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Questions and Answers

These are real questions and answers emailed from visitors to this website and answered by 168 Feng Shui Advisors.

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On finding a qualified Feng Shui practitioner:

My parents once had a feng shui expert, if you consider him that, come and evaluate the house.  It was about five years ago and his advice was to move a few things and that's it.  No compass or anything.  It took about five minutes the most.  So I really don't trust any feng shui "experts".  Can you recommend any legitimate experts that don't charge too much?

Good.  Question what you see and hear.  I wish more people would.  Feng Shui is based on common sense, logic, and ancient mathematical calculations.  If it is anything else, it might work, but please... don't call it Feng Shui.  A qualified practitioner will need a compass, the birth dates of the people living in the house, a proportional floorplan, and the year the building was built.  Further, they should take a close look at the inside and outside environment.  The process can take about 30 minutes to 2 hours or more depending on the property.  When looking for a Feng Shui expert, ensure that they ask for the above mentioned  items. 

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Regarding Toilets and Doors:

Thanks again.  You have been very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.   I read about the mirrors on your website and in other books, it says you should not reflect the toilet because it is a source for bad chi.  I was wondering what your opinion is for that?  Also, is it bad for a room to face a toilet room?  If so, how can I fix it?  Are four aligned doors opening straight to another bad?  If so, how can I fix it?  

A toilet can be considered "Sha" or "Sha Chi."  "Sha" is an "evil or unsightly influence."   Basically, if it is unsightly or creates an unpleasant environment, it is Sha.  A lot in Feng Shui is tradition from hundreds of years ago.  Years ago, a master told someone not to have the toilet in the house, meaning: do not have the toilet "pit" near the house.  This was because it was unsanitary and smelled.  Today, modern appliances are cleaner than days past.  Another example is that you are "not supposed to have water near the fire in the kitchen."  Of course, hundreds of years ago, the well was not to be too close to where they slaughtered the food and cooked it.  A lot has changed since then.  The masters of years ago where looking at the environment of their time.  Feng Shui is based on practicality.  A toilet is Sha if it smells or is unsightly.  Of course, many modern practitioners suggest leaving the lid down and the bathroom door closed.  This makes common sense, but does not hold any mystical sense.  I would suggest this to you too if it is a concern. The same can be said about a mirror reflecting a toilet.  It can be unsightly and bothersome (either conscientiously or unconscientiously).  So it becomes a Sha to be avoided.

 

The simple answer to all your door questions is to keep them closed.  Many people ask if a front door and a rear door facing each other is bad.  It is only bad if you have both open at the same time.  You want to avoid a rush of Chi straight through the house.  When determining which door to use, it depends on the Chi in the area inside the door.  The open door brings in the new Chi into the house and it is influenced by the area of Chi immediately inside the door.   A qualified practitioner would have to map out the Chi of the area.

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On external influences and the elements:

So if I have a yellow fire hydrant in front of my house, I should put a fire element to melt the metal?  Is a hydrant considered water or metal?  Does color count as a symbol, as in red=fire, blue=water and etc.?  I can't think of anything fire to put except lights.  Please help. 

I would be more concerned with the house than the fire hydrant.  The house is barely affected by a fire hydrant.  The key areas we focus on is "the nature of the house" is it good for people and/or good for money.  Second is the nature of the chi at the entrance,  the bedrooms and other key areas of the house or building. Then we look at the environmental influences, both inside and out.  A fire hydrant is not much of a concern as an electrical transformer box in your front yard.  (Which you would block using an Earth element, such as decorative granite rocks)  

 

As to color, we have found that color can have a slight effect, but it is not nearly as strong as the actual element.  We use the color red for fire, but a red light is much stronger than a red blanket.  A candle works even better. But we cautiously recommend candles because of the safety factor.  A red lampshade or a red light bulb works well.  (Note to the readers: do not use these remedies just because they are mentioned here. It takes a qualified Feng Shui practitioner to properly determine the specifics of what is needed.   Using an element where it is not needed can cause problems.)

 

When speaking about elemental remedies, putting fire to melt metal creates too harsh of a solution. A much better way to minimize the metal's effect is to use water.  It will reduce the metal softly.

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On the use of Ba Guas:

I have asked many feng shui people, but they still can't answer me this one question.  I was hoping if you can help me.  The question is; should you only put one pak kau or is many better?  Also, should it be only on your front door?

Although pak kuas (or Ba Gua as I tend to write it) are seen a lot, especially in Chinese culture, they are  really a tool for analysis, not a device to protect you from Chi.  The only real remedies in Feng Shui are the five Chinese elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.  Ba Gua's as I said are a tool used to determine the "chi blueprint" of a building.  While many people superstitiously use them symbolically, they have no effect on the actual "Chi" (or Qi) of a building.  The only exception to this would be if they are made of metal, but then it is the metal that has the effect, not the ba gua.

Thanks for the advice.  But are you saying that you don't believe superstitiously using anything symbolically? 

In answer to your question, no we do not use any symbology or superstition in Feng Shui.  All our analyses are based on repeatable calculations.  Two different 168 practitioners can look at a property at a different time and get the same results.  Feng Shui is a science, not magic.  The art of Feng Shui is the experience that a master has in determining the ideal amount of a remedy to apply. 

Feng Shui has been clouded in mystery for centuries.  People have interpreted their own ideas about the subject.  For example,  a master in Hong Kong recommended that people put clay roosters to eat the centipede-like power lines that were strung past their homes.  The symbology was a rooster eating an insect.  In actuality, Clay is the earth element and electricity is considered a Fire element.  The Feng Shui explanation is that Earth puts out Fire and it reduced the negative effects.  The scientific explanation is that Earth grounds EMF radiation.  Many people believed that it was the symbology of the rooster.  So you can see how for the last 2000 years, people have created a lot of hearsay about the practice of Feng Shui.

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On a missing relationship (or wealth) corner:

I am concerned that we are having difficulties because my relationship corner is missing.  Is there anything we can do?

To us, there is no such thing as a relationship corner.  It is a concept created in the last 20 years to over-simplify Feng Shui.  In reality, Feng Shui is based on cycles of changes.  Just as the Earth continually rotates, the seasons continually change, and even the magnetic poles move, the chi within a building is in constant change.  There are different cycles that need to be mapped using   Chinese mathematical calculations.  Yes, there are relationship energies within different buildings, but each building is different and needs to be examined by a qualified practitioner. Further, these relationship energies can be strengthened or lessened with time.  It is possible, in certain houses, to actually generate a new relationship using one of the five elements.  It the same time in other houses and times, there are types of Chi that creates separations and other relationship problems.   Fortunately, there are elemental solutions to these issues.

 

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