Water fengshui - a case study

The emphasis when fengshui is mentioned is the use of objects and interior decoration to harmonise the internal fengshui. There are certainly benefits from the arrangement of the internal space to get the results we want. Simple common sense rules almost always does the job. And there are much published material out there.

I would say stay away from the superstitious and those which do not fit into common sense and practicality. Very often, tips are given. Use them but use your head. Very often too, the tips are base on superficial application of known fengshui theory and their use are questionable. An example is not to have water (like building a swimming pool) near at he south end of your house as south is associated with fire and water theefore becomes a no-no. This is of course simplistic and silly as well.

Back to the subject of water, old texts do mention them. And there being no swimming pools back then, the water they mention are natural bodies of water like lakes, rivers, streams, marshes and sea.

The sketch shows one example. It is also a good study on the application of Greater Gua.

The house shown on the bottom left was the home in question in this case study. It was built during the 3rd yuan (or cycle of 3) with an orientation of roughly northeast-southwest of GenWei.

During the 8th and 2nd yuan, the bodies of water being favorable saw progress and wealth as well as much other good things. This despite the fact that the orientation of the property was not so auspicious. Decay then started on the approach of the 3rd cycle and this decadence is attributed to the positioning of the lake in relation to the homes.

This example presented here is an example of the application of the Zhen, Cui and Zhao theory of water fengshui.

This knowledge can be used when we are selecting properties to buy, rent or live in. Instead of just only zooming in to the peculiar orientation of the property we are interested in, it is wise to take a look at the whole picture. As often mentioned, if there is no sunshine even the most fertile seed will not grow. Even if you have the best “to mountain to water” or DaoSan DaoShui orientation it means little if the overall fengshui is no good. The picture has to be complete.

More of Water in FengShui

In the SanYuan scheme of things, the direction where water should be is the southwest, east and west. This is in accordance with the principles of direct, stimulating and nourishing water.

It follows from this principles that such directions where water is found is deemed auspicious. However it must be clear that there are many provisos in that the real conditions and arrangement will have their implications.

For example it is applicable if there is “heaviness” to the northeast. Without this heaviness then the having water at the directions just described would be of no impact. Then again the water must be near and visible. If it is distant it would not be of little use. By distance it would be about 50 meters if we are talking about a normal sized house. If we are referring to a big area like a 2 acre estate, then how the water is positioned along with the enclosing features becomes important.

It looks simple enough to say water in those directions is good but it is not really as simple as that. In gauging how the presence of water relates to portent, we do need to know how to apply the rule of the three principals of heaven, earth and man. The way this rule is applied is to ensure that the orientation of the house, that is, which principal it lies on has to be compared to the direction of the water.

To determine directions of orientation and water can be tricky. Water very often may encompass varied principals of heaven earth and man. Its effect then would be to corrupt the qi that impacts on the house. That is the reason why what on surface seems to be good water may end up not being so. There are records of some experiences by practitioners of this effect.

There are other more refined ways to determine the quality of the water and one of these methods is the nine star method. This method involves groupings of the 24 directions and then applying the principle of five elements. This however is not a SanYuan method.

Coming back to the SanYuan method, the actual portent of the water has to be analysed with the arrangement of the stars.

Most failures stem from the confusion between water applied in fengshui and artificial features. In the proper sense, water is a manifestation of the physical and energetic properties of the land. It is after all a manifestation of the yin and yang. How it joins other water sources and it interplays with the geography are all manifestation of the nature of things. One cannot take the presence of a water fountain or artificially created water fall in our garden to be the same thing.

A water feature in a garden is a manifestation of gua. Gua means the inherent quality of anything that exists. Understanding gua helps us to understand the quality of the feature that we have built. Simply building a swimming pool does not mean that is water.

A blue pool and a red pool invokes different emotions, doesn’t it?

Water in FengShui

Water plays a very important part in fengshui assessment. What often comes up as a topic is the incorporation of water features in gardens. This often takes the forms of fish ponds, water fountains and swimming pools.

Before we talk about the impact of these features, a little knowledge of how the olden masters look at water is good.

From the treatises written by illustrious masters like Zhang JiuYi, Zhiang DaHong, LaiPuYi and the like, the water that was mentioned refers to water courses and natural lakes. Where it comes to homes, there are references to aquariums and wells but this is in the context of the application of qi rather than as water.
The theories and applications may appear different but essentially they apply rules of harmony. Master Zhiang stands out in that he tells of fate in connection with time cycles as well. If we carefully examine each method, we can conclude that they all work on harmony of the primal forces of yin and yang and the natural forces.

When dealing with water, there are two major aspects that are considered. The first is the direction and proximity. The second goes into more detail and calls for the accurate analysis of orientation and features present.

Delving a little, a lake 50 meters from a house will have a totally different effect from one situated 300meteres away. Taking that a little further, the same house with an imposing hillock or structure nearby will add on to the complexity of the fengshui qualities.

When it comes to orientation, it is crucial that the house itself is dimensionally and angularly sound for fengshui (and nature) abhors irregularities. An example of this would be a house with odd shapes and angles, a house built out of ninety degrees and doors positioned at odd angles to each other.