(This is an article that I wrote in a column for the Sun Daily newspaper).
The ancient masters believe that we are composed of a set of energies that we absorb at birth. This combo of energies is usually not balanced and it determines the strength and weakness of our destiny and luck.
In Chinese metaphysics, every direction is associated with an energy type. For example north is water, south is fire, east is wood and so on.
The facing direction of a house is the side that brings in most of the enviromental energy. One of the most effective way to influence our destiny and luck is by living in a house with a facing direction that is beneficial to you. For example if you lack fire, then it is good to live in a house that face south (the direction of fire).
From a birth chart a Feng Shui master can tell you which facing directions are and how they are beneficial to you.
For me, the starting point in using Feng Shui to improve your destiny and luck is to select a house with a facing direction that is good for you.
The facing direction is also very important as it is also helps to determine the quality of the house. For example some houses are beneficial to career and wealth, others to good health and relationships, yet others for both and so on.
So, for example, if you are a young person aiming for a successful career, then you would want to live in a house that has a beneficial facing direction that is also good for career and wealth luck.
The facing direction of a house also determines the auspicious and inauspicious sectors within. We would want the places where we use the most such as the main door, kitchen, bedroom and so on to the in the auspicious sectors so that we are influence positively by the auspicious energy.
The auspicious energy within can be further upgraded or downgraded with the right external land form or man-made features. For example, the health and relationship quality of your bedroom in an auspicious sector of the house is enhanced if there is a hill outside. Or the career and wealth quality of your house is enhanced if there is your main door faces a lake or a river.
Certain natural land form and man-made structures such a rocky hillside or high tension pylon generate “sha” or killing energy. If they are located very near the house, these “sha” can degrade the positive energy with the affected sectors in the house, making auspicious energy within, inauspicious.
To summarize, the first step is to select a house with a facing direction that is good for you and supports your endeavors. Next utilize the auspicious sectors within and strive to have the correct supporting land form nearby. Finally ensure that there are no “sha” generating land form and man made structures in the vicinity.
It is not an easy task!
May I ask something? I have come across an apartment, 2nd Floorin Permas Jaya, Johor Baru and I will like to purchase. But when I look down and out from the entrance (front) door, I notice a road down facing our entrance door and few V-shape roof tops from other apartments pointing towards the entrance door. Is these effect our main/entrance door?
Regards & Thanks
Hi Cheng Hai,
I believe that you are referring to a J-junction. It is not auspicious if the main door faces a T-juntion, more so if the traffic is heavy. However you are on the second floor which is 3 levels up. In my opinion, whatever effect if at all is insignificant. And if the traffic is light, you can disregard it.
As for V shape roof from nearby apartment pointed at your door, they are in my opinion a “sha” only if they are very nearby. How near depends on the size and angle but as a guide you should be concerned if they are within a stone throw away. You need not worry if they are much further away.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Henry Fong
Hello Henry,
After reading your article on destiny and luck, I can’t help but leave some comments for your further feedback. My hubby and I are both planning to buy/build our own dream home and we are at crossroads at the many forms of feng shui applications.
Both of us belonged to the West group according to the KUA formula; which means our auspicious directions are Northeast, Southwest, West and Northwest. Naturally this would mean that our house facing direction would be any suitable auspicious direction; but our birth chart indicate that my hubby lack of Wood and myself lack of Fire. So if East and South are not our auspicious directions; what is the suitable way around this so that it can work in our favour and achieve a Wang Shan Wang Shui or Prosper Mountain Prosper Water houses? I would also appreciate if you could further enlighten me on the inauspicious directions; whether having a kitchen in the Southeast will work in my favour, South would be toilet, East would be store, North/Northeast the main entrance.
Thanks & Regards,
Ann
Hi Ann,
Thanks for you comments. There are at least a few Feng Shui schools and practitioners of each school will claim that their is the best. This is only natural. For me, I look at thing slightly differently. I have studied many schools and I think that each have their own approach and merits.
Take the Kua or Eight House system. Their approach is to match the person’s kua element to a suitable sitting and sectors of the house. For example a West group person element is either metal or earth. They are suitable for the SW, NW, W and NE sectors all of which are metal or earth. And it is good because earth produce metal. Positive effect tend to take longer but is more lasting.
On the other hand, the flying star system which is based on energies created by planetary influence produce faster results but needs to be tuned every now and then.
For me either is okay but more important is whether the house facing matches the Ba Zi of the head of the household.
I have seen many cases where the house is good e.g. prosperous mountain and prosperous water or adhere closely to the Eight House method and most of the occupants are doing well except for the head. When I did deeper it is usually due to a wrong facing for that person. Of course it is sometimes due to a poor luck cycle.
My approach is to first figure out a house facing that is beneficial to the head of the household. Then narrow down the facing to one with good house quality with the appropriate land form features.
To specifically answer your questions and using the Eight House system, the main door, bedroom and other active areas should be in the west sectors of W, NW, SW or NE. The Kitchen, stores, toilet etc should be in the east sector of E, N, S and SE. Doors, beds study tables and stove should face the west directions.
I hope this is helpful.
Cheers,
Henry Fong
Hi again,
Thank you for your prompt insights. I like to keep an open mind when it comes to feng shui and I really appreciate your thoughts and comments.
Since you mentioned the house facing matches the Ba Zi of the head of the household, I would be grateful if you could elaborate more on this topic as I’m new to this matter. My hubby and I are open to your insights. To make a long story short, previously, we were staying in a semi-detached house main door facing east due to my hubby birth chart lack of wood and the kitchen was in the NW. Even though we don’t do any cooking there, my hubby faces financial difficulties there as well as his family business. We moved out from there a year ago.
I am also grateful for your suggestions on the Eight House system. Currently, I’m staying in a detached house main door facing North. We have no doors in the West, but the other suggestions are already in place. Kindly advise me further on how we can improve/achieve Wang Shan Wang Shui house or require any appropriate land form features!
Regards,
Ann
Hi Ann,
The house facing is the side of the house that brings in most of the environmental “qi”. You are right that each direction is associated with a type of energy. For example east is wood, south is fire, west in metal and so on. So we can use the facing side to balance the element that lack in our Ba Zo.
The “Wang Shan Wang Shui” quality of a house is based on the house facing direction and period and is from the Xuan Kong Fei Xing system. It is sometimes possible to have a house that matches your husband’s kua and also is Wang Shan Wang Sui. Let’s say you are from the West Group. It is favorable to live in a house that sits W, NE, SW or NE. Now if the house sits NE1 and faces SW1, and built in the current period 8, then you have a house that matches your kua and also “Wang Wang” since SW1 facing is “Wang Shan Wan Shui”.
There could be a number of reasons why the east facing house did not natch your hubby. If you wish you can send me his date and time of birth to me using my contact form at http://fengshuiunzip.com/contact/ and I will take a look and let you know.
Cheers,
Henry Fong
Hi Henry, you mention on your articles that is good to have a good facing direction but using 8 mantions if a person belongs to east group lets say 9 gua then east house would be good for this person right, but an east facing house belongs to House gua 7 and east would be a negative location for this west group House right? and if my BaZi needs water then it would be better for me to live in a Noth facing house in order to balance water element right but, a north facing house would be sitting south and belong to 9 gua (fire) so I understand that facing delimits the strenght of the element and not the house gua right?
thank you for your advise!
regards,
George
Hi George,
Thanks or writing. Different systems of Feng Shui have their own technique to select favorable house facing. For example the Eight Mansions based it on the Kua of the head of the household. The Kua in turn is derived from the person’s Chinese Solar year of birth. The Flying Star system do not consider the head’s year of birth but instead determine the quality of the house by the facing, period and surrounding land form features. Bazi as you rightly pointed based it in the useful element after taking the year, month, date and time of birth into consideration. They all have their own merits.
However they as you would expect do not give the same result. Actually we are not supposed to use them in combination. It is this or the other. So which should we use?
The criteria, I believe, should be which is more effective or give a predictable result.
I have come to use a combination of an astrology and a Feng Shui technique to determine favorable house facing. I have use it for a while and find it to be very accurate based on observation and also via back testing.
Here is what I use.
I used Zi Wei Dou Shu which is like a cousin to Ba Zi to first determine a person’s favorable and unfavorable house facing direction. There will usually a few of each.
Zi Wei facing direction is measured by spans of 30 degrees. For example, North is between 345 degrees and 15 degrees. NNE is between 15 and 45 degrees, NEE between 45 and 75 degrees and so on.
Then I use Xuan Kong Flying Star to narrow down the facing. For example let’s say from Zi Wei, north (between 345 and 15 degrees) is favorable. In Flying Star, N2 falls completed within this span and a N2 facing house is a possibility especially if the homeowner wants a house that is good for relationships and health. Then I use the same method of fine tune the other favorable directions.
I hope this answers your question.
Cheers,
Henry Fong
Hello Henry,
Can I get your expert advise regarding the facing direction of my house. How does it affect my luck in career and finance, It is facing East on the normal compass, that is 90 degrees (I don’t know about the Chinese compass used by Feng shui,)my birthdate is 24 January 1964, my wife’s birthdate is 10 March 1963.
Our house main entrance door is also almost in line with our neighbour’s man gate of their perimeter fence.
Hi Edison,
Yes, I can help you to analyse the facing direction of your house and its effect on your luck. However to do so, I need you time of births as well. If you are uncomfortable giving them out in public, please send to me at henry@henryfong.com.
Cheers,
Henry Fong
Dear Henry,
Could you, please, explain me: is W or E house group determined by house facing or sitting direction?
If house front door is facing SE but back of the house facing NW, which group is it?
Thank you.
Irina
For the 8 Mansions system the type of the house (whether E or W) is base on the sitting direction. Therefore for a house that is sitting NW and facing SE, it is considered a West house (because it is sitting NW). I hope this is helpful. Cheers.
Henry,
Thank you very much for your help.
If apartment or house has 2 levels how to apply bagua to determine auspicious sectors?
I assume that the 2 levels are of different sizes. For me in my practice, I scale the bagua to the size of each levels. Cheers.