Feng Shui Glossary

Chi Chi is a fundamental concept of everyday Chinese culture, most often defined as ‘air’ or ‘breath’ and, by extension, ‘life force’ or ‘spiritual energy’ that is part of everything that exists.

Five Elements In traditional Chinese philosophy, natural phenomena can be classified into the Five Elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. These elements were used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. In the generating cycle, wood generates fire; fire generates earth; earth generates metal; metal generates water; water generates wood. In the overcoming cycle, wood overcomes earth; earth overcomes water; water overcomes fire; fire overcomes metal; metal overcomes wood.

The Bagua The Bagua is a map or grid system used as a template over your environment to locate which areas of your home relate to different aspects of your life. Bagua literally means eight sections, and anything that occurs in your life will fit into one of these areas. A balance of all areas of the Bagua needs to be created in order to create the perfect flow of energy and balance.

Yin and Yang The concept of yin and yang originates in ancient Chinese philosophy and metaphysics which describes two primal opposing but complementary forces found in all things in the universe. Yin, the darker element, is passive, dark, feminine, downward-seeking and corresponds to the night; yang, the brighter element, is active, light, masculine, upward-seeking and corresponds to the day.

Form School Focuses on the arrangement of forms or objects in and around a property (whether it be home or business) to achieve optimal Chi flow.

Compass School Relies on the use of a Luo pan (Chinese compass), as well as the occupants’ birth information, to assess the environment.

Flying Stars Is an accurate and complicated method using numbers, charts and formulas. Used to determine correct placement of water features and other remedies to enhance good stars and suppress bad stars.