In feng shui, there are many ways to gain love in your life. One of the most dynamic feng shui systems is the Flying Star feng shui. In this system, when certain stars are activated or used, they help in bringing romance to your life.

There are two kinds of romance stars in flying star feng shui— #1 white star and #4 green star. In my experience, I have found that the #1 white star is effective in finding long term love. It is also helpful in improving the sex life of couples as well as reigniting the spark in a marriage that’s dying; especially if the man is the non-performing member. The #4 green star is effective for short term romances or flings. The drawback of this star is that it could attract the wrong kind of romance and you could be involved in a scandalous affair. This star, if handled appropriately, can improve the sex life of couples; especially if the female is the non-performing member.

How to use these stars

In the year of the snake, i.e. from 4th February 2013 to 4th February 2014, the annual #1 white star is located in the north and the #4 green star is visiting southeast.

The first step before activating the stars for you, would be to check for sha qis in your area. Sha qis are negative energies in the environment such as electric post, a T-junction, sharp edges of a roof and stagnant water, to name a few.

If the north side of your house has any of these negative feng shui features, then avoid activating this room. If the southeast has any of the negative feng shui features also avoid activating the room as it will increase the chances of having a scandalous romance.

Activating the romance stars

The best way to activate any star is to use the room regularly. If possible, in the year 2013, use the north or the southeast room of your house as your bedroom.

If due to space constraints you are unable to do so, then there are other ways to activate the star, however, the rules are different for couples in a committed relationship and for those who are single.

For couples

For those in a steady, long term relationship, it is essential that your bedroom and your bed position is located in your home’s romance location and your auspicious romance direction, otherwise you are bound to have problems in your marital life.

Besides following auspicious directions and locations, you could place a medium sized glass bowl of water with a few petals, preferably red or pink, in the north or southeast room. You will have to change the water whenever the petals rot or the water becomes dirty. Dirty water generally indicates a problematic love life.

For singles

If you are looking for love, you will need to put active water in the north area or room of your house. Active water could mean a fountain, an artificial water fall or any form of bubbling water. Place a small fountain in the north side or north room of your house. When you find the suitable person, you have to stop the fountain and place a medium sized glass bowl filled with water and a few flower petals [preferably red or pink]. You will have to change the water whenever dry or dirty.

It is essential to stop running the fountain once you find someone suitable, otherwise, you will keep on attracting other suitors which could create problems for you later on.

Using your home’s romance location

Every house has a romance location, the good news is that this year the romance location is effective. To know your house’s romance location [room] you have to know which direction your house or your apartment is facing. The house facing direction is generally the direction where the main road is located. For e.g. if you stand inside your house looking out and your main road is in the north [337.5 to 22.5 degrees] then you have a north facing house.

Below is a list of the romance locations for all the eight facing directions.

Ideally you should use this room as your bedroom. In case this is not possible, make sure you use the room frequently. If due to space constraints you are unable to use the room, then try to use your personal romance direction [refer table to the right].

A note for southeast facing houses—avoid using the southwest room as your bedroom, the 2013 annual stars in the southwest are inauspicious and you could suffer from ill health and obstacles.

Your personal romance direction

Every person is born with a personal romance direction. The personal romance direction differs from person to person. Unlike your house romance location which is confined to a specific room in your house. You can use your personal romance direction regularly—while sleeping, working, eating.

Quick steps to know your personal romance direction

To use your personal direction to your advantage, calculate your gua number first. Firstly note that the Chinese year begins on 4th/5th February on any given year. So, if you are born in January 1961, your year of birth will be taken as 1960. Then simply, add the last two digits of your birth year [reduce to a single digit] then subtract this sum from 10 if you’re a male [further reduce to a single digit] or add 5 if you’re a female [further reduce to a single digit], the final sum is your gua number.

Check the table given above to know your personal romance direction. E.g. if you are gua 4 your personal romance direction is east.

Once you know your personal romance direction, use it regularly to invite or maintain a happy relationship in your life. For e.g. if you are gua 1 you can use the south direction while sleeping [when you lie down on your bed, your head should be towards the south direction and your feet towards the north]; and working [when you sit down on your table you should face the south direction].

This was first published in the February 2013 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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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.

This was first published in the December 2012 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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Before I begin, you must understand your environment [living space]. It is divided into two halves—external and internal. External feng shui features would include your main gate, nearby buildings, roads, man-made or natural structures and features like bridges, lakes or ponds. Internal feng shui features are your immediate living space, of which the three most important factors to consider are the main door, bedroom and kitchen.

Visualise your home as a human body, the main door/ gate would then represent the mouth. Just as our health is dependent on what we eat, similarly the quality of feng shui of a house is determined by its main entrance. This area is considered a yang feature as there is constant activity with people going in and out of the home. It is generally responsible for the wealth aspect and the quality of qi that enters your home. The bedroom and the kitchen are considered yin features and play a vital role in maintaining harmony and health.

The Living room

This is the first room your guests see when they enter your home, so it should be inviting and pleasing to the eye. It is an area where you entertain guests, do business negotiations or host parties. According to feng shui, the living room is not considered an important area of the house, unless you use the room constantly. Nevertheless, it should be clean and clutter free. Guests shouldn’t be stumbling over clutter to get inside your living room. Ideally it should be located in the outer half of the house preferably the first room after you open your main door. It should neither be too small nor too big and should have a regular shape, either square or rectangle, avoid unusual shapes.

The first factor to check is the door of the living room—in most cases this is also the main door. It should not be directly opposite a window or another door. This leads to qi being dissipated before it can meander through the whole house. The remedy to this problem is to shut the window or the other door. Watch out any form of sha qi [negative qi] outside the living room windows, like dead trees or electric posts. If so, use beautiful curtains to avoid the view. If you have a lovely view then keep your widows open and let the good qi flow in. In the living room, place your furniture in a manner which looks comfortable. Try to place your sofa such that there is a wall behind it. This makes people feel secured and they will definitely want to spend time in your home. Avoid placing your chairs or sofa with their backs to the door. This makes people edgy as they don’t know who is going out or coming in.

Once you’ve arranged the furniture in your living room, stand at the entrance and look at the living room and walk around it. You should be able to navigate smoothly without any obstructions.

The Bedroom

The worst kind of bedroom is the messy one—cobwebs, dust, litter and, even worse, a stench. Well, if you live in such a room you don’t need a feng shui consultant to tell you that you could be suffering from health issues. Clean your room, going by the thumb rule: if you haven’t used it in a year, chances are you will not use it at all.

Now let’s take a look outside your bedroom window, what do you see—a garden, a car park, a road, or an electrical post? The view of a garden or any quiet [yin] place like a hill is ideal outside the bedroom window, as it will help you to rest well. A car park or a road with heavy traffic flow is too active [yang] and could be the reason why you wake up tired and irate. You need to keep your windows closed and put up heavy drapes.

After you have checked the windows, look at your bed. Does it have a solid wall behind for support? Does it have enough space on the side? The bed should be ideally placed on the opposite side of the bedroom door with a wall behind and windows on one side.

If there are windows behind your bed and you are suffering from sleepless nights, then close the windows. If your bed is located between two doors or a door and a window, you could suffer from sleep deprivation. Close one of the doors or windows to get peaceful sleep.

Avoid having too many yang features like the TV, computer, harsh lighting or an aquarium in your bedroom. For you to be able to unwind after a hard day’s work your bedroom should be a balance between yin and yang features.

Next, lie down on your bed and look up. Is there an exposed ceiling beam right above your bed? This beam can create health issues. If possible move your bed or opt for a false ceiling.

The Kitchen

Your kitchen rules the health and the temperament of your family. According to feng shui principles, it is one of the top three important areas in your house.

If it is messy and dirty, clean it up. Organise your kitchen so that it is free of clutter.
The most important item in this space is your stove/burner. It should ideally have a solid wall behind. Even though the island stove looks great on television and commercials it is not recommended by feng shui. An island stove is located in the middle of the kitchen with no protection from any side. The stove is a yin feature; like the bed in a bedroom, if it is exposed from all sides it will cause instability in your family.

There should not be an exposed ceiling beam over the stove as it disrupts the qi flow and could create negative qi which inadvertently affects the family members. Similarly a chimney/exhaust fan, placed right above the stove, creates family conflicts. I know you cannot do without it; most of my clients have one in their kitchen. So I advise them to place the stove/burner a little away from the chimney. In my kitchen I have fixed an exhaust fan on the side.

Now you have to check the position of the stove in relation with the sink. Is your stove placed directly opposite the sink, it could be the cause of disharmony in your family. The stove belongs to the fire element and the sink to the water element. Fire and water element clash and may lead to confrontations and heated arguments.

Similarly your stove/burner should not be located too close to the sink. There should be a minimum gap of two feet between the two.

The next point to check is the location of your stove in relation to your kitchen door. Most kitchens have an attached balcony or a yard. If this is the case then your stove should not be directly opposite any of the doors. It is worse if your main door is directly in line with your kitchen door and the stove is directly in line with both. Remember doors are active features and the stove is an inactive feature; a clash between the two could create turmoil amongst family members. Similarly the two doors should not be directly opposite each other; this creates restless qi especially if both doors are open. My advice is to keep one door closed at all times, only opening in time of need.

This was first published in the October 2012 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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