Online Class: Feng Shui 101

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art that is designed to help you improve your life personally and professionally.  The Chinese believe that your environment has a large effect on you mentally and your physical well-being.  When you are unbalanced in your life, you open yourself up to negative emotions and illness.  However, when you are balanced in your life, you open yourself up to greater wealth and health.  Much of what is utilized in feng shui is interior decorating designed to align your home or office with the various elements of the universe and create harmony in your life based upon your specific personal requirements. 

Throughout this course, you will learn how to use feng shui in your personal life step by step.  Each lesson will guide you through the next step in the process of feng shui.  From determining whether you are yin or yang, what type of occupation you have, to the type of personality you have based upon your birth stars, you will learn how all of these elements combine and how to harmonize them in your home.  Additionally, you will be able to assess other members of your family living in your home and harmonize your birth stars and element with the others in your home.

This harmony is created by learning how to determine which elements in your home work for you or against you, as well as the various colors and types of surfaces that should be used within your home.  Finally, you will learn how to cleanse your home of not only clutter, but also ill spirits and memories that may be inhibiting you.

Feng shui is an elaborate Chinese art that is based on two Chinese astrological systems. These are called the ba tzu, or "eight words" or "the four pillars," and jyo hsing, or "nine stars," which is also known as "the study of chi" and "the North Star method." The traditional use of feng shui typically requires the use of a Chinese lunar calendar and a large number of Chinese characters, two things that most people find impractical and difficult to understand because they do not know Chinese or how to utilize these tools. Because of this, this course is designed to teach you feng shui in practical terms that you can utilize in your life without the assistance of a feng shui expert or a Chinese translator.

The rules of feng shui are actually not difficult to grasp if it is presented in a systematic and comprehensible manner. This course is designed to take you step-by-step through feng shui, so that you can begin to apply it as soon as you have completed your study.

If you choose to explore feng shui on your own, be aware that there are several misnomers used by others. People believe that there are three different schools of feng shui: the form school, the compass school, and the intuitive school. However, there is really only one school of feng shui, and it is derived from ancient Taoist tradition. This school utilizes a full range of techniques, including Chinese astrology, compass methods, divining methods, and form methods. Throughout this course, you will mainly be working with jyo hsing, or the nine star astrology, which is a powerful technique of feng shui, and it will help you rearrange your life so that you gain the harmony you are seeking. 

Color is also an important aspect of feng shui. You will utilize several colors, but you will do so in a system. This system has three parts, these are:

There are a few supplies that you will need to effectively use feng shui in your own life. These include:

Your floor plan does not have to be exact; but it is important that you include the location of doors and windows in it. It is best if you can use a professional layout, but you can also measure or pace out your home and draw it on graph paper. Try to keep it to a normal-size sheet of paper for your convenience.

A pendulum is a weight that is suspended from a string or light chain. You can purchase a pendulum, or you can make your own. They are easily made out of a glass bead and string or thread. Most feng shui experts prefer those that are made of brass and are perfectly symmetrical. Pendulums can be found at many New Age bookstores, as well as on the Internet. If you don't want to purchase a pendulum, you can even make one out of fishing line and a fishing weight. Pendulums used indoors can be small and lightweight, but those used outdoors should be heavier.

Once you have your compass, you will need to be certain you are reading it correctly. Begin by standing square in the direction you want to read. Hold the compass in front of you, level, and turn the whole compass until the north end of the needle points to the letter "N" on the azimuth ring. This ring is a ring of degrees, and will be printed on the plate of your compass. The north end of the needle is typically marked or coated with green phosphorous. The earth's magnetic field causes the end of the needle to point toward the magnetic North Pole. To find your bearing, read the direction and degree straight ahead of you on the azimuth ring of the compass.

As you proceed through this course, you will need to use your own personal birth data and other personal information. Use the form on the next page to gather the information that you will need. If you are not the only person in your household, you will need their information, as well, and will need a separate data sheet for each individual. Much of this information you will gather as you work through the course, so keep your sheet handy so that you can fill it in as you go.

To use this course effectively, you will need to work through it lesson by lesson, as it is designed work in a step-by-step fashion.