Who doesn’t wish for harmony, pace and balance? We all do, in every aspect of our lives – be it at home or at our workplaces. With this in mind, the latest trend to have caught up is the belief in Feng Shui, a practice whose roots can be traced back to the sixth century B.C. Feng Shui happens to be the offshoot of a Chinese philosophy called Taoism. A deeper understanding of this practice reveals the concept of energy or ‘Chi’ that helps us humans attain balance in our life. According to the Taoist system of beliefs, our existence cannot be explained by our human assertions or language. It thrives on the thought that there are unseen forces in the universe that affect our lives and surroundings. The fact the practice of Feng Shui has gained much popularity in the western world bears testimony to its acceptance and the fact that people are open to such thoughts and actions that will help improve their living standards and achieve their goals in life.

When translated, the words Feng and Shui mean ‘wind’ and ‘water,’ respectively. It is best described as the practice of achieving balance and harmony by the arrangement of items, objects, buildings and spaces so as to clear away old and negative energy and make way for new and positive energy to influence our lives. Let us now explore the very roots of this practice.

The Three Schools of Feng Shui

When it comes to Feng Shui there may be many variations. However, these may be classified into three schools whose beliefs do differ in certain aspects. Let us go through the schools of thought.

The first school finds its origins in Southern China and is called the Form School. What forms the basis of the beliefs propagated by this school is the proper arrangement of objects and our surroundings in harmony with water formations and topography. This practice form is often referred to as the ‘classic feng shui’ and its foundations are based on the need for a safe place to stay. Southern China is a hilly area and the mountains acted as a natural barrier against the cold winds while the streams flowing downhill provided sustenance for the dwellers below. This school uses symbols like tigers and dragons in its practice.

The second school happens to be from Northern China and is referred to as the Compass School as is based on magnetic force – the importance of the compass or direction in relation to the earth and its seasons, and the stars and planets of the solar system. Once again, the topography of the land has much to do with this form. Northern China is comparatively a flat surface compared to the southern part and thus a completely different set of principles are used and applied. This school is often referred to as the most complicated as it depends much on the study of mathematics, compass directions and Chinese astrology.

The third school, called the Black Hat sect was propagated by Professor Thomas Lin Yun in the early 1980’s and is simple for those who wish to understand more about the practice. This form delves on one relying on intuition and the common tool used here is the Bagua or map of directions. Though this form relies much on the placement of objects, it is not even acknowledged by some feng shui masters. However, out of the three schools, this happens to have found much favour with westerners as it is far easier to place objects in particular directions within the home or office than learning about compass readings.

Symbolism in Feng Shui and their corresponding interpretations 

The practice of Feng Shui involves five important symbols. It is believed that these symbols represent phases through which the Chi or energy moves. Here are the symbols and the objects that correspond to them when it comes to usage.

Earth is represented by rocks and ceramics, fire by the use of candles and fireplaces, metal is represented by picture frames made in silver and electronic devices, water is represented by aquariums and fountains and the final symbol wood is represented by a living plan or a tree. Apart from this the practice is also closely associated with the use of certain feng shui colours that are said to have an effect on ones personality and as well as surroundings.

The Yin and Yang – perfect balance of energies

Now that we have a fair understanding of the basic symbols that feng shui works upon, the next level will be the interpretation of the Yin and Yang which is the most formidable of all symbols in Chinese culture. The two swoosh like symbols connected by a dot represent states of energy that are opposite to each other. The black is called Yin and represents coldness, femininity, passiveness, night time, coldness and matter while the white portion, the Yang represents activity, warmth, day time, hardness and masculinity. Thus, the Yin and Yang are perfectly balanced ensuring harmony.

Bagua – Feng Shui’s road map

The Bagua map is built on the feng shui concept of building blocks that help take form of a road map. This map is a three into three rectangular grid and is depicted in the Book of Change that hails from the Han Dynasty of China, between 206 B.C to A.D 220. The individual squares within the map are referred to as Lo Shu Square or magic square and the numbers in these squares all add up 15 in all directions – diagonally, horizontally and vertically as well. This corresponds to the number of days that make up a lunar cycle in Chinese astrology. The numbers in these squares correspond to the five elements or symbols we learned about earlier in the article and is helpful in when it comes to the practice of this age old tradition. Once one has made a study of this aspect of feng shui, one is ready to go ahead with any construction plans that may be underway.

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