Wednesday April 5th 2006 06.38
Ching ming: Clear and Bright
Richard Ashworth
Feng Shui Diaries
Ching ming: Clear and Bright
Solar fortnight beginning:
Wednesday April 5th 2006 06.38
Hour Day Month Year
fire wood water fire
ting chia ren bing
muw tse chen xu
rabbit rat dragon dog
Month: ren chen the Water Dragon.
Solar Fortnight: Ching Ming Clear and Bright
A word about dragons
The term “dragon” is used a hundred different ways in feng shui. It can mean the yang or male side of a house (the left looking out), the spirit if you like, of the landscape and a measure of the quality of energy coming in through a door. And that is just the beginning. In China you see them everywhere. The name “Kowloon” itself, for instance means “nine dragons”.
The European ones are of course are very different. They tend to breathe fire, harass damsels and so on. They usually come to a sticky end and good riddance to them. Perseus, Jason and indeed St George proudly include dragonslaughter in their cv. Often of course, the dragon guards treasure but will not generally give it up without a struggle. Not an unambiguously positive image.
The Imperial Dragon is recognisable by his five toes. Accept no substitutes. If you are offered a four or three-toed dragon to protect your house, he is too downmarket for the job. He simply lacks the breeding.
As soon as you employ Chinese characters you are in the world of metaphor but the dragon is a particularly versatile one. The Chinese character that represents this dragon, chen the Dragon of spring, in the calendar includes strokes that mean rain and thunder. So it is reasonable to suppose that a water dragon will be a reasonably well-adjusted mythical beast. He will be at home with water. Chen is of the earth element but he conceals a watery nature. Technically he has a hidden stem of water. The water dragon ren chen that rules this month, has in addition a visible water stem too.
This means that in the year of the fire dog, he has a secret weapon; hidden water to quench the dog’s hidden fire. So to bring a long ramble to a close, popular Western interpretations of Chinese astrology condemn all dragons to a hard time in a dog year. But not in my observation, the water dragon who will tend to triumph over adversity this year and especially during this month which is tailor-made for him. Which is good news for those of us born in 1952. And for the fire Dragon of 1988 by the way but that’s another story.
You can take it with you
There is a working principle in feng shui that when we move house we take with us what we have and have not improved. If we have turned a disastrous home into a magnet for good fortune, our next home will often incorporate a head start in the areas in which we have learned and grown. If we have wasted advantages we may not be offered them again. Similarly we may carry with us “echoes” of our previous homes.
I’ve worked with two examples this week.
In the one, Vi a glamorous fifty-something, finally took the plunge, left her husband and set up home on her own after thirty-odd years. This takes courage. In the other, Saida & Simon, stars of last fortnight’s diary, moved to a bigger, better unhaunted home.
Travelling up there, I hoped that Vi’s house would be South-facing. It was in practice the next best thing: a North–facing house with a South-facing garden that allows me in effect to turn it around. Broadly it can be “reversed” by manipulating the relationship between doors and water, making it in practice face South. South-facing houses are bright, enlightened and illuminating like the fire element they are attracted to. This is the sort of future Vi wants and deserves.
It is a quirk however that the internal chi patterns of such a house need water for balance. The element water is expressed in a number of ways: rotational movement, amorphous distribution, alcohol, communication, even music. I avoid overusing actual water because it is so powerful; in this house it is quite handy that the toilets are over patches of tricky energy because the faucet is disposing of two birds with one flush – if I have not gone too far with this metaphor.. The simplest way to balance such a home, though in terms of internal décor, is the colour blue. You need water to balance a 7:9 fire/metal clash in the flying stars? Paint the area blue. Water drains the metal and quenches the fire. So blue is usually the answer.
So when I receive a plaintive email from Vi that she can not stand the idea of so much additional blue because her last house was full of it, it gives me pause for thought. I hope we have no mixed feelings here. She chose this new home, not me. I can as it happens balance a 7:9 with earth but there are places that earth does not suit. I don’t want her constantly reminded of her old home but nor do I want her living in fear of it. I have resolved to use something other than blue where I can, leaving only homoeopathic quantities in the décor. But until she is comfortable with blue I’m not sure I’m going to be 100% happy.
Simon & Saida’s house was very different from the last one. It was wonderful to see Saida with a smile on her face. She fair bounced out of the car into the house and started showing me where her shoes were to be housed before I had time even to get fully oriented. At least one room will need to be redesigned to accommodate them. Good on her. When you’re sick of shoes, I’m told, you’re sick of life. Though I’m a DM’s man myself. At least one celebrity I have worked for has in effect lived in a house centred on her shoes.
And the converted attic was a revelation. The ceiling was quite distinctive. In fact I had only seen its like it once before – in their previous house. Where the ceiling broke up into a series of prism shapes was exactly like where the worst energy had been in the last place. But this new room was well away from their bedroom and the main living areas. That time was behind them. I was able to place and leave anti-spook stuff including tourmaline and the traditional reds and arrange for the windows to be opened, noise to be made and so on. The room is physical evidence of them moving on from a very nasty phase in their life.They can watch the threat melting away before their eyes.
Job well done.
Runestone Cowboy
A lady I spoke to recently insisted that her skill with crystals boiled down to “intention.” There is of course, something in this. If everything is illusion anyway then what makes a difference is what illusion we choose. As Chuck Spezzano says: “Since it’s all a dream, we might has well have a good one.” On the other hand as I said to her, “If it’s all intention you might as well work with runes or prunes as crystals.” Yes it’s another paradox. Do I have an answer? Well obviously not.
Feedback is encouraged including that you never want to hear from me again if that happens to be the case.
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Richard Ashworth
Richardashworthfengshui@hotmail.com
Names have been changed to protect ..uh…me