Feng Shui Form

By Donna Stellhorn

What if you could attract greater abundance and and more love into your life? What if you could find easy ways to support good health and wellness—both for yourself and for your loved ones? What if you could improve your ability to concentrate, to create and complete projects that are important to you?

This book presents Form School Feng Shui, one of the oldest systems of Feng Shui still practiced in China today. Author and Design Expert Donna Stellhorn translates the ancient wisdom of Form Feng Shui into doable concepts for today's Western lifestyles, homes, community structures, and everyday environments.

When we enjoy harmony in some physical place in our lives, we can give our full attention to the people who are important to us. We are free to focus on our work and the things we value on an individual, internal level. Form Feng Shui is very effective at creating the type of environment that can help you thrive and prosper.

Read this book, and feel as if you are having your own personal Feng Shui consultation!

• Language: English
• Publisher: ETC Publishing
• Release date: May 4, 2013
• ISBN: 9781930038745

Donna Stellhorn

Donna Stellhorn is a Professional Astrologer, Coach and expert at Feng Shui and Room Reading. For more than 20 years she has been helping people break through barriers and improve their lives. A prolific author, Donna's first Feng Shui book was published in Europe in 1996. Since then she has written five books, including Feng Shui Form and the best-selling booklet Sage and Smudge: Clearing Your Personal Space. Donna has written numerous articles on topics related to her expertise, as well as providing a monthly column on Feng Shui for eight years for the newspaper "The Light"A Red Ribbon Professional and former director of the International Feng Shui Guild's Boston Chapter, Donna has been seen on NECN's New England Dream House, and has presented lectures at the prestigious Build Boston Architectural Conference for three years in a row. An accomplished teacher, lecturer, and Life Coach/Consultant, she is a member of NCGR, ASA and the Professional Astrologers Group. She has logged more than 10,000 hours of consultations with clients. Donna currently lives in Chandler, Arizona, and is available for personal and business consultations worldwide.

Book preview

Feng Shui Form

Donna Stellhorn

Published by ETC Publishing

Smashwords Edition

Copyright (c) 2012 ETC Publishing

ETC Publishing

www.etcpublishing.com

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-930038-74-5

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my dear friends, Diane and Gary, Kelly, and my husband, Dannie.

Other Books by Donna Stellhorn

Fühl Dich wohl mit Feng Shui. Published under the name of Donna Tokunaga. Münsingen–Bern: Fischer Media Verlag, 1996.

Sage & Smudge: Secrets to Clearing Your Personal Space. Reno, NV: ETC Publishing, 1999.

Acknowledgements

They say no one writes a book alone. Well, they are not kidding. I must thank my two editors – Diane Ronngren for the hours she spent helping me turn my thoughts into sentences, and Suzanne Hibbs for painstakingly checking every word, every comma, every em-dash. Without the two of you there would be no book.

I want to thank Gary Dunham for his endless help putting the book together, Quenton Cowens for his wonderful illustrations, Lisa Kawski for use of the some of the interior shots on the back cover, and Lijie Zhao for her help with the Hanyu Pin Yin.

Contents

Introduction

Part 1

Chapter 1

Feng Shui Basics

What is Feng Shui?

What is Qi?

Different Schools of Feng Shui

Form School Feng Shui

Lo-Pan Compass

Compass School Feng Shui

Elemental School Feng Shui

The Five Elements

Flying Star Feng Shui

Black Hat School Feng Shui

Black Hat Compass

What is a Cure?

Chapter 2

Welcome to the Neighborhood!

My Neighborhood

External Poison Arrows

Chapter 3

Home and Garden

Path to the Door

The Yard

The Front Yard

The Front Porch and Door

Chapter 4

Feng Shui and Your Home’s Public Spaces

Entryways

Entryways

Alternative Entryways

Living Rooms

Living Rooms

Chapter 5

Feng Shui and Your Home’s Private Spaces

Kitchens

Kitchens

Dining Rooms

Dining Room Tables

Family Rooms

Chapter 6

Feng Shui and Your Home’s Intimate Spaces

The Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom Bed Placement

Master Bedroom: More Bed Placement

Feng Shui to Improve Your Personal Life

Miscellaneous Tips

Bedroom / Home Office

Bedroom / Exercise Room

Children’s Bedroom(s)

Children’s Room: Bed Placement

Clutter in Children’s Rooms

Guest Bedrooms

Bathrooms

Chapter 7

Feng Shui in Other Rooms and Other Spaces

Home Office

Home Office

Desk/Workspace

Specialty Rooms

Craft Rooms

Game Rooms

Exercise Rooms

Media Rooms

Meditation Rooms

Studios

Sunrooms

Workshop

Storage Areas

Attics

Basements

Closets

Garages

Junk Room

Pantries

Transitional Areas

Moving Energy Through Hallways

Hallways

Bad Bites in Hallways

Staircases

Doors and Windows

Clearing a Space

Part 2

Chapter 8

The Nine Categories of Cures

Chapter 9

Light Cures

Prismatic Crystals

Prismatic Crystals

Candles

Mirrors

Mirror Shapes

Basic Rules for Mirrors

Ba–gua Mirrors

Mirrors

Concave/Convex Mirrors

Uses of Mirrors

Uses of Mirrors

More Uses of Mirrors

Chapter 10

Sound Cures

Bells

Bells and Bell Strings

Flutes

Wind Chimes

Chapter 11

Living Cures

Animal Symbols

Animal Cures

Indoor Plants

Outdoor Plants

Plant Cures

Trees

Chapter 12

Moving Cures

Water

Fans

The Fish Tank

Fountains

Flags

Chapter 13

Heavy Cures

Crystals

Other Materials

Clearing Crystals

Chapter 14

Scent Cures

Oils and Incense

Diffusing Oils

Chapter 15

Color Cures

Chapter 16

Symbol Cures

Buddhas and Immortals

Symbol Cures

Coins

Other Cures

In conclusion

Bibliography

Other References

About the Author

Introduction

Over the many years I have practiced Feng Shui I have met countless people who have asked me, Does Feng Shui really work? Yes, it does; remarkably so! From a historical perspective it has worked for millions of people for thousands of years.

How do I know it works? Well, something that doesn’t work won’t last very long. Feng Shui has been around for more than 4,000 years and been a tool for improving the lives of the people who have accessed its power during all of that time. It has worked for me personally and for the hundreds of friends, and the thousands of clients and students I have helped over the past sixteen years. My goal in writing this book is to help you learn to use the power of Feng Shui to make a real difference in your own life.

The reason Feng Shui works is because we all have a basic need to experience harmony in our environment, and we all make every effort to cause that to happen. No matter what occurs out in the world, we need a soft nest to come home to. We all need our personal space—surroundings that feel comfortable and welcoming when we get home after a long day spent in the stressful and challenging world; a special retreat from the environments of our cities, our commutes, our workplaces and the people and situations we encounter in the outside world every day.

When we enjoy harmony in some physical place in our lives, we can give our full energy and attention to the people who are important to us, to our work and the things that are valuable to us on an individual, internal level. We need to feel that we have a sanctuary at home in order to live our best lives.

How much more effective do you feel at work when you enjoy a night of restful sleep? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to sleep well every single night? How good would it feel to rise rested in the morning, with plenty of time and energy to exercise, complete your morning preparations and get ready for your day at a gentle, easy pace?

How much more confident would you both feel and appear to others if you knew you had a welcoming home environment—one that was comfortable and beautiful and one to which you knew you could invite people at a moment’s notice? How good would it feel to never again need to dash around in a panic clearing clutter and cleaning frantically when you learned that someone was coming to visit?

How much closer might you feel in your relationship with your significant other if you shared a harmonious environment to prepare meals together, if you could relax after a busy day and enjoy one another’s company as you stand in the kitchen watching the meal simmer on the stove, laughing and joking with the person you love?

How much more support and encouragement could you offer your children if you had space where the family could gather to share a meal or interact with one another, a calm and peaceful place (and a special time of the day) where family members had a chance to talk about their days, to share stories or make plans for tomorrow?

How much healthier would you feel if you had somewhere in your home that accommodated your needs to release the tension and stress of the day, somewhere you could stretch your muscles and limbs, a place to work out, to dance or just meditate and enjoy some quiet time? How much more peaceful would you feel if you had a place of your own to sit, to just relax and absorb a sense of peaceful quiet, perhaps with a good book on your lap, a pet sleeping nearby and some music playing softly in the background?

Feng Shui is very effective at creating the type of environment that can help you thrive and prosper. It provides guidelines and suggestions for creating just the type of safe and comfortable space you can call home. My guess is that your current dwelling is somewhere along the road to becoming your home. It will take a little effort over a short period of time to create that real feeling of the perfect home for you and those you love, but the rewards are huge. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.

My wish is that you will enjoy your own Feng Shui process as much as I do mine, and every bit as much as my clients and students enjoy theirs.

Donna Stellhorn

Part 1

Chapter 1

Feng Shui Basics

What is Feng Shui?

Do you consider yourself a lucky person? In the ancient cultures of the East and West, and even to those of us living in most parts of the world today, the concept of good luck is a somewhat nebulous one; it can mean many things. It may mean that you are successful with your financial investments or that you win when you take a gamble. In a broad sense, it probably means that you are a winner.

To most of us it means having good fortune, dear friends, a loving spouse, successful children, an abundant source of income, a pleasant home in a nice neighborhood, good health and pleasant relationships with other members of our extended family, within our communities and with our co–workers—anything and everything that supports a good and happy life.

We all know people who simply seem to have been born lucky. Some are born into rich families, some are born beautiful, some are born with physical grace, talent or an aptitude for sports; some are born with a powerful intellect, the ability to reason and arrive at brilliant conclusions—to conceptualize, visualize, create. These are the lucky ones and things come to them easily because of their luck.

In the ancient cultures of the East, great thinkers observed that some people seemed to enjoy more good luck than others and posed the questions, Why leave luck to chance? and How can we improve our luck? They realized there was a kind of connection between all living things, and therefore studied the natural environment all around looking for answers to their questions.

They observed that if a seed had the luck to fall on fertile soil, in a sunny area, nurtured by fresh water and protected from high winds, it would prosper. It seemed reasonable for them to extrapolate that if their ancestors were planted in the right environment, good luck would accrue to the living family members. Their next thought was, Why not ‘plant’ our own homes in the best possible surroundings, in the luckiest of places and thus bring good luck into our own lives?

The Eastern art of Feng Shui is all about finding or creating the best possible physical environment as a basis for changing and improving your luck.

For the past several thousand years the Chinese have been studying how to harmonize with the environment for the greater benefit of all. They began by determining the best sites to bury their deceased ancestors. For thousands of years the Chinese believed that their ancestors watched over them from the great beyond. When the ancestors approved of what their offspring were doing, they sent blessings of prosperity to the family and opportunities for great benefit in all areas of life. If the ancestors did not approve of their descendants’ actions, or worse, if they were forgotten by the younger generations, the Chinese believed that the whole family was doomed to suffer all manner of ill fortune—everything from bad luck, poor health, loss of position and status in the community, to social, familial and financial disaster.

It has been some years since the modern Chinese people followed all of these beliefs to such an extent, but obviously a culture based on a set of beliefs changes very, very slowly. So, many of the behaviors that became custom as a result of this way of thinking remain in the present–day culture.

As a result of this traditional way of thinking, a broad–based belief structure developed concerning the importance of choosing the best burial sites for loved ones. A whole profession grew up around the need to identify the right place to bury a loved one. At about the same time that traditional spiritual leaders began to focus on this issue, other thinkers in the region were beginning to explore and gain insight into nature and the cycles of all living things. All of this started taking place in China 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, many, many years before we in the West were even close to considering this type of question.

These ancient Chinese thinkers were the forerunners of our modern–day scientists. They observed that when seeds were planted in a place where they received abundant sunshine, fresh water and shelter from high winds, plants prospered and grew strong. Over generations, this understanding of the processes of nature was incorporated into what other thinkers and leaders were learning about identifying ideal burial sites; with ideal burial sites came prosperity to the families.

As a result, communities came together to build temples in the more settled areas of the country. The temples prospered. Then, using these same basic rules based on their years of observations—concerning the way things work—communities built palaces for their rulers. Eventually homes and businesses were built based on these principles and everyone benefited. For the past 4,000 years the Chinese have been perfecting a system of rules concerning the placement of all things in order to ensure the best possible lucky outcome.

The Chinese call this entire system of thought Feng Shui. Literally translated, Feng Shui is a compilation of the concepts inherent in the Chinese characters or symbols for wind and water. Feng Shui is a reference to heaven (where wind lives) and to the earth (where water lives). Mankind lives between heaven and earth; between wind and water. The two elements, wind and water, are the only two of the five Chinese elements that move; they flow and surge. The Chinese learned early on that it is easier to change the direction of something that is already in motion, than it is to try to move something that is standing still.

Pronunciation guide: Feng Shui is actually pronounced foong shway. The commonly used English spelling is from the Hanyu Pinyin romanized system of the People’s Republic of China. This system replaced previous systems after the Chinese Communist Party came into power in 1949. Pinyin (as it is often called) does not offer a conventional English pronunciation for the Chinese vocabulary, but it does provide a consistent spelling system. With practice we Westerners can learn how to pronounce the spellings we see.

Another word that is often used in the context of Feng Shui books is Qi. You may see this word spelled: ch’i, chi, ji or, the way it is in this book, Qi. In every instance it is pronounced chee.

What is Qi?

The concept of Qi is at the heart of Feng Shui. Qi is the life force, energy field or simply the energy that exists in all things. It is in the earth, the mountains and the rivers. It is in cities, towns and villages. It circulates in our homes and businesses as well as in our bodies. Qi is in everything and everybody.

Qi energy, the balance between Yin (feminine, yielding energy) and Yang (masculine, penetrating force) energies, winds its way like a river through life. Sometimes this energy moves quickly and is strong. Strong Qi creates mountains, forests and prosperous cities. Sometimes the Qi is weak, diluted and wandering. This gentler form of Qi creates valleys and deserts and can diminish the energy of business and prosperity.

The purpose of using Feng Shui techniques is to learn how to locate existing Qi, to find ways of attracting it to where we want it to be, to wait observantly as we allow it to pool or build strength, and only then to reap the benefits of the collection of good Qi (sheng Qi). In Feng Shui we are also aware of bad Qi (sha Qi) and how it can affect our health, relationships and wealth. By finding the Qi, determining its quality and adding to the quantity of good Qi, we can effect great change in our lives.

Feng Shui combines the forces of Yin and Yang. There are a variety of techniques we can practice to bring these two opposing energies into balance in order to create a positive flow of Qi. Ideally, the combined Yin and Yang energy force flows through everything. Qi, which contains elements of both the Yin and Yang energies, flows like a river, like a stream of life and power through all things.

If you are a computer whiz, you might think of Qi as if it were a network connection—specifically a wireless network. Hitting a dead spot means no signal; hitting a dead spot in a home can mean no Qi. If you work in a factory you expect the conveyer belt to move the items being assembled from one part of the process to another. If the conveyer belt stops everything stands still. This is an example of Qi in motion in the factory.

If you work in an office, think of Qi as you think of the paper flow moving through the business. Orders come in, copies are sent to shipping, accounting and customer service, etc. This paper flow represents the concept of the flow of Qi. When everything (including Qi) moves smoothly, the business prospers, and the benefits flow to all of the employees. When there are problems—when Qi energy is blocked—everything comes to a standstill.

Every action, anything you do in life, is dependent on a flow of Qi. When Qi stops flowing, everything that makes life worth living comes to a stop! However, we all need to be aware of the fact that even with Qi, there is a natural ebb and flow to the process of living life. There are times when things move forward, times when things slow down; there are turns and changes in direction, much like the waves of the ocean roll in and out along a sandy beach or the way a river flows more strongly as a result of a spring thaw than it might in the middle of summer. This imagery can be applied to Qi itself as we think about the flow of energy and of a life in process.

Different Schools of Feng Shui

It is likely that if you are holding this book, you have previously read a few Feng Shui books and are already starting to get confused. Well, I have good news, it’s not you—it’s the books. There is more than one system of Feng Shui. There are in fact two basic systems of Feng Shui used in China and as many as eight taught here in the United States. Although each system is valid, they are difficult to combine.

To use an analogy, in the martial arts there is the fast–moving, high–kicking art of kung fu and the slow, graceful dance of Tai Chi. Both are great systems of exercise and self defense—but if you try to combine the different techniques in one move, you are going to pull a muscle.

It is the same with Feng Shui. For instance, should you try to combine the traditional compass system with the ba–gua compass you will end up not knowing if you are looking north or left, or at your career. If you find information in another book that conflicts with what you learn in this book, chances are good that the other book is based on a different system of Feng Shui. Do not despair, try anything you like—just be careful not to pull a muscle.

There are several excellent systems of Feng Shui (called schools) relied upon by modern–day Feng Shui practitioners, masters, experts, teachers and students of this ancient art. Gifted and skilled practitioners of most schools can be found in many countries now (both in the East and in the West). They offer their services to the benefit of their families, students, clients and communities all around the globe.

Form School Feng Shui

Throughout this book we are going to concentrate on one system of Feng Shui, the Form School. Form School Feng Shui is popular both in China and the United States. It is one of the oldest systems of Feng Shui and is still practiced in China today. It takes into consideration the topography of the land, flow of roads, placement of neighboring buildings, architecture of the house and the needs of the people living inside. In Form School, harmony and livability are of utmost importance. Anything that is not aesthetically pleasing is considered not beneficial (in other words, it will not improve the flow of Qi).

I have taken the classic and sometimes rigid rules of Feng Shui and translated them into doable concepts for today’s Western lifestyles, homes, community structures and everyday environments. The principles in this book can readily be applied to your personal environment. With this guidebook to refer to, you will be able to make your house truly your home.

Before we launch into the rest of this book, here is a brief explanation of the other schools of Feng Shui, traditions that have developed in the East over the past 2,000 years. You will find a number of Chinese words and cultural concepts in the text below. The main focus of this section is to provide a glimpse into how the various schools of thought differ from one another.

Lo-Pan Compass

Fig. 1: The lo–pan is the traditional compass and a tool for measuring energy. The circular piece, called heaven, rotates in the square base, called earth; at the center is a compass. Two red strings attached to the square piece quarter the round piece. These red strings draw lines across the characters that describe the energy.

There can be up to 36 rings including the Eight Trigrams, the Ten Heavenly Stems, the Twelve Earthly Branches (Chinese Zodiac), the Five Elements, the Nine Moving Stars, the Seventy–Two Dragons, the Nine Palaces of the Hidden Stem (for determining the Magic Square), the Sixty–Four Hexagrams of the I Ching and more. Using the compass you can get a very precise reading of the Qi energy. This information is compared with a person’s astrological chart to see if there is harmony or disharmony between the home and the person.

Compass