FENG SHUI Designing A House to Incorporate Multiple Feng Shui Formulas

ncorporating multiple feng shui theories into building design is a complex process and requires many key decisions. Issues range from selecting the facing direction of your property and elevation design to overcoming the feng shui limitations of your land. Here is one approach to using Flying Star charts and building Castle Gate door.

Implementing the formulas flying star and castle gate

In our scenario here, we are looking at a Southwest-facing house. Based on the flying star charts we have to first determine whether the house is facing Southwest 1 or Southwest 2/3. The two charts have separate advantages - the Southwest 1 facing chart has a Sum of Ten combination between the mountain star and parent number. The Southwest 2/3 chart has the 3 period parent string combination, where every sector has the 1-4-7, 2-5-8 and 3-6-9 star combinations. The latter chart has been described as the ideal condition for yin and yang energies to mingle. Both the charts – facing SW1 and SW2/3 are reproduced here below.

Based on these two charts, we note the locations of water and mountain star #8. These two important star numbers are located in either the facing or sitting palace either the Southwest or the Northeast sectors respectively. So depending on which facing direction your house is, the lucky water star and mountain star are either in front or at the back of the house.

Here it would seem that the SW1 facing house offers a greater advantage because in this chart the water star 8 is in front. Placing the water feature here thus flows well with other theories of feng shui, which find good reasons for placing water in the SW.

To fully tap the energy of Period 8, the most ideal condition is to have a water feature in the Southwest and a mountain feature in the Northeast to capture the direct and indirect spirit of the period respectively.

In a Southwest 2/3 house, you can tilt your door to face a Southwest 1 facing direction, thus allowing you to flip the chart to adopt the Southwest 1 chart. This will enable you to locate your water feature in the Southwest sector that not only activates the indirect spirit but also your water star #8. However, note that by doing so, you will not be able to angle your door to capture the castle gate direction. Being able to tap the castle gate will bring even greater benefits and successful Masters of the past have always wanted to capture the castle gate for their clients. For the uninitiated the castle gate theory was explained in detail in Lillian Too’s Fine Points column in the last issue of this magazine.

One solution to having a Castle gate door with a SW 2/3 house, is to maintain the SW 2/3 direction but to have a small water feature in the Southwest and also build a pool in the Northeast. This will allow you to activate both the indirect spirit as well as the water star #8 while simultaneously enjoying the Parent string combination of numbers. In feng shui terms benefiting from these different theories will already bring special benefits.

With the Southwest 1 facing houses, the flying star configuration is already set to capture the indirect spirit. In this situation, you will need to orientate your main door to face West 1 (primary direction) if you wish to tap the castle gate. This would be excellent because the West direction enables you to tap the Ho Tu. But if the breadwinner of the house is an East group person then you might want to angle the door to face South 1 instead of West 1. This is regarded as a second best direction and does not really satisfy the castle gate conditions. So in deciding on the castle gate you will have to decide whether you wish to follow the KUA directions of the castle Gate directions. Both have their good points. Here making a decision can be difficult.

Design solutions

By creating a castle gate, the angle of tilt is typically up to 45°, which would then require a large entry foyer. You need to have ample space to accommodate this tilt. In the design featured below an open space concept allows for a bright hall and this benefits the castle gate door. It is beneficial to have an open space design as this allows energy to flow to the rest of the house. With an open space design, you can play around with partitions that can segregate spaces without compromising on the sensation of space.

If you have a covered patio outside the main door, be sure that the columns holding such a structure are not directly in line with the main door. This can become a poison arrow confronting the main door.

Also protect the Northwest sector. The Northwest is the corner of the Patriarch and with the 1,4 star combination present, it also makes this sector the most ideal room for the study or office. Always bear in mind that the Southwest and Northwest corners are the most important sectors in any home

Water flow

Once we have determined how the main door and water features are to be implemented, the next step is how to activate the wealth luck of the house with water. Using the water dragon formula, we can design the flow of water outside the house itself to bring auspicious luck to the household.

So with our scenario of the Southwest 1 facing house, we have angled the door to face West 1 to tap the castle gate. The next thing we did was to route the water flow from the back of the house such that it crosses the main door from right to left (looking out).

The water is then collected in a well and exits from the property in a Southeast 2/3 direction (127.5° to 157.5° from North). This is otherwise known as the first exit direction, which describes auspicious wealth and recognition luck. (Refer to Lillian Too’s book Get Rich with Water for other houses and exit directions).

After the water has exited in its specified direction, the remaining parts of the drain can be covered such that you do not see the water flow after.

Design solutions

our water flow can take many forms. You can do the conventional by having a drain, where water is collected from the back and discharged to the main sewer line at the front. Alternatively, you can have a more pleasant design such as a stream where water is recycled to the back again. Such structures can be designed to create a reflection stream where the water flow is constant and clear, further enhancing the aesthetics of the home. This second method of course depends on whether you have the land to do this.

When you start to implement multiple feng shui formulae into your home, look at how best to use each formula and what limitations you are faced with. Ask yourself if the land constraints allow you build a water feature. Are you able to tilt your door to create a castle gate and if so, would that view from your door be of a poison arrow or bright open space? Once you have identified the physical constraints, you can determine which formulae are best to use.