Donald Trump once said, “You don’t have to believe in feng shui for it to work. I just know it brings me money.” There are many organisations like Coca Cola, Sony, Shell, as well as multi-billionaires like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates who have used the principles of feng shui to their advantage. Whether you own a small or medium-sized business or you’re the CEO or employee of a large corporation, if you want your business to grow then you can incorporate feng shui principles into your office design.
Some of the commonest problems that I’m counselled for are employee retention; operational issues; PR [recognition] issues and office politics. A bazi [Chinese astrology] analysis could reveal the employees tenure with the firm. As a corporation this helps in saving time and resources being invested in the wrong person. As an employee you have the advantage of knowing whether the new job will be good for you and how long you will stay there.
Besides checking your or your employee’s bazi there are few basic feng shui tips that I have put forth here that could bring a better work culture and office environment.
External feng shui
Take a walk around your office property and make a note of all the locations where you see features like buildings, bridges, lamp posts, transformers, lakes, dead trees, barren building and pylons. A negative external feng shui feature [sha qi] will exert its influence on the whole building and certain people and it will be worse during certain months and years.
If there is a T-junction, V-junction or a dead-end directly opposite the main door and if it has heavy traffic then that is bad energy. A lamp/telephone post is considered bad if it is within your property and directly opposite the main door; a pylon—the location and proximity to your property makes it a source of negative energy. The location of the sha qi determines the issues you could be facing in your office or business. To know your gua number check the tables on the next page.
A sha qi in the north could affect the output of your marketing and exports department. It reduces the ability of a gua number 1 person to succeed and progress. A sha qi in the northeast will affect the administrative department. It will affect the performance of gua number 8 person. In the east; a sha qi will negatively affect the career progress of gua number 3 and the operations department.
A sha qi in the southeast will negatively affect gua number 4 and the research and development department. A sha qi, in the south, will hamper the organisation’s public image and good will. Gua number 9 will be negatively affected by it. A sha qi in the southwest will have a negative effect on the organisation’s assets and earnings. Gua number 2 may face obstacles in their career path. In the west a sha qi it will negatively impact your public relations and communication department. It could create problems for gua number 7. A sha qi in the northwest will affect the leadership [CEOs, senior management] of an organisation. Gua number 6 will not be able to perform well.
Don’t get scared or rush to move out if there is an external sha qi in your property. First check the proximity, if it’s far away it has little or no effect. You only have a problem if it is right next to your building. Here too, the location plays a big role. For e.g. a lamp post or a transformer is considered a fire element; therefore if it is located in northeast or southwest both are earth elements [fire produces earth].
According to the theory of wu xing [five elements interaction] the negative effect it exerts is reduced. Similarly a T-junction in a favourable star according to any san he or san yuan method; will bring in money and fame faster.
Internal feng shui
In office or business feng shui the most important factors are your main door; the location of your business in the whole building; your office and your desk.
Your business main door
This is the mouth of your business, your main door determines whether your business will generate money or not. Your main door should open into a wide open space, it should not be in a crammed up corner. Remember your main door is responsible for bringing in wealth; you don’t want wealth to be crammed up in a dark corner do you? The main door of your office or business should be well lit and shouldn’t have any sha qi directly opposite it. A sha qi directly opposite the main door will create obstacles, hindrances and obstruction to wealth.
Your main door shouldn’t be directly opposite a door or a window. This means the qi is not retained; your business could always be facing financial crunch as money is not being retained. If such is the case then close the other door or window. The area next to your door should be clean and spacious. There are many feng shui systems applied to get the perfect location and direction for the main door. In feng shui the location comes first and direction second.
Here are some tips on how you can use your personal direction for your main door; selecting the location of your door is an intricate system. Check the box on the previous page to know your favourable directions. Your main door should be facing one of these directions. By facing I mean when you stand inside looking out. For instance if you are gua number 9, your office main door should face east; southeast, north or south.
Your office and desk
This is where you spend maximum time in your office. To begin assessing the place, firstly sit on your chair and look up. Do you see an exposed ceiling beam
right above you? If yes, then you have to move your desk. The beam could be the reason you feel pressurised at work.
Is your office well lit or is it dark and dingy? A dark and dingy room is too yin and could make you lethargic and pessimistic. Adequate lighting is necessary to work smoothly.
Feng shui is about balance—extreme bright lighting means too much yang energy which could in turn make you a hyper person.
Look outside your office windows. Is it a beautiful view like a park or a lake? Or do you see a transformer or a pylon? In the latter case simply close your windows and put up some shades.
Placing your desk
Your desk should not be directly in line with your office door. If this is the case then move the desk. It is preferable to have a solid wall behind you when you sit on your desk. You should face one of your favourable directions while working.
E.g. If you are gua number 1 and are the decision maker in your firm then use the auspicious direction 1 given in the box i.e. southeast. However, the auspicious direction 1 is extreme yang energy and people using this could find themselves feeling restless. If you feel the same, then use the second auspicious direction.
Managing the external and internal qi at the workplace should help you with the keys to even more professional success and material prosperity.
Know your gua numberThe Chinese year begins on 4th/5th February on any given year. Eg. If you are born in January 1961, your year of birth will be taken as 1960. FOR MALES This applies to those born before 4th February 2000
FOR FEMALES This applies to those born before 4th February 2000
Your gua number is 9 |
Gua Number | Auspicious Direction1 | Auspicious Direction2 | Auspicious Direction3 | Auspicious Direction4 |
1 | Southeast | East | South | North |
2 | Northeast | West | Northwest | Southwest |
3 | South | North | Southeast | East |
4 | North | South | East | Southeast |
5 | Northeast (Male) | West (Male) | Northwest (Male) | Southwest (Male) |
Southwest (Female) | Northwest (Female) | West (Female) | Northeast (Female) | |
6 | West | Northeast | Southwest | Northwest |
7 | Northwest | Southwest | Northeast | West |
8 | Southwest | Northwest | West | Northeast |
9 | East | Southeast | North | South |
This was first published in the December 2012 issue of Complete Wellbeing.
Spot an error in this article? A typo maybe? Or an incorrect source? Let us know!
Here are four common external Sha Qi explained: T-Junction It is often misunderstood that this Feng Shui feature is unfavourable because it is ‘sharp’. In fact, the reason why a T-junction is considered an unfavourable feature to have near a house has more to do with the way Qi should and should not move or flow in Feng Shui. The focus is more on the Qi, as aggressive and fast moving Qi can cause it to crash into the property in a volatile manner. In Feng Shui, a meandering Qi is preferred. The T-junction itself is not bad per se. It is negative in certain instances – ie. if the junction is a high traffic area as opposed to a relatively quiet one. A T-junction is a greater cause for concern if it is focused at the sector where the Main Door is located, or crashes right into the Main Door, more so than if it is hitting another sector of the property. Sharp-roofed Neighbour The corners of roofs from the neighbouring property can sometimes result in Qi being focused and angled at yours. Hence, this is something you want to look out for. This feature should be a cause for concern if your neighbour’s sharp roof corner is visible from your Main Door. However, it does not affect your property if the sharp roof is on the second floor and your Main Door is on the ground; or if the sharp roof is located on a neighbour across a fairly wide street. Lamp Post In Feng Shui, a lamp post directly in front of the Main Door is definitely a problem, which is called a Piercing Heart Sha. However this is only applicable if the lamp post is within the boundaries of the Main Door (extend two lines out towards the road and see if the lamp post is within these lines). Otherwise, you have nothing to worry about. Pylon Contrary to popular misconception, pylons are not necessarily considered bad because it is ‘sharp’. In Feng Shui, ‘sharp’ is not the sole criterion to determine if it is good or bad.