2008 Feng Shui forecast for your home and office

Note: You can draw the imaginary lines of the 9 grid over your house plan to locate the location of your door, stove and bedroom.

Next year (from 4 Feb 08 till 3 Feb 09), the 贪狼星 (Star 1) will be at the centre palace. For your information, the 9 stars that are mentioned here are real stars formation (north dipper) that exist in the universe that cast an influence on earth.

Star 2 (巨门) will fly to the Northwest sector. Star 2 is an illness star. If your door is located in this sector, you have to be careful of your health. Also, do not have any water feature in this corner for it will activate the negative energy there. Breadwinners of households need to also watch their health.

Star 3 (禄存) flies to the West sector. This star contains the negative energy that attracts argument and lawsuit. So if you are sleeping in the west or have a door there, you need to be very careful of what you say or what you sign next year. This star also causes disharmony among family members.

Star 4 (文曲) flies to the Northeast sector. This is a very positive star that governs good academic achievement. Put your kids' study table in this sector of their room so that they can do better in their exams. Bachelors and bachelorettes can also use this sector more often if they are looking for love. Your chances of meeting that special someone this year especially during March 08 is higher if your room door is also located in this sector. Alternatively, you can activate the area by putting an aquarium or mini fountain.

Star 5 (廉贞), or the 5-Yellow, is often regarded as the disastrous star which not only caused obstacles but accidents, bankrupts, calamities and terminal illnesses. In 2008, this star lands on the South sector. This exacerbates the ferocious nature of this star. To top it off, the San Sha (三煞) and Sui Po (岁破) for 2008 also happen to be on the same palace. What a deadly combo. For those who have their stove, main door or bedroom in the south sector, please be extremely cautious of your health, money matters and avoid making major decision. As to who in the house will receive what type of challenges, it depends on the flying star combo at the south sector. Also, please do not put your fish tank or carry out any renovation on this part of your house or office.

Star 6 (武曲) flies to the North sector. Incidentally, the Tai Sui (太岁) is also in the north sector. Star 6 governs authority, power, promotion and career advancement. For those who are looking at climbing corporate ladder or hopping to receive more authority in work especially those in the uniformed service, you may like to use this sector more often such as positioning your working desk in this sector of your office.

Star 7 (破军), which is in the Southwest sector in 2008, is considered as a negative star. This star is well known for bringing hidden danger, rivalry or robberies. Therefore, please be careful of break-ins or theft especially during March and April of next year if your office or house door is located in southwest. Installing security system is the best preventive measures.

Star 8 (左辅), the most prosperous wealth star, comes to the East sector this year. So, if your house or office main door is located in this sector, you will be expected to see an increase of business opportunities or perhaps more bonuses for the effort you put in at your work place. You will also see an increase in your money luck if there is a pool or water feature outside this sector of your house. Thus, do not miss out this great opportunity to build up your funds if your house or office fulfills the condition.

Star 9 (右弼) visits the Southeast sector of the property. This star is often associated with happy news. If this star comes to your door, it usually leads to joyful event like wedding or the conception of child or even promotion.

In gist, use the positive sectors (NE, N, E and SE) more often and avoid spending too much time at the negative sectors. One word of caution, for 2008, DO NOT renovate your house if it faces either north or south direction. If not, you will violate the annual afflictions like Tai Sui, 5-Yellow, Sui Po and San Sha. All this will lead to undesirable outcome on the family.

With this, I wish everyone a prosperous and healthy earth-rat year.

Jo (jo.fengshui@gmail.com)

NB:

Always seek advice from your feng shui consultant should you really wish to carry out renovation or place a water feature or move-in to your new or existing house. Better be safe than sorry because feng shui, a form of ancient science, does not work on the principle that "It does not exist because I do not believe in it."

Want to be rich? Change your name to Ka-shin la

I am very curious about the effectiveness of this strokes-based chinese-name-analysis system (姓名学) especially when there was a bit of controversy after our Mediacorp artiste, Christopher Lee, was sentenced to jail after he changed one of the character in his chinese name.

Most of the parents that I know have, with the advice of an astrologer, chosen a supposedly auspicious name for their newborn. Do not be surprised when our christian friends also do that. And when I asked why did they do something that is against their faith, one of the answers that I get is "I am not good in Chinese." Some gave me wry smiles and awkward expressions. They could be influenced by the trend. I know I should not probe further if not it will cost me a friendship.

Anyway, astrology is not a religion. It is a science because research work has been done extensively over hundred, if not, thousand of years to prove the hypotheses. It is not a hocus-pocus thingy nor it is a superstition. Quite safe - but I must also qualify that that depends on who is the user of the system. There are alot of decepticons.

Back to the topic.

In order to select a good chinese name, you must first of all check the baby's bazi. If the bazi is lacking water element, then you may want to name him Ah Chwee. Becareful if you have a surname Lim. If you do not match it well, it becomes Lim Chwee (translated as drink water) or Khor Chwee (bitter water) if your surname is Khor. Pardon me. Please do not feel offended if you are really Ah Chwee.

Jokes aside, actually, it is the number of strokes in the chinese characters that determine the elemental value.

The question often asked is: "Will my luck change for the better after I change my name or the number of strokes in it?" For those that have changed their name, please let me know the result. As far as Christopher Lee is concerned, I do not think his luck has improved tremendously. Afterall, the effect of name is negligible as compared to the destiny chart that you have been bestowed with. I have personally seen the "(zero) effect" on my circle of friends and clients. Poor guys. They were instructed to write their new names thousand times in order to internalise it. Sweat.

If the system is indeed effective, and after you change the name, do you use it frequently? Does your business associates, clients and friends still prefer to address you as Robert or do they start to call you on your new chinese name? If they don't, then you think it will work?

I have heard from some renowned masters and also sought their opinions on this. According to them, the system was developed in Japan. It is meant for Japanese names which generally contain 4 chinese characters or more. It was later re-adapted to force-fit into Chinese names. Nevertheless, the essence was lost. The masters have unanimously opined that they have doubts over this system.

Well, alot of masters are practising this system but I am not sure if they have done serious research on the origin. One big irony is that, I read from news that the very famous celebrity Master So of Hong Kong even admitted that the system is not reliable despite the fact that he provides such service. I guess he has no choice because this service is one of the cash cows amongst the other astrological services. There is a demand. So, as a business person he has to cater to it.

PS: One word of caution to Mr and Mrs Huang: Perhaps you have run out of English name, it sounds a bit weird to name your son Beckham. I believe in a way psychologically he will be affected - especially when England was booted out in 2002 World Cup due to the red card received by Mr David.

Looking for Love in 2008

For those who are looking forward to be attached, I would like to suggest that you use more of the north-east sector of your house next year. For instance, you can move your PC to that corner so that you spend more time there. Alternatively, you can also put a water feature there to activate the qi. But remember, please do so after 4 February. This is very important especially if you do not wish to end up having obstacles instead.

If your north east sector is a toilet, then you may like to look for south-east sector. You will expect positive changes in your live too.

Cheers! Love is in the air...

Healthy but no babies?

Why some couples are not able to conceive even though they have been given a clean bill of health? Finally, my question is answered today.

Yes it could be a timing issue. But some couples are just not fated to queue up for the baby bonus despite the fact that there is totally nothing wrong with the guy's sperm and the lady's womb or eggs. Stress issue? In Singapore, who is not under stress?

In my so-call PhD level of fengshui course recently, we were taught that this issue can possibly be rectified. Technically speaking, the children element is missing in the hexagram of the house measurement. Hence, there is no affinity for the existence of kids in the house. So, simply put, we will need to shift the reading out of this hexagram. Couple with a good date and time selected, miracle is waiting to be happened.

Don't believe? Me too. You can volunteer yourself or your friends so that we can create this miracle together.

PS: Kpo news. I heard from grapevine that the boss of the book shop at Golden Mile experienced this miracle himself. His wife and him were married for more than 6 years and have been trying hard for kid but to no avail. Then one fine day, a well-respected Master helped them. Today, when I visit his shop, I see that he has already a girl and a boy. Cool...

Psst....wonder why some people remain as bachelors and bachelorettes? You think they dun want girlfriends and boyfriends meh? Yes, you know the answer.

Ears Ears Baby

I was quite worried that my baby Ryan would have a pair of protruding ears. Thank God. He does not. Phew!




Protruding ears or Mickey-mouse ears (招风耳) usually indicate that the child is hyper-active, mischievious, stubborn and creates alot of agony for the parents. It also means that the child is either born to a very poor family background or very rich one. Quite extreme. Check out Prince Charles'.



On the other hand, we would prefer children to have ears that are close to the skull. There is a saying in the classic "前面不见耳，借问谁家子." In English, it means that if you do not see the ears (protruding out) from the front of the kid, you ask around: "Whose kid is this?". This is because this kid is so brilliant and obedient that he or she attracts people attention.



When come to face reading for babies or kids, main thing is to observe the ears as it governs the first 14 years of his or her luck. It also tells you how much the parents love the kid and whether the parents have potential marriage issue.

Above is a picture that shows a child who underwent a surgery to make good the ears.

Revealing the Heaven's Secrets

I have got different point of views from different Feng Shui masters that if they should collect money or ang bao from their customers after "revealing the heaven's secrets"?


One very young and famous celebrity master says must collect money if not you will experience the karmic effect, i.e., the bad luck from the client will be transferred to the master or become short-lived. One old grandmaster says sometimes he did it for free because of his clients' predicament. He pities them. He believes that as long as he does it with the true intent to help, he will receive good karma. So how now?


I believe both are right. Yes it is my own belief. You can choose not to believe though.


But most importantly, if, after the feng shui consultants advise their clients on ways to improve their luck and they do not pay up, or harbour the thoughts of trying not to pay up, or trying to bargain and delay the payment, then I think the Karma is on the clients.


So fellow feng shui consultants, just relax and do not need to engage in any legal tussle to chase after the payments for your clients will come back to you one day when they received the pay-back.


Remember, Confucious has a saying: "Do unto others if you want others to do unto you."

Palmistry DIY (2a)

Love line (the darkened line on the palm) or line that tells matters of the heart reveals the emotional part of you. No matter how intelligent one can be, he or she is in a way influenced by it. No one is spared. This line also determines if you are often troubled by perplex love issues.

If your love line stops between middle and first finger like the picture above, it means that you are upright, faithful, non-suspicious and non-jealousy type in relationship. Very seldom such people will fail head-over-heels in their relationship as they are very sensible.

Palmistry DIY (1)

Palmistry or Palm reading is part of the study of Physiognomy (相学). Face reading is also in this family. It has been widely used for fortune-telling purpose. There is Western Palm Reading (commonly used) as well as Chinese Palm Reading (the fundamentals are based on the trigrams). Different techniques but give rise to same result.

From today onwards, every week, I will select some interesting tips to share with everyone on how to read your own destiny pertaining to marriage, health, success, relationship and etc.

Meanwhile, please take a look at this picture to appreciate the various lines and components on your palm. Enjoy!

Saved by Doctor Destiny

A lady friend told me she went to a famous local Singapore master to pick an auspicious date for her baby to be delivered via c-section, instead of natural birth.

This old master, who appears regularly in chinese new papers, is well known for selecting chinese name to match with the new born baby's bazi (八字). His shop is located at Geylang and he charges $100 per consult for his services. Almost every couple I know go to him, hoping to get a good name for their baby. However, most of the time, his disciple will be the one that gives the advice. Maybe the shop is overwhelmed with so many customers that I have feedbacks that the consults were often done quite casually. Anyway, that's not the crux of today's story.

Recently, over a dinner, my same lady friend was sharing her experience on her meeting with the master. She is already a mother now. Knowing that I have some knowledge on bazi analysis, she shared her daughter's one with me. She was at first a bit apprehensive if her daughter's bazi was correctly and auspiciously designed and selected. To ease her anxiety, I did a check for her and told her that her concerns are unnecessary. In fact, I would classify it under a close-to-superior chart. Why?

The daughter is a yang wood (甲) person born in early spring. On both sides next to the 日元 on the heavenly stems are yang fire 丙 and yin water 癸. According to the ancient classic 穷通宝鉴, this is a 富贵双全 or a noble and prosperous chart.

Picture this, a tree in early spring when the weather is still cold. Essentially, what it needs most is the warmth from the sun and dew or rain for the tree to grow. AND BOTH ELEMENTS ARE PRESENT ON HEAVENLY STEMS. I may have over simplified the analysis. But this is because it is not appropriate for me to display the entire chart. Coupled with the luck cycles, this lady will excel in her career. Climbing the corporate ladder will hence be a whiz too. Maybe a Ms Somebody next time too.

After looking at her chart, my opinion towards the old master changed. I thought he really lives up to his name. However, my lady friend then told me the hour of birth selected by the master was initially not this. In fact, the master has proposed the c-section to be carried out in the morning instead of late afternoon (being the most auspicious timing). It was her gynae that suggested to her to pick a later hour as the operation fee would be less costly. She later went back to the master with the gynae's suggestion to verify and very quickly, the master said: "Also can la."

When I tried to plot the chart using the morning hour, I realised that the quality of the bazi dropped from a B+ grade to D- grade. What happened was that this set of bazi does not contain a single drop of water - not even in the hidden stems. Hey, based on your common sense, what do you think will happen to a young tree that receives no water?

Phew. I think this lady friend of mine must have accummulated some good karma. So much so that she met her gynae who has given her a twist of fate - instead of a fortune teller. What an irony.

Quotes for Nov 07

This is what my Masters told me so as to motivate me to be a top consultant in the industry:

一等师傅观天斗。
二等师傅寻水口。
三等师傅满山走。

A loose translation in English will be:

First class master observes the celestial bodies when locating a good feng shui spot.

Second class master looks for the water mouth in the environment to ascertain a good location.

Third class master runs around the mountains to look for one.

So, to the self proclaimed established Masters in Singapore, which class are you in? Or are you still out of class because you only give lips service?

Wait, my output element (伤官) is asking me to be cheeky and I thought I have a sentence that just rhymes...ha ha. Below is purely my own invention. 如有雷同，纯属巧合。

下等师傅只用口。

How long can this bookstore sustain?

This bookstore, please see the pictures, has its official opening ceremony on 24 Nov 07. I happened to be there. It is located at the basement of the Cathay Building, which underwent a major refurbishment and was opened again a more than a year ago.

Well, for those who have been there will find that the human traffic flow to this iconic building is less than ideal. The take-up of the retail space is really pathetic too. The reason that I like the place is not really the nostalgia that I hope to rekindle, but because it is less congested. And since less people patronise the place, the air seems to be fresher and every part of it still looks quite new. Most importantly, I can enjoy a good cup of coffee at Ah Kun after my movie, read my book, while immersing in the serene atmosphere.

Ok, back to the bookstore. What's so wrong about it?

When I was there, I couldn't help but observe the location of the entrance of the bookstore and how it gels with the environment. Afterall, I am an enthusiast in Feng Shui, so I got very excited.

While I thought the entrance is strategically located to receive the crowd from the escalator, suddenly, something just caught my eyes - a huge pillar just stand right in front of the entrance. Errh, my Feng Shui masters have told me this is a no-no leh. A column that is right smacked in front of a door is known as a piercing heart sha qi (穿心煞).

Well, when come to feng shui of any property, main door always plays the most important role. In this case, if the flying stars combo at the main entrance is also bad, I think in less than 2 years time the shop may end up with poor business and rental arrears. Hmm, maybe one of this day I must go and measure the direction of the building to plot the flying stars chart.

Any remedy? Yes of course!! Ok la, let's observe how the business goes for the next 6 to 12 months. I hope the stars there are good so that I can continue to go there and read the books for free....got sofa and nice music some more...hee hee...

PS: Anyone knows who is the feng shui master for this case?

Main Entrance

The Pillar in front of the bookstore.

Standing inside the bookstore looking out : Qi flows fom the escalator but disrupted by the Pillar.

蜡笔小新 is hen-pecked.

How you find Master So's MTV? Cool? Maybe his long pony tail.

Anyway, if you are curious to see if a guy is hen-pecked and will bring the cane and kneel before his wife, just zoom into the eyebrows and eyes.
In chinese classic, it says: "眉 粗 壓 目 神 無 助 ， 帶 埋 藤 條 跪 妻 房 。"

Put it simply, imagine a guy having 蜡笔小新's thick and bushy eyebrows pressing on a pair of sleepy-looking eyes.

Gentlemen, it is time to go for eye-brows threading. Psst...Psst....I heard it only costs less than $10 if you go to Tekka Mall.

Keep Life in Perspectives!

Antares is the 15th brightest star in the sky. It is more than 1000 light years away. Now how big are you? And, how big are the things that will upset you today? Or, for that matter, the things that are important?

KEEP LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE!

聽歌學睇相

This is Master So. HK famous celebrity Feng Shui master. Faye Wong uses him. Is this his retirement plan? But he sounds funny. Cannot tahan the way he does the hip hop gestures...

Anyway, enjoy la!

Please judge a book by its cover. Part 1

Teacher : Face reading lesson no. 1 : memorise 100 positions on the face.

Students : #!@%&*N$#Z!

Act of God

To what extent are we controlled by God? One-third. That's what most astrologers will tell you. The other two-thirds are governed by your built environment and own human action. Anthony Robbin and other life coaches and motivational speakers will tell you we controlled our own destiny. Debatable.

Personally, as an activist in the field of chinese metaphysics, my view is God plays quite an influential role in determining one's destiny - more than one-third. God, in my instance, does not carry any spiritual connotation. Undoubtedly, He is the almighty one that exists high up there and cast an influence on all the human beings on earth. Well, I would think He is probably larger than the solar system.

What do you think?

Do you think we really can create our own destiny? I don't think so. Nevertheless, I believe we are still able to make a little difference to our own life if we know Feng Shui and Astrology. Not that they can create miracles, but they can help you make informed decisions in life and allow you to select the appropriate measures or human actions to achieve your desired goals - realistic ones only hor.

So, one word of caution to the adviser of Sunshine Empire: unless you got Bill Gate's destiny chart, don't keep thinking you can beat Warren Buffet. By the way, your destiny is also written on your face. (One hint: Eyes not straight, heart also not straight.)

In my subsequent postings, I would like to share with you more real life cases or knowledge on this amazing ancient arts of chinese metaphysics for your daily application.