American Feng Shui Institute

American Feng Shui Institute presents FS305 Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 1

Online Class/E-Book License Agreement The American Feng Shui Institute agrees to grant, and you (the person who has purchased the online class in e-book form) agree to accept, a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to install and use the e-book or e-class under the following terms and conditions: 1. Installing Onto Your Computer. You may download or install the e-book onto your computer. You may make reasonable back-up copies of the e-book to avoid losing it. You may not give or transfer copies of the e-book to others, or make the e-book available for others to copy or download. 2. Printing. You may print the e-book for your personal use. You may not give or transfer printed pages from the e-book or the entire printed e-book to others. 3. Copyright, Use, and Resale Prohibitions. All content in the e-book is copyrighted under the U.S. Copyright laws, and the American Feng Shui Institute owns the copyright and the e-book itself. Other than as stated in this License Agreement, you may not copy, print, modify, remove, delete, augment, add to, publish, transmit, transfer, sell, resell, create derivative works from, or in any way exploit any of the e-book's content, in whole or in part, and you may not aid or permit others to do so. You shall not: (1) rent, assign, timeshare, distribute, or transfer all or part of the e-book or any rights granted by this license agreement to any other person; (2) duplicate the e-book, except for reasonable backup copies; (3) remove any proprietary notices, labels, or marks from the e-book; (4) transfer or sublicense title to the e-book to any other party. 4. Liability. The unauthorized use or distribution of copyrighted or other proprietary content is illegal and could subject the purchaser to substantial money damages. Purchaser will be liable for any damage resulting from any violation of this License Agreement, including any infringement of copyrights or proprietary rights. 5. Professional Services. This e-book is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. A license to use the e-book is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. 6. Without Warranty. The American Feng Shui Institute does not guarantee that the information in this e-book is error-free, or warrant that the e-book will meet your requirements or that the operation of the e-book will be uninterrupted or error-free. The e-book is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied or statutory, including, without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. If the e-book was purchased in the United States, the above exclusions may not apply to you as some states do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties. You may also have other rights that vary from state to state. 7. Risk. The entire risk as to the results and performance of the e-book is assumed by you. In no event will the American Feng Shui Institute be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, incidental and consequential damages and damages for lost data or profits arising out of the use or inability to use the e-book. The entire liability of the American Feng Shui Institute shall be limited to the amount actually paid by you for the e-book license. 8. Your Agreement. Your use of the e-book constitutes your agreement to the above terms and conditions. By downloading this e-book, I agree and accept the above License Agreement. (If you do not agree, please close this page and contact the Institute at 626-571-2757.) 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 2

How the online class works: The class material is in a PDF format. You have downloaded the class as part of the enrollment process and can read the class material in your Adobe Acrobat Reader, available for free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Please study the class material. If you have questions, you may ask them (for up to 60 days from the date of enrollment) at the class forum. The forum for this class is located at: http://www.amfengshui.com/bb/viewforum.php?f=47 If you have technical difficulties (such as lost passwords, inability to view the PDF or problems with your computer and the forum), please use the Help Desk forum: http://www.amfengshui.com/bb/viewforum.php?f=14 If you need anything administrative, please email fsinfo@amfengshui.com. This can include time extensions, payment questions, certificate questions, etc. Thank you for enrolling and we hope you enjoy the class! 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 3

FS305 Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class Table of Contents Introduction...5 The Nine Flying Stars...6 First Case...12 Second Case...19 Third Case...24 Not all Difficult Star Combinations Need Remedies...29 More Information...30 Conclusion...32 Appendix: The Monthly Flying Stars...33 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 4

Introduction Welcome to Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class. This class will help deepen your theoretical understanding of Feng Shui, at the same time giving you some practical lessons in performing readings. First, we will go over some additional facets of the nine flying stars. This will help you understand why certain stars trigger specific kinds of events. It will also help you to understand the language of some of the old Chinese memorization poems on Feng Shui. These poems were often encoded by using alternate names for the flying stars. Besides this, we present three cases. Each one illustrates a line from one of the memorization poems, demonstrating that even though these poems are centuries old, they still have relevance in modern times. In addition, the reading and suggested remedies will be discussed in detail for these three buildings. Some of these cases involve events triggered by the monthly stars. The use of the monthly stars is explained. Their calculation is described in the Appendix. Finally, there is a bit of information about placing the bed or desk, based on internal environmental factors. We hope this class will add depth to your practice and will help you to eliminate some of the problems your friends, family, and clients face. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 5

The Nine Flying Stars The Nine Flying Stars have a number of associations: The Associations of the Nine Flying Stars Flying Star Associated Home Associated Element Trigram Direction Star 1 white kan water north 貪狼 tan lang 2 black kun earth southwest 巨門 ju men 3 jade zhen green east 祿存 lu cun 4 green xun green southeast 文曲 wen qu 5 yellow none earth center 廉真 lian zhen 6 white qian metal northwest 武曲 wu qu 7 red dui metal west 破軍 po jun 8 white gen earth northeast 佐輔 zuo fu 9 purple li fire south 右弼 you bi These associations are important for a full understanding of the significance of the stars. In addition, they are a key to decoding Chinese memorization poems. These poems were written in ancient times to encode information into a format that was easy to memorize. The memorization poems often use the trigram name, the color, or the associated star when referring to the flying stars. In part this made it easier to write the poems, as there was a choice of words for making the best rhyme. In part this was a way to encode information so that outsiders could not steal the concepts even if they learned the poem from a book. A student needs a teacher to help them understand the meaning. All of the associated stars are used in Zi Wei Dou Shu astrology as well. If you have studied Zi Wei Dou Shu, you will have an easier time grasping their significance. If you find some of the references below difficult, studying Zi Wei Dou Shu will deepen your understanding. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 6

Let s go over the Nine Flying Stars, one by one: 1 white: This star is associated with kan gua, water, and the north. It is also associated with Tan Lang, the greedy wolf (Zi Wei Dou Shu Star number 9). Tan Lang is a star of many talents. It is also a star of greed (for material pleasure, for spiritual growth, and for knowledge) and of peach blossom (gambling, wine, and romance). Many aspects of Tan Lang influence 1 white. 1 white is associated with peach blossom because of Tan Lang and because it is associated with one of the four main directions, which are the four peach blossom directions. Its peach blossom influence can be seen in the 1-4 and 1-7 combinations. 1-4 is the general peach blossom combination. 1-7 tends to manifest in dressing up and drinking, both traits associated to some degree with peach blossom. 1 white is associated with wealth because the water element (the flow of water and the ability of water to accumulate qi) is associated with wealth. Its wealth association manifests in combinations of 1 white with 6 white and/or 8 white (the three whites). 2 black: This star is associated with kun gua, earth (both the earth element and earth as opposed to heaven), and the southwest. It also corresponds to Ju Men, the great gate (Zi Wei Dou Shu Star number 10). Ju Men is a star of speech, gossip, the mouth, and sickness. Many aspects of Ju Men influence 2 black. Because of Ju Men, 2 black corresponds to the mouth, pain, and sickness. Pain is often associated with sickness. Sickness frequently involves the mouth, because we are easily sickened by eating or drinking the wrong things, and also because we take medicine through the mouth. The mouth association can also lead to gossip, arguments, and lawsuits, for example in the 2-3 or 1-2 combination. 2-3 brings arguments and lawsuits. 1-2 brings arguments and divorce. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 7

3 jade: This star is associated with zhen gua, hard wood, thunder, and the east. It is hard wood because zhen is a yang gua, unlike xun which is soft wood. 3 jade is also associated with Lu Cun, a lucky prosperity star (Zi Wei Dou Shu Star number 36). In feng shui, Lu Cun corresponds to wealth (when it is wang), but also lawsuits, greed, thievery, gossip, and betrayal. Many aspects of Lu Cun influence 3 jade. Even though 3 jade corresponds to a lucky prosperity star, it is in the death phase now; during Period 8, 3 jade is quite out of season. In Zi Wei Dou Shu, while Lu Cun itself is lucky, there are always two very bad stars, one on either side of it. This is because wherever the money is, bad guys will try to follow. So do lawsuits, greed, thievery, gossip, and betrayal. This can be seen in the 2-3 or 3-7 combinations. Since it is associated with zhen gua and thunder, 3 jade may bring sudden events that are quite frightening, such as earthquakes or explosions. For example, 3-5 may mean an explosion. 4 green: This star is associated with xun gua, soft wood, wind, and the southeast. It is also associated with Wen Qu, a literary and creative star (Zi Wei Dou Shu Star number 16). Wen Chang also brings scholarly success and romance or peach blossom. Many aspects of Wen Qu influence 4 green. 4 green, when it is wang (during Period 4) brings wisdom, literary achievement, success in taking tests, creativity, and spirituality. This is due to the power of Wen Qu. Even though it is in the death phase now, 4 green still can bring some of these benefits. However, since 4 green is out of season, it is more likely that it brings something fun, but of lesser value and more trouble: peach blossom. Peach blossom is associated with the literary star, because in the old days, poets and scholars had groupies, just like today s rock stars. Also, because 4 green is old now, it is associated with a lower class of creativity, such as actors and actresses. (In the old days, actors were not highly regarded.) This is seen in the influence of combinations such as 1-4. Besides this, in China, as in many places in the world, there has always been the danger of being severely punished for something you write. Since 4 green is weak now, this danger is stronger. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 8

5 yellow: This star is associated with earth and the center. It has no gua association. It is associated with Lian Zhen, a peach blossom and gambling star (Zi Wei Dou Shu Star number 6). Lian Zhen signifies authority, but also accidents, illegal activities, prison, and other obstacles. Lian Zhen is also associated with fire element, so if it is not in a good situation, it can also cause fires. 5 yellow is associated with disaster, but this is not the whole truth. During Period 5, it can be powerfully beneficial, although at all other times its negative characteristics usually predominate. However, on occasion it can bring benefit first and then disaster later. It is dangerous to receive a big benefit in a short period of time. This is like stories you hear of someone winning the lottery and then their life falls apart. When you move up quickly, you can also fall down quickly. If you receive more than you deserve or more than your karma can sustain, disaster often follows swiftly. If you receive a sudden windfall, give some to charity anonymously. This will help prevent disaster from following. If you have a big name, keep a low profile. Stay humble. Use yin rather than yang. 5 yellow in the center is like the sun at noon; it brings benefit but it is also easy to get burned. You need some protection, like sunscreen, if you want to try to use it. 5 yellow is like a gun; it has uses but is not for children or the inexperienced. It is never wrong to walk away from it. This is why we most always use metal to reduce the earth of 5 yellow. (For some of the benefits that can come from 5 yellow, please see the Five Ghosts Class, available on line.) 6 white: This star is associated with qian gua, hard metal, heaven, and the northwest. It is hard metal because it is a yang gua, unlike dui which is soft metal and a yin gua. 6 white is also associated with Wu Qu, a hard working money star (Zi Wei Dou Shu Star number 4). Wu Qu corresponds to wealth from hard work, a strong will, a high position, and loneliness. Many aspects of Wu Qu influence 6 white. Because of Wu Qu, 6 white can bring wealth. Wu Qu is also like a hard boss, so it represents power, authority, and loneliness. (They say, It s lonely at the top. ) This image is further enhanced by 6 white s association with qian gua, the father, the leader, the boss. Qian is also three yang lines which can make it more aggressive and almost too strong, especially when it is no longer wang. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 9

7 red: This star is associated with dui gua, the marsh, soft metal, and the west. It is also associated with Po Jun, which means Break the Army (Zi Wei Dou Shu Star number 14). Po Jun is associated with destruction, breaking down with or without rebuilding, robbery, risk-taking, and rebelliousness. Many aspects of Po Jun influence 7 red. While dui gua represents the youngest daughter and enjoyment, Po Jun is an aggressive risk-taking star. Since 7 red, dui, corresponds to metal, and metal is the element of weapons, Po Jun likes to fight (unlike Wu Qu, also metal, who likes to work hard). Metal can also mean making money, especially when it is wang. But even so, with Po Jun it is always a struggle to make the money. You have to fight for it. This struggle can even include robbery. 8 white: This star is associated with gen gua, earth, the mountain, and the northeast. It is also associated with Zuo Fu, a helper star (Zi Wei Dou Shu Star number 23). Zuo Fu is the left-hand assistant to the emperor. It is always beneficial. Being earth element, and being a big sold mass (the mountain), 8 white is very stable and steady. Since the mountain is a big accumulation, it has the image of an abundance of wealth, but being stable and steady, there is no need to fight for it. Zuo Fu helps whoever seeks its benefits, like a prime minister aids the ruler. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 10

9 purple: This star is associated with li gua, fire, and the south. It is also associated with You Bi, another helper star (Zi Wei Dou Shu Star number 24). You Bi is the right-hand assistant and a star of celebration. You Bi generally brings benefits since it is another helper star. However, the fire element of 9 purple is a little more dangerous than the earth of 8 white, so 9 purple is not always as beneficial as 8 white. The color red of fire signifies celebration. Perhaps there is a promotion, perhaps a wedding or a new baby. Fire brings brightness and joy. This brightness is why 9 purple enhances whatever it is with. It is like putting the paired star in the spotlight. However, it can enhance the bad as well as the good. These concepts will help explain sentences from the old memorization poems such as Xuan Kong Secret Decree, 1 Ode of the Mysterious Mechanism, 2 or Purple-White Rhymed Formula. 3 These poems have encoded much of the Feng Shui knowledge that has been passed down. Each of the three case studies below illustrates one sentence from a memorization poem. 1 玄空秘旨 Xuan Kong Mi Zhi 2 玄機賦 Xuan Ji Fu 3 紫白訣 Zi Bai Jue 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 11

First Case Period 6 (1964-1983) Kan house, A to M (zi sitting, wu facing, 子山午向, 352.5-7.5 ) SE 1 2 5 S 6 6 1 SW 8 4 3 E 9 3 4 C 2 1 6 W 4 8 8 5 7 9 NE 7 5 2 N 3 9 7 NW 山 Master Sang read this house early in 1988. The owner was a friend of Master Sang s so he was not charged for the reading. Often people do not appreciate what is given for free. A month or two later, the owner asked another practitioner to do a reading. This practitioner asked the owner to take out all the remedies that Master Sang had suggested and to put a talisman in the bedroom. After that, some bad events occurred. The son broke his arm and the mother had a miscarriage. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 12

This house is double facing, which means it is good for money, but not very beneficial for the people inside. It needs mountain in front. 1988 had 3 jade in the center. SE S SW 1 2 6 6 8 4 2 7 9 1 6 8 5 1 3 E C W Fourth 9 3 2 1 4 8 1 3 5 9 2 4 4 6 8 1988 Month 5 7 7 5 3 9 9 2 7 6 8 4 5 7 3 NE N NW 山 The child broke his arm during this fourth month. During this month, 2 black was in the center. (The calculation for the monthly stars is described in the Appendix.) Two black is a star of sickness and pain. It also strengthens the inauspicious star combination (2-1) in the center. The child s bedroom in the west had a 4-8 combination, which is not good for young people. The 4-8 is wood dominating earth. This earth, 8 white, gen gua, represents the youngest son, and therefore children in general. Gen gua also represents the bones, as it is the mountain, and mountains are the bones of the earth. The monthly 2 black in the center placed 4 green in the west (the child s 4-8 bedroom), which already had the annual 5 yellow. There were now no remedies in the son s bedroom, thanks to the second Feng Shui practitioner s advice to remove all of them. The annual 5 yellow was not corrected with metal. The 4-8 was not corrected with fire. So neither of the problems had any remedy: 5 yellow brings all disasters and 4-8 injures young people. The monthly 4 green in the west increased the domination of the 8 white and triggered the son s broken arm. Besides this, the entrance of the house is in the south, with a double 6 white. 6 white is hard metal and doubling it often causes accidents and injuries, usually by metal. The south had, at this time, an annual 7 red and a monthly 6 white. This superabundance of metal at the entrance also added to the possibility of injury. Water is necessary to reduce it. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 13

SE S SW 1 2 6 6 8 4 2 7 9 9 5 7 5 1 3 E C W Fifth 9 3 2 1 4 8 1 3 5 8 1 3 4 6 8 1988 Month 5 7 7 5 3 9 9 2 7 6 8 4 4 6 2 NE N NW 山 During the fifth month, 1 white was in the center, 3 jade was in the son s bedroom in the west, the 5 yellow was at the entrance in the south, and 9 purple was in the southeast in the master bedroom. During this time, the wife had a miscarriage. The 6-6 in the main entrance not only brings accidents and injury by metal, but also bleeding. It still has the annual 7 red, strengthening the metal, and now the monthly 5 yellow bringing disaster. This manifested in the bleeding of the miscarriage. The worst combinations for miscarriage are 4-8 or 3-8. In either case, the wood dominates 8 white, which corresponds to youth and young children, even including the fetus. This house has 4-8 in the west and 8-4 in the southwest, so even though it is not in the wife s bedroom, she must have a lot of exposure to this qi. The master bedroom, in the southeast, has a 1-2 combination, another domination. The domination is further strengthened by the annual 2 black, kun, which represents the mother, the abdomen, and the female reproductive system. It also brings pain and sickness. The earth of 2 black is further strengthened by the fire of 9 purple during the fifth month. This combination also helped cause the miscarriage. In addition, the annual 2 black increases the domination of 1 white, furthering the tendency for separation and divorce. The tendency for separation and divorce will be discussed below. The more acute symptom during the fifth month was the miscarriage. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 14

How should we remedy this house? Of course, since this house is double facing, it is important to put mountain in front. The problems that came up were for the people and health, so mountain in front is a very important remedy. If you can place a permanent remedy for the native stars, then even though there are some bad combinations, it is like an unloaded gun. The annual and monthly stars are what pulls the trigger, but if the gun is unloaded, nothing will happen. You do not need to and should not put remedies everywhere. Pick the critical areas and take care of them. This house needs a fish tank at the main entrance to reduce the strength of the 6-6 metal. Another possibility would be to move the entrance to the southwest, where the 8-4 combination lies, but you would also need to place fire there. The blue square in this floor plan represents a fish tank. It has two purposes. One is to soften the hard metal 6-6 combination with water. 6-6 is good, especially for money, but it is too strong and can cause fighting and injury by metal unless it is reduced with water. The other reason for a fish tank is as a physical barrier for the qi, since the front door is aligned with the back door. The house cannot store qi if both doors are opened at once. The qi will circulate more harmoniously through the house if it is made to meander a little. In other cases, you can use a plant as a barrier. However, plants absorb qi. This is good if auspicious stars are in the location, but do not use plants if they will only hold in bad qi. Another possible remedy for the alignment of the doors would be to move one of them, but this is an expensive and inconvenient solution. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 15

Since it is now Period 8, if the front door was moved to the southwest section, it would have a wang 8 white on the people side. But since it has a 8-4 combination, we would need to place fire there. The reading was done during Period 7, but 8 white was also strong and good at that time. Overall, this house needs metal and fire: This house needs fire For 4-8, 8-4, 3-8, or 8-3, generally we use fire as the remedy, especially now in Period 8. Fire not only corrects the domination, it also strengthens the wang star. Otherwise, a pregnant woman may miscarry, children and teenagers can easily be injured, anyone risks a broken bone or injury to the limbs, and older people may experience joint pain. The 4-8 bedroom in the west is a bit of a problem the year of the reading. Normally, red (fire) would be the remedy, but with the annual 5 yellow there, fire is troublesome. However, metal for the annual 5 yellow will not remedy the domination of wood against earth. And we cannot use both metal and fire at the same time, as remedies that dominate each other are inharmonious. So we expect that this would be a difficult year for a child that stays in this room. How shall we remedy it? The annual 5 yellow can make big disasters, but it needs some sha to tell it which direction to go in. An unremedied 4-8 gives the 5 yellow direction: injury to youth, broken bones, injured limbs. It is the loaded gun and the annual 5 yellow will pull the trigger. Therefore you may use a small amount of fire to remedy the domination, even when the annual 5 yellow arrives. However, if you do this, in the months when the 2 black or 5 yellow also coincides, you can consider removing the fire and using metal, because the evil is overwhelming at that time. If you are unable to ensure that the remedies will be changed during those months, it is probably better to use metal all along. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 16

This house needs metal This house has a 2-1 in the center and 1-2 in the master bedroom. These combinations easily cause separation or divorce. In a 2-1 or 1-2, kun earth (2 black) represents an older female. 1 white (water) is dominated by kun earth, and represents a younger man (kan is the middle son or a middle-aged man). So the 2-1 or 1-2 combination represents a woman (sometimes an older woman) dominating a man. Often the man will not stand for it, so it results in arguments, separation, or divorce. If he is content with the woman being in charge, fewer problems will occur. Practically speaking, 1-2 or 2-1 are not so bad if the female is six or more years older than the man. This is because a man who marries an older woman is more likely to listen to her. Also, kun represents an older woman, so its qi is fulfilled by her age and does not need to manifest through excessive domination. This idea was described in Ode of the Mysterious Mechanism (Xuan Ji Fu): 坎流坤位, 賈臣常遭婦賤之羞 玄機賦 When Kan flows to the Kun position, Maichen is constantly insulted by his ignoble wife. This sentence is based on an old story about a poor Chinese scholar during the Han dynasty named Zhu Maichen who was perpetually nagged by his wife. She wanted him to be more successful. Maichen told her he would be successful in the future, but she couldn t wait. She divorced him and remarried. Later, he became a high official. Upon his inauguration as governor, she begged him to take her back. Maichen got a bowl of water and spilled it on the ground. He told her that when she could gather up all the water and put it back in the bowl, he would take her back. Even though Zhu Maichen s story turned out okay for him in the end, the 1-2 or 2-1 combination is stuck in the period of his life when the wife was constantly nagging and insulting him. In the sentence above, kan refers to 1 white, water. Kun refers to 2 black, earth. While the phrase kun position sounds like it is referring to the southwest, the sentence is more frequently interpreted to mean a 1-2 or 2-1 combination. The authors of the old Feng Shui poems kept their knowledge secret by encoding it and using ambiguous phrasing so that only someone with the proper instruction can grasp the real meaning. If you simply read it on your own and try to put it into practice, you will often make errors. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 17

The power of the 2-1 and 1-2 in this house is very strong since the center and the master bedroom are very influential aspects. The effects would be even stronger if the combinations were in the master bedroom and at the main entrance, as both are actual qi, whereas the entrance is only potential qi. However, since this house is bad for people, it is easy for the relationship of the husband and wife to be affected. We should place metal in the 1-2 bedroom to reduce this domination. The center stars do not represent an actual space, so they cannot be corrected by metal. Besides this, the husband should be counseled to listen to his wife and not to argue with her. If he does not argue, the marriage can last. If the 1-2 or 2-1 is uncorrected, it can also cause kidney, blood, or ear problems. These are all represented by kan gua, 1 white, which is dominated by the 2 black. The 5-7 and 7-5 in the northeast and north are not too important as they are not in the living space. The back door isn t used much. If these areas were used, you could add some metal. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 18

Second Case Period 7 (1984-2003) Xun house, J to V (xun sitting, qian facing, 巽山乾向, 127.5-142.5 ) W 8 1 9 NW 7 9 8 N 2 4 3 SW 3 5 4 C 6 8 7 NE 9 2 1 1 3 2 S 5 7 6 SE 4 6 5 E 山 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 19

In general, we don t like houses that are oriented to the southeast and northwest because they all become locked in the period after they were built, in 20 years or less. Notice in this Period 7 example, the central stars are 6-8. So the house was built between 1984 and 2003, but became locked for money in 2004. It will not be unlocked until 2024. Other northeast/southwest oriented houses follow the same pattern, although the lock may be for people or for money. This type of house can only be used for a short time before it becomes locked. But if the house is situated near water, then it will never become locked. In that case, whether it is good or bad depends on the environment and the stars in each palace. This house illustrates a sentence from Xuan Kong Secret Decree (Xuan Kong Mi Zhi): 破軍居巽位, 顛疾瘋狂 玄空秘旨 When Po Jun is in the Xun position, there is lunacy and craziness. Po Jun refers to 7 red. Xun position refers to the southeast. The metal of 7 red dominates the wood of Xun southeast. Xun also refers to wind, which is something quite changeable and unstable. 7 red corresponds to Po Jun, the breaker of the army, so it can be harsh when it dominates. Let s explain step by step. This is a reverse house, so the difficult aspects of the various star combinations are emphasized. The first thing that needs to be done is to place a mountain in front and water in back. The reading was done in 1990, a year with 1 white in the center. W NW N 8 1 7 9 2 4 3 2 6 4 3 7 9 8 3 SW C NE Seventh 3 5 6 8 9 2 7 1 4 8 2 5 4 7 1 1990 Month 1 3 5 7 4 6 2 6 5 5 9 8 6 1 9 S SE E 山 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 20

There is a 7-9 combination at the main entrance in the northwest. With a 7-9 combination at the door, the people, whether male or female, like to be out of the house all the time, often in night clubs. If this combination is in a bedroom, the occupant is always traveling and sleeps away from home. The husband may sleep in the house of his mistress, not with his wife. If the owner is single, 7-9 is not as damaging, but is still not good. In years when the annual 5 yellow arrives in the same palace (door or bedroom), watch out for sexually transmitted diseases. There is no remedy; the occupant should just try to be good. If you have studied Zi Wei Dou Shu, you know that the four main directions (north, east, south, and west) all tend to promote peach blossom qi. In feng shui, this means that along with 4 green (because of Wen Qu star), 1 white (north), 3 jade (east), 9 purple (south), and 7 red (west) can sometimes bring peach blossom. Here, the 7-9 fits this profile, but since fire and metal dominate, the outcome is usually not good. There is a 2-4 combination in the north. This is where the garage entrance is located. The 2-4 brings peach blossom; it brings a woman to a man. If the occupants enter the house thru this door, the 2-4 becomes a qi mouth and has an effect on the occupants in general. The southeast (Xun, wood) sitting section contains a 5-7 combination. 7 red is associated with Po Jun. The 5 yellow often causes problems. If you have taken the Five Ghosts Class, you know it will carry some of the characteristics of the 6 white star in the center, as both are on the people or mountain side. This 6 white adds to the metal of 7 red and together they strongly dominate the wood of the Xun southeast section. Stars at the main entrance, facing section, or sitting section affect anyone or everyone in a house. The stars in the sitting section affect all the people issues in the house as a whole while the stars in the facing section affect finances. Since the southeast is the sitting section, this condition affects the people in the house as a whole, not just occupants of the southeast. This combination (7 red in the southeast Xun position) can also be quite harmful when it occurs at the main entrance. If the combination is just in a bedroom, it will only affect the person who stays there. In this case, the southeast is not only the sitting, but also is the area containing the entrance to the master bedroom so it especially puts pressure on the husband and wife. The severity of the problem is increased because the house is reversed too. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 21

This situation is exactly what the line from the memorization poem is depicting: 破軍居巽位, 顛疾瘋狂 玄空秘旨 When Po Jun is in the Xun position, there is lunacy and craziness. This situation was more serious in 1990 because of the annual 9 purple in the southeast, causing more craziness. 9 purple amplifies whatever it is with. It enhances the 5 yellow. It reduces the strength of Xun, which is already under attack. Finally, it is inharmonious with the metal of 7 red. The severity of the situation can also be influenced by the personal trigram of the occupant. It is very bad for Zhen or Xun people as they are wood element and are also dominated by the metal stars. Xun is already changeable like the wind. Zhen is thunder and can have extreme reactions. Li is also affected as fire can flare up quickly from the wood, and is also inharmonious with metal. Finally, Dui is metal, so it resonates with the metal stars and is also very sensitive. Dui laughs or cries easily. It is somewhat fragile. The other personal trigrams can also be affected, but maybe not as severely. For example, kun earth is accommodating, receptive. It is pure yin so it is accepting. It can suffer more and withstand it. Gen is also earth, but it is yang and therefore hard. Gen isn t as flexible as kun, but the mountain is unmoving and therefore more stable. In this case, the wife was born in 1956, so she was Dui. She suspected her husband had a mistress. In fact, he did. This drove her crazy. For this strong negative effect to occur, you not only need 7 red (Po Jun) in the southeast, but the house must also be reversed, locked, bad for people, and/or have some strong sha. This craziness will not usually occur in a wang shan wang shui house. Remember from the earlier discussion that Po Jun is an aggressive risk-taking star and is strongly associated with fighting. Po Jun likes to fight, so when it dominates wood, it can cause more damage than 6 white, which is related to Wu Qu, a hard working but somewhat less aggressive star. The 5 yellow on the people side in the southeast makes the situation worse. While the center has good stars, this is merely the potential. The only other good section is the 8-1 in the west. There are too many strikes against this house and not much good. It is best to move from this house, if possible. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 22

To remedy this condition, first we need to correct the reverse house with mountain in front and water in back. Then, we need to fix the 5-7 in the southeast xun wood section. We can use water in a metal container. The metal will reduce any bad effects from the 5 yellow. The water will reduce the metal of 7 red and the 6 white that the 5 yellow reflects. In addition, the water feeds the xun wood southeast area, so there is no more domination. This will help the wife s mental health. The 7-9 at the entrance to the house makes it more likely that the husband will continue his affair. Perhaps we can improve that situation by adding a little earth and reducing the domination. The master bedroom in the south has the annual 5 yellow, so that needs to be reduced with metal. Depending on which other rooms are commonly used, we can add more remedies, but the ones mentioned above are the most important ones. As for the grid, the garage need not be included as it is not living space and is small compared to the house. If it were living space, for example another bedroom, the 2-4 qi of the north would leak out to fill up the space. Because of its small size, it would not elongate the grid of the house. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 23

Third Case Period 7 (1984-2003) Zhen house, F to R (jia sitting, geng facing, 甲山庚向, 67.5-82.5 ) SW 2 6 4 W 7 2 9 NW 6 1 8 S 9 4 2 C 5 9 7 N 1 5 3 4 8 6 SE 3 7 5 E 8 3 1 NE 山 木金相反, 背義忘恩 玄空秘旨 When wood and metal are contrary to each other, a person turns his back on righteousness and forgets kindness. 4 4 This line is from Xuan Kong Secret Decree (Xuan Kong Mi Zhi). 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 24

This is a clothing store in Taipei, Taiwan. It was built in 1984 and read in 1985. In July of 1984, the owner s staff betrayed her by opening a new store and stealing her agent. 1984 was a 7 red year, and July was the sixth month, with 3 jade in the center. SW W NW 2 6 7 2 6 1 4 9 8 9 5 4 4 9 8 S C N Sixth 9 4 5 9 1 5 2 7 3 7 3 8 2 7 3 1984 Month 4 8 3 7 8 3 6 5 1 6 5 1 2 1 6 SE E NE 山 The building is reverse, but the external remedies cannot be placed because of its location within the city. 木金相反, 背義忘恩 玄空秘旨 When wood and metal are contrary to each other, a person turns his back on righteousness and forgets kindness. In this sentence, wood refers to 3 jade and metal means 7 red. 3 jade has the image of a thief and 7 red can bring fighting and robbery. The wood and metal elements are inharmonious together, adding to the adversity. Contrary to each other in this sentence refers both to the domination of these two stars, and that the house where they are found is reverse. Most of the negative sentences in the old memorization poems only refer to a reverse house, or possibly one that is locked. In addition, if there is environmental sha, or bad stars in the sitting, entrance, or kitchen, the difficult effects are more likely to be triggered. The symptoms usually won t show up in a wang shan wang shui house. Also, the star combination needs to be in a significant area, in the sitting, master bedroom, entrance, etc. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 25

3-7 or 7-3 can mean break-ins, even if the house is not reverse. But in a reverse house, you will also find that a person turns his back on righteousness and forgets kindness. In other words, it brings betrayal and ingratitude. When 3-7 is in a significant section such as the entrance, there can be robbery. If it is in the entrance or sitting, there can also be betrayal. The center also brings this as a potential. You need to be especially careful when another 3 jade or 7 red comes in as an annual or monthly star. 3-6 is not as bad because the 6 white is essentially a good star. In this case, the 3-7 is in the sitting, so it affects all the people working there. This building is not a living space, so symptoms are less likely to show up affecting the body or health. They are more likely to impact the business in some way. In 1984, the annual 5 yellow was also in the east, in this same sitting section. Making it even worse, it was also the location of the office. The best thing to do would be to exchange the position of the office and some of the fitting rooms. If the office were in the southeast with the 4-8, you could add fire to fix the domination. In that case, the 8 white on the money side would be very good for business. This building is sitting with the 3-7 in the east. The situation would be even worse if the 3-7 occurred in the west, as the west is associated with 7 red, increasing the domination. We should also notice that the center had an annual 7 red and a monthly 3 jade during the sixth month of 1984. So there is an additional 7-3 in the center. 3-7 is not easy to fix. If we add water to reduce the domination, the 3 jade thief star is strengthened. 3 jade can also bring lawsuits. Any other element will still leave a domination. Fire will reduce the 3 jade and stop the robbery qi, but then fire dominates metal and metal still chops wood. Fire will reduce some of the symptoms but does not make the area good. Sometimes people add red earth. If it is not a significant area, you can simply leave it alone. There was another case in Pasadena, California of a luxury apartment building. It had a 3-7 combination at the entrance. Two expensive cars (a Mercedes and a BMW) were stolen from the parking lot in a short period of time. The building lost its insurance policy after being called high risk. Master Sang had the owner add fire element to the entrance, warning that this might reduce the percentage of occupancy (because fire dominates the 7 red, which is a money star, especially during Period 7 when this 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 26

occurred). The owner didn t mind because he always had a waiting list. The owner put a big maroon Persian rug in the entrance and there were no more robberies. Fortunately, the entrance of this store is quite good. It has a 6-1 with a construction star of 8 in the northwest (the home of 6 white). 1 white, 6 white, and 8 white are called the three whites. They are the most auspicious stars. Whenever you find them together in any form, it brings good things. In most cases, we don t bother looking at the construction star, but in this case, it completes the special combination. This chart has another problem. It brings a great likelihood of fire disaster. There is a 5-9 with a Period 7 in the center. In years, or even months when the 2 black comes in, it is easy to have a fire. 9 purple is post heaven fire. 2 and 7 together are pre-heaven fire. (The reason will be explained below.) The 5 yellow brings inauspiciousness and fires too. When these stars gang up, there is great fire danger. In another case, a factory in Hong Kong had this same chart, with the facing section and entrance in the west. Besides the potential fire danger from the central stars, the entrance in the west had a 7-2 with a construction star of 9 purple. When the annual or monthly 5 comes to the west, fire danger is also high. The factory burned down, but the owner was okay as he had heavily insured it. So for these buildings, in years when 5 yellow comes to the west or 2 black comes to the center, the fire danger is extreme. For this type of combination (involving 2 black, 5 yellow, 7 red, and 9 purple) making a potential for fire disasters, the remedy is to place water in the east. Here we are moistening wood (east), making it hard to burn. Fortunately, currently during Period 8 and at the time of this case study (Period 7), water in the east also brings money. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 27

Why do 2 and 7 also represent fire? This is a picture of the 河圖 He Tu, the River Diagram. It represents the pre-heaven order of the universe. South is at the top and north is at the bottom. Black dots are yin and white dots are yang. If you count the dots in each position, you come up with the following: The He Tu Direction Element Birth Number Completion Number North Water 1 6 South Fire 2 7 East Wood 3 8 West Metal 4 9 Center Earth 5 10 In Flying Star Feng Shui, we usually work with the post-heaven arrangement, associated with the 洛書 Luo Shu and the Magic Square. However, sometimes when the pre-heaven birth number and completion number are found together, they bring in the corresponding qi. That is why 2 black and 7 red together can represent fire, especially when amplified by 9 purple, post-heaven fire. Then the 5 yellow adds disaster qi, including for fires. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 28

Not all Difficult Star Combinations Need Remedies Besides adding the five elements, there is another way certain inauspicious star combinations can be neutralized. This is by manifesting in some other way without harming the owner. An entrance with a 3-7 normally brings robbery. However, if the owner is a thief himself, then the star has already manifested. A combination of 2, 5, 7, and 9 can bring fire, but if it is where there is a restaurant kitchen or pottery kiln, the fire is already there and will not cause harm. Stars such as 6-7 signify bleeding, but for a butcher or surgeon, the stars have already manifested. An entrance with a 2-3 normally brings lawsuits. However, if the owner is a lawyer or it is a law office, than the combination may actually bring him more business. You can understand other star combinations using the same logic. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 29

More Information on Placement The above is not a good position for a desk or bed. Even if the flying stars are good, we should try to avoid it. The qi of the door hits the place where the person sits or sleeps. If this position cannot be avoided, try to use a barrier, like some plants or a screen, between the door and the position of the person s body. Closing the door may seem like an option, but it tends to give a feeling of isolation. Closing the door makes more sense in a bedroom than in an office, as people often like privacy when they sleep. The above is the best position, if we only take the environment into account. The owner can see the door but is not hit by its qi. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 30

These two positions are also acceptable as the person is not hit by the door s qi. However, the view of the door is not as open, so these positions are not quite as good as in the previous diagram. It is always best to have your back to the wall when sitting at a desk or your head to the wall when lying in bed. In the following diagram, the person has his back to the door and to the room. He is looking straight at a wall. People commonly put their desk against the wall because it makes more space in the room, but it tends to leave them feeling up against a wall and unsure of who is looking over their shoulder. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 31

Conclusion We hope this Case Study 5 Class has given you an appreciation of the knowledge encoded in the old Feng Shui poems. We have seen how three lines from these poems play out under modern conditions. Besides this, we learned a little background on the Nine Flying Stars, the monthly stars, and pre-heaven (He Tu) influences. Feng Shui is truly a lifetime study. There are always more layers to learn. We hope this knowledge will add to your understanding and to your ability to perform accurate readings. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 32

Appendix: The Monthly Flying Stars Feng Shui uses the solar aspect of the Chinese calendar. Each feng shui month starts near the beginning of the Western calendar month. See the table below for the approximate start dates of each solar month. There is slight variation between the Western calendar and the Chinese solar calendar. This is why the start date is approximate. To find the exact date in a given year, you must look it up in the Ten-Thousand Year Calendar. All of this is explained in detail in the Stems and Branches Class. To determine the flying star in the central palace for a particular month, you need to know some information about the current year. You either need to know the flying star associated with the current year or the branch of the current year. (If you do not know about the branches, don t worry. Knowing the annual flying star is enough.) In the following table, you can see there are three columns with this annual information at the top. Be sure to read from the appropriate column for the year in question. MONTHLY FLYING STARS YEARS: 1, 4, 7 YEARS: 2, 5, 8 YEARS: 3, 6, 9 STARTS Zi, You, Wu, Mao Yin, Shen, Si, Hai Chen, Xu, Chou, Wei FEB 4-5 8 2 5 MAR 5-6 7 1 4 APR 5-6 6 9 3 MAY 5-6 5 8 2 JUN 6-7 4 7 1 JUL 7-8 3 6 9 AUG 7-8 2 5 8 SEP 8-9 1 4 7 OCT 8-9 9 3 6 NOV 7-8 8 2 5 DEC 7-8 7 1 4 JAN 6-7 6 9 3 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 33

Let s look at an example. 2007 had 2 black in the center. It was also a hai branch year. The middle of these three columns lists 2, 5, and 8. It also lists yin, shen, si, and hai. Either way, we can see that this is the column to read for 2007. If we want to know the flying stars for June of 2007, we can then see that on June 6 th or 7 th, 7 red flies to the central palace. The rest of the stars follow, always ascending in the usual pattern (center northwest west etc.). Therefore, in most of June of 2007, 8 white will be in the northwest, 9 purple will be in the west, etc. The first month of the year always belongs to 2 black, 5 yellow, or 8 white, all earth. This is because everything comes from the earth and begins with the earth. 2008 the American Feng Shui Institute Feng Shui Case Study 5 Class 34