Feng Shui, Living in Harmony with the space

Living in a harmonized environment improves our existence.

Many times, when entering somewhere, we feel the inexplicable need to quickly get away. Unlike other spaces that invite us to stay there.

Spaces are alive, they have an energy that can cause us comfort or discomfort.

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese Taoist art based on Chinese cosmogony that studies the relationship between human beings and the environment that surrounds them.

In this philosophy, there is a vital energy in the universe that sustains life and is called Chi or Qi. In other philosophies, such as the Hindu, the existence of this energy is recognized and known as Prana.

The Chi flows with the wind and then is accumulated by the water. The correct flow of Chi is what allows you to have a healthy life in the different aspects that make it up. This concept gives rise to the name of this ancient art. Feng shui means “Wind” and “Water”, meaning that this ancient art deals with the correct flow and containment of Chi in spaces.

Feng Shui acts on spaces as acupuncture on the body using the same philosophy: unlocking and correctly circulating Chi.

In the universe, harmony occurs in relation to the balance of energies, and Ying and Yang is the absolute representation of it. This symbol is formed by two opposite and complementary forces. The Yin energy could not exist without the Yang energy and vice versa, without the interaction of both, life would not be created.

Ying – Yang

The white part represents the Yin element and its attributes are: feminine, night, winter, cold, humid, earth, moon, that which recedes.

The Yang, represented in the black part, is masculine, day, hot, clear, hard, dry, straight, sun, that which advances.

Therefore, in Feng Shui the balance of the two forces in spaces is essential.

There are different schools of Feng Shui with more and less complexity. Those used ancestrally are the School of Forms and the School of the Compass (which in turn is subdivided into three others).

There is another more modern line: the Black Hat School, which made Feng Shui very popular in the West. In this school the compass is not used.

The first two schools are those that make up classical Feng Shui.

The School of Shapes uses animals symbolically to represent locations and is based on the geographic shape of mountains and rivers. And each point corresponds to a Celestial Animal: white tiger, black turtle, phoenix, and green dragon. The center is assigned the serpent.

The Compass School uses the Lo Pan compass which is more complex. This school, in turn, is subdivided into three others that use dates of birth, a greater number of divisions, date of construction of the buildings, year in which we are, etc.

But since the idea of these posts is that we can apply basic concepts to our spaces by ourselves, we are going to simplify it by applying basic concepts from the different schools and that are very effective.

There is an element that is fundamental in the application of Feng Shui: the Ba-Gua map. This diagram has its origins in the I-Ching, the book of mutations.

“Ba” means eight and “Gua” means trigram. It refers to the eight basic trigrams where the I Ching is structured, which is an ancient mystical representation of all the possible combinations of Ying and Yang energies.

The Ba-Gua is divided into 9 spaces and each one corresponds to each of the 8 aspirations of life and a center:

• Career and Wisdom
• Fame and reputation
• Wealth and prosperity
• Relationships and Love
• Creativity and children
• Family and Health
• Helpful people and travel

The Ba-Gua is applied on the plane of the spaces to be able to locate each area.

In the Compass school, it is applied taking into account the cardinal points, there being differences when it comes to applying it between the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. I amn the Black Hat school, it is applied taking the entrance door as a reference.

Five elements

Furthermore, each of the eight directions is associated with an element of nature. Water, Fire, Wood, Earth, Metal.

These elements are transformed in their interaction with others in cycles that can be constructive, destructive, or reduction. In turn, each of these elements is represented by a color.

Feng Shui elements

Water: blue and black

Fire: red

Wood: green

Earth: brown

Metal: gray

So far the introduction to basically understand what we are talking about when we talk about Feng Shui.