FengShui and Medicine
Sometime back I visited the home of a friend of a friend. They were typical Chinese and were very fond of preparing herbs. They had an earthen pot over a stove and a concoction of medical herbs was simmering over the fire.
Chinese herbs have this distinct quality of giving off very strong aromas especially when they are on the boil. Its aroma tends to be very pervasive and permeates the whole house. It stays in clothes and curtains.
How is all this connected with feng shui?
Over time the aroma becomes an odor which in turn works on the qi of the area where it is present. In feng shui, the qi pattern of a space are governed by its natal character as well as by the annual cycles. It is called the annual flying stars.
The annual flying stars that are most relevant in our discussion are the five yellow, the star no 3 and the sickness star 2. Where these stars are parked there the bad smell is emanating, then they are activated. On top of this, the slow burning fire adds force to the whole situation. This activation is not the kind that we want for they bring illnesses, sicknesses and other undesirable obstacles to our life. It is bad feng shui.
In the coming year 2010, the areas where these three stars reside are:
the five yellow resides in Kun – southwest
the sickness star 2 resides in Gen – northeast
the three star resides in Li – south
And that is three directions out of nine possible spaces. On top of this, qi is carried and dissipated as well by the movement of people. This means that every time we move in and out of, say, the kitchen and the living hall, we carry with the qi from the kitchen to the hall and vice versa.
So, do be careful. Try not to boil your medicinal concoction on a regular basis. In the same vein, do not let the foul of rubbish and food leftovers to rot and smell. Once this happens, they belong to the earth qualities of the five yellow and the sickness star.
If the situation is unavoidable, like you are unable to get the local herb store to prepare the concoction for you, there are other remedies. Coffee grains are good absorbers of odor. Activated charcoal is another but they are rather expensive to use on an extensive basis.
Ventilating the space is the best option. Airing the space will allow the odor to escape.
Some like burning incense or aroma oils but in an enclosed space, they simply mask the odor and may just add on to the after –smell. Besides, some people are sensitive to incense or any form of fragrance. In fact, fragrance are but artificial chemicals and who wants to inhale more chemicals?
The point is that our space should be fresh and clean for this is the formula for vitality and thus good qi.
This book is a translation of a text by FengShui Master Jiang Da Hong (ca1640) with my explanations and comments. The root text is a section on yang dwellings from his book “5 Songs of the Heavenly Principles”.