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Before you start moving around large
pieces of furniture to maximize your
ch'i, you need to understand the
principles lying behind the guidelines.
After all, what good is it to rearrange
your living space if you don't
understand the theory behind it?
Yin and yang
Yin and Yang are not the names of twin
pandas. Well, actually, they probably
are, but that's not the Yin and Yang
we're talking about. Yin (black) and
yang (white) are the harmonizing factors
of the universe: opposing energies like
day and night. Here's a picture:
Oooh… pretty. Yin and yang are totally
dependent upon one another and one does
not exist without the other. In fact,
there is always a little bit of yang
within yin (the white spot on the yin
side) and vice versa.
Yin and yang are typically portrayed
inside a Taichi circle, which symbolizes
completeness. Lifeforce energy (that is,
ch'i) created the oppositional duality
of yin and yang - neither is good or
evil - they just exist that way. Below
are the characteristics associated with
yin and yang.
|
Yin |
Yang |
Black
Night
Female
Receptive
Yielding
Negative
Supports, nurtures, and
sustains
Shady, northern side of
a hill
Valleys, rivers, streams
|
White
Day
Male
Active
Dominating
Positive
Full of power and energy
Sunny, southern side of a
hill
Hills, mountains, raised
topography |
In
feng shui, the goal is to achieve a
balance of yin and yang. For example, if
a backyard is too hilly (too much Mr.
Yang) one would want to introduce a
water feature or some plants to break up
the landscape (introduce Ms. Yin).
The eight trigrams
The eight trigrams of the "I Ching" are
the secret of life. Oh… so THAT'S the
secret! And we thought the secret to
life was the respiratory system! The I
Ching, China's oldest and most
influential book, describes nature (and
everything else in the universe) as
moving and changing. Here's a picture of
the eight trigrams:
Each series of three lines represents a
different "house."
We'll get back to all these little lines
later. For now, just know that they're
important.
The five elements
Ch'i energy can be manifested in five
forms - the five elements of fire,
earth, wood, water, or metal. (Contrary
to popular belief, Milla Jovovich is not
the fifth element.) The Chinese
believe these elements affect everything
we do. For example, in our horoscopes we
have some of each element; however, how
much we have of each element determines
our personality and success (we'll tell
you more about how to find out your
personal elements later on in
Step 4). Characteristics of the
elements are listed below:
|
Wood |
Fire |
Earth |
Metal |
Water |
-
Creative
-
Innovative
-
Pliant and bending,
or
-
Strong and unyielding
-
Sociable and community
minded
-
Color: green
-
Direction: east &
northeast
-
Life cycle: birth &
early childhood
|
-
Energy
-
Enthusiasm
-
Can be dangerous
-
Warms and cheers, but
can burn and destroy
-
Natural leader
-
Color: red
-
Direction: south
-
Life cycle: late
childhood before puberty
|
-
Stable
-
Real estate and legacies
-
Patient, just, honest,
and methodical
-
Can be smothering and
demanding
-
Color: yellow
-
Direction: center,
southwest, & northeast
-
Life cycle: adolescence
|
-
Harvest
-
Business
-
Success (financial)
-
Can symbolize the sword
and be destructive and
violent
-
Color: white
-
Direction: west &
northwest
-
Life cycle: adulthood
|
-
Travel
-
Communication
-
Literature, arts & media
-
Gentle (soft rain) or
Violent (hurricane)
-
Nourishes living things,
but can wear away rock
-
Color: black
-
Direction: north
-
Life cycle: old age
|
These elements interact with each other
in cycles. You need to know these
cycles, because it affects how you're
going to arrange your living quarters.
But for now, just frolic in the theory.
- Cycle of production - GOOD
Fire produces earth (ash), earth creates
metal, metal liquefies, water nurtures
plants, and burning wood creates fire.
FIRE -> EARTH -> METAL ->
WATER -> WOOD -> FIRE -> . . . and so
on!
- Cycle of destruction - BAD
Fire melts metal, metal destroys wood,
wood draws from earth, earth overpowers
water, and water puts out fire.
FIRE destroys METAL destroys WOOD
destroys EARTH
destroys WATER destroys FIRE . . . and
so on!
- Cycle of reduction - NEUTRAL
This cycle corrects imbalances caused by
the cycle of destruction. It's the
reverse of production.
FIRE rebalances WOOD
rebalances WATER rebalances METAL
rebalances EARTH rebalances FIRE . . .
and so on!
So let's pretend that you are a WATER.
Then it means that you should surround
yourself with METALS (because it allows
for production of your element), but you
should keep away from EARTHS (because it
destroys your element).
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