If you google around for "Five elements", you probably find many hits that tell you something like this...
1) 5 Elements : Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood = 5 elements
2) Cycle of Birth: Fire burns to Ashes (Earth), Earth produces Metallic materials (Metal), Metal melts to liquid (Water), Water nourishes trees (Wood)
3) Cycle of Destruction: Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melt Metal, Metal cuts Wood, Wood penetrates Earth, Earth stops Water
But where did the 5 Elements came about? Which came first? I believe many people have not thought of that question. The clue is in the Chinese He Tu (River Map). You could certainly google that to read more. According to the He Tu, the order of origination started from Water, then Fire, then Wood, followed by Metal and lastly Earth. It was said that when the Yin & Yang forces first joined, the resultant force was damp, thus Water is the first element that existed on Planet Earth. To balance the dampness, Fire was the next element that was formed. At this point, Planet Earth was still barren without any lives. With the combination of Fire and Water, the temperature was regulated to a state that promoted warmth and conditions to sustain life, thus Wood was next to appear. Again, to balance the warmness of Wood element, the cold energy of Metal emerged. We can see that the four elements were opposing each other (Fire & Water, Wood & Metal) and thus force of Earth was surfaced to regulate these 4 elements.
But briefly, it depicts that the 5 elements are not really the physical Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. They are really the characteristics of 5 universal types of forces that resemble the physical 5 elements, hence we use these physical elements to represent the universal forces.
Force Of Water : - Characterised by energy that is damp and moving in downward direction
Force of Fire : - Characterised by energy that is hot and moving in upward direction
Force of Wood : - Characterised by energy that is warm and moving in outward directions
Force of Metal : - Characterised by energy that is cool and moving in inward directiona
Force of Earth : - Characterised by energy that is of moderate temperature and moving in horizontal direction
Hope we have a clearer pictures on the origination of the five elements ;-)
IChing, sounds technical? Please do not read on if you are yawning. If you decided to skip the entire section, all you need to know is, everything in this universe follows a pattern. Master the pattern, and you will be able to predict the future.
Literally translated, it is the Old Book of Changes. But, what so great about this book of changes, you may ask?
Since ancient time, mankind has been living in close vicinity to Mother Nature, of which their survival is influenced by environmental factors. May it changes in climatic condition, land fertility, natural phenomena, tectonic plate movement, mankind constantly faces challenges to overcome the forces of nature to keep afloat. Our forefathers had accumulated centuries of wisdom living in tandem with the change in these forces, painstakingly inscribed their experience and learning in literature for the good of future generations. It was said that forces of nature and their effects on us could be traced to specific patterns. The origins, causes and consequences are well-documented in the Book Of Changes.
The fundamentals of Iching revolve around the concept of Yin and Yang as well as the five elements (Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, Fire). To give you an idea what is Yin and Yang
Woman is Yin, Man is Yang
Passive is Yin, Active is Yang
Night is Yin, Day is Yang
Sad is Yin, Happy is Yang
Quiet is Yin, Noisy is Yang
Still is Yin, Movement is Yang
Down is Yin, Up is Yang
The list goes on.......
The theory depicts that nothings is completely Yin or Yang, that is these 2 forces coexist, and the balance of these opposing yet complementary forces keep the world going. This theory applies to the physical and metaphysical aspects of life, virtually anything you could ever imagine. What do I mean by that? Take the example of Woman is Yin and Man is Yang. Now, woman may be dominantly Yin, but she may exhibit the Yang (masculine) characteristic, for example being physically strong, being very decisive or aggressive. Similarly, man could also display Yin (feminine) traits such as been passive or emotional.
Now, all forces in the universe present the Yin or Yang characteristics of the five elements. Forces at work influence our wellbeings physically, emotionally and psychologically which in turn impact our judgements and decision-makings, hence affect the outcomes. It is important to note that everything co-exist in a dependent manner, and each decision we make affect others and vice versa. Have you ever asked this question, "I did all the right things, why is it I do not see any results?" Think again.
One regular yet important aspect of Chinese custom when it comes to important events is to select an auspicious date. May it be marriage, moving house, opening of business to burial and praying to the Gods and ancestors, most Chinese will want to avoid a date with conflicting and negative influence on the intended activities. So to pick an auspicious date has increasingly become a norm since the Shang dynasty.
As simple as it seems, choosing an auspicious date to most commoners would means looking up a Chinese almanac. Is this sufficient? Let's explore.
First of all, when we look into the almanac, it contains alot of information, and it varies from author to author. The general information that most almanacs will present are the daily heavenly and earthly elements, the flying star, the auspicious and hostile stars, the duty cycle, the clashing zodiac, the activities that can be carried out and should be avoided, the auspicious and inauspicious hours etc.
Have you ever consider, if the almanac states today is an auspicious day for marriage, does it apply to every couple who plan to hold their wedding today?
Fundamentally, choosing a good date involves incorporating the Heaven, Earth and Human factors. The almanac generally provides information on Heaven luck (dominating energies) and Earth luck (ie the types of suitable activities and directions/sectors to hold the activities).
Like tuning a musical instrument, all parts have to be synchronised before the instrument can play beautiful music. Without aligning the Human factor to the Heaven and Earth factors, an auspicious date on the almanac could be a day of trouble brewing for the person involved. Typically, geomancers and date selection specialists will consider the birthdate and time of the individual involved. The rationale behind is to determine the dominating energy that individual carries and ensure that the selected day's energies are complementary to his.
So next time if you are choosing a date for important event, get expert's advice. A good start is the foundation for success!
Sometime back, we were handling a case where the customer was experiencing marital problem. The husband was often not home until the wee hours and sometime even stayed away from home for days. When we vistited the house, we were greeted by a huge grandfather clock in the hall. In the same hall, we noticed that there was another nice round clock hanging on the wall and a table clock sitting on top of the television. When we approached the couple's bedroom, again we noticed that there were two wall clocks and few alarm clocks sitting around. I could'nt help but ask the lady owner why they have that many clocks around. She answered with curiosity "Why?" "Simple", I replied, "You have so many clocks, some working, others are showing other than the right time, so which one do you want your husband to follow?" "Confusing, isn't it", I asked.
In Chinese culture, the pronunciation of the word "clock" sounds like "the end" which signifies ending of one's life or death. It has become a taboo for the Chinese to present clock as gift to others for fear of being accused of cursing the recipients. It may not be well received if the clock is positioned directly opposite the main entrance, or occupants and visitors will see "death" when they enter the house.
To see it in the logical sense, clock indeed has a place in affecting the welbeing of occupants in a living space. The moving hands of a clock generates motion in a space. It is particularly useful to refresh and move energy in a place that is often quiet or not occupied. Some practitioners use clocks as Feng Shui enhancers to enhance the auspicious energy in living spaces. Some modern clocks also play nice musics or metallic sounds that can use to lift up energy and in some instance use as metal cures for the misfortune and sickness stars (5 Yellow and 2 Black). However, it is not advisable to have too many clocks in a house and the size of clocks must be proportional to the space.
With the change of period (8) on 4th Feb 2005, we have noticed many attempts by Feng Shui enthusiasts world-wide to referesh the Qi or energy of their properties (that were constructed in previous periods) by altering the positions of their main entrances, or undertaking massive renovations.
Various schools and practitioners preach different approaches to change the period of a property. Even the way to determine the period of a property has been a hot debating topic. One group of Masters said that the period of construction is the period of the property. Their explanation is that the base Qi is formed when a property is developed and this configuration of Qi will determine the success and failure of the occupants till the property is demolished or reconstructed.
Others argued that the move-in period should be used to determine the period of the property. Their viewpoint is based on the concept of alliance of Heaven, Human, Earth Qi where the Qi of a property is influenced by the alliance of these three cosmic Qi. Let say if we procure a resale apartment, the Human Qi of the previous occupants may be dissipated when they vacate the property. The absence of Human Qi breaks the cosmic trinity of alliance which could be re-established when the new occupants bring in new Human Qi.
In practice, we will normally suggest plotting 2 birth charts of property, one based on the construction period and the other with the move-in period. Observe the symptoms experienced by the occupants to determine which chart is closer to their encounters.
Do you like your life? Often than not, I heard people complaining about everything that happen in their lives. The wives are nagging, the bosses are not forgiving, the stock markets make them lose more money, even the car park attendants are not sparing them. Sounds familiar?
Ever wonder, what are the factors that influence the quality of your life?
In my initial learning of the metaphysics of Feng Shui, I was introduced the concept of the trinity of alliance, Heaven, Earth and Human. I remembered I asked the question how Heaven, Earth and Human factors affect our lives. I asked my teacher and have also consulted the classic writings. I shall summarised the learning points here which I think has alot of relevance if you intend to change your life.
Let's start from the beginning of life. When a baby is borned, the newborn draws the first breathe from this planet. This is an important beginning as the energy or Qi runs through the entire body of the child. His/her destiny can be diciphered from the date and hour of birth. This is known as Heaven luck or destiny which cannot be changed.
The moment a newborn arrived in this world, he/she starts to be influenced by the Earth Qi, from the place he/she lives in, to the place he/she is educated and later worked in. The Earth energy constantly affects his/her physical and mental wellbeings. Even after he/she leaves this world, the ground which he/she is buried also affect at least the next two generations. The ancient art and science of Feng Shui has been popularly known to enhance the Earth Qi to promote harmonious living.
Between Heaven and Earth resides Humans. Humans are emotional beings with wisdom and decision-making ability. Our maker may have laid our paths for us, we are able to decide whether to pursue the "predestinated" paths. In many cases, twins who are born in the same hour, received the same upbringing and education and even live in the same place, why are their fates turned out to be very different? It could be differences in the Heaven luck that is beyond our divinations. Another logical reason is our behaviours, thoughts, actions and speech that influence the environment and people around us which in turn affect our lives. What goes around, comes around. If we decide we want to be happy, then bring happiness to others would be our best bet.
If you understand nothing from the above, just remember,
1) Heaven luck - Cannot be changed
2) Earth Qi - Can be enhanced, by Feng Shui
3) Human factor - Can be changed, through actions, speech, thought
So can you change your life?..You decide!
Modernisation & industralisation have led to the depletion of harmony and balance with nature that was once known and avocated by the ancient cultures. The existence of energy in our environment is not a new millenium discovery but was one expressed by metaphysical practitioners for thousands years.
This led to the intense study of the influence of our environments to our physical, emotional and spiritual bodies. It is named differently in different cultures, Chinese called it Feng Shui & Indian better known it as Vaastu.
It really amuses me that people are arguing if Feng Shui or Vaastu are supersititions, as a matter of fact, energy affects us. whether we like it or not, the Moon still revolves around Earth and Earth around the Sun causing energy changes that affect our lives.
The key is learning to adapt with the energy drift so that we can live in that harmony which was once experienced by our forefathers.
Posts
