feng shui water | Feng Shui Unzip

In Feng Shui, water can be good or bad. Good water also called “sentimental” water and is clean and flows slowly. Bad water is called “merciless” water and they are polluted or stagnant and when flows fast and straight.

Bad water can be a sha!

But first a little bit more about water. Clean, pristine water that meanders is usually found in rural area. In the cities such water is hard to find. Also in the cities, natural waterways are straightened to improve drainage. In the process, water speeds up and becomes merciless water. Or is it?

In my opinion, straight waterways are not necessarily merciless unless it flows very quickly. And less than clean water can still be considered “sentimental” water if it supports a thriving aquatic community.

Now back to bad water and sha.

Water falling off from high ground into a pool like a waterfall can be a sha. While a waterfall can be quite a tourist attraction, it is not suitable near a residence as the turbulence gives out a lot of sha qi. Usually the noisier it is, the worst the sha.

A common rule of thumb is if you are far enough not to see or hear it, it is okay.

Water should not flow perpendicularly towards or away from a house. When it flows perpendicular towards the house, it call clashing water and it is similar to a house facing a T junction or facing a lane.

It is worse if the water flowing towards the house is from a high ground. Then water is likely to accelerate and “shoot” at the house.

Also look out for drainage outlet from your opposite neighbor’s house shooting straight at your property. It is detrimental over the long run.

It is also bad if the water flows perpendicularly away from the house. It drains the qi from the property and such water is known as “Pulling Nose Water”.

River meanders naturally and properties can be found on the inside and outside of the bend. Properties on the outside of the bend or the convex side are less favored as the qi on this side is more aggressive.

In practice, this is not a problem unless the bend is unusually sharp and the rivers flows very quickly.

Like the water fall example above, any kind of water that creates a lot of noise is not favorable and can be consider a sha. Examples include sea water crashing to rocks, rapids or white water, water crashing into each other as in a confluence or a drain discharging into a river. The key consideration is the loud noise generate. It is a sha if it is very loud. Okay if not.

Finally it is what is commonly referred to as “Cutting Feet” water. This is water that runs laterally across the front door of a house. IN an urban setting, most of the time it is mad made. Some designers think it is artistic to artificial water running under a bridge at the entrance of a house.

Cutting feet water is considered very negative and can lead to financial losses!

(This is an article that I wrote in a column for the Sun Daily newspaper).

To the Chinese people, water is associated with wealth. When cash is tight, it is not uncommon to hear the phrase, “Water is tight” to describe the dire cash flow situation!

In Feng Shui, water is also associated with wealth. Hence the belief that water in the right places or approaching from the right directions brings wealth. Conversely, if your water is all wrong, then the consequence is dire. This is of course an over-simplification and in this article I will explain the usage of water in Feng Shui.

Water can be large e.g. pond, lake or river or small e.g. indoor aquarium, water fountain or drains. As we would expect, large water has a greater impact on our luck and this is why Feng Shui practitioners pay a lot of attention to rivers and lakes in the vicinity of the house. For water to be effective, it must be clean and not stagnated. In the case of flowing water like a river, the flow should also be slow and meandering. A fast flowing river and especially one that runs straight can be considered a sha!

The potential of a house can be enhanced by having the appropriate forms at the facing and sitting. Most houses will benefit from having water at the facing side (and mountain at the sitting side). Water in the form of a river or lake can enhance the wealth potential of a house. Even pseudo water form like a field or playground at the facing side works which is why a house with a lake view or facing a playground is more in demand Feng Shui wise.

Water is primarily used as an activator. In Feng Shui theory the “qi” and its quality within and outside the house can be computed using a formula. For example a sector may be good for wealth luck, another good for celebrations or happy events. Yet another may be good for career luck. Activating these sectors with water will increase the luck of the occupants of the house in these areas.

Conversely there are sectors influenced by bad energy. Activating these areas will activate the negative energy and cause bad luck for the occupants. This is why water in the wrong place can cause dire consequence.

From my observations, small water inside the house like an indoor water fountains are rarely the culprit. The problem is more likely caused by the large water body outside the house e.g. river, lake or swimming pool.

In Feng Shui theory, it is favorable if water e.g. river flows in from an auspicious sector and flows out from an inauspicious sector. These auspicious and auspicious sectors are determine from the house facing direction and sometimes other factors such as time.

In urban areas, roads take over the role of rivers and Feng Shui practitioners have to take the flow and traffic of the roads around a house into consideration. The application is the same as for rivers. If there is steady traffic, then there is activation – positive or negative. If there is hardly any traffic, then little activation. If traffic is very heavy and fast flowing like a busy highway, it becomes a sha!

In the Xuan Kong school of Feng Shui, it is highly auspicious in this period to have water in the south-west. Other sectors such as north, east and south-east are also acceptable. So if you are planning to build a huge swimming pool and not planning to seek the services of a practitioner, I would suggest you locate it in one of the above sectors!

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By Feng Shui Consultant Henry Fong

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