Feng Shui literally means wind and water. It is the Chinese based art of harmonious placement or ordering within a specific environment. If the home or work venue is in positive Qi (pronounced "chi") the life cycle will be in rhythm with nature's flow. The feng shui practice works to bring the home or work venue in harmony with the environment.

Feng Shui's symbols date back to 4000 BC in early rural China when people's lives depended on the fertility of the earth, which in turn relied on sun and water. As people began to observe the patterns of nature they realized that the ideal harmony between heaven, earth and themselves hinged on the auspicious placement of their farms, houses or orchards. Feng Shui's oldest written roots lie in the balance of yin and yang, the threshold of the trigrams of the I Ching

Feng Shui for the home can be calculated as a mathematically based science. Calculating personal and house numbers annually becomes the key to interpreting the proper feng shui in your environment. Feng Shui is then used to enhance nature, not disturb it. The result is improved self-esteem, health, career, familial relationships, and prosperity to the household or workplace.

Schools of Feng Shui

There are many schools of Feng Shui. Although they all strive to create a harmonious climate, their methods may differ slightly. The Land-Form school considers the formations of the land. The Compass School relies upon very precise calculations and measurements to the direction of the feng shui compass, also known as the Lo P'an.

The arrival of Professor Lin Yun in the United States put feng shui on the map in this country. He modified a fixed pa kua version of feng shui in 1985, and calls it the Tibetan Black Hat Tantric Buddhists Feng Shui. The Black Hat Buddhists ("BTB") orientates all houses or rooms by the door position. What also distinguishes BTB are its dual emphasis on the mundane (visible) and the transcendental (invisible) influences on the environment.