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Feng
Shui
(pronounced "fung shway"), a practice of balancing
energy or Chi based on the philosophy of Taoism, is literally
translated as "wind and water," symbolizing movement
and energy. It is sometimes called the Chinese art of placement.
The analysis of the movement and quality of Chi in the landscape
and in the home rests on several key concepts:
- Yin and
Yang,
the two fundamental forces in the cosmos, signifying the passive
and the active. Yin and Yang are constantly in motion, perpetually
giving birth to one another.
- The five
elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. These are
moods of Chi, or movements of energy that rises, expands, circulates,
condenses, and descends. (Follow this link to more on the elements,
both Eastern and Western)
- From the
I-Ching, the Book of Changes, the eight trigrams are each
composed of three lines on top of one another, representing different
configurations of of energy forces. Each line is either broken
(Yin) or solid (Yang), with eight possible permutations, from
the receptive K'un (triple Yin) to the creative Chien (triple
Yang). These eight trigrams form a scheme of categorization and
create a map, or compass for understanding how Yin and Yang function
across space or time. In Feng Shui, they may be associated with
directions in the house or with the astrological profiles of
its residents, for example.
- The five
animals--snake, green dragon, white tiger, tortoise, and
phoenix--create another kind of map, that represents the relation
of chi to local topography. It can be used to determine an auspicious
site for a house or auspicious arrangement for the furniture
within a room, for example.
This brief
outline of the key concepts of Feng Shui demonstrates the poetic
richness of the tradition. Meaning and relationships are represented
with multiple analogies, drawing on the power of mythology to
make the best of the environments in which we dwell, for better
or for worse.
I find Feng
Shui a useful tool in the practice of the poetics of place, yet
I feel that we who have emerged from Western culture will find
more resonance in the more familiar symbols of Western tradition
and mythology. Feng Shui is therefore valuable both in its own
right and also as a call to Westerners to reclaim our own symbolism
and use it as powerfully as Feng Shui does the Eastern. This
is my approach in the poetics of place, to balance and enrich
our experience of dwelling by calling forth the wealth of meaning
and symbolism we have so often neglected in our race for the
newer, faster, shinier bit of progress.
Coming Soon:
- More on Feng
Shui
- More on the
poetics of place
References and Sources:
- Peter A. Angeles, The
Harper Collins Dictionary of Philosophy, second edition (New
York: HarperCollins, 1992)
- Richard Tarnas, The
Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have
Shaped Our World View (New York: Ballantine Books, 1991)
- William S. Sahakian
and Mabel Lewis Sahakian, Ideas of the Great Philosophers
(New York: Barnes & Noble, 1966)
- Master Lam Kam Chuen,
Feng Shui Handbook: How to Create a Healthier Living and Working
Environment (New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1996)
- Lillian Too, The
Complete Illustrated Guide to Feng Shui (New York: Barnes
& Noble, 1996)
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