Friday, January 29, 2010

ba gua mirror

I don’t quite know what to make of this story, but I have to say it’s an amusing tale that perhaps will encourage some of you to consider the effects of Feng Shui and luck in your day.

Having been advised by a horrified Feng Shui practising friend that ‘all his money was going down the drain’ William Hill client Jim kept his toilet seat down and his bathroom door firmly shut and has since been on an extraordinary year-long winning streak that most recently landed him a £175,933 online jackpot.

while I can’t say that everyone will win a big casino prize, perhaps it’s time to consider the effects of Feng Shui in your home, click here for the Fortune & Feng Shui 2010 Dragon

Dorm Room Feng Shui
December 6th, 2009

Whether it is money troubles, self-image, relationships or making sure you pass that class, creating a new aura in the dorms can change it all. Katherine Olaksen’s “Dorm Room Feng Shui” gives tips on how to let the stress melt away like snowflakes during the St. Louis winter.

More Dorm Room Feng Shui here!

Year of the Tiger Bad For All?
November 14th, 2009

According to Singapore famous Feng Shou Master Tan Khoon Yong in facebook, in the Year of Tiger 2010, all of the 12 Chinese Zodiacs are not good, If not cautious enough, may land in lawsuits, also need to beware of health problems.

“In tiger year, Everybody’s is quite hot tempered and emotional impulse, easy to affront other people, some people possibly will get rid to fight with others, therefore, everybody may land in lawsuits.” Tan told the reporter.


A new look at combining western astrology and feng shui
October 16th, 2009

Those of you have have been following my feng shui writing for a while will know that I am a big fan of western astrology. I mean no disrespect to the Chinese system, it’s just that I’ve been using western astrology in my personal life for about thirty years now and it works for me and I’m sticking with it.

I’ve often wondered how western astrology could be more deeply coordinated with the western style of feng shui that I practice and write about. But, although I’m a highly experienced consultee, I am not a professional astrologer and simply don’t have the depth or breadth of expert knowledge to have explored that question on my own.

Which is why I was so thrilled to read this excellent article today that matches up the Houses of a person’s natal astrological chart with the ba gua, and discusses how to use this information along with new moon cycles for very powerful and effective feng shui rituals and/or remedy placement.

This is exciting new information, and I’m thrilled to have found it just in time to do some feng shui empowerment on the New Moon happening tomorrow, Oct. 17. (It’s a bit last-minute to be sharing this info with you here, but if you miss the October new moon, just start planning ahead for next month.)

The Oct. ‘09 new moon lands in the 9th house of my chart, which correlates to the “Knowledge/Wisdom” area — which in my home is to be where my office is located. As soon as I’ve finished this post I’m going to start preparing for the new moon by cleaning up my desk!

Do be aware that to use this method you will need:
1) a basic familiarity with western astrology and its symbols.
2) a copy of your “birth” or “natal” chart that defines the exact location (in degrees and minutes within a sign) of each house cusp.

Then, keep an eye on upcoming new moons. Look up the date and time (adjusted for your local time zone), and where that moon will be in what astrolocial sign. Here’s an example of an ephemeris (astrological calendar) page for November ‘09. I’ve enlarged the box that shows the lunar phases:


(most of the info on this page can be ignored if all you want to know is when/where the new moon is happening)

The Nov. ‘09 new moon (marked in red) happens on the 16th at 24 degrees 34 minutes Scorpio. What house is that in in your chart? Remember to adjust the time of the new moon for your local time zone.

If you don’t know enough about western astrology to work this out on your own, Simone Butler (author of the article) can prepare personalized info for you … or you can invest some time in reading up on the basics of western astrology. There’s a TON of information available on the web to get you started, including this overview. (Please do NOT email me with astrology questions, BTW: I will just send you back to this page to read this paragraph again.)

Stephanie R.

Fast Feng Shui is now on Facebook
October 6th, 2009

“Fast Feng Shui” is now on Facebook!
I invite you all to join our page there:
http://tiny.cc/FFSonFB


House Divided Into Duplex
September 14th, 2009

Q: I am looking at apartments, and saw one recently that I liked. The building was originally a one-family home, but has been converted into a duplex with two separate living spaces and two different addresses. What does this do to the ba gua for the house? If I take this apartment, will I be living in just one half of the ba gua? Or are there now two ba guas, one for each unit?

A: There are now two ba guas, one for each unit of the duplex. Conversion of older, larger homes into apartments is quite common. When this happens each individual unit has a new ba gua that applies just to that space. Placement of each apartment ba gua is now determined by the main entry to each apartment, not by the building entry (as it would have been for the original single-family home).

Five Effective Ways to Stage Your Home for Sale with Feng Shui
May 24th, 2009

Any edge in todayand#39;s real estate market is a good one, and feng shui provides some easy ways to invite a buyer into your home. If your home has been sitting stagnant on the market, now is the time to give it an energetic lift! Discover five ways you can use feng shui to properly stage and sell your home.

Energy/mood level and feng shui
May 8th, 2009

Q: Since a big part of feng shui is raising the energy levels of your living space, and since women’s energy levels regularly rise and fall with their monthly cycles, are there certain times of the month that are better or worse for practicing feng shui? I’m guessing that since hormones can have such a powerful affect on women’s moods, that must affect the power of their intentions too?

A: The best time for anyone, male or female, to do feng shui (i.e., move things around, place remedies/imagery, etc.) is when your energy is high, your mind is clear and undistracted, and your outlook is optimistic and enthusiastic. If your hormonal cycles, or a poor night’s sleep, or family/work stress, or whatever, put you physically or emotionally or mentally in a frazzled, low-energy state, it’s a good idea to wait until you feel “up to it” to implement feng shui changes.

Ba Gua Mirrors and Your Neighbors
April 10th, 2009

Two questions have come in asking if a ba gua mirror can be used inside an apartment or in an apartment house hallway, to deflect noise and/or “negative energy” coming from a neighbor’s unit.

The short answer is no: hoping that it will help with a bad-neighbor situation doesn’t negate the rule that a ba gua mirror should never be used in an interior space. That includes an apartment building hallway. The hallway is outside your apartment, but it’s inside the building, and it’s a space that you use on a daily basis. Be careful what you put there.

I believe that a ba gua mirror is only used appropriately as protection against inanimate sources of sha chi — such as a road aimed at your house, or the sharp corner of a neighboring building. Bouncing “behavioral sha chi” (noise, or other inconsiderate behavior) back at your neighbors with any kind of mirror may feel empowering, but I think it’s a bad idea. You want to defuse the situation, not add fuel to the fire.

A better solution is to find a way to send positive intentions to those troublesome folks next door — no matter how irritated or exasperated you may feel. Hang an image that conveys blessings of some kind (whatever religious or spiritual heritage feels right to you) either within your home or above your front door so it faces the neighbors and showers them with good vibes.

If your neighbors often play loud music at night, visualize them making lots of new friends and socializing with those friends at a bar or club… so they make noise in a more appropriate place than next door to you. Feel happy for them that they’re having such a good time, and happy for yourself that you now can enjoy some peace and quiet, even before it happens.

Truly aggravating neighbors may prompt you to wish the problem would be solved when they get hit by a bus. If you’re tempted to imagine that kind of fate for anyone, try to rise above it. Imagine instead that these irksome pests encounter great good fortune, such as getting a fabulous job offer in another city so their luck literally moves them out of the building to somewhere far away from you.

This will be much better for both of you than focusing on annoyances and frustrations, which is unlikely to result in a pleasant outcome for anyone.

I’ve had nothing but fabulous neighbors for many years now, and wish the same for all of you.

Stephanie

PS: If it turns out you’re the one who gets that irresistible offer to move, be sure to include “wonderful, quiet, considerate neighbors” on your list of what you’re looking for in your new home.

Ba Gua or Ba Gua MIrror?
March 21st, 2009

I’ve received several questions recently asking about use of the ba gua and/or ba gua mirror, and whether or not it’s “bad luck” to have one in the home.

No wonder people are confused. There are many styles of feng shui (some much more superstitious than others) and a lot of conflicting or even misleading information out there. I’m wondering if this tip, which recently appeared in someone else’s newsletter, may be why I’ve been getting ba gua-related questions lately:

“The Bagua is an all-powerful tool to ward off bad energies and poison arrows from your home, and they are expressly created to be hung at the exterior of one’s home. Do not under any circumstances hang one inside your house as a form or decoration!”

This tip was accompanied by photos of various ba guas and ba gua mirrors as though they are the same thing. But according to the contemporary style of feng shui that I practice, the advice quoted above applies to ba gua MIRRORS only, not to the ba gua itself.

A ba gua mirror is a round mirror in an octagonal frame. The frame is usually yellow or red, with black and/or green accents, marked with the eight I Ching “trigrams” arranged like this:

The ba gua MIRROR is a powerful tool for deflecting negative energy, and yes, it should only be used outside the home.

BTW: I have occasionally seen octagonal mirrors marketed as “ba gua” mirrors, but they’re not. It’s the octagonal frame and trigrams that make it a “ba gua mirror.” An octagonal mirror is just an eight-sided mirror. While the octagon itself is considered an auspicious shape because it references the ba gua, an octagonal mirror has no special qualities in and of itself.

However, the BA GUA is not the same as a ba gua MIRROR. The ba gua is a representation of the univeral energy qualities of a space, and as such is a HIGHLY AUSPICIOUS object that can be used anywhere in the home. It is particularly good to place in the center of the home as a symbol of good chi and good fortune. This includes a feng shui compass, because the compass includes the trigrams on one of the innermost rings.

The trigrams on the ba gua symbol or compass are in a different arrangement than they appear on the mirror. The ba gua map/symbol/compass shows the trigrams in the later heaven sequence (on the left, below), while a ba gua mirror should have the trigrams in the early heaven sequence (on the right, below).


So, to summarize:

Ba gua MIRROR: a protective remedy used only to deflect NEGATIVE chi, and only outside the home.

Ba gua (no mirror): a positive symbol that can be used INSIDE the home to add POSITIVE energy to your space.

As always, that’s my opinion, coming from the contemporary style of feng shui practice. Practitioners from other traditions may disagree.



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