Feng Shui vs. Marketing
- or -
Buyers Beware!
by P.K. Odle, The Feng Shui Advantage
Most of us grew up believing in some local Folk Belief that's meant to improve our LUCK, HEALTH or LOVE. I grew up in Texas where some neighbors hung horseshoes over their doors. To the general public that was a sign... the family was superstitious and having problems. Around the world many Folk Beliefs are passed down from generation to generation and seldom are their origins ever examined. Feng Shui has been practiced in secret for centuries, so no wonder there are many folk beliefs concerning it. Thanks to the current popularity of Feng Shui books, many of these folk beliefs are now filling the bookstore shelves.
Even the term "Feng Shui" is being misrepresented for marketing purposes. There are only two kinds of Feng Shui... YANG House Feng Shui, which deals with the environment surrounding, UNseen energy patterns within and the people occupying the buildings we live and work in. The other is YIN House Feng Shui that deals with how gravesites affect 3 generations of descendants of the deceased.
If a company says what they do is "like Feng Shui," that is just an analogy. Since Feng Shui is something that is so difficult to explain, I can't understand why anyone would want to add that challenge to their marketing efforts. For instance, I've seen an advertisement for a hairdresser who charges $250 for a Feng Shui haircut. Since, Feng Shui has nothing to do with your hairstyle or color… it illustrates how the term “Feng Shui” is being used as a marketing device.
Someone even trademarked the name "Fashion Feng Shui," when Feng Shui has NOTHING to do with fashion either. However, in Classical Feng Shui, you do have a personal Yi Jing Trigram according to your date of birth and gender. Each Trigram relates to... an element, a direction, a member of the traditional Chinese family and their personality, among other things. In this way you do relate to the element of your Trigram, so wearing the colors of that element is supportive to you... as well as wearing the colors of the element that produces your element. The colors that relate to the elements are:
- Water - Blues & Black
- Wood – All shades of Green
- Fire - Purple, Red, Burgundy, Maroon, etc.
- Earth - Yellow, Brown, Beige, Tan, Terra Cotta
- Metal - White, Gray, Gold, Silver, Copper
The actual elements... Water, Wood, Earth and Metal are used as Classical Feng Shui remedies. However, when a Fire remedy is required… we use Fire Colors for obvious safety reasons. In addition, there are NO one-size-fits-all remedies in Classical Feng Shui. Part of the science of Yang House Feng Shui is calculating the energy patterns of your building, while the art aspect is implementing each necessary elemental remedy as a beautiful accessory that blends with your decor. This means once you know what elements you need in specific sections of your home, you go shopping for an item made of that element that will enhance the beauty of your home, as well as remedy the UNseen energies. There is NO need to buy special and often over-priced items labeled as ‘Feng Shui’ even from your Feng Shui consultant, because the remedies are the 5 elements not specific objects.
Any products, other than a compass or a book that has the words "Feng Shui" on its packaging, are just using the term for marketing purposes. Frankly, as far as I'm concerned, most Feng Shui books contain more folk beliefs than anything else. In fact, some of the books are written by authors who have little or no training or experience in Feng Shui. One such author approached a fellow instructor from The American Feng Shui Institute at a party and said, "Hi, I hear you do Feng Shui and I'm writing a book on the subject." To which he said, "Terrific, who have you studied with?" He said she looked like a deer caught in headlights and replied "No one, I just got the book deal and will read a few books, then put my own spin on it." Therefore, even when it comes to Feng Shui books.... buyers beware.
The authors of the one-size-fits-all Feng Shui books mean no harm. The majority of them just don’t know any better, because they haven’t been trained in Classical Feng Shui. It’s no wonder since Chairman Mao outlawed Feng Shui in China during the Cultural Revolution. You see, Mao came from a family of Feng Shui Masters and he knew that by outlawing Feng Shui it would prevent anyone from using Feng Shui to oust him. To protect themselves the other Feng Shui Masters left China and took their knowledge with them. And that left the Chinese people with Feng Shui folk beliefs to pass on for generations.
One dangerous misconception is that, according to the Trigram’s element for each direction, you should add more of that element or its color to your decor in that particular area of your home and office. Following this advice can actually trigger negative consequences, because it doesn’t take into consideration the unique Energy Blueprint for each building and the influence of the visiting Annual Energy. For instance, in 1999 and again in 2008 (every 9 years), the visiting Annual Energy in the South causes Accidents, Delays, Fires, Major Pain and Illness, including Eye and Heart disease. If you follow the over-simplified instructions in the majority of Feng Shui books and add Fire colors to the South area of your home, especially if that’s your entrance, bedroom, home office or living room… you will actually trigger those negative circumstances.
In addition, the majority of Feng Shui authors refer to the NW of every house as the Wealth Corner and the SW as the Relationship Corner… which is an attempt to over-simplify the influences of your Personal Directions. In Classical Feng Shui there is NO such thing as a general ‘Wealth Corner’ or ‘Relationship Corner’ or any other ‘Corner’ popularized by the do-it-yourself Feng Shui books. BaGua simply means 8 sections or portions, it’s nothing magical. Just like our homes, we are unique and have a unique relationship with the magnetic forces on Earth. In other words, NO… one-size does NOT fit all from shoes to hats, and that includes Feng Shui remedies and your Feng Shui Personal Directions.
According to your gender, you have several 45˚ & 15˚ Personal Directions that influence your life from the moment of your birth. Your combination of Personal Directions is unique to your gender and date of birth. In other words, your 15˚ Prosperity direction… could be my 15˚ Consuming direction or it could be your spouse’s 15˚ Lonely Pillow direction. To learn more about how you’re uniquely influenced by the magnetics of Earth read ‘Your 15° Lifetime Keys Personal Directions… Known By Only 5% of Feng Shui Consultants!’
When you’re ready to manage your building’s existing Feng Shui energies and the affects of the Annual Energy shift on February 4th, as well as the influences of ALL your Personal Directions… to improve your FINANCES, HEALTH & RELATIONSHIPS, here are a few important questions to ask before choosing your Feng Shui consultant. First ask where they studied and then call that school to verify exactly how many classes they’ve completed. Next, ask for several current client references and contact those references.
Additional questions to ask when choosing a Feng Shui consultant are:
- How long have they been doing Feng Shui full-time?
- Do they work with the 5 elements as remedies?
- Is an on-site compass reading & the year built required?
- Will they teach you ALL 9 of your 15° personal directions?
- Are Annual Updates available?
YES… is the answer you're looking for on the last 4 questions.
Most of all, you must feel comfortable with and be able to communicate with the consultant you choose. After all, their work will have a huge impact on your life, which is why many of my clients treat me like family; since I treat every client's home as if it were my own.
P.S. If you would like more details regarding the Trigrams of the Yi Jing, you’re welcome to read… ‘8 Trigrams of the Yi Jing! Which One Are You?’ in my on-line article library.
© 2007 P.K. Odle. All rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
P.K. Odle is a celebrated classical Yi Jing Feng Shui consultant and the Executive Director of the world-renowned American Feng Shui Institute®, where she has taught since 1998. She created The Feng Shui Advantage's "Lifetime Keys Personal Directions Self-Mastery Toolbox." To learn more about using the ancient Chinese science of Yi Jing Feng Shui to improve your Health, Relationships and Finances... through 16 weeks of FREE TIPS subscribe to her award-winning eNewsletter, The Feng Shui Advantage MONTHLY, at http://www.FengShuiAdvantage.com. The next issue could change your life!
NOTE: You’re welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” information at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to PK@FengShuiAdvantage.com