How Chinese Astrology Relates to Feng Shui
by Jerry King
Many people who are familiar with Feng Shui understands that the Five elements/phases/cycles play an
important part in Feng Shui analysis. Those five elements are water, wood, fire, earth and metal. The
five elements can be used to enhance certain energies or prevent some from being activated within the
living space. Methods such as the flying stars, annual stars, annual afflictions and eight mansions
utilizes the five element theory. In Chinese Astrology, the five element theory also serve as a basis for
analyzing a Four Pillars chart (sometimes called BaZi . Before we get into the bread and butter of
the Four Pillars, it is important to understand what the Four Pillars is and how it relates to Feng Shui.
The Four Pillars includes the Year, Month, Day and Hour, therefore, each of them are considered a
pillar. It also has a heavenly stem and an earthly branch, therefore, it is composed of eight characters,
and hence the Chinese name Bazi or Eight Characters (). The heavenly stem in a Four Pillars birth
chart can be composed of any of the ten stems: Yang Wood , Yang Fire , Yin Fire ,
, Yin Wood
Yang Earth , Yin Earth , Yang Metal , Yin Metal , Yang Water and Yin Water . On the
other hand, the earthly stem includes: Rat
, Ox , Tiger , Rabbit
, Dragon , Snake , Horse
, Goat , Monkey , Rooster , Dog , Pig . Each of the animals consists of one or more
hidden elements. Many of you are perhaps familiar with the animals since it is well known that the
Chinese ring in their new year with many predictions, books and articles about what to expect in the
specific animal year. For example, 2010 is the year of the Tiger. Whenever you undergo a Four Pillars
reading, the consultant should present you with a summary of your luck cycle and perhaps the annual
stars since the cycles can sometimes cause major changes in your life from good to bad and vice versa.
So how does the Four Pillars relate to Feng Shui consultations? It is important for the practitioner to
first determine the favorable and unfavorable elements of your birth chart. Each of the elements are
related to a specific direction in Feng Shui and the same goes with the Four Pillars. To maintain a
simple approach, fire is to the South, water is to the North, metal is to the West and Northwest, wood is
to the East and Southeast, earth is to the Southwest and Northeast. The elements and animals are also
seasonal. The Spring is composed of the Tiger, Rabbit and Dragon; in the Summer, there are the Snake,
Horse and Goat; for autumn, it includes the Monkey, Rooster and Dog; and finally, in the Winter, the
Pig, Rat and Ox.
To quickly sum up the five element theory, each element produces, controls, or reduces an element. For
example, water produces wood, wood produces fire, fire produces earth, earth produces metal, and
metal produces water. While water produces wood, wood itself reduces water; the same goes for fire
reducing wood and so forth. On the other hand, water controls fire, fire controls metal, metal controls
wood, wood controls earth, and earth controls water.
In a directional point of view, if the bread winner of the household has a four pillars chart which likes
metal, it would be preferable that the person bought a house facing West since West has metal energy.
In addition, sleeping with the head pointed towards the West is also beneficial. White colors and round
objects are also related to metal, therefore, using colors and shapes can also affect one's attitude and
life. Some people may find that they are overwhelmed with a certain element. For example, one may
have an overabundance of water in their chart; it is better for this person to avoid North, since water is
to the North, and Northwest and West should also be avoided since metal produces more water. Using
East and Southeast can serve as a remedy since they are the direction of wood and wood reduces water.
The use of the Four Pillars can help determine where one can thrive on our planet. If a person asks
about their career and wants to know which countries they would be suitable to work in, determining
the favorable elements can help a practitioner solve this problem. A person who is favorable with wood
can head East; East Asia, Eastern United States, East of Australia, and so forth since those regions are
favorable to those who needs wood or thrive utilizing wood.
Shapes can be used as part of the remedy. For example, fire is a triangular shape, earth is considered a
square, metal is round, water is a wave-like pattern, and wood is rectangular. These shapes can be
applied in the living space if one is in need of water. There are businesses and websites that use shapes
and colors that are in favor of the owner of the company. It is very apparent in Hong Kong as many
restaurants would use certain colors, shapes and patterns to decorate their restaurants aside from
figurines and statues.
The practitioner can also present you with remedies in terms of how you can minimize the impact of an
upcoming problem experienced from the luck cycle or annual stars. For those who may anticipate
health problems seen in the luck cycle, a practitioner can place their bedroom in the Tien Yi
position by using the Eight Mansions theory in Feng Shui. They can also place their bedroom in the
number Eight sitting star by using the Flying Stars method.
As you can see, there are many methods in Feng Shui that can be applied after doing a precise reading
for a client using the Four Pillars. After a professional Feng Shui practitioner with the proper training
and experience determines your most favorable and unfavorable elements, the practitioner would be
able to come up with solutions to enhance a part of your life such as career, wealth, health and/or
relationship.
