Colors in Feng Shui

Colors are vibrations, or frequencies. They stimulate different moods, different emotions, and different organic functions. Colors and directions in space, moods and organs of the body are all expressions of basic energy, of yin and yang, and of the five elements (Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal). 

The directions in space with their corresponding colors have two different scales. The first, which is the older and more basic, puts Water and black in the north; Wood and green in the east; Fire and red in the south; Earth and yellow in the middle; Metal and white in the west. The second, more elaborate scale, puts Water and white in the north; Earth and white in the northeast; Wood and light green in the east; Wood and dark green in the southeast; Fire and purple in the south; Earth and yellow in the middle; Earth and black in the southwest; Metal and red in the west; Metal and white in the northwest. While both of these compass and color scales are used, the earlier method is the one that is most commonly known and used by Chinese feng shui experts.

Applied to basic moods and organs of the body, the elements have the following correspondences. Water corresponds to calm reflection, fear, and to kidney function, nerves, brain, bones, and sexual function.
Wood corresponds to planning, communicating, and deciding, and to confusion and anger, and to liver, and gall bladder functions.
Fire corresponds to hyperactivity and to joy, and to the heart, triple heater (digestion and the ability to control body heat), and small intestine.
Earth corresponds to worry, anxiety, and caring, and to stomach, spleen, pancreas, and female reproductive function.
Metal corresponds to grief, and setting boundaries, rejecting, and establishing rhythmical order, and to lungs and large intestine.
The different colors stimulate these different moods and functions. The elements also have corresponding career activities. The list is huge.

When boiled down to basic yin and yang, the yin directions and colors are north (black) and west (white), and the yang directions are east (green) and south (red). The middle (yellow) is where yin and yang come into mutual balance.
Yin and yang describe movement; yang rises, and yin falls. In terms of seasons, yin is fall and winter, and yang is spring and summer. In terms of the day yin is afternoon to midnight, and yang is morning to noon.
In terms space yin is west and north, and yang is east and south. In terms of your home yin is the bedroom and bathroom, and yang is the livingroom, dining room, and kitchen. The front of the house is yang, and the back of the house is yin. The brighter areas are yang and the darker areas are yin. There are numerous ways of seeing this.

In terms of  color, the deeper shades of any color are yin, and the brighter shades are yang. Yang shades are generally not recommended for yin room functions. One would not ordinarly paint a bedroom bright red, or a kitchen dark blue, for example. A red kitchen would be fine. But a navy blue bedroom wouldn't. Too much yin can drain your energy. Deep red would work well in a bedroom, however, if you wanted to use red. 

Yin and yang shades of colors can also be used to complement your personal type. Some people are more yang, and others are more yin. Yin and yang have nothing to do with gender or sexuality. They are basic qualities of energy. Both yin and yang men, and yin and yang women exist in nature. Your yin or yang type can be read in your face. While there are many rules to face reading, a basic indication of a yang type is if the eyes are relatively close together and/or deep set. If, on the other hand, the eyes are relatively wide apart and tend to stand out, the person is yin. You would complement the yang person with yin color tones, and the yin person with yang color tones. This can be done in the person's space and/or in their choice of colors to wear.

Choosing colors in a home when applying the principles of feng shui is done from two perspectives: from what your Chinese astrological chart shows about you, and from the relations that the different areas of your house have to the compass orientation of the front door. For example, the front door either faces north, northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, or northwest. The interior space of the house is then viewed nine areas, and each of these nine areas is then judged against the direction in space faced by the front door to determine what colors go where.

Based on the year, month, day, and hour of your birth your Chinese astrological chart gives you a complete palate of colors that can support your health, career and financial interests, and relationships. Based on the compass reading of your house different areas in the house will agree with different colors and disagree with others, and may ask for combinations of colors to be used to bring up the elements that you want to emphasize for your personal and family needs, such as health, career and finacial interests, relationships, and so on. The process is fairly complex.

If you choose to paint your home all white, the classical feng shui formulas for using colors can be used to appoint works of art and furnishings; colors are then used as highlights.

Colors as recommended in Chinese astrology, face reading, and in the feng shui compass methods may or may not always be your favorite. But, going with your favorite color may not always be the best idea. In Chinese medicine the person is sometimes asked what their favorite color is, as having a favorite color may be an indication of an energetic imbalance and tendency to illness. For example if you favor black the Chinese doctor would look to see if you are developing health issues involving kidney, bladder function, nerves, brain, and/or bones.

Chinese astrology when done correctly yields a golden piece of information in feng shui. It is your Vital Element, the element that you need for your life, the key to your total well-being. You may or may not like the color of the vital element, but it is the most essential piece of information that should be used in feng shui. When the vital element is used correctly it makes your space support your life. Your vital element points out your best direction in space, the direction in which to orient your bed, for example, and the color that supports your health.

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House exposure in feng shui

In ancient China the standard way to situate a house was to expose it to the south. While this did not always agree with the principles of feng shui, southern exposure was favored, especially in northen China, because of the warmth it gave the house in the winter months, and, with proper overhangs, cooling shade in the summer. Southern exposures also brought in the most light through the year. In the north, the ancient houses also had fewer windows on the north, east, and west walls to shut out the wind. In the south the ancient houses, especially those near the sea, had maximum openings in the east, southeast and south to bring in breezes during the long warm season.

Feng shui rules for house siting are a lot more complicated than the above. There are several compass methods that are used in house siting. The idea that the land should rise behind the house and fall away, or stay level, in front, and that, facing out the front door, the land should rise to the left hand side, and sink to the right is not always correct. According to what degree of the compass you face when looking out the front door the situation can be quite different. Sometimes, according to the compass, it is better to have the land rise in front.

There is also a compass method of siting called the Ba Chai, or Eight House method in which the geomancer considers the rise and fall of the land around the house in relation to the door placement. There are essentially forty-eight combinations, some good and some bad. Bad combinations always have cures.

In addition to these, there are all kinds of considerations having to do with the energy underground, and with notable features in the landscape or neighborhood around the house. A great deal of attention is given to underground water courses and energetic currents. If a house is situated in a certain place, in a certain position the elementals of the land come into agreement with it, and the residents of the house are blessed with good health and good fortune. The opposite can also happen. Homes built in the wrong location can bring a great deal of harm and cause the people living in it to become sick and unfortunate.

When looking for a house it is always a good idea to pay attention to your instinctual responses. In addition it is always a good idea to pay attention to the weather on the day you visit the house, as the weather always points to the balance and condition of the elements that bring you there. For example, rain corresponds to Wood, heat to Fire, humidity to Earth, bright, dry weather to Metal, and cold to Water. When compared to the balance of elements in your Chinese astrological chart, these weather conditions take on special meanings, some which work well for you and others which don't.

Another way the gomancer can divine the hidden energetic condition of a house is to use the King Wen I Ching method that combines Chinese astrology with the I Ching; it translates all of the lines of the hexagrams in the I Ching to astrological elements which thus bring different directions of the compass to the geomancer's attention, the elements corresponding to directions of space.

The siting and orientation of a house when looked at through the rich lens of feng shui reveals many things. From this the entire internal situation of a house can be worked out to the best effect. When building a house it is always good to use the astrological compass methods of feng shui; the house will then hold the most vibrant energy.

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The yin-yang balance of your space

In Chinese medicine good health is read as balanced yin and yang. Illness starts when yin and yang are chronically unbalanced and blocked. Balance is dynamic, not static. The dynamic balance of yin and yang is seen in the flow your energy, or Chi, between its yin and yang phases. Yin rests; yang surges. Yin falls; Yang rises. Life undulates.

When we describe yin and yang in terms of time, yin is the fall and winter, and yang is the spring and summer. Everything that lives has yin and yang phases.

In terms of a city, yin is the middle of the block and yang is the corner. In a house yin is the back and yang is the front.Yin is the private area, yang is the public area. Yin is dark and yang is bright.

Sometimes feng shui is done from reading a person's face and body. There is a yang type face and a yin type face. A yang type face has eyes closer together and deep set, and the mouth is smaller, and the body is tightly knit. A yin type face has eyes further apart, perhaps even bulging, and the mouth is wider, and the body seems more loosely knit. A space can be arranged to complement the face type, a yang type person better suited to a yin type space, and a yin type person better suited to a yang type space. While these ideas are good and useful, any space that is overly yang or overly yin is not supportive and can contribute to poor health and declining fortunes.

A place with windows from floor to ceiling, or where the windows take up more than one third the size of the walls, and the rooms are unusually large, especially if the space is on a high floor of a building is overly yang. A person living in such an extremely yang space, especially if he or she is a yang type, may tend to become hyper-active, nervous, impatient, angry, anxious, easily distracted, indecisive and confused, and prone to insomnia.

A place that lacks sufficient light, whose windows are too small, or too close to, and facing the wall of a neighboring building, and whose rooms are too small and dark, especially if the the space is on a low floor of a building is overly yin. A person living in such an extremely yin space, especially if the person is a yin type, will tend to become lethargic, tired, sleepy, absent-minded, depressed, and stressed out.

You can treat an excessively yang space by using darker hues. Use window treatments to screen the light where possible, and create intimate areas with the furniture and lighting.

You can treat an excessively yin space by using lighter, more vibrant hues. Window treatments should not limit the light, but should let in a maximum of light. Use overhead lighting where possible. Another way of treating a very yin space is to arrange small areas of intimate beauty using art objects, while keeping the center of the space open for free movement. Cramped space means cramped life. A balanced space means a balanced life.

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Chinese Autumn in Chinese astrology and feng shui

Autumn in the Chinese calendar begins when the Sun is exactly mid-point the summer solstice and the autumn equinox, or 15 degrees Leo. This year Chinese autumn season began on August 7. The Chinese astrological chart made for the moment the sun entered 15 degrees Leo at Washington DC shows the following.

The signs for the year, lunar month, day, and hour are Water Dragon, Fire Sheep, Earth Pig, and Wood Pig, respectively. Autumn, in Chinese reckoning, is the season of the element Metal. In the present chart we find 1 Metal, 4 Water, 6 Wood, 2 Fire, and 3 Earth. Except for the Metal of the season there is no Metal in the chart. This makes Metal extremely weak; it tells us that in the lunar months beginning on August 17, September 16, and October 15, in other words from August 17 to the beginning of Chinese winter season on November 8, alarming events may develop in the US leading up to the Presidential election. Metal represents the military and police. The chart has an extreme overbalance of Wood. Wood shows anger. People are angry.

A major focus of the chart is on what is called Implicit Talent deity. This, especially when combined with the Star of Arts found in the chart, and the strong Wood of the chart, favors all talent related professions, including careers having to do with the arts, entertainments, and tourism. This is an excellent time for creative work. Viewed in Feng Shui, pay attention to whatever area of your home is used for creative activities, especially if connected to money; the chart also has a prominent Money Storage Star. This is a good time for professionals in the arts. Instead of letting the energy drive you to madness put it to creative work.

No Metal in the chart, but in the season, is not a good sign. It shows a lack of boundaries. Metal controls Wood. Wood is too strong, and there is no Metal. When Metal shows up in the lunar months beginning on August 17 there will be danger of more violence in the country.

The year, lunar month, day, and hour of the beginning of autumn reduced to an I Ching hexagram give us hexagram 9, Xiaoxu, or TheTaming Power of the Small. The line indicated is the 5th. The hexagram indicates that it is good to do something despite the dangers or difficulties. The hexagram is good in winter, bad in summer, and warns of fighting in the autumn. Avoid unnecessary conflict. Rely on the restraining power of smallness. The 5th line says that if you are sincere and loyally attached, you will be blessed with good neighbors. Trustworthiness brings success. It also says unless you take advantage of a seemingly worthless opportunity you will have no reason to expect anything.

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The Feng Shui of sleep

In Feng Shui the two most important things to consider are the doorway of your home and the placement of your bed. There are many guidelines for the proper placement and compass orientation of your bed based on your Chinese astrological chart, the map and compass alignments of your home, and the physical limitations of the room in which you sleep. These guidelines may also include the colors you use. There is also the fact that what you have above your head, whether it be a photo, a painting, or other decorative object, influences you subconsciously in your sleep. This can work for or against you.

If you choose to have something above the head of your bed you need to consider several things. Colors, for instance, have different meanings to different people. The use of colors in Feng Shui should be determined by your Chinese astrological chart. Colors correspond to elements. If, for example, you were born on a day of Wood element reds for you would stimulate your business interests, yellows would stimulate your financial interests, white or grey your interest in fame or authority, and deep blues or black your interest in succeeding with your studies. In adddition, depending on the unique balance of elements in your Chinese astrological chart, there is one called your vital element. It is always good to have the color of your vital element over your head where you sleep, as your vital element is what your body needs to restore its health. The only way to find out your vital element is through a detailed analysis of your Chinese astrological chart.

Aside from colors, pictures represent ideas, and these ideas impressed on your subconscious can act to influence your life and fortunes. It is always good to know what you want in your life, and why you are hanging particular pictures where you sleep. Sometimes special Chinese astrological pictures are used to mitigate problematic conditions that develop in life from time to time as shown by conflicting astrological signs. For example, if you were born in the year of Fire Dragon you would be able to avoid trouble in the year of Water Dragon by having an image or amulet of a green jade colored rooster.

Some traditional Chinese symbols you may wish to consider using to improve your luck are as follows.

Bear - strength and courage
Two birds - romantic love
Butterflies - love and joy
Bouquet of flowers - prosperity
Cranes - longevity
Deer - wealth and longevity
Dog - prosperity and protection
Dragon - creativity
Duck - happiness
Elephant - wisdom and strength
Eagle - farsightedness and daring
Goldfish - success and abundance
Wild goose - conjugal fidelity
Swallows - prosperity and success
Unicorn - longevity and fecundity.

There are many flowers and trees with symbolic meanings as well. Some of these are as follows.

Apple - peace and prosperity
Chrysanthemum - joy and long life
Lotus - fruitfulness
Orange - happiness and prosperity
Orchid - love and strength
Peach - friendship, marriage, and immortality
Pine - long life
Plum blossom - long life, youth, beauty, and unconquerable spirit
Rose - beauty and love
Willow - gentleness and feminine grace.

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Feng Shui and Chinese Astrology

Feng shui to different people means different things. There are several popular ideas about it, some involving astrological and compass methods, and some not. Among popular compass methods we sometimes hear of Flying Star and Eight Mansions. In addition to these there are a number of other classical methods. Eight Mansions is an old method, described in detail in the century Imperial Encyclopedia of 1749. Flying Star first appeared at the beginning of the 20th century.

In the west non-classical versions of feng shui have been widely popularized in recent years. Whether these forms of feng shui work or not is a question. Having seen the results of these western versions, it is clear that they are uneven at best, and sometimes harmful. Feng shui works with real energies of time and space, not just abstract ideals. Without the traditional astrological and compass methods feng shui is unreliable.

The oldest levels of feng shui work with the energies of the environment of the earth, the atmosphere, and the heavens in relation to the energies of the humans living in the environment. Traditional feng shui experts, in addition to the astrological approaches, read the energy of the person through the face and the body to find the best environmental conditions. The astrological methods used in feng shui stem from knowledge whose roots come from prehistoric China.

An example of the non-classical version of feng shui popularized in the west says that the far right hand corner of the home is associated with romance. Another version of that idea says that the southwest corner of the home is associated with romance. A classical feng shui expert does not take this approach, but considers the relation between the person's Chinese astrological charts and the compass orientation of the home, as well as the way the home sits in the surrounding environment which includes the energetic condition of the ground.

The position and orientation of the bed, for example, is not only determined by what is called the person's vital element, and, in the case of a marriage, by the position of the marriage element of the couple, but is determined by the position of the door of home and well as of the room in which the bed is placed. Colors are used to bridge element disharmonies when they come up. People who practice feng shui without full understanding of the Chinese astrological and compass methods at best will get questionable results.

There are two astrological methods with their separate compass methods. One is called 9 Star, with its compass methods called Lo Shu (or River Lo Map), Ming Fey (or Flying Star), and Ba Chai (or Eight Mansions). Lo Shu is one of the oldest and finest methods, used in the Han dynasty over 2000 years ago. Eight Mansions is another very old method that takes into account the way the house sits in the land. Lo Shu and Ba Chai divide people and house orientations into east and west energy type groups depending on birth dates and compass readings, and give auspicious and inauspicious space directions that help determine the best uses for different rooms and areas. 9 Star astrology also has an excellent directionology system for determining auspicious directions to move, travel and do new construction in.

The second, and more important astrological method, is called Batzu (called Four Pillars in the west). Batzu has several excellent compass methods in what is called the San He (Three Harmonies) School. Batzu is a great astrological system that,when read correctly, tells the person's past, present and future very accurately, and, when applied to feng shui, gives the most reliable recommendations for favorable directions in space and use of colors. The San He compass methods related to Batzu use 24 basic compass directions, and let us combine and harmonize different points in space to generate the elements that support us in life. When these methods are used the feng shui possibilities for bringing out the best conditions in life become vividly effective.

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Raphael is available for in-depth Chinese astrological readings and feng shui consultations. To find out more about Raphael's work in this area visit www.trs-fengshui.com.

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Feng Shui and Love

Balancing Your Relationship: Who Goes on Which Side of the
Bed.
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All things in the world are relative, and are expressed as
inter-relations of the polarities of Yin and Yang. The observation of these inter-relations is at the heart of the Chinese astrological and compass methods used in Feng Shui.
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According to Chinese astrology each of us was born under a
Yin or Yang star. Correct positioning of people in relation to one another encourages harmonious relationships whether in business, family, friendship, or love. This being springtime, the romantic season, we will look at this incontext of love.
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The method described below determines who goes on which side of the bed. It involves simple computations. Please note, the Chinese year for these calculations begins on February 4th. Therefore, if you were born between January 1st and February 4th, use the year prior to your birth to compute your star. For example, if you were born on January 25, 1977, you want to use 1976 as your year for this calculation. Note also, the calculation is different for males and females.
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The birth stars are cyclic. The table below gives the birth
stars for the years 1954 through 1962. If you were born before or after these nine years, add or subtract 9 or multiples of 9 from your birth year to find your star number. For example, if you were born in 1970, subtracting 9 from 1972 gives you 1961, a year in the list given below. You will find your birth star number in this list.
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The star number for a male born in 1954 is 1; the star number for a female born in 1954 is 5.
The star number for a male born in 1955 is 9; the star number for a female born in 1955 is 6.
The star number for a male born in 1956 is 8; the star number for a female born in 1956 is 7.
The star number for a male born in 1957 is 7; the star number for a female born in 1957 is 8.
The star number for a male born in 1958 is 6; the star number for a female born in 1958 is 9.
The star number for a male born in 1959 is 5; the star number for a female born in 1959 is 1.
The star number for a male born in 1960 is 4; the star number for a female born in 1960 is 2.
The star number for a male born in 1961 is 3; the star number for a female born in 1961 is 3.
The star number for a male born in 1962 is 2; the star number for a female born in 1962 is 4.
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The star numbers are assigned Yin and Yang values. Stars 1, 3, 4, and 9 are Yang. Stars 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are Yin. If your number is Yang you go on the Yang side of the bed. If your number is Yin you go on the Yin side of the bed. Correct placement brings out the best harmony.
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To determine what’s what, stand at the foot of your bed looking toward the head. You need to use a compass for this. The compass will tell you the direction of the head of the bed.

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Facing the head of the bed, if the head of the bed is pointing north the Yang person goes on the right hand side and the Yin person goes on the left.
If the head of the bed is pointing northeast the Yang person goes on the left hand side, and the Yin person goes on the right.
If the head of the bed is pointing east the Yang person goes on the right hand side, and the Yin person goes on the left.
If the head of the bed is pointing to the southeast the Yang person goes on the left hand side, and the Yin person goes on the right.
If the head of the bed is pointing to the south the Yang person goes on the left hand side, and the Yin person goes on the right.
If the head of the head is pointing to the southwest the Yang person goes on the right hand side, and the Yin person goes on the left.
If the head of the bed is pointing to the west the Yang person goes on the left hand side, and the Yin person goes on the right.
If the head of the bed is pointing to the northwest the Yang person goes on the right hand side, and the Yin person goes on the left.
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People positioned correctly enjoy better relations. If both of your star numbers are of the same polarity, no positioning adjustment is necessary.
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For information about Raphael's services, and to contact Raphael about consultations, visit www.raphaelsimons.com.
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Raphael's best-selling book Feng Shui Step by Step has been reprinted and is now available at Amazon.com and at www.createspace.com/3472024