Feng Shui - The Ultimate Guide to Feng Shui in the UK
 
Fire - Inspiration

In Feng Shui the element Fire represents clarity, inspiration and insight. The Fire colours in Feng Shui are all from the red spectrum and Feng Shui consultants often recommend this element for protection and inspiration

Sources of positive and negative chi

The most practical way to experience Chi is to bring yourself into contact on a regular basis with the natural forces of the elements in our environment. Practically, this could mean taking a walk when it is windy or stormy or take a walk in the rain and provided you are up for it, allow yourself to get wet! Go out on a very cold and frosty morning or experience the mellow stillness of snow when it has settled. Get out in the sunshine and from time to time, albeit for a short period of time, expose your skin to the sun. Take a walk in the woods or a forest and experience the stillness and the driving Chi that sends the pine trees to pierce the canopy of woods. A walk on the beach, kick of the shoes and feel the sand or the pebbles between your toes. Paddle or swim in the sea or a river. Taking a walk in the hills or quietly read a book by a river. Begin to notice already what you feel you have an aversion to doing, as that can be an indication of where your Chi is at the moment. Notice, for example, the difference in Chi between a dog and a cat. A cat is quiet, serious, aloof, self-contained - very affectionate when hungry whereas the dog wears its Chi very much more on the surface. Essentially a pack animal, they wear their heart on their sleeve, expressing how they feel openly. Within a family it is easy to see the Chi of a wild young toddler compared to the reflective quieter nature of the grandparents. Look at the Chi in the faces of people who have been working hard all week and are letting their hair down on a Friday night, compare that with their Chi on a Monday morning as they often struggle unenthusiastically back to work!

Sha (negative Chi)
Like Chi, Sha Chi or "killing breath" or "poisoned arrows" or "secret arrows" as it sometimes known, is an invisible force. However, this quality of Chi can be threatening and dangerous to the well being of the occupants of a house that has this kind of Chi aimed at the front door. When we looked at the examples of water in nature, many of them showed its fluid and meandering qualities. However, imagine channelling this in a straight line and on a gradient and you would have a completely different mountain of water to deal with. Sha Chi is rather like a flash flood - dangerous, volatile and unpredictable. In terms of seeing a comparison in Sha Chi with wind, it would be like opening your front door to a hurricane! Sha Chi is generated from many different sources. Locating and dealing with these poisoned arrows is the first and the most important step to take, in what ever form of Feng Shui you choose to practise with your home. All Feng Shui practitioners are on the lookout for signs of these poisoned arrows and if it is present, then primarily their advice is how to protect you from it by deflecting it or shielding you from it.

Straight lines, straight edges and direct channels are very rare occurrences in the natural world. In our modern towns and cities, as well as within our own homes, there is plenty of evidence of straight lines and geometrically sharp angular edges to our internal furnishings. Standing in your front doorway and looking out, begin to be aware of some of the following factors that can cause poisoned arrows to be directed toward your front door. The entrance to your home or business has vital significance. It is where you have an opening for opportunity and if this is compromised by poisoned arrows, then it is possible that your hard work and effort can be undermined.

Roads - long straight roads generate plenty of Sha Chi. If this is being aimed directly at your front door, then you need to screen it or deflect it.

Bridges - bridges are rarely curved and ambient structures! They generate plenty of Sha Chi which is aimed directly at structures at either end of the bridge. Bridges are always powerful places in the community, highly energised and highly sought after in terms of their strategic value in warfare. Even nowadays, local municipal councils will fight for years over who is responsible for repairs and the upkeep of the local bridge.

Paths - I believe the path leading up to your front door needs to slow down the Chi as it enters your home. A winding, meandering path is ideal, however a front gate that is solid or set slightly to one side of your front door can help slow down the movement of potential Sha Chi.

Vehicles - motor vehicles are highly charged "creatures". Having one of these parked directly outside your front door and facing your front door is not ideal. Preferably keep your front doorway clear of vehicles but if this is the only place you can park, then try reversing into the driveway leaving the more aggressive forward facing part of the vehicle pointing away from your front door and property.

Trees - tall and imposing trees within 40 metres of your front door can also deflect Sha Chi in your direction.

Roof Edges - the angular corners of buildings opposite your front door can aim poison arrows at you as can the edges of roofs and gutters pointed in your direction. Recall the images and photographs of traditional roofs in China where the sharp angles are replaced by an upturned curve at the edge of the roof, therefore politely deflecting any Sha Chi away from neighbor's.

Telephone Poles/Utility Poles/Pylons - I would not recommend anybody to live close to or under an overhead pylon. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that they generate enormous amounts of negative electromagnetic energy which has the potential to disturb our sleep and in some cases, has been linked with more serious health problems. Like trees, utility poles facing front your door are sending poison arrows in your direction and need to be deflected.

Tall, Sharp Structures - these can include a church spire, a local sub station for cellular telephones or a tall radio mast from a local military base, police station or taxi firm. These generate powerful energy and if visible from your front door, need to be deflected.

Stagnant Chi - this can be just as insidious as overactive poison arrows. Examples could include a derelict site opposite your front door, a piece of waste land or the local cemetery. Protection by means of screening or deflecting is also necessary in these cases.

What to do
A hedge or a low wall to the front of your property will deal with some of these poison arrows effectively but the more distant or taller sources of poison arrows need to be reflected back. The most common "cure" practised in the orient is the Pa Kua mirror. These are octagonally shaped devices with the 8 trigrams of the I Ching painted on the outer edge while in the centre there is a mirror which helps to reflect back the poison arrows. These have long been used in China for the protection of the property against poison arrows and are never used inside the home or office.

Sha Chi is also potentially present within our homes. The basic principle to comprehend is that ideally, we use furnishings which lack sharp edges. Rather like in nature, it is wise to mirror this within our home by having furniture and structures that "flow". To begin with, that is where you may be threatened by poison arrows being generated from the sharp edges of a doorway, a wall, a bookcase, a cupboard - particularly in these 3 areas. Have a closer look at where you sleep, where you work and where you eat. These are 3 places where you are more likely to spend a lot of your time. Sitting comfortably at your chair in your office, you do not need the sharp angle of a filing cabinet or shelf behind you or beside you deflecting poison arrows in your direction. Similarly, when you are asleep, it is not wise to have the sharp edges of bedside furniture or wardrobes being aimed at you while you sleep. To bring a peaceful and harmonious vibration to where you eat and basically re-charge yourself every day, then your dining area needs to be free of potential hazards from poison arrows. Poison arrows can also be deflected down on us from beams within our property. Ideally avoid sleeping, eating or working underneath structures. If you have a special chair that you like to relax in after work, then check that you are not sitting under a beam.

Sha Chi Check List
Look around the home for potential sharp edges and see what you can do that is both imaginative and practical to soften them.

Check the position of your chair at work, your bed and your favourite chair for potential poison arrows.


Jon Sandifer - P.O. Box 69, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 9SH - Tel/Fax: +44 (0)20 8977 8988 - e-mail: jon@fengshui.co.uk - feng shui