Cecil Lee

Dear Anon, Thanks for your feedback. Glad that you and your friends enjoyed the pictures. I will continue to whenever I find something interesting to post it here especially your comments about home interiors and the garden. I hope everyone can understand that as I am alone, it would not be possible to post daily. What I normally do is to bring along the digital camera and if something interesting `pops up' will try my best to take pictures of them. As Singapore has quite alot of traffic police... can only take photos when at stationary positions. If anyone has something interesting to share e.g. photos for comments, can always post it under the " Conference for Attaching Layout ". I can always comment on them. Even if there are no pictures at times, do continue to participate actively in the conference or `listen' in on the messages. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Donna, Frankly, I can only comment based on Feng Shui directions as I have little information without info on the analysis using Flying Star. Under the harmony of the Five elements (rudimentary Feng Shui concept). Under the Five elements concept: 1. NE = Earth element or Yellow. The ugly cream you mentioned can be considered the Yellow element. Implication: a. Cream is in general considered a `harmonious' colour as it is the colour of the Earth element. b. Under the Flying Star analysis, so long as there is no strong Earth or No. 2 numeral at the NE, this colour is acceptable. If there is a star 2 at this location, best not to use cream colour. 2. If you are painting the door Red, do take note that the colour Red; under the productive cycle supports Earth element. Under para 1, again there should not be a star 2 at the above location as Red will only increase the strength of the Earth element. 3. Under the Five Elements destructive cycle, Wood or colour Green destroys Earth. If there is a star 2 at this location, it is good to use colour Green. The above is usually how the colour scheme is analysed based on the Flying Star theory. However, if you do not want to use the Flying Star method, you may have to trust your sixth sense and choose a colour of your liking. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, Thanks for this interesting question: 1. I remembered reading quite sometime back one of Evelyn Lip's book on Geomancy (Feng Shui). (By the way, for those who are not aware, Evelyn Lip is an English author of several Feng Shui and Chinese cultural books. She is a trained architect and has a PHD. Her books are considered academically correct and is useful for those who do research for their school projects.) In the above book, she mentioned that when she was a young architect, she had a `culture shock' when she was asked to design a house. After the architectural plan was submitted to the house owner; she was asked to alter the design for the owner. During this period, she was `introduced' to Feng Shui as the owner had consulted a Feng Shui Master. In turn, the owner had asked her to alter the plans based on recommendations by this FS Master. 2. From the above `story' you will realise that it is usually `driven' by the owners of the house/complex/office. Some owners of buildings consult a FS Master after the plans of the house has been drawn up. 3. In a magazine sometime back last year, this article mentioned that an architectural firm clinched a deal (the client is Asian) for a commercial complex building because the architectural firm has a competitive advantage i.e. one of the architects had knowledge of Feng Shui. 4. Not all buildings in Singapore and Hong Kong are based on Feng Shui. It depends on the owners/developers. Because of the diversity of races, some may believe and hire FS consultants while others do not. 5. You mentioned that the building behind the house at the junction is marvellous because it is rounded. Yes, it is the same building where I took the most recent rounded circular steps with plants on both sides of it. (Under the conference " Photo Tours of Interest), which is not sent by mailing list but only can be seen by those that login to the website forum at www.geomancy-forum.com This building has also a swimming pool at the frontage of the house. As it is rounded, it is considered a house with water element. 6. For the Suntec City, where the entire project is symbolic of a person's left hand, this project is a mega project and some of the owners are tycoons from Hong Kong. Naturally, they had hired a FS Master from Hong Kong to develop the concept. 7. Later on under the Photo Tour, I will show a building in Singapore called the Gateway which is also based on Feng Shui concept but is unfriendly to its neighours as it gives off sha qi to its surroundings. 8. Unlike the West, if I can recall, most if not all projects are done by Traditional Feng Shui consultants using the Compass School and Shapes and Form School. Fortunately, we do not have projects done by `others' e.g. those that use static Feng Shui templates quite common in some western countries with so much of such influence. These "schools" have no place in countries with Chinese influence especially Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Far East and even China. Hope the above helps you to better understand the relationship between the owner/developer, the architects and the FS Master. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Lily, The calculation of the Hourly branch i.e. the first part is taken from zi (rat) but the Heavenly stem requires one to look at the Day pillar together with zi (rat) to find out the Heavenly stem of the hour. Therefore if one looks at it zi (rat) whether it is zi-early rat or zi-late rat does not matter. What is more important is to get the Day correct. Essentially, if one understand how Pillar works, the hour pillar is not that necessary as not all analysis refer to the hour pillar. However, with the hour of birth one can get more accuracy i.e. more elements to analyse especially for house of life. House of conception does not need the Hour pillars. Robert who is an expert in Pillars of Destiny knows almost every School under this field and has adopted the best practises and discarded `long-winded' and sometimes `non logic' steps in such a process. As he had mentioned earlier for example, the Hour stem is based on 12 hours and 11.pm to 12.59pm is = zi (rat). He does not believe in complicating the process by dividing zi into `earlier & later' zi because one can know whether it is before or after 12.00. This is only for referencing but in terms of practical calculations, `earlier and later' zi is always = zi. The reason why some Hong Kong Practioners want to use the above method is because for Chinese, most of them refer to the Chinese dates as the Heavenly stem and Earthly combination such as e.g. jia-zi Year and Hourly branch for e.g. yi-zi. To make it easier for them to tell at a glance, they may call it yi-early zi or yi-later zi. By doing so, the can glance yi-later zi as 11pm onwards. If it is yi-early zi, it refers to early morning 12 to 1am. This is all it is used. As we are using Solar dates as the main source of conversion, this is no longer necessary. Hsia has a major flaw in that is unable to tell a `blind' year. While Solar method uses the best of both as it is cross referenced to the seasons under Hsia. There are lots more `illogical' practises which are found in some other calculations. It is always good to adopt the best practises and discard practises that may not be necessary. Warmest Regards, Cecil

I have accidentally uploaded a .psp file which can only be opened by certain graphics program. Here is the same layout plan under .gif format. This picture is with reference to: " House at Junction of a main road - with Sha Qi ". Thanks. Cecil

In addition to the semi-circular steps, the building entrance has plants on both sides of the semi-circular steps. This is acceptable practise (based on Taiwanese Feng Shui concept).

This house is at a junction of a busy main road. 1. See what this houseowner has `done' to protect the house against Sha Qi (or poision arrows) from moving vehicles. 2. There are several close up views of how the house owner placed a row of " Earth lamp holders " on the side wall of the house. This is symbollically meant to keep the `compound' " bright ". To ehance qi. Besides this the owner also placed a potted catus plant on the wall where the traffic flow (sha qi) is pointed towards the house. ---- Readme: ----- Note: Apologies, I had uploaded the second picture: location-plan.psp under .psp (Paint Shop Pro format). Please do not download this unless you have pain shop pro). (There is no harm downloading but you may not see any picture as it will be shown as an invalid format). The alternative file is under a new topic: "Replacement Layout plan for the topic: House at the Junction...."

Here are two pictures showing the view of the "Thumb", "Index finger" and the "middle finger" of the Suntec City as mentioned in an earlier topic " Currently with the world's largest `Fountain of Wealth'. For more information, please read previous message "Suntec City / Fountain of Wealth Re-visited".

Dear Anon, There is really nothing you can do except to consider placing a potted plant (if this is possible) on the left side of the door. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Christine, Appreciate if you can give us a better idea the reason why you are worried about your kitchen in the North East. More importantly, priority should be given to the Kitchen based on the Shapes and Form School of Feng Shui. For example, the stove should have a solid back and not against a window. Since the stove is on the north wall, it can still be located at the north wall. However, the only caution here is that since it is at the north wall, you should not place a water position facing the stove. The sink can be at the west wall. Again it should not too close to any fire element and keep a distance for it. Other than the above, I believe there is no issue in having a kitchen at the NE. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, This is based on very general theory. I would rather classify this as textbook cures where Book authors will ask explain the location eg. South = Fire and let you do whatever necessary to enhance the location based on a fixed element. I believe all your four questions, what has been done is to simply super-impose the Four Symbolic animals `exactly' into the home environment. This is really not the correct way to apply Feng Shui based on the Five elements. For example, the South is already considered warm. Introducing a warm object e.g. a Phoenix would add more `Fire' into the location. If there is already `petty' quarrels within the sector, introducing or adding more Fire is not going to help. Under the Five Element concept, a good element to add would instead be of the Earth element e.g. pottery. As cools down Fire. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, There is some truth in what was mentioned: 1. Under the Imperial Carpentry, most chairs should preferabley have armrests. 2. The profile of the lamp shade is important consideration in Feng Shui: /\ / \ || A lamp shade should preferably be `pointed' upwards. This stands for progress. Circle lamps are also considered good Qi generators i.e. light is considered generally good in Feng Shui. If one wants to use five light bulbs, it can be circular in shape and can either be made of crystal, glass or plastic. The material is not as important. Avoid lamp shades or lighting hanging in an upside down position: || \ / \/ This firstly looks like a poison arrow. Secondly, it means `down' or failure. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Lin Huang, Please see below:- Yes, a child's bedroom can be placed above the kitchen. This is based on priority. For example, under the Eight House theory, if the bedroom is auspicious sector for your child, you can let him have the bedroom. Feng Shui is based on commonsense and it is belief that many fires in a home start in the kitchen. As fire rises, it may affect the bedroom above. But here, if it is an auspicious sector for the child, you can let him/her have the room. In the kitchen, one should always keep it clean and tidy. One can even invest in smoke detectors etc... The answer is similiar to the above. Yes you can especially if it is an auspicious sector of the house for the person `occupying` it. Priority here is as you have mentioned to have a staircase landing that `turns'. More importantly it should not have `gaps' but full steps that are covered fully. 14 and 8 steps is acceptable. Congratulations on your new home. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, As you have asked three questions that seems like superimposing the Four Symbolic Animal literally inside a home, generally, this is considered a `flawed' and is akin to practising Feng Shui the BTB way or commonly recommened by some book authors without due regard to proper Traditional Feng Shui. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, One cannot simply apply the Dragon and Tiger in the way you have mentioned. What I mean is that if you are relating to the objects: be it a picture, painting, statue of a dragon or tiger, one cannot say that say the picture of the dragon has to be at the left side while the tiger is on the right side. Firstly, one should not display such objects especially in a bedroom. One can still display the objects under the following conditions: 1. Ideally, the dragon can be displayed but for a purpose: a. It has to be a four claw or less dragon. b. It can be displayed facing a door. c. It can be displayed looking out of a window facing a poison arrow. Especially if the poison arrow is a metal lamp post, flag pole etc... This is due to the `breath' of the dragon being of the fire element. Fire destroys metal. The reason why some use it to face a main entrance door is because the Dragon (being the most Yang animal) has Yang energy and helps to `neutralise' the Yin especially if it is an inauspicious sector. Being Yang, it symbolises brightness and is similar as keeping the place "bright". Equvalent of brightening the area e.g. white paint or light up the area. 2. If a tiger is displayed in the home, it should not be ferocious, seems hungry or looks like stalking a pray. This is considered inauspicious. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, For your question on " Is it necessary to hang it "; I have mentioned in detail under the last message " Does pakua needs to be prayed upon in order for it to be effect. In the above reply, I have mentioned that there are two main uses of the Ba Gua mirror: 1. To deflect poison arrow. 2. To ward off evil spirits. I have dealth in detail the above. Please see below:- 1. The most important point to remember is to hang it according to the First Heaven Sequence formation. Info about the First Heaven Sequence is found at http://www.geomancy.net/fs/pakua.htm 2. One more point is that it should not be hang inside the house. It should be hang facing out of the house. For example, the most common way is to hang above the main entrance door. 3. It can be centrally above the door. It can also be hang below a window especially if it is a flat/apartment to deflect a poison arrow e.g. the sharp edge of another tall building aimed at the house. Other than the above, you can hang it away from the home. Usually, it is hang in the middle of the window. One can place a Ba gua mirror at separate locations. So far, I have yet to see anyone hanging two Ba gua mirrors togther side by side. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, To understand if the tree is a `threat' to your home, do check out the following questions: 1. If one stand at the main entrance and if the tree slices the house, this is considered a poision arrow. 2. If it slices through the window, it is a poision arrow. As I understand from your message that the tree on the right side of the house, this is usually acceptable. 3. If you have a relatively large garden or if the tree is quite a distance away from the house, this is acceptable. In Feng Shui, a tall, large tree is considered too Yin especially if it is at the compass direction of NE, NW and West. But as you mentioned that it is the SE location, this is still acceptable. Keep the tree (if possible trimmed). 4. The branches usually are not considered sha qi as it is natural for the tree to branch out in all directions. Rather, the tree trunk is usually considered a `threat' if meets conditions under Para 1 and 2. 5. Overall, the tree should be healthy. If it is this is acceptable. But if the tree decays or rots, then it is adviseable for it to be pulled down. 6. A tree stump or broken tree stump is considered inauspicious especially if it `acts' as a blade cutting or slicing a home. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Chris, Thanks for your very interesting question. As a guide, usually our surroundings is `governed' by Feng Shui analysis using the Shapes and Form School. Here, Shapes and Form is used at the Environment Scanning ie. the Landscape, the Site and the Home. We can loosely term the above as Macro Feng Shui. It is important in the above to locate the dragon (yang) embracing the tiger (yin) or we consider this a gentle embrace. In addition, in the macro level, there should preferably be a solid backing (tortise) and clear space - infront (phoenix). In Macro Feng Shui, we also analyse the enviroment in relation to the Five Elements concept. Here, if there are lots of `wood structure' buildings e.g. surrouding buildings need not be made of wood but tall and thin, one can built a house / building of Metal to destroy the surrounding wood structures thus the end result is to create wealth for the building. Again we should apply the 33.3 percent concept. In the macro environment, we (as a person) cannot influence much our environment. Our environment: between buildings and landscape can influence each other. Next, at the micro level, we can then concentrate on the influence on ourselves. Many a times, if a person lack wood e.g. a weak wood person, a FS practioner may advise adding more "wood" in the home etc.. For those who have learned Economics, i.e. Macro level and Micro level, if we apply the same to Feng Shui at Macro and Micro level, then we can begin to understand the relationship of man and his immediate surrounding has the greatest influence. Buildings and each other and the surrounding have another relationship. Hope the above helps. Warmest Regards, Cecil Lee

Dear Louis, One technique is to hang a mirror. It need not be full length but should cover the head, face and the upper part of the body. However, before doing so, it would best to look at the sector based on Flying Star theory to make sure that the location is not inauspicious. If the location is auspicious, placing the mirror is acceptable. But if it is an inauspicious location, placing a mirror will bounce back twice the bad luck. The mirror is used (in consideration) of the above so that it extends the pillar outwards. Without further information, I am unable to comment further. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Daren, Yes, a clock is considered a form of Sha Qi especially if it faces your house through a window. You can apply the rule: If one cannot see the Sha Qi, it no longer becomes a threat. See if you can come up with something e.g. draw the curtain etc... Another consideration is the clock. The smaller the better. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, This is not exactly true. In traditional Feng Shui, it is common for a FS practioner to advise the home owner to instead tilt the door facing one of his good direction. Here, it is adviseable to consult a FS consultant on the exact tilt degree. In the above situation, it is said that one kills two bird with one stone. For example if the door happens to be an inauspicious direction, by tilting the door to an auspicious direction, it solves the problem of the inauspicious door and also enable the owner to have the door face his good direction. Other than the above, it is also quite common for a FS practioner to advise his client to tilt the door especially if it is at the North East and South West to avoid the Devil's gate and backdoor. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, Unfortunately, this does not fall under FS but other fields e.g. PR skills etc.. Therefore, this is not a discussion topic here. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Kam Wah, Since the two dragons face each other, you have to take `them' as decorative art work. It is really no harm displaying them as a centre piece. It will not affect or impact your home as: 1. It is a four claw dragon and not five claws. 2. They are not `lone' dragons which usually is used to face the main entrance door i.e. each dragon face `both' sides of the main door. As mentioned in a previous mail, dragons should face the main door or face out of the house e.g. thru a window pointed towards a sha qi. As a dragon breathes fire, it is good to destroy a metal sha qi e.g. a flag pole or a lamp post as Fire destroys metal under the Five elements concept. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Lisa, Under the Eight House Theory, it is more important to consider the intangible force e.g. whether one is sleeping close to one of our auspicious sector. For example, if the sector the wife's Health sector and the husband's "Irritation", then the wife sleep closer to this intangible force shielding the husband i.e. the husband sleeps further away. Only after the above consideration than, one sleeps with the head pointed to one of our best direction. If there is no `compromise' on a good direction, then this is still acceptable. This is because if one wants to "advance further in Feng Shui" may use other Feng Shui techniques like the Flying Star and also Shapes and Form School. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Anon, Before I reply to your question, I like to highlight that the Ba Gua mirror is used for two main purposes: 1. Some use it to ward off evil. 2. Some use it to deflect/absorb Sha Qi or poision arrow. After `understanding' above, you can than know why some FS practioners would prefer the Ba Gua mirror to be `blessed'. Usually, those who ask their clients ot place a Ba Gua mirror to "ward off evil". Why do some FS practioners ask thier clients to place a Ba Gua mirror to ward off evil? There are two main reasons: 1. Majority of these practioners have a religion e.g. Taoism and believe that all homes must have a Ba Gua mirror above their doors to `ward off evil'. The type of Ba Gua mirror used include either a. the First Heaven Sequence Trigram with a mirror in the centre. or b. the First Heaven Sequence Trigram with an attached (below it) the two door Gods. (At a later date, show you a picture of the two `lovely' and elaborate door Gods on a temple door in Singapore). For the mirrors in the centre of the trigram, this gets more confusing for many. There is a flat mirror, concave and convex mirror. Will elaborate more at a later date. What is more important is the `proper' use of the Ba Gua mirror. For example, on one occassion, I had to advise the family to hang two Ba gua mirrors (centrally) below their two windows which faced a crematoria (housing ashes of the dead). This was because the two rooms are at the NE intangible line that "flows" through to the crematoria. One reason for the above was because when I first investigated the house, the family members sleeping at these two locations were feeling sick most of the time. When I did a survey at the ground close to the crematoria, the Luo pan I carried has its centre needle spinning which had detected some ghost activity. After the Ba Gua mirror were placed, I learned from the family that everything was fine. This includes making the two rooms more Yang to compensate for the yin activity. Fortunately, the family listened to me and also took down the three metallic wind chimes which another FS practioner advised them to place there. 2. If you are using the Ba Gua mirror to deflect Sha Qi or poison arrow, than you do not need to get the Ba Gua mirror blessed. 3. If one is in a Western country and hard to find someone to `bless' the mirror, simply say a silent prayer is acceptable. 4. Depending on the location i.e. if it is under direct sun light, the Ba Gua mirror may last between 1 to 2 years. Change them around this period depending on its condition. 5. Avoid changing the Ba Gua mirror in the 7th Month of the Lunar Calendar. For example avoid changing it from 11 August to 9 September this year especially if it has to do with `ward off evil'. 6. To dispose of the mirror, simply wrap it up in an old newspaper and tie it with a red string and throw it away normally i.e. into the dustbin. Warmest Regards, Cecil