Feng Shui at home: The good juju starts with you

PS. Don’t even think about a water feature

Text: Joel T

2021 is fast approaching and Chinese New Year is just a few months away. Take a stroll in most shopping malls and you will see huge placards of Chinese Zodiac readings offering curious onlookers information on their new year’s auspicious colours, good luck symbols, and recommendations for auspicious items for their home.

We consulted Sean Chan, Asia's leading Chinese metaphysics consultant in Chinese astrology and Feng Shui master to learn more about the application of the feng shui world to our home.

What is Feng Shui?

Sean: Feng Shui is the study of the environment, the laws that govern it, and how we are able to harmonise with these laws for our wellbeing. Feng Shui stems from the traditional belief of 天人合一 (tian ren he yi) which means ‘Heavens and Earth are one’.

How do we apply Feng Shui to our home?

Sean: To me, it’s more about finding good Feng Shui and harnessing it. Most people believe that we can “apply” or create good Feng Shui simply by using colours and auspicious items, but this really isn’t what it’s about. Our homes, like our astrological charts, paint a story of how our life unfolds. It cannot be manipulated or hacked by using mere items and colours. The current practice of Feng Shui is in a bit of a reductive state revolving around these misconceptions.

So, do the likes of Three-Legged Toads and crystals not have a place in Feng Shui?

Sean: The Chinese classics on Feng Shui do not mention using items, figurines or crystals for good luck. Theoretically and historically speaking, the Chinese sages have not indicated that colours or inanimate objects can change our lives. Using the ‘right’ colours or items is not going to turn your life around; it is our character, and the decisions we make in our lives that do.

What should we look out for to ensure good Feng Shui in our house?

Sean: We don’t have total control over Feng Shui or where we live. There is an old Chinese saying that the kind of house we end up in is fated. You need some amount of fortune, or what the older generation likes to call “good karma”, to end up somewhere with good Feng Shui. 

Unfortunately, most modern-day apartments, both private and public, have pre-set unit templates. One thing in common is that the main door and master bedroom are always at the diagonal extreme opposite of each other. It’s not the most ideal layout. If you’re fortunate enough to be able to build a house from the ground up, it presents a lot more options.

Is there anything we can do to boost the good Feng Shui where we live?

Sean: You can, but it involves changing the layout of the house. You might need to change the layout of the unit like combining common rooms to form a new master bedroom; for Feng Shui, the master bedroom is determined by the biggest bedroom in the unit and not where you sleep. 

Shifting the kitchen door might help sometimes, too. This being said, these remedies are not a guarantee because what you can alter is limited. My recommendation is always to get a practitioner to hunt for a house together with you. 

Take a practitioner with you while you’re searching?

Sean: Most people believe that a practitioner can magically turn a bad Feng Shui house into a good one, which is simply not true. The Feng Shui of a place is often out of people’s control, especially if they’re buying an apartment where the building orientation and house layout is already determined. Hence, hunting for a house with a practitioner does ensure that you end up in a good place regardless of what your astrological charts says, and without the need for any major alterations.

What does a Feng Shui novice need to bear in mind? 

Sean: Feng Shui and Chinese astrology needs to be approached holistically, not just with curiosity or novelty, but also respect for Chinese history and culture. I’ve always felt that an appreciation of the philosophy behind this ancient art is needed before one can truly reap the benefits.

The reason why Feng Shui is so popular is because it’s believed to be able to give you an uplift in life and transcend the limits of your astrological chart. That is somewhat true, but a practitioner cannot magically turn your life around, the effort still needs to come from the individual.

So, do we need to be a good person to receive good Feng Shui?

There is a reason why the Chinese sages said that people with good fortune end up in a place with good Feng Shui — because that’s just simply how nature’s laws work. To thrive in a good environment, not only do you need to be strong, you must also deserve to be there.

You can witness this law being applied in nature too –– no single flower will grow at the expense of others and disrupt the balance of its surroundings. Everyone — or every plant, rather — grows together. I know it sounds cliché, but good Feng Shui ultimately starts with yourself.

Sean Chan is Asia's leading Chinese metaphysics consultant specialising in BaZi, Zi Wei Dou Shu, Qi Men Dun Jia, and Feng Shui. A thought-leader in the field, Sean has been featured on CNA, in The New York Times Style Magazine and other local media. He blogs about topics surrounding Chinese metaphysics and aims to educate the public about the field.

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