Let’s get this fact right: there is no quick-fix to Feng Shui, regardless of whether it is applied for wealth or relationship purposes. The obsession with getting rich fast and falling in love quickly, however, has turned Feng Shui into a means to sell people all kinds of items and trinkets, in the name of helping them acquire more of one and find the other.
That is why this article seeks to clarify what ‘wealth’ truly means in classical Feng Shui, and what is the rationale behind certain common practices that have become associated with ‘wealth enhancement’. By understanding these basic fundamentals and appreciating the philosophy of Feng Shui, one should be able to understand how to respond when they are faced with a ‘Feng Shui’ wealth-enhancing claim, or offered a magic ‘Wealth’ formula.
Think Vibrant Qi, not Wealth
The word ‘Wealth’ has sort of crept into the technical vocabulary of Feng Shui today as most Feng Shui practitioners use it as a short-form to explain the outcome of using certain energies or sectors in a property. Rather than getting all technical, they cut to the chase of explaining the technical descriptions of these meanings and came up with the concept of ‘Wealth Sector’. This is because the study of Classical Feng Shui doesn’t actually speak directly of ‘Wealth’ or ‘Money’. So if you happen upon a Feng Shui magic money-making formula, it is something that should definitely make you question the validity of this so-called formula rather than reach for your wallet.
The descriptive meaning of Wealth or Prosperity comes from the study of the classics like Di Li Bian Zheng (Earth Study Discern Truth) where they spoke of ‘Prosperous Qi’ (or Wang Qi) and teaches the means of identifying where Prosperous Qi resides. This classics teaches the techniques and methods for gathering the Qi, and avoiding or transforming negative Sha Qi.
Another classical text is The Book of Burial (one of the oldest classics on Feng Shui), by Kuo Pu, which explores the central tenets of Feng Shui. Kuo Pu writes that Qi gathers at the boundaries of water and is dispersed by wind. But, it does not say that money will appear if you set up an aquarium. It also does not say that if you put 8 goldfish into the aquarium, you will inherit a thousand to millions of Ringgit. It does not say anything about placing ships of gold where possible or having a dozen paw-waving kitty cats above and around cash registers and building a fountain in your backyard.
Getting the Vibrant Qi
Feng Shui, like many Chinese Metaphysical sciences, is one of those practices in which complexity and simplicity interrelate with each other. In order to appreciate and reap the beneficial aspects of Feng Shui, one should understand the basics of the complex formulas instead of just mixing them together and reciting everything by heart without knowing how, why and what really works for you. That is why formula books are not the answer to successfully applying Feng Shui, because without an understanding of the fundamentals, the formula is just a bunch of numbers.
When it comes to using Feng Shui to enhance Wealth opportunities, we need to understand the type of Qi that can promote Wealth opportunities. In Feng Shui, that means locating the ‘Prosperous Qi’. To the average lay person, this is usually called ‘Yang Qi’. However, Feng Shui practitioners refer to it by its more technical name – ‘Prosperous Qi’ or ‘Wang Qi'(in Chinese) because Qi can be classified into 5 types of Qi, according to its timeliness, therefore, it is important to know exactly what type of Qi and at what stage of timeliness it is at.
Finding the Prosperous Qi
The rumor that ‘Prosperous Qi’ can be somehow ‘created’ is nothing more than just an old wife’s tale as one simply cannot produce a ‘Prosperous Qi’ place by literally lighting up the ‘Yang’ energy of a certain area. Remember that in Feng Shui, everything has to have its own natural placing and that the environment is real and not manmade or artificial. Even, the Qi present has to have the Prosperous quality in the first place, based on the time period. In any case, you cannot simply decide that you want your Front Door to be where the Prosperous Qi is located and try to force the situation. One cannot merely wished it to be where they want it to be nor can they force it to be there as the location is not dictated by convenience, but by the Qi map and based from the calculations. The gist of Feng Shui is all about showing you how to work with what you have, without having to make costly and needless aesthetic changes to your house that make it obvious that you are trying to ‘Feng Shui’ the place.
Calculating the Location of the Prosperous Qi
The location of the Prosperous Qi is determined through two methods: One by calculating the direction of the property using the Eight Mansions or Xuan Kong Flying Stars technique (Calculation based) and the other by evaluating the natural environmental features (Environmental based). Usually, one will use the calculation-based methods for Interior Feng Shui and use the environmental features observation method known as Forms to determine the External Feng Shui.
For example: We want to locate the Prosperous Qi in a house that is facing the South 2 direction. The Prosperous Qi of the house is located where the Facing Star #8 position is, as you can see from the chart below. Each house of course will have its own Prosperous Qi location and the role of the practitioner is to locate this Prosperous Qi area.
Because the location of the Prosperous Qi differs based on the Qi map of the property, it is a foolish for anyone to assume that there is a universal standard ‘Wealth Direction’ for everyone. It all depends on your own house direction. Take a look at your neighbors living on the same row as you and you will notice that only houses facing the same direction are equally rich and wealthy. While the external forms still have to be taken into consideration when determining a ‘Prosperous Qi’, there is also the Destiny context , whereby a person living in a house with a direction that is personalised to his/her Destiny will definitely have an edge over a person’s with a house that is less in-tune with his/her BaZi.
Once the location of the Prosperous Qi has been pinpointed, the Qi must be activated. Usually one would assign an activity room (such as the television room or living room) in this sector as one way of stimulating the Prosperous Qi in a location. Placing a Main Door in the Prosperous Qi location is also a form of activating the Prosperous Qi in a suitable area. Sometimes, for the purposes of activating the Qi, Feng Shui consultants recommend clients place Water feature in certain locations purely to activate the Qi. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Water feature itself or fish in the aquarium, but the Yang quality of the Water instead.
When you have the right type of Qi available, you need to collect that Qi. There’s no point in having the Wealth Stars in the right location on the Flying Star chart or locating the sector of Prosperous Qi, if the Qi cannot be collected. This is where the landform of the environment and the internal forms of the property, make all the difference. One should also know that an extremely important aspect of Qi collection is having a good Bright Hall or Ming Tang as it is known in Classical Feng Shui.
Do not mistake a Bright Hall for just a hallway with a lot of lights. If this is what a Bright Hall is, all the shops selling lights would be prosperous by now. In actuality, a Bright Hall is a broad spacious and open area that enables Qi to settle and collect. Ideally, it should be located in front of the main entrance of your property and not obstructed in any way, shape or form. Ideally, a property should have three Bright Halls, in tandem with the principle of Three Divide and Three Harmony (the San Fen and San He formation).
Having it, making it and keeping it
Earning more money and having more wealth opportunities is not just a case of fixing your Feng Shui. It also depends on your personal Destiny Code because Feng Shui cannot fix or give you what you do not have (in your Destiny) in the first place. So, you may need to re-align your goals, adjust your perspective, change your attitude, and see how Feng Shui can help you, within the path that Destiny has been laid out for you. Sometimes that means having realistic expectations and preparing yourself to face hardships and be willing to take on certain challenges.
That being said, there is never a quick-rich scheme that can help you amass great wealth. The presence of a Prosperity Qi only means that you have the capacity to make money, and keep it long enough to enjoy it. And even when one has the capacity and destiny for great wealth, it does not mean that they will actually become rich, or fulfil their destiny ultimately.
In the end, it all boils to an individual’s Destiny chart as it may show a tremendous capacity for a person to attain wealth or the opportunity for wealth, but if you are unwilling to achieve your destiny, then it will only just be numbers and calculations on a piece of paper. BaZi tells you that you can be rich, but it does not always also say that it will come easy.
Destiny is but one part of the equation. Being willing to take the chance, make the sacrifice and face the challenges – that is the other component. Some people have a Destiny that demands hardship, great personal sacrifice, even going through bankruptcy, divorce, bad relationships and bitter family ties, before they can emerge to see the pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow. That is their Destiny and it is one that they must follow in order to live their lives as prosperously as they hoped for in the end.
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