Feng Shui - It's Outside Too

By Victoria Pendragon

  When Professor Tom Lim Yun introduced the United States to his brand of Feng Shui, then called Black Hat Sect, Americans focused their attention inside their homes, on the bagua, the ‘map’ of feng shui, attempting to grow their money and find true love.  But feng shui literally translated, means wind, water; it’s talking about outside, about the aspects of nature that bring energy to the environment.  So many books have been written on how to apply the principles of Black Hat Sect Feng Shui, (now more commonly called Tibetian Tantric Feng Shui), to the interiors of homes and buildings that the environment, the very thing that the words feng shui refer to, has been relegated to second place if, indeed, it is addressed at all.

            The fact is that any building or home is only as functional, harmonious and supportive as the land it sits upon.  And that land is affected by many things, feng and shui among them.  Power lines, street lights, other homes and buildings, electromagnetic fields in the earth, trees, animals, ley lines and soil conditions are only some of the outdoor factors that can affect a property.  If you have been reading books on feng shui, applying the principles to your space and have come up with results that are less than you had hoped for, there is some chance that the real issue is outside your house not inside it.

            Even the landscaping surrounding your home or building can have ramifications on your life inside that home or building.  Traditional feng shui says that the home should be comfortably seated in what is called an “armchair” situation:  higher at the back, behind the house, somewhat lower on the sides, and open at the front. This ‘armchair’ both supports the structure within it, much as an armchair would support you, and also holds a gentle, nourishing field of energy around the structure.  Houses that sit all alone, with no trees to protect them, especially if they sit all alone on the top of a hill, run the risk of being severely buffeted by wind.  In a windy place there is often so much energy that things cannot take root and grow.  Things that do grow in windy places often grow in a distorted way.  Applied to a home or business, this principal implies that, metaphorically, the people living or working in the unprotected home or building may not be able to experience the peace that is the prerequisite for manifesting goals and dreams.  Just as a seedling may have a difficult time putting down roots in a windy place, the owners of a windswept property may find that they never seem to get their footing financially. Just as the branches of a tree that may survive a windy location grow wildly or all in one direction, the owners of a windy home may find that, no matter what they do, they seem to keep heading in the same direction or may not be able to find a direction at all.  So when looking over your property don’t forget to look over your property.  Imagine yourself as a bird, flying over your land.  What do you see there?  Is your house comfortably seated in an armchair?   Are there nice big trees or another house behind it?  Perhaps a small hill?  Is there planting around the property, engaging the energy so that it does not whip through your land carrying your fortunes with it?

           Then imagine yourself a first-time visitor driving to your land.  Pretend that you are approaching your property for the first time.  What is the first thing that catches your eye?  What stands out to you as you walk or drive up to the land on which your house sits?  Are you walking or driving uphill or down to get to the entrance to your house?  Ideally, there is a gentle slope up to your home, allowing the outside energy to temper somewhat before it enters your domicile.

            What about the land around you house?  Does it slope down into the house or away from it?  If the slope is steep it may be carrying too much energy into or away from your house.  In an ideal situation slopes are gentle, mitigating the flow of energy to and from the house, allowing an even nourishing support for the lives that are being lived there.

            There are other earth-related factors that can affect your home. Underground water can magnify the natural electromagnetic forces of the earth, sometimes creating a powerful and measurable electromagnetic field that can profoundly affect the health of both trees and people. Subtle, electromagnetic energies usually have to be discovered by a dowser, a person who is skilled in finding hidden patterns of energy.  Some people are particularly sensitive to electromagnetic energies.  They can become sick or debilitated if they spend too much time, particularly sleep time when the body is extra vulnerable, in such a field.

            Power lines, microwave towers and transformers can also create noxious fields outside the home and are easier to spot.  These energies can be repelled by convex mirrors and other devices manufactured or created to bounce the energy away from the house.  If you or someone in your home has been suffering from mysterious physical discomfort you might consider investigating the possibility of noxious electromagnetic fields running around, through or under your home.

            I’ve been able to touch on only a few of the many factors that come into play when addressing the feng shui of a property.  I hope, however, it has been enough to alert you to the necessity of looking to the outside of your home as well as the inside when you are considering the feng shui of the space where you live.

©2003 Victoria Pendragon

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