Cecil Lee

Dear Marc, It is usually ok to have the kitchen with the open concept in modern times. If you had consulted a true traditional Master of the past, they may not approve of it. However, so long as there is `symbolism' e.g. as you mentioned a divider such as a serving counter. This is alreay symbolic of a kitchen environment. In the past, the kitchen can be quite dirty especially if one uses charcoal stoves etc... Nowadays, we have to be practical especially with modern equipment such as air ventilators above the stove; the use of microwave ovens. A conscious effect to use less oil in the kitchen. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, This is an interesting question. I guess this is not based on Feng Shui but as you have mentioned many single portaits do use women as they are more `graceful' and since most of these vases are delicate, a portait of a women would be nice. The above is not my believes but a comment on your statement based on quite alot of vases and even hand painted plates I also own. I for one do not want to be labelled a Male C. Pig. However, I do have large vases at home that do have male figurines e.g. the legend of the Eight Immortals where pictures were drawn on the vase with them crossing the sea. These Eight Immortals have both a mix of male and female figurines. So, it may not be entirely true that all vases or figurines are of the female gender. I do have a collection of Chinese Antiques such as the famous " Four Scholars (male) ", the 9 sages etc... Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Randy, There are two ways one can take with regards to deciding on whether to build a water fountain: 1. One way is go with your feelings and in general, a single fountain outside the house is generally acceptable. 2. For a more exact `science' of Feng Shui, if you do know your element and strength, it is best that one is a weak fire or strong water person to avoid having water in their life. Another analysis is to look at all the components in your Pillars of Destiny chart. Early this year, this person had 6 water elements out of 8 in her Pillars of Destiny Chart. This is really too much water and in such a situation, I seriously would advise the person not to have too much water positions. I really do not know your purpose of having a few water positions both inside and outside your house. I hope that you do not do it as a result of reading books that say water is good for you. For example, what is your purpose for hanging a water picture at the North wall? It is always wise not to overdo Feng Shui. If you really must, I would suggest at least one one's lead time between making all these changes at one go. You can if you like, place the fountain and if you are only using your feelings or doing trial and error Feng Shui, do not add other enhancements or made changes for around a month. " If nothing " happens, it would be ok. (Under Trial and Error FS). My advise is usually as far as possible to avoid Trial and Error FS if you can but in reality, I have to concede that some of us do it. Well.. good luck:) Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, The `secret' ingredient for Garden Feng Shui is always -> Plants/Trees. This is because with surrouding Plants/Trees, you get birds coming to the house. It is good to have birds around the house and this is considered auspicious. In general, it is equally good to have a bird feeder so long as: 1. It is not of an " odd " shaped that may represent a `monster', or any unknown figurine. 2. It does not have pointed arrows that point towards the main entrance door or a window of the house. 3. Any objects or figurines with open mouth pointing towards the house. I remembered reading one of Evelyn Lips book where there was this "frog" with an open mouth facing a rich man's house. There were lots of problems he faced and it was only discovered late when a Feng Shui Master checked the surrounding during low tide and found the shape of a frog facing the house. By then it was already too late, if I am not mistaken death, etc... The remedy was to place an object in the mouth to `satisfy' the frog e.g. symbolic of food in it's mouth. Here, you will understand that symbolism in Feng Shui is important as shown by many earlier examples. Thanks. Cecil

Hi, This is because, the stove is a very important part of the home. If you reason it this way, one should not have the stove in an inauspicious location. One cannot burn away `auspcious' or inauspcious luck by turning on the stove but rather, since it plays an important part of the home, one should have it at a good location. It is a tradition to try to have the stove at an auspicious location for the spouse and best that it suits her `Ba Zhi'. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, Most of the readings taken from the Chinese Astrology uses only the person's Year of birth (element) only. If you have not visited my Chinese Astrology site, feel free to do so at http://www.lovesigns.net In general, one should not display ferocious animals e.g. tigers with hungry mouths open etc... in the house. Even for everyone. Generally, under the Chinese Astrology sign, the Tiger and Horse can be an excellent match. For the Dog and Tiger.. perhaps, drop-in at http://lovesigns.net Warmest Regards, Cecil P.S. A more accurate assessment is to use the Pillars of Destiny that analyses: the Year, Month, Day and if available the time of birth. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Joe, Sometimes we have to go with our feelings totally. Overall, when a house is considered not suitable for the person and if you have the correct Feng Shui e.g. the exterior Shapes and Form Feng Shui is ok, this is fine. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Kristinna, In general, if you are using the Eight House Theory or East/West Group theory; it is a very general theory to find out your general best direction(s) or a good intangible location. Other than that, if the location is considered inasupicious under the Eight House, the only way is to stay further from the line of inauspcious influence. Other than this, you cannot do much if you continue to `occupy' this location. Other more advanced Feng Shui techniques such as the Flying Star are usually used together. The Flying Star can be used to `trouble-shoot' or fine tune the Feng Shui Audit further. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Sandra Please see below:- Yes, it is inauspicious to have the entrance open directly to the staircase. The best neutralizing `agent' is using a partition or decorative partition `shielding' the staircase from the door. Other than this frankly, other methods are not effective. So sorry, can u elaborate this portion as I do not quite understand. Do you mean that you placed a console below the stairs or at which specific location. Is this related to the top question. Thanks Cecil

Hi, Here, we should classify knifes or sharp objections into either: 1. Display items 2. Kitchen Ware Under display items, we should never display swords or knifes directly facing a main entrance door. This is indeed inauspicious. Similarly we should not display these in our bedrooms. For Kitchen ware, it will be a more commonsense approach to ensure safety in the home especially if we have very young children. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, The Traditional understanding is that only when one uses the `entire' formation of the Eight Trigrams based on Fu Xi or The First Heaven sequence Trigram than can it be said to be `activated'. For example, the Tai or Peace symbol used by Geomancy-u.com cannot be said to be `activated' as it does not represent a formation i.e. Heaven to Thunder etc... where the entire First Heaven Sequence Trigram also represents a Family unit. Reference: http://www.geomancy.net/fs/pakua.htm We may activate the Earth element i.e. the Five Star by painting e.g. the room yellow representing the Earth element. It is still acceptable to paint the backdoor blue but this is best avoided. Symbolically if you look at it at another angle, the back door usually is usually a solid piece and often for protection against thief, it does not have a frame for glass panels etc... The solid back door is equavalent of representing a solid backing. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, In my opinion, this may not be exactly true. What I understand is that although we can `classify' certain music as belonging to more Yang or more Yin, we cannot fully apply it to our real life: 1. We need rest and time for work. At a state of rest or relax, I am personally not sure if some of us like to listen to more vibrant (Yang) or relaxing (Yin) music. This depends on the individual. 2. I believe most of the music are new invention or commercial works and do not represent classical music. Under the short article I wrote at http://www.geomancy.net/fs/music.htm I mentione that Barque music e.g. Vivaldi's Four Seasons etc... when played can relax a person's heartbeat etc... 3. It also depends on the stage of our life we are at. Some young ones like to go to the disco. Some middle aged persons like another type of music while some like Yang or hard music.... I guess all this is very subjective. I am still very curious about music for Constipation which I saw a copy of it at a local bookstore. I wonder what will happen if the owner of a very large shopping complex started playing it. Would it induce constipation and as a result you see a very large queue at all the toilets....hmmm I wonder... *JOKE* Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, This has more to do with " superstition " then Feng Shui. Here goes:- Peach Blossom refers to the sweet young face of a young girl. It also signifies an easy going very ready to be seduced girl. I have not heard of Peach Luck but overall the above is the significance of the closest on Peach Luck -> Peach Blossom. Otherwise, what you mentioned may only be regarded as a superstition. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, Here are some of the information on the Chinese Unicorn: 1. It is a mythological animal e.g. like the Dragon. 2. It is considered as a White Unicorn and under Feng Shui, it is interchangeable with the White Tiger and the White Bear. 3. The unicorn is considered a solidatory animal and is a peaceful animal. 4. The significance of the Unicorn is that it represents goodness, long life, filial piety and good civil administration. The unicorn is also revered in ancient Persia and Egypt and under Christianity. 5. Whenever a Unicorn appears it means that a sage is born. For example, the sage Emperor Fu Xi who was unanimously said to be the first to discover the River Map i.e. the First Heaven Sequence i.e. the 9 numbers or the Luo Shu Square http://www.geomancy.net/fs/tortise.htm 6. It was also mentioned that Confucius mother was childless for a long time and it was said that she became pregnant when she stepped over a Unicorn's footprint when she went to a mountain to pray for a child. Legend has it that a Unicorn also appeared before Confucious death. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, I am sorry, as I do not understand the meaning of " Keiloon ". Can you provide more details e.g. a brief description or the correct romanized han yu pin yin word. Thanks. Cecil

Hi, This is a good question. What we must understand in Feng Shui is that the " frontage " of the house is very important. This is where natural light enters the house especially through the windows. The test is to stand inside the house and even with some curtains hanging at the windows (at the open position), you should have sufficient light to read in the house especially in the daytime and during normal hours and an average day. Here, you should not be unduly worried if it is a `stormy' day and you see a `dark' house. Alternatively, in the above senario, you should also be aware that this is also the side of the house where it is `presented' to the public ie. it is defintely not the side profile of the house. Therefore, if your main door is at the side of the house, the `frontage' as described above is still considered the front side of the house. What is the purpose of understanding this clearly? The reason is that if we know this basic fact, we cannot get the Four Symbolic Animal concept wrong. What would be worse is to say that where the main entrance door faces, it is the Phoenix or Bird represents a clear space. Therefore, if we know where the `frontage' of the house is, we should then say that the ideal situation is that this location is the Phoenix or Bird i.e. with a clear space. Why clear space. With clear space then most likely, light can get into the front of the house and natural light. Contrast this with a "blocked" view at this location. Here, the house is most likely dark especially the building infront casts a shadow at the front of the house. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Saywew, With regards to the type of plants or trees: 1. In a NASA study, it was found that plants are good / effective. 2. As a general rule, you can plant any plants and ideally, the plant should continue to grow. If so, this is considered auspicious. At the front of the house, you should not however plant trees that can ultimately grow very huge as huge trees are not ideal for the front of the house especially since they will eventually block the Qi into the house. In many situations, one should avoid planting a single large tree on the front compound as this will create a very yin location. A conducive environment for Yin elements. Especially if the tree `expands' and have huge branches and many leaves. Trees that grow straight e.g. coniferous trees are acceptable as they grow tall with `circular' and upward arrow pointed profile signifying (symbolic) of UP or progress. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Dear Janice, Overall, there should not be any worry here: 1. Under the Feng Shui concept - If you cannot see it, it is not a "threat". Here, since the items are `kept' in the built in drawers, there is no cause to worry unless you start to place `dangerous' or inflammable items eg. inflammable liquids etc... 2. Some Feng Shui practioners I understand say that one must sleep on a bed with e.g. 4 legs to let Qi circulate under the bed. Here, there is really no cause for concern because: a. Many Japanese have been sleeping on floor mats for centuries. b. Many "boxed" beds with springs equally do are not "hollow" below except for four rollers. These beds for example are found in hotels and in many homes. Here, you can understand that in real life, there are millions that sleep like what you have described. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, This has to do with either `Superstitious' belief or `non-belief'. Under Feng Shui, the main thing to watch is: 1. If you are going to activate a mountain star e.g. if there is a mountain star to be activated, you can use a painting e.g. of the famous Mount Fuji of Japan or the Himalayan, Rocky mountain etc.. even if there is snow on top of the mountains. Contrast this to hanging a painting with a mountain scenery with a stream. To activate a mountain star avoid hanging a picture with stream or water at the location. 2. Avoid ferocious animals e.g. Tiger, leopard etc... with their mouths opened wide or where they symbolically looked hungry i.e. hungry enough to `eat' someone. 3. Avoid sad or war painting, pictures or of drawings with swords, cannons etc... 4. Auspicious paintings includes meaning ful calligraphy, happy paintings etc.. 5. Avoid hanging pictures of water scenery in the bedroom. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, Your concerns are equally shared by a group of teachers I met recently on an invited talk on Feng Shui. The Polytechnic has a Mass Rapid Transit train tracks running above ground outside the main entrance area a short distance away. What matters here is whether the tracks are either straight or `slicing' inwards towards the School or in your case the home. If it is slicing inwards e.g. like a sickle slicing the building, then this is inauspicious as it is like a `knife' cutting into the `flesh'. If it runs parallel to the main entrance door or runs slightly at an angle, you need not worry about it other than the noise coming from trains pass by. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, Ideally, not good for the male head career and overall luck. On the other hand, If a kitchen should usually be an auspicious sector of the spouse. This will help or even lessen the concern for the male head breadwinner. This is one reason why sometimes a kitchen at NW is bad for some but no issue for others. Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, I agree that this small pocket sized book is `excellent'. I purchased it I think 4 years ago. One interesting thing I found was that when I looked up my trigram and one career option of mine as stated in the `career' section is a fortune teller. What a coincidence:) Warmest Regards, Cecil

Hi, In my country, it is common to find pianos. 1. More often the pianos are the `smaller' versions not the large concert hall ones. For the concert hall ones, as it is `low' it can represent a `water position' and is suitable for a living room. If one can remember, under the Flying Star theory, we have both the mountain and water star. A living room is usually considered as having a water star because at the `center' area, you usually cannot find high shelves etc... Here it would be auspicious to have the concert (triangle) piano to complement the visitors chairs etc.. "on the other side" of the room. 2. For the smaller pianos, which is high at one end, it should be placed against a wall. If there is a mountain star at the particular wall, you can place an immovable object with mass and display it on top of the piano. 3. For other musical instruments, you should instead apply the Yin and Yang concept. As sounds played from the musical instruments are considered Yang, it would not be appropriate to place these instruments in a bedroom. But this depends also because, you can still play the instruments in a bedroom during the day and stop playing them at night. It does not matter if it is still in the room at night. What matters is that there is no sound from it at night. We have to be practical. If one does not have many rooms in the house, like I mentioned, one can still have them in the bedroom. But if the house is large, it is usually - using the commonsense approach to have it at one end of the house e.g. in a `special' room. Here, those at the other end of the mansion for example can do their studies etc.... Warmest Regards, Cecil Warmest Regards,

Hi, I believe or in my opinion, this dwells in superstition than Feng Shui. There is no mention of this in Feng Shui. Perhaps in a `grand mother's tale:) *JOKE* Cecil