feng shui Landscape

A rectangular block of land, wider on the northern and southern ends, is considered to have the ideal feng shui. If your block is not rectangular, then it is better to have the back wider than the front.

The home should have a front garden, sitting the house inside the inner third of the land.

The house on triangular shaped land is most inauspicious. Triangular land leads to break up of marriage and family, violence and unhappiness.

Fences along the boundaries to keep your privacy is acceptable. The fences or wall should not be higher than the house.


Finding the Perfect Site

Finding the Perfect Site. The first conceptual principle of feng shui is the importance of location. There are some general feng shui criteria that you can use in finding a good location. Form or Landscape Feng Shui concentrates on the physical surroundings of the site.

The best location is according to the classical feng shui formation of the four celestial animals around the site. The black tortoise is the protective hill at the back; the green dragon is to the left and the white tiger to the right. The red phoenix is the front unobstructed view. Ideally a river or stream flows in front of the site. The overall shape resembles an armchair arrangement.

One of the conceptually perfect site is halfway up a hill facing the sun, with the mountain behind and a body of water in front.

In this modern age, the general rule is to ensure that if there are tall buildings around your chosen site, make sure that it is behind your dwelling, not in front.


The Practice of Feng Shui

The Practice of Feng Shui. Feng Shui Schools”,”Feng Shui Schools”,”Over the centuries different schools of feng shui have developed.

The major ones are the Form and Compass. The Form School relies on intuitive insight, and places emphasis on the shape and contours of the landscape and building. The Compass School concentrates on the magnetic effect of the earth’s gravitational fields – the movement of chi – and the utilisation of the eight trigrams of the I Ching or Book of Changes.

Within the Compass School, one method is the use of a compass to locate the orientation and the pa kua to determine the health, relationships or career corners of their homes. A second method is to calculate the personal lucky and unlucky areas according to their birth dates. These systems help you work out which parts of your home need to be balanced.


feng shui Driveways

Like garden pavements, driveways provide a flow path for chi. If they are narrow towards the front entrance of the house, they concentrate the chi too much; if they get wide, the chi weakens. A wide curving drive with a gentle slope is ideal.

Make sure that the neighbour’s driveway is not in line with your front door as this constitutes a conflict and could result in a loss of a business opportunity. The cure is to hang a convex mirror and a pa-kua on the top of your door.

A driveway with too steep a slope allows the wealth to flow out instead of in. Install a light, posts or pillars where the land drops away.


feng shui Water Features

A stream running through your garden is considered to be very good feng shui because moving water attracts chi. While a stream may be a little difficult and expensive to construct, other variety of water based features can be used.

These include landscaped ponds, artificial waterfalls, fountains, birdbath, etc.
Pools or ponds should have a natural shape – not square or rectangular – and their banks should be sloping. You could add goldfish for prosperity and a tortoise for longevity.

Water features are best placed on the left hand side when inside looking out the front door. Placing a water feature on the right hand side makes the man of the house develop a roving eye.
Swimming Pools

Most swimming pools are located at the back of the house. Feng shui masters are often faced with this dilemma of swimming pools. Any water feature should be towards the left side of the front door and in front of the house.

If the only place for a swimming pool is at the back of the house, the pool should have a natural kidney or oval shape that embraces the house rather than overcome it.


feng shui Trees

A large tree at the back of the home will give your home protection. It is important to choose your trees carefully. Some trees may look suitable when they are young but they may grow to be massive and will block out the sun, consequently making the house too yin.

Dead trees should be cut down, leaving a low flat stump if it cannot be completely removed. Growing bamboo and pine signifies good health and longevity for all the residents. The pine tree in particular, resembles an arrow pointing upwards.

Hedges and Fences. It is good feng shui for the boundaries of the property to be planted with irregular shaped hedges, curved walls and flower beds, rather than high straight fences.
If your property is fenced, the straight lines can be softened by the use of plants and climbing vines.


feng shui Paths and Paved Areas

Most homes have a paved external area with a barbeque, table and seating. If paving is used try to avoid straight lines by using a herringbone pattern or an octagonal shape arrangement for the pavers.

Pavers for the path is preferred to solid concrete, because they allow the earth chi to come through.
A path through the garden should be curved and not straight.

Placing potted plants or stones along one edge of a straight path helps to break up the straightness. Again, if paving is used follow the advise as mentioned above.


Your feng shui Landscape

A Natural Garden, Harmony in your garden is essential whether you have a large or small backyard or a courtyard. An appealing exterior will help attract nourishing chi and will improve your home’s feng shui.
Cultivate your garden to look natural and harmonious when viewed from your windows, or patio doors. A garden with good feng shui will help what is happening inside your home.

Balance the shape and size of plants. Bright, colourful, flowering plants, like yellow chrysanthemum and bougainvillea, will ward off bad luck. Potted cumquat trees near the front door brings good luck. The jade plant near the front door will bring wealth.

Rocks provide a good contrast to soft plants and help balance the yang with the yin. Statues and rockeries should be kept in scale. When there are too many or they are too big they will interfere with the chi flow. Climbers – like wisteria, jasmine or clematis – are excellent for covering sharp edges which generate negative sha chi. A fragrant garden attracts nourishing chi – try plants like jasmine, gardenias, lavender or roses.

The southeast corner of your home is the wealth corner. If you live in an apartment on the higher level and have no garden, window boxes filled with flowers are excellent substitutes. If it is possible to convert a room in the southeast, east or south into an indoor garden, it will enhance your wealth luck.


The Feng Shui Dining Room

The ideal location for the dining room is the centre or near the centre of the home. If the dining room and kitchen are too near the front door it is said that the family will be preoccupied with eating. If attached to the family room, living room or kitchen, make sure your dining room is a separate space by using plants or screens.

Chairs should be comfortable so the family take their time to eat and communicate with each other. Ideally, chairs should have good back rests and arms – the “”armchair”" shape of the four celestial animals.

The chairs should be placed with their backs to the wall rather than to the windows and doors. If some chairs can only be placed with their back to a solid wall, then make sure the man or women of the house sits on the chairs with its back to a wall.

Dining chairs should be even in number because even numbers represent luck. A round table is the best option for a table. The next choice is oval or octagonal. If you have a square or rectangular table make sure you do not sit anyone in a corner! The negative sha chi could cause digestive problems or a quarrel during the dinner.

The lighting should be near the centre of the table. The table should be filled with luscious fruits at all times. A mirror reflecting the dining table symbolises a doubling of the food on the table which is good feng shui.


The Family Feng Shui Room

The heart of the modern day home is the family room. It should be located so that it has easy access to the rest of your house. The best orientation is where the room can capture the sun’s warmth for the better part of the day. If the family room is dark install a skylight to light it up.

If your family room is affected by the strong sun, protect it with awnings, blinds or a pergola. Make sure these installations do not introduce poison arrows.

If possible, have your family room open out onto a garden or courtyard – this will increase the flow of chi and allow the family access to the garden.