-Space School. Some popularized schools of feng shui, such as Life Aspirations, or Black Hat Sect, are based on form (physical surroundings), or direction. One example of the latter school says everyone’s “fame” part of their house is in the south. Others will say “fame” is immediately across from your front entrance, no matter which direction that happens to be. These versions of feng shui are over-simplified. They do have a basis in the total theory of feng shui, but they are best regarded as stepping-stones to the whole picture. Their biggest lack is the inclusion of time as a factor. The Time-Space School uses the same theories of feng shui that the others do, but also takes the passing of time into consideration in its analysis. This is important. 

The following paragraphs explain the theories used in feng shui, in the barest of nutshells.

The five elements in feng shui are earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. The elements are simply names for the most basic forms of energy, or qi. Earth is solid and enduring. Metal is sharp and pointing forward. Water is moving and spreading. Wood is growing, emerging. Fire is consuming. Everything that exists can be explained in terms of these elemental energy types.  

These energies were ascribed directions by the ancient Chinese. The directions were linked to physical observations over great lengths of time. In a static world where nothing changes, the directions, and the energies that come from them, would always be the same. Hence, one simplified version of feng shui relies on direction alone. Nothing else is considered.

The concept was further refined over centuries. Physical forms, like mountains and rivers, have an effect on the energies, and the most significant of these were added to an analysis of a physical place. The land forms around a building or home came to have names, like Black Turtle, Green Dragon, White Tiger, and Crimson Bird. The integration of directional energies and land forms came together into a more refined practice of feng shui known as form school.

There is a further refinement. This is the school of feng shui that also considers time, or the Time-Space School. Time is a spiral to the Chinese, and it has been elegantly and mathematically defined in relation to the five elements and the earlier knowledge regarding the energies that act upon a particular physical place. Time has a known effect. Think about the various residents of the White House over the years. They lived in the same place, yet each president had a different outcome to his administration than any other, a whole gamut from assassination to shame to historical greatness. Time matters.

All three facets together-direction, physical forms, and time-give a much more thorough picture of a space than any one alone could do. Time-Space feng shui considers all three. 

An audit from a Time-Space feng shui practitioner will be far more comprehensive than telling you to hang a mirror on a south wall like everyone else. Your house, or apartment, or office, is unique. It is affected by time, direction, and by its physical environment.

In fact, there is another, fourth dimension in classical feng shui. Everything can be described in terms of the five elements, including you. You interact with your environment in a very personal way. What’s good for you may not be so good for someone else. In a complete Time-Space feng shui audit, your energies, and those of your family, are also considered in relation to your space.

You may have heard of some feng shui theories, for instance, that a house that faces south is better, or that stairs inside should not face the front door. There is probably a grain of truth in each theory you have heard, based on one of the facets of feng shui. The real art of feng shui is to take all the factors that affect a physical space into consideration, then to make the most of them. This is done by using the five elements to boost the positive and mimimize the negative energies, or qi. There are usually ways to balance the way energy flows in a space, so none of the pat theories are necessarily true for a given house at a given time. Things can be done, but they will not be the same in every house or for every family. Creating a map of what can practically be done is what feng shui practitioners do.   

The remedies or suggestions you are given after an audit may surprise you. Some may have to do with color schemes for particular spaces. You will be told where the best locations for water features are inside and outside your house. The location of water is important in regard to wealth. Wealth can be attracted if water is correctly located. A pool or water feature in the wrong place can bring negative consequences.

You bring energy into and through your house each time you enter. Some doors will have positive qi, some negative. Sometimes changing the entry you use most often will make a difference to all facets of your experiences, however you categorize them (fame, wealth, travel, etc.).  

You will be told which doors and windows are best kept open, or shut. There may be rooms in your home that you will want to use for storage only, keeping doors to these rooms shut if possible.

You will be told which spaces will suit each family member best for sleeping, and working or studying. Potential argumentative spaces can be remedied. Health, relationships, and stability can be promoted, as well as wealth and prosperity.

The remedies or suggestions will all be based on five element theory, so you will be told where in your house or business the use of earth, metal, water, wood, or fire is helpful, and in what form. Your input is always heard. There is no need for items based on a Chinese motif if that is not your thing. The five elements are not cultural perogatives. TV’s, as one example, are of the fire element. Where you put yours influences your house. Your house has places both good and bad for TV’s. It is negatively or positively influencing your health, relationships, and prosperity wherever it is located right now.     

No remedy or suggestion that is not harmonious with its surroundings will ever be suggested. Part of the idea is that beauty is truth, and truth is beauty. If a feng shui remedy is not proportionate to and in harmony with the surroundings, it is not really a true feng shui remedy. It has nothing to do with bamboo flutes or mass-produced “remedies” sold in some shops or on line. It has to do with using the five elements in appropriate ways to bring about a balance of energy. This can be achieved in unique and pleasing ways for unique individuals.

There are countless ways that the five elements influence a space. A feng shui audit may suggest you paint a porch, build a landscape berm, put a rug of a certain color group between “here” and “there”, move the color red out of one spot and into another, keep a light burning in one place or another, keep a door shut (or open), or switch Junior’s bedroom with Missy’s. There are certain universal recommendations about furniture placement that make everyone more comfortable.   

A series of recommendations designed to make the best of your space will be the end result of a feng shui audit.