Feng shui is the practice of arranging pieces in living spaces to create balance with the natural world.
To that extent, it can be used as a verb. To feng shui your home is to harness energy forces and establish harmony between the inhabitants of the home and their environment.
Feng shui is sometimes known as Chinese geomancy. In an article published on the website, Feng Shui for Modern Living, Stephen Skinner explains how geomancy came to be associated with the Chinese practice of feng shui. He attributes the association to the Rev. Matthew Tyson Yates, a 19th-century missionary to China. In an attempt to explain this Chinese practice to fellow missionaries, he was unable to find a suitable translation in a Chinese-English dictionary, so he turned to an English dictionary and found "geomancy" in an English dictionary. Figuring that its components were "geo" meaning earth, and "mancy" meaning divination, he thought that was close enough. Other missionaries followed his lead, and the term stuck, although geomancy was a different subject.
"Feng" means wind, and "Shui" means water, and the origins stem from an ancient poem that spoke of human life being connected to and flowing with the environment around it.
The concepts of feng shui reflect the basic rules of nature, as they were understood.
An important aspect of designing a room with feng shui is "chi," which is a reference to the vital life source or energy.
Feng shui originated in China thousands of years ago and was originally used to select burial sites and safe locations for settlements. The approach used the points of a compass to analyze chi, the energy that encapsulates all living things. Each cardinal direction (north, south, east, west) is associated with one of the five elements of fung shui (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). When these elements are balanced, nature is in harmony. For this reason, traditional feng shui incorporates the use of a compass, mathematics, the homeowner's birthdate, and numerology.
The goal of feng shui is to learn to understand and appreciate how visible and invisible forces come together, allowing for the calculation and interpretation of the inherent energy structure of a home or land area so that the best results can be attained. Practitioners believe that the feng shui compass interacts with the Earth's energy, and, when used properly, all other energies are balanced.
Modern practices of feng shui honor the origins and includes aspects of traditional feng shui, while incorporating several other elements, such as electromagnetic pollution, environmental psychology, space clearing, and clutter management. The modern approach focuses more on a sense of space, floor plans, layout, decor, and furniture placement.
While traditional Chinese feng shui is based on the concept that people live in harmony with nature by examining their environment and adjusting to it at various intervals in order to assure that they are in harmony with the effect of chi, or the energy force, the modern practice focuses more on creating a balance between things like color, texture, and lines, in order to achieve a feeling of wellbeing.
To an extent, traditional feng shui is spiritual in nature, while modern feng shui is more closely related to interior and exterior home design. The common goal of both, however, is to create a feeling of well-being
Recommended Resources
The AFSI was established by Master Sang as the American Society of Feng Sui, originally a monthly feng shui meeting that included students and practitioners dedicated to research and hands-on practice. The AFSI teaches all aspects of the Chinese Five Arts: Feng Sui, Yi Jing, Four Pillars, Zi Wei Dou Shu, and Palm and Face Reading. Its online and in-person courses and classes are highlighted, with costs and other details, the instructors are introduced, and an online shopping area is included.
https://www.amfengshui.com/
Published as a full-color, large-format monthly print magazine from April 1998 to October 2000. Later, it was reincarnated as an online magazine, re-publishing the content from earlier editions, which are considered as relevant now as they were then, as well as publishing new articles from industry experts around the world. Articles are sorted into six subject categories: health, interiors, garden, travel, learn, and tools. Past volumes may also be viewed, along with contributors.
https://www.fengshui.net/
Based in the United Kingdom, the FSI is an international resource and research center for the promotion of traditional Chinese Feng Shui and Chinese astrology. Students may attend fully interactive, accredited feng shui classes via Zoom, including 2-way interaction with an expert tutor and shared learning experiences with fellow students, as well as other distance learning classes, which are featured here, along with a directory of feng shui consultants, and information about Chinese astrology.
https://www.feng-shui-institute.org/
International Feng Shui Convention
Launched in 2004, IFSC is an annual 2-day conference featuring respected feng shui masters and experts from allied disciplines, such as Chinese astrology. The event facilitated the sharing and discussion of feng shui knowledge and practices among enthusiasts and practitioners at various levels and from various schools. Programs and speakers scheduled for upcoming events, exhibitions, the venue itself, and travel information are featured, and online registration is available.
https://www.fengshui-convention.com/
Master Joseph Yu's Feng Shui Research Center
Joseph Yu founded the Feng Shui Research Center in 1998 to help people around the world to understand what Chinese astrology and feng shui are. An introduction to Master Yu is provided, along with online elementary/intermediate and advanced level courses, and other correspondence courses through a private discussion mailing list. Online seminars are also offered at Webex, and the Master of Feng Shui designation is also available. E-books and other resources are also available.
http://www.astro-fengshui.com/
Ultimate Academy: Feng Shui UFSC Certification
Ultimate Academy is a professional training program for home staging, decorating and re-design, professional organizing, event and wedding planning, and feng shui. Its feng shui course is designed to prepare students for certification as a Certified Ultimate Feng Shui Specialist, which may be integrated with its other courses. A course breakdown is offered, along with what will be included with the course, and the tuition may be calculated beforehand. Contacts are provided.
https://ultimateacademy.com/feng-shui-courses/
