The Feng Shui Ruler

The Feng Shui ruler is used to measure dimensions and proportions of rooms, doors and furniture, because certain measurements bring good fortune while others bring misfortune. According to Geomancy.net, the Feng Shui ruler determines which proportions and dimensions are auspicious and which ones should not be used because they bring bad energy to the household.

Take your Feng Shui ruler or diagram and notice that it is divided into eight sections: four that have red ink and four that have black ink. The red sections are auspicious, while the black areas are unfavorable.

The Feng Shui ruler is 43 centimeters or 16 and 15/16 inches. According to AbsolutelyFengShui.com, this is based on the imperial foot dating to its origin in 960-1128 AD during the Sung dynasty where it was used to measure windows, doors and furniture for the imperial palace. Notice the two sections of measurements: one on top of the ruler which is used to measure Yang houses, or houses of the living, and another set of measurements on the bottom of the ruler which are used to measure Yin houses, which are coffins and grave sites.

The Feng Shui foot was derived from the side of a square where the length of the diagonal is the square root of 2. This is considered mystical by the Chinese, according to Geomancy.net. Western mathematicians call this the "magic square."

Looking at the top Yang (houses of the living) measurements, you will see that the ruler is divided into eight sections within the Yang area, four of which are auspicious, and the other four inauspicious.

AbsoultelyFengShui.com identifies the four good sections (in red ink) as the first, fourth, fifth and eighth sections. The first is called "Cai" and signifies wealth. The fourth section is called "Yi" and means noble justice. The fifth portion is referred to as "Kuan" and means official. The eighth section is called "Ben" and means basis or origin.

The four unfortunate markings, which are symbolized with black ink are: the second, called "Bing" meaning sickness; the third called "Li," signifying leaving or separation; the sixth, called "Jie" which means robbery and disaster; and the seventh section called "Hai" meaning harmful.

Each of the eight Yang sections are further subdivided into four sections measuring 0.525 inches or 1.34 cm. Again, four of the subsections are good, and four bad, according to AbsolutelyFengShui.com. For measurements longer than a Feng Shui ruler, a Feng Shui measuring tape is used, on which the eight original sections are repeated every Feng Shui foot.

The first section, in red, auspicious "Cai," which means wealth, is further broken down into four sections: fortune, resource, harmony and prosperity.

The second section, in black, inauspicious "Bing," which means illness, has four subdivisions: losses, bad encounter, imprisonment and widowhood.

The third section, in black, inauspicious "Li," which means separation, has four parts: wealth denied, loss of wealth, cheated and total loss.

The fourth section, in red, is auspicious "Yi," meaning noble, and is broken down into the four sections: gain descendants, profits, talented offspring and great prosperity.

The fifth section, in red, is auspicious "Kuan," meaning official, and it is subdivided into: abundance of food, indirect wealth, better income and riches.

The sixth section, in black, is inauspicious "Jie," meaning disaster, and is broken down into: death, loss of descendants, leaving home and loss of money.

The seventh section is inauspicious "Hai," meaning harm, and is divided into: calamities, possible death, sickness and quarrels.

The eighth section is auspicious "Ben," meaning capital or source, and is subdivided into: wealth, promotion opportunities, arrival of wealth and abundance. (See Reference 2)

Feng Shui Consultant

Feng shui is a practice that began in China about 3,000 years ago. Today, feng shui consultants apply age-old principles to modern life by helping people redesign their homes and offices. If you have an interest in design and are willing to study feng shui, you can have a rewarding career as a feng shui consultant.

Read everything you can about feng shui. Look on the Internet, visit your local library and check out Amazon or your local bookstore. Learn about the different types of feng shui and determine if you have more than a passing interest in the topic.

Complete a feng shui training course. There are many options to choose from, such as distance courses and classroom courses at schools around the country. Find a list of courses at one of the societies' websites. Look for a list of consultants and see where they studied, or ask some feng shui consultants who you might know.

Join a professional society. Being a member of the Feng Shui Society or the American Feng Shui Society gives you access to courses and events and lets people know that you are serious about your profession.

Market your services. You will need business cards. You might want to do mailings or join local business organizations to let people know about your services. Websites are also great ways to promote your business. Of course, word of mouth is best, so you will want to ask your clients to spread the word if they are happy with your services.

How to Feng Shui Landscaping

Feng Shui is all about balancing the elements around you to create a harmonious environment. Creating an atmosphere of positive energy will give you energy and peace. It can help your landscaping coming alive both physically and spiritually for you. Make your landscape harmonious and a welcome retreat for yourself and your guests by utilizing these steps and following Feng Shui principles.

Remove all clutter in order to begin bringing about the Feng Shui energy (ch'i) balance. For a garden, you want to remove weeds, dead plants and tree branches that have fallen. Anything that takes away from the beauty blocks the positive energy that you are trying to attract.

Include something metal in your landscaping to call on that element of feng shui. Metal is an important element, and it could be a metal sculpture or a bird bath.

Make sure the soil is fertile and well-maintained. This takes care of the "earth" element in feng shui.

Let some form of water run free. It can be the water that you use to fertilize the soil, but it's better if it takes the form of a decorative fountain or bird bath. Water is the third element in feng shui.

Include wood in your landscaping. This can take the form of a bench or a wooden pagoda overhead.

Take advantage of the last element of feng shui which is fire. A fire pit or candles in your landscaping bring this to life nicely.

Discourage negative energy. Placing garden items that have square or blunt edges are not welcoming to good ch'i. Benches should have rounded corners; if you have paver stones as a walkway, they should be rounded. Pots should be of natural materials and naturally colored. A fence in the middle of a garden in never a good idea. That would only block energy. You need to keep energy flowing. Steps 2 to 6 need to be in careful balance with one another.

Provide intimate seating areas throughout, even if it is for one person. Energy moves constantly; providing varying places to sit will take advantage of the levels of energy as they shift.

Feng Shui During The Full Moon

The age-old techniques of feng shui when the moon is at its fullest promote happiness in your life. Certain easy feng shui rituals can help improve your mood and your increase your wealth. Learn what people have been doing for centuries to improve their quality of life from the following simple steps.

Place a glass bowl outside on the night of the full moon. Fill the bowl with water. Add a few sage leaves and a few drops of lavender oil. The power and energy of the full moon is trapped in the water. When the sun rises, pour the water into a spray bottle and spritz the energized water on the furniture and curtains of your house. The lavender oil will provide a fresh energizing scent.

Place your wealth Buddha outside on the night of the full moon. The Buddha will absorb the moon's rays and its power will increase. In the morning place the Buddha back inside your home facing the door.

Place all your crystals and gemstones on your windowsill. They will get energized by the moon and help you increase your happiness, luck and wealth when you wear or use them.

Sit somewhere inside or outside your house from where you can see the full moon. Light incense and candles. As you light the incense, make a pure wish of something you want or intend to achieve. Meditate on this for a while. When the incense burns out, finalize your intention by blowing out the candles.

Build a House Using Feng Shui

Proponents of the ancient Chinese placement and design system feng shui believe that buildings possess an inherent energy; depending on various elements, the building's energy, or "chi," can be either supportive or destructive. Since these energies are established when the building is first erected, many who are interested in feng shui draft building plans with the system's many tenets in mind.

Concentrate first on which direction your home will face. Ideally, place the home at the foot of a gently sloping hill, with the front of the home facing away from the raised area. Eschew home sites in cul-de-sacs, as negative, forward-surging energy called "sha" flows into homes built there. Sha is also attracted to triangular-shaped lots. If there is any running water nearby, situate your home in such a way that the water is rushing away from, and not toward, your house. Your facing direction has the most energy, so place footpaths, windows and your front door in this area for the best chi.

Plan to build a square house, which will conform easily to the Feng Shui grid, which is composed of nine equal squares. When considering the placement of your front door, choose a spot that is, ideally, clearly seen from as well as facing the street. Build only one front door; double doors are undesirable. Design ceilings that are of medium height, preferably without exposed beams, which can disrupt chi.

Determine which rooms in which you plan on spending most of your time, and plan the placement of the rooms inside your home accordingly. In Feng Shui, the center of the home has the most power, so take advantage of its powerful properties; put a home office in this area if you work from home, for example.

Avoid common feng shui pitfalls, such as long hallways, which can create a surging chi, or placing your front door in view of the backdoor or upstairs hallway. Also avoid adding too many entrances and exits to interior rooms, because those doorways will "argue." Small rooms trap chi, so plan for large windows in those rooms to open up the space and free the chi.

Feng Shui a Dorm Room

By nature, dorm rooms are crowded and cluttered; it's part of the whole college experience. But too much clutter and unnecessary debris can also clutter your mind, making concentration and studying more difficult. Feng shui offers solutions to opening up a space without spending a lot of money or making many changes to the room. By applying feng shui placement techniques, you might find your grades improving quickly. Read on to learn more.

Move your books so they do not face you while you sleep. Feng shui says that books act like sharp instruments, cutting though your sleep patterns and good vibrations.

Attach molded rubber table corners to sharp edges on your desk or bureau; it will help soften the effect of the furniture in your dorm room.

Hang soothing posters on the walls to brighten your moods if you cannot paint the walls a soft, pleasing color. Pictures of your friends and family also can help reduce the starkness of dorm walls

Dangle a crystal in front of a window, no matter how small it may be. Use fishing line or a heavy string to attach the crystal to the top of the window to allow the light to move through the room. If you don't even have a window, then hang the crystal above your door, high enough so it won't hit your head. This crystal will enlarge your space.

Stack your papers neatly every night when you are finished with them and when you leave the room. Clutter breeds clutter and waking up to or walking in on a mess will set off a negative spark to your time in the room, even if you clean when you first wake up.

Put purifying sage in a bowl with some uncooked rice. This mixture will soak up the negative energy in the room.

Place your desk against a wall that faces east if at all possible. Feng shui says that east is the direction to point when you want to build wisdom.

How to Make a Feng Shui Wealth Jar

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese method of arranging furniture and possessions in your home to attract health, prosperity and general well-being. Feng Shui philosophy believes that by balancing how energy, or qi, flows through your environment, you live in harmony with nature and manifest positive results in your life. Strategically-placing certain objects in your home is recommended in Feng Shui theory, such as the Feng Shui wealth jar, which symbolizes never-ending wealth and helps create financial stability.

Select the container for your Feng Shui wealth jar. It can be a plate, vase, bowl, jar or pot. You can can also order specially-designed wealth jars from Feng Shui distributors over the Internet.

Fill your Feng Shui wealth jar with items that symbolize wealth, good-fortune and prosperity. You can purchase imitation gold nuggets, pearls, gold bars and gold coins from Feng Shui distributors. Include in your wealth jar imitation or real jewelry, checks filled out to yourself with high dollar amounts and other items that represent prosperity to you. Use your wealth jar as a piggy bank and fill it with real money. Load up your wealth jar until it's packed to the brim with symbolic and actual treasures.

Place the Feng Shui wealth jar in your living room in the southeast corner for creating wealth and financial stability. If you're searching for a job or other money-making opportunities, put the wealth jar in the northwest corner of your living room to increase your luck in finding high-paying employment. The wealth jar should ideally be placed so it faces the entrance of your home or living room.

Put a Feng Shui wealth jar in your office for help in manifesting financial success with your career. If you run a business, place a wealth jar near the cash register to attract customers.