Review: The Feng Shui Matrix
This is the first post of hopefully many, reviewing and commenting on various Feng Shui sources.
This review deals with a new book by Kartar Diamond, The Feng Shui Matrix. First I should mention that I know Kartar as a fellow student and instructor at the American Feng Shui Institute. She is one of the most respected practitioners in Los Angeles and the Western US. She is also the author of “Feng Shui for Skeptics”.
My first impression when I heard the title “The Feng Shui Matrix” was “oh no, this sounds too new age” and was not sure that it would be a book that I would like. Its distinctive purple cover has the picture of a palm with the 9 numbers of the master trigram lead me to think that she was listening in class when Master Sang discussed the ancient masters using their fingers to calculate (under the Chungsam or robe) the Feng Shui of the house.
Looking inside at the table of contents, there are catchy chapter names but with solid concepts. Things such as “how to create an accurate floor plan sketch,” “Yin and Yang Balance” and “Using water for prosperity” are key points that we relate to our clients again and again. But beyond that are the sections that are offering advanced level information to the common folks such as Ways people lose money with Feng Shui, and also things such as the “No Marriage” house and the “Robbery Energy”. These are topics that are taught at the AFSI, but until now, no one has dared to make public. I applaud Kartar on her ability to make the complicated simple.
Reading the book I am struck by the straightforward way in which she presents the material. It is well written and edited. She offers common sense information about how people should approach Feng Shui. “Ceilings should not be darker than walls and walls should not be darker than floors” is an example of the many key facts of Feng Shui knowledge that are interspersed throughout the book. “Homes at the very top of a hill often command a huge selling proce. But if there is no flat pad surrounding the home (in scale with the size of the house), and no trees or walls to create a “backing” or support, this house might also be a money pit for whoever lives there.” This is an example of common sense Feng Shui, that many in the public do not know or realize.
The one thing about this book that was a distraction was the intersperced references to yoga and meditation. My own opinion is that this type of information should be apart from Feng Shui which is a study of the environment. I understand though that many people need to Feng Shui themselves first, before worrying about their house and Kartar is helping to make this information accessable.
Overall I would say that the Feng Shui Matrix and Master Larry Sang’s 2006 Astrology and Feng Shui Guide are the two definite books you should add to your library this year. The Feng Shui Matrix is not an instructional textbook, but rather a way to get right to some of the key issues within your house and a book that provides a functional background on how to look at your own home with a practitioner’s eye. Congratulations Kartar on the success that this book is sure to bring.
