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feng shui information
Feng shui history
Feng Shui evolved in China through several millennia, developing in various
schools and sects. There are over a dozen traditional Asian schools or sects of
feng shui such as Flying Stars, Four Pillars, Eight Mansions and East/West to
name a few. The two main Asian schools however are the Form School and the
Compass School. The Form School, a combination of meteorology, geography and
geology, studies the shape, size and lay of landforms. It came about as an
effective way for people who lived in the mountainous regions of China to
protect their dwellings from harsh winds and dangerous water. In fact, the words
feng shui mean “wind water”.
The Compass School developed as the Chinese moved away from the mountains to
other areas of China that were less hazardous. The Compass School places
importance on the compass directions, a person’s birth date along with favorable
and unfavorable directions. This school introduced the main components of feng
shui being the yin/yang theory,
ch’i and the
five elements. As the Chinese people
adapted in response to the changes in their religions, philosophies, agriculture
systems, commerce and politics, so did the practice of feng shui, as well it
should have.
Feng Shui History: The Black Tortoise, the Green Dragon, the White Tiger and
the Red Bird
The Form School, the first school of feng shui, grew out of ancient Chinese
mythology about celestial animals that protected people from hazardous weather
and terrain. When they descended upon the earth, they took topological shapes.
The ideal land site looks like an armchair with the highest mountains (Black
Tortoise) in the rear of the dwelling with the right side protected by smaller
hills (Green Dragon), the left flanked by the smallest hills or trees (White
Tiger) and the front allowing for a clear, unobstructed view (the Red Bird).
Traditionally, the Black Tortoise is in the north, the Green Dragon in the east,
the White Tiger in the west and the Red Bird in the South.
Although it is not always practical to situate one’s dwelling facing south, the
notion of protecting the back of a house or building, reducing exposure on the
sides and having a clear view of those approaching is as important today as it
was five thousand years ago.
Feng Shui History: Coming to America
Coming to America changed feng shui yet again in response to a completely
different culture with a diverse set of customs, symbols and traditions.
Professor Lin Yun brought feng shui to America when he introduced Black Hat sect
feng shui. Even though it is based on Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, Black Hat
offered Americans the first version they could grasp. Black Hat deviated from a
complicated astrological system practiced by traditional Chinese schools and
offered easy to use remedies. It was also the first school to place a heavy
emphasis on a client’s intentions as they relate to the important “stations of
life” as later described in this book. Sarah Rossbach, a Chinese language
student who studied with Professor Lin Yun translated many of his writings and
wrote the first books on feng shui published in America. Without her elegant
writing style and skillful interpretation, feng shui as we know it, would not
exist.
The Pyramid School of feng shui completed the job of bringing feng shui into the
American twenty-first century by synthesizing wisdom and knowledge from all of
the schools while filtering out cultural and geographical proclivities. This
school places heavy emphasis on current social and physical sciences returning
feng shui to its original status of a science.
Even though feng shui has changed throughout the ages, traveling from east to
west, the basic premise remains as relevant today as it was in ancient times:
use nature as a guide to create environments where you feel balanced, inspired
and nurtured. This does not require large expenditures of money. Anyone can
apply the principles without spending a dime and reap its rewards. Our ancestors
used what they had on hand and depended upon nature to provide them with food,
shelter and other necessities of life. When it comes to re-cycling, modern
people could learn much from their predecessors.
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“I have been practicing classic feng shui for over five years. I had a consultant come out to my home yearly but I could never seem to get a permanent job. I had to settle for the very unstable contract work. A few months after making the changes Sylvia suggested, I landed a permanent job – my first permanent job in over six years. Thanks Sylvia!"
- Theresa
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“The positive effects of the changes recommended were immediate and dramatic. In the midst of an intense and difficult life transition, I awoke in my room every morning feeling glad; like I was living in a novel I had not read yet…full of limitless possibilities.”
- Elizabeth |
“At first the experience was overwhelming because the process identified deep-rooted issues I had. But as I made changes, everything fell into place. This experience was so much more then rearranging furniture. “
-Tammy |
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