What is Feng Shui?

It may sound like something you would order in a restaurant but Feng Shui is actually a Chinese belief system that can establish balance and harmony in your home or office.

Pronounced "Fung Shway", it literally translates as "wind and water" and uses psychological, geographical, mathematic and aesthetic rules in order to control the flow of energy or qi, pronounced "chee" in a room, house, building or garden.

Feng Shui has been practiced in Asia for more than 5,000 years and many in the Western world now use it to improve prosperity, good health, and general well being. In fact The Los Angeles Times newspaper recently reported that big corporations such as News Corp., Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Hewlett-Packard and Ford Motors are using Feng Shui in the workplace to improve business and the happiness of their employees.

Feng shui is based on the opposites Yin and Yang and experts of Feng Shui consider Yin to be feminine and passive energy, and Yang, to be a masculine and fiery force.

Feng Shui uses this notion of opposites and combines Yin and Yang with the properties of five elements; water, fire, wood, metal, and earth to identify different areas of your life.

The points on the compass, with its eight separate directions - North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, and Northwest - are also important when examining the flow of qi in your home.

Usually a Feng Shui expert will consult an individual's Chinese horoscope and use complicated mathematical calculations from the ancient text I Ching, or Book of Changes, to determine what aspects of the house or office are out of balance.

But basic Feng Shui is simple to understand and can be practiced easily by a beginner without paying for a costly consultation. This no-nonsense guide makes understanding Feng Shui simple, and also has tons of practical tips so that you can start to reap the benefits of Feng Shui in your property straightaway.

Where does Feng Shui come from?

Although it is widely practiced today, Feng Shui used to be a secret known only to the Chinese Royals and their scientists and astronomers. The Emperor would use Feng Shui when building his palaces and cities to ensure peaceful harmony in the country, and today Feng Shui is a principle of classical Chinese architecture.

The most famous example of Feng Shui is the layout of the Forbidden City in Beijing, the capital of China. The Forbidden City is a walled enclosure containing temples, administrative rooms, and the home of China's extravagant Ming and Qing dynasties. When Chairman Mao came to power, however, he opened the Forbidden City to the public and the secrets of Feng Shui spread throughout China and the world.

Today most Chinese families and businesses continue to use Feng Shui, and despite some continuing scepticism, it has also become widely practiced in Europe, America and other parts of the world.