Cecil Lee

Dear Carrie, So far, I have found that there are at least 4 ways of interepreting the four symbolic animals concept. The two most common ones are: 1. What you referred to the north/south where the mountain is at the north/back is based on the "China" concept. This is where in China, the cold winds blows from the North and most of the houses do not have windows or doors at the north/back of the house. This is also where the dust from the north blows. Here, in senario 1, the is the reason why north is = back of the house. While South is e.g. the facing direction of the house. 2. In general, if you can forget about Para 1, then:- - Facing direction should be clear space or bird. - Back of the house should have a solid backing or protection. Here, it is incorrect to say that North = back. 3. Under the Four Symbolic Animals concept, you need to take note that the back needs a solid backing. That is, proper fencing or shrubs or even a brick wall behind the house to provide solid `protection.' 4. For the front of the house, it is always good to have `clear space'. It is acceptable to plant some trees but not so that it becomes too large and `darkens' the frontage of the house. 5. I have also mentioned in a few previous messages that besides the above meaning, the Compass School of Feng Shui also relates to the four symbolic animals but taking into account the compass directions. 6. It is always good for you to ask the question so that you have a better understanding of the rationale of how north/back came about. How, it does not apply to every situation or house. Hope the above helps.

Dear Richard, 1. Bearing any `supersitious' belief, it is generally acceptable to place the gift on a display shelf. 2. Where possible, on an open display shelf rather than enclosed one e.g. glass cabinet. 3. Para 2 should do. However, if it has more than four ie. five claws, try to let it be placed in the living room or `open' space within the living room preferably facing out of a window, or sliding glass area. 4. Avoid placing it in the bedroom (as it is considered too yang) and is bedroom is usually should be more yin (place of rest). 5. Avoid placing it on the same wall as the toilet. 6. Avoid placing it facing the kitchen door. 7. Avoid placing it facing the toilet door. The above are general considerations. Hope the above helps. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Carina, 1. Currently, there is no `rule' to say that a mirror can only be placed in the dinning, living and toilets. But rather, we should understand the reasoning behind what was mentioned. 2. The reason for placing in a toilet is because most master bedrooms have an attached bathroom. Because of this, it is `advisable' to place the mirror above the wash basin rather than in the bedroom area. This is because some of us are more `sensitive' to mirrors facing the bed. It is still acceptable to place the mirror on the dressing table if it does not face the bed. 3. Some of us are not sensitive to mirrors even if they face the bed. So, here it does not apply to everyone. 4. For a mirror placed in the dinning room, the Chinese dialect group i.e. Cantonese some of them believe that a mirror facing the dinning room will bounce back more `food' or plentiful food in the dinning room. 5. For mirrors in the living room, majority do it more for interior decorations e.g. make the living room look `bigger' and brighter. 6. The main consideration under Feng Shui is that should the sector or wall has an inaupicious Flying Star e.g. the sickness star, one concept that, it will bounce back twice the `bad luck'. It is under Para 6 that Feng Shui practitioners are concerned about. 7. Where best, the mirror should face an opposite wall rather than a door or entrance. I am not sure one would feel `comfortable' seeing one's profile each time one leaves the kitchen. This has nothing to do with Feng Shui (just my personal comments). Consideration under Feng Shui: It is best not to reflect sharp objects e.g. knives fork if it is visible view of the `opposite' mirror. I believe this is not the case as mentioned in your message. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, 1. As all of us is aware, there are lots of practititioners and their skill level and methods used. 2. As you have not mentioned whether the practititioners used the following theories: a. Shapes and Form School To access both the interior and exterior of the home. b. Flying Star Chart This is to analyse the birth chart of the house and check for imbalances and Qi enhancements (e.g. activating mountain or water stars). c. Relate the above to the Eight House (Suitablity of the house and the influence of bedroom) d. Pillars of Destiny To obtain the true element and strength and to check the season of influence. 3. Not all FS audits under Para a, b, c and d are done the same and it depends on the quality of the practitioner. 4. Some practitioners do only Para c. Eight House and add a touch of religious aspect. Some only perform Para b, Flying Star and does not relate it to other methods. Furthermore, not all Pillars of Destiny analysis are created equal. Many simply do a simplistic chart of taking into account only the Year, Month of birth. While others take into account the Year, Month, Day and Time but use the method of convenience e.g. the Xia Li (or Hsia) method which is not accurate should there be an intercalary month or a second month in the year of birth and it also happens to fall on one's birthday. Lots more like additional Pillars of Life and Conception are not taken into account. One practitioner's view or analysis of Shapes and Form may not be the same. As mentioned by you some FS schools have a `habit' of burying `lucky' treasures all over the house. (In my opinion, I am not sure this practise will work. It will cost money thou.) Many of my viewpoints are stated in various messages on this forum: a. I believe ut is more effective in using all the various theories that work for most people, use them as a cross-reference or for a `bigger' picture i.e. Shapes & Form, Flying Star, Eight House & Pillars of Destiny etc... b. Discard theories that do not work for most people or too general e.g. Eigh Associations Eight/Life aspirations, burying of objects (avoid fixed templates)... c. Minimal use of the Ba Gua mirror. I believe the above points are echoed many times in this forum. 5. Usually, if there is no improvement, one good starting point is to : - Check the surroundings of the house using the Shapes and Form - Use the Flying Star to check for imbalances e.g. sickness and misfortune cure and other imbalances and try to cure them first. Usually, this is the major area of consideration especially if one is constantly sick. Many people think that enhancements are more important but the fact is that imbalances need to be cured first. Rather than put the cart before the horse by doing enhancements. Get the house in order. - Check the degree of suitability of you to your house e.g if the front door is one of your inauspcious sectors, especially death or disaster area, no matter how `lucky' the house is your life is going to be `average' in such a house. So one must not `kid' ourselves that one can get instant wealth by doing everything correct under Shapes and Form and Flying Star theory. Finally not all FS practitioners are created equal. Be wary of those who call themselves `Master'. I believe this title is earned ie. by people recognising them as such rather than placing a title to their name such as "King" of Feng Shui etc... Do check out their background. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Gabrielle, You can check out the Paid report at http://www.geomancy-online.com which will analyse personalised auspicious dates. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Gerret, 1. Generally, Feng Shui is not about taking with you things. Feng Shui is seen as enhancing Qi or neutralising Sha Qi (poison arrows). 2. However, based on the Five Element Concept, one can enhance (personal self) under the following consideration: If you know your true element and strength e.g. weak wood. (Under the productive cycle: http://www.geomancy.net/fs/5element.htm ) Water enhances wood. In such a situation, you can do with more `water' element e.g. blue clothing/blue jeans. Para 2 is one way of `bringing' along items. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, The simplest way is to get yourself an ordinary compass. Stand in the middle of the house and you can locate the true compass direction of North, South etc... Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Kevin, The `key' ingredients for a new plot of land is: By Ranking (1). Shapes and Form School. (2). The Flying Star of house. (3). Your personal Eight House. 1. Ideally as you have mentioned the frontage of the house should logically be facing the front. 2. The main door can be either at the frontage or at the side of the house. Usually, you may need the services of a competent Feng Shui practititoner to advise you on which sector is the best door location based on you personal Ba Zhi. Here, several Flying Star Charts can be drawn to find out which is most auspicious sector for the main door and like a puzzle, once this is made known, the other sectors of the house can be determined. Here, the Flying Star Chart is used to identify how many good sectors or if there is any imbalance in the sector. `Reverse engineering' is used here to see where one can locate especially the living room and bedrooms etc... It is also looked at together with your Eight House to check for sectors such as the death or disaster intangible forces are located and what intangible force is located at your bedroom. 3. Robert had devised the Finding a Good House module at www.geomancy-online.com for our personal use and we used it successfully to find the best main door in relation to a breadwinner both for ourselves and many of our clients. If you want to use a simplistic concept other than under Para 3, you can use the Eight House template and see where your bedroom is located and the main door is located in the architect's plan. 4. For the beautiful back view, you can have something like a `balcony' to see the lovely view. Do remember the following important points: 1. Do not site the toilet near the main door or at the centre of the house. Where possible, the toilet is next to one external wall. 2. Do not let a direct flow of Qi from the main door exiting towards the back. 3. Where possible, make the house a complete one ie. rectangle shape and avoid missing corners or protusions. 4. Where possible all rooms are also rectangular in shape. 5. Stair cases leading up to the 2nd storey should not be directly in line of sight of the main door. Where best, there is a turn. 6. Where possible, the main door should not have more than two panels. Most important, do take care of the Shapes and Form of Feng Shui. Once this is done, 60 percent of the `battle' is won. 7. For the back of the house, since I understand that there is a slope behind the house, proper fencing is acceptable here. 8. Sometimes it may not be practical if you are doing FS audit on your home so, you may `skip', all details on the Flying Star as usually, if done correctly later, all imbalances if any can be neutralised. I personally used it to check if it is possible to have a `Double 7' at the main door which is the most auspicious for the current period between 1984 to 2003. However, not all Double 7's are equal due to the base (flying star). But it is considered the best for the main door. You do not need to do this but it is one consideration if you are using the Flying Star. Wishing you all the best on your new home! Warmest Regards, Cecil

Pictures of the eight lucky treasures used by some Feng Shui Schools. Where a picture of the eight lucky treasures are either buried on the main entrance door steps or displayed in the home or business.

Various auspicious decorative panel motifs.

1. More auspicious Chinese fruit and flower patterns. 2. The gourd is considered a minature representation of heaven and earth. Its shape unites both heaven and earth. 3. The gourd is also a symbol of one of the Eight Immortals.

More auspicious patterns

A series of auspicious flower designs.

The Pomegranate fruit is a summer fruit. It is full of seeds. Because of this, it symbloises fertility. Together with the peach and thelemon, these fruits symbolise abundance.

Cicada is considered auspicious because it symbolises happiness and eternal youth. A Cicada emerges from the ground after it pupates for four years. Sometimes it is seen emerging from the burial grounds. Here, the Chinese see it as immortality. This is the reason why some Chinese place a Jade cicada in the mouth of the dead before the burial. The cicada is often seen in Chinese paintings.

Dear Anon, Cicada is considered auspicious because it symbolises happiness and eternal youth. A Cicada emerges from the ground after it pupates for four years. Sometimes it is seen emerging from the burial grounds. Here, the Chinese see it as immortality. This is the reason why some Chinese place a Jade cicada in the mouth of the dead before the burial. The cicada is often seen in Chinese paintings. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, 1. As the saying goes Many roads lead to Rome. 2. Similarly there are different methods of taking compass directions. If followed closely will come to the same results. For those who know how to use the Luo Pan to take readings, then that is fine i.e. learned from a proper source. 3. I always believe that one must follow a method `totally'. It is best to avoid `reading' between the lines i.e. hear of one method, read it half-way and continue with another method. 4. The method proposed in this site is listed under: http://www.geomancy.net/fs/cecilcompass.htm The above method is soley based on using an ordinary compass. Let's not mix an apple and an orange and come to the `wrong' conclusion that just because one uses the Luo Pan to take readings from the main door (facing and sitting direction), this does not automatically apply to the method used with the ordinary compass and assume that the method used must be the same. 5. In my opinion, the compass on the Luo pan is small and difficult to get a correct reading as accurately as using an ordinary compass. The way it is held and not at eye level especially with more `acurate' compasses with line of sight makes the Luo pan reading (in my opinion less reliable). 6. I aways mentioned that one must read the `instructions' fully and not mix instructions. If one follows `both' instructions properly one should come to the same results. 7. Furthermore, many users come from all over the world and we do not expect each one to invest in a Luo pan. While an ordinary compass is reasonably cheap and considered a universal tool. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, Can I clarify with you. 1. Do you mean that there is a straight flight of steps from ground level leading up to the main entrance door of the home. 2. If so, is there a staircase landing? or is there a turn at the staircase? 3. Is the staircase narrow and dark? Hope you can help to clarify the above first. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Ling Ling, Currently the two most common methods at looking at the number of fishes to `rear' are: Method 1: The most common method is based on general good numbers of fish i.e. fishes should be numbering e.g. 5, 6, 8. (9 is still acceptable). Method 2: The other method is based on your kua number ie. if your kua is Li or South, you should rear 9 fishes. If your Kua number is Kan (North), you should rear 1 fish, if your Kua number is Chen or East, then you should rear 3 fishes. Ideally, this is based on the breadwinner's Kua number Conclusion ========== Frankly, the easiest method is to follow ` Method 1' especially if you have a large family and especially, the fish tank belongs to your family member e.g. your child etc.. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, While Fu Lu Shou figurines are not traditionally part of Feng Shui practices, they are often recommended due to their widespread popularity. 1. Frequently, it is positioned on one side of the display cabinet, overlooking the living room. 2. Avoid placing it facing a toilet. 3. Ensure it is not on the same wall as the toilet. 4. Keep it out of the bedroom. 5. Do not place it in the kitchen. 6. The rationale behind this is that since these are deities, 'respect' should be shown to 'each' of them. 7. It can be situated in the living room, for example, overlooking a window or the sofa/seat. 8. If there is an altar, it should be placed separately, such as a short distance away from the altar or on raised platforms to segregate both. Warmest Regards, Cecil

For quick and easy reference of past pictures uploaded to this conference, please go to this url: My Pictures http://www.geomancy.net/slideshow/index.htm Will new archives be included in My Pictures Yes, new Pictures will be updated to this resource for your easy reference without needing to login to the forum and click each picture one at a time.

Dear Users, What is My Pictures? My Pictures is a series of pictures/photos on Feng Shui, Chinese Culture & Chinese Symbols. View pictures continously and easily This url serves as an easy reference of pictures and photos posted to the popular geomancy-forum.com: - http://www.geomancy.net/slideshow/index.htm Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Alison, You will be surprised to learn that many `good' houses have doors on the side of the house. For the following reasons:- 1. The greatest advantage of this is that their is simply no way of having a neigbhour's poison arrow or any poison arrow on the frontage of the house. In my opinion, it is thus advantages to have the main door at the side based on the above reasoning. 2. I am not there to see how narrow the side where the front door is. Ideally, it should be the space where a car can drive `thru'; parked and you can enter the main entrance door. This is the best (ideal senario) for a house with a side door. 3. On the question of Dragon and Tiger, to elaborate; there are a few different interpretations (which I have covered) in a few messages. But here are the important points:- a. Under Shapes and Form School Here, the simplistic view is that when you stand at the frontage of the house facing out (or if your main door is at the frontage), the Dragon is on your left while the tiger is on your right. b. Under the Compass School of Feng Shui We should then use the term `Green' = East and `White' = West. Under the compass school, the GREEN Dragon is always at the East while the WHITE Tiger is always at the West. Please see below:- Good point:) Yes, this is correct if we consider the dragon and tiger under the Shapes and Form School of Feng Shui. But it is a completely different answer if we consider this under the Compass School of Feng Shui where the term `Green' Dragon is considered at the East and White Tiger is at the West compass point. Therefore, there is no `right' or wrong answers. It depends on the correct interpretation of the question. Nowadays, there are few `true' dragons or tigers to evaluate a landscape. In the past, it is easier to locate a hill and see whether the higher dragon is embraces the lower tiger in a gentle embrance. Are you referring to roads etc... to find the false dragon and tiger? Nowadays, it is difficult for someone to find a `false' dragon or tiger and the services of a Feng Shui expert is sought for this. Ideally, this is good if one is buying or investing in a plot of land or buying land to build a house. But if one's investment is small or staying in an apartment, it is not cost effective to hire a Feng Shui expert unless he/she happens to be good at Shapes and Form. One more point is that, it is hard to measure Qi. Therefore, even if your main door faces a narrow passage, it may still be a better choice (as it is shielded from poison arrows - most of the time). One also do not have to `worry' for the future, if it happens that a neighbour or a new lamp post etc.. turns up and becomes a poison arrow aimed towards the main entrance. You can still use the traditional method of assessing your home and Qi can still effectively come into the home from the windows (not necessary the main door). Here the `trick' is to let Qi which enters from different locations of the home to meander rather than come-in and out of the house. (Have you wondered, why some of us close the main door most of the time. If they do so, usually, they do open some of the windows. Here Qi can still flow in the house.) Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Travis, 1. Thanks for your clarifications. 2. Basically, with proper use of the Five element concepts, although a chart may show unfavourable elements, the good thing about the Five element concept is that it allows us to have a balance or to try and seek a balance. 3. Not too much of one element or the other. 4. The purpose of Pillars, Luck Pillar or season of strength used is to allow us to understand what we are or will be facing. 5. For example since you are a weak earth person, you can take advantage of fire element eg. for the individual, red or pink. 6. Although it would account for your difficulties, you can now take better control of your life by using elements to enhance yourself. Elements like Fire element to aid your earth and using earth element also. Think positive also. Warmest Regards, Cecil ~> ~>1. ~>Reference:

Attached please find some auspicious flower patterns. P.S. For the conference: Photo Tours of Interest (with Pictures), all pictures has to be viewed in the www.geomancy-forum.com conference. Alternative URL to view the pictures is: http://www.geomancy.net/slideshow/flowers.htm