Translated to English, Feng Shui roughly means wind-water. Feng Shui is essentially the art of arranging objects to achieve harmony in the surrounding environment. Not only is Feng Shui used in interior design, it is used in choosing a place to live, a burial spot and agricultural planning. It is highly believed that Feng Shui has an effect on health, wealth and personal relationships. Feng Shui is a traditional Chinese practice.
Early Feng Shui interior design relied on astronomy to find the symmetry between humans and the universe. The early Chinese often used the celestial poles determined by the pole stars to determine the north and south. Feng Shui instruments dating back to 278 and 209 BC have been unearthed from tombs.
As practiced today, the goal of Feng Shui is to situate the human designed environment on spots with good qi. Spots are determined by an axis in time. Feng Shui teaches that areas that are not suitable for human settlement should be left in their natural state.
Qi, pronounced Chi, literally means air. In Feng Shui, Qi is the flow of energy and may be based on a form of solar energy. Polarity in feng shui is known as ying and yang. This is the absolute balance between two entities. It is the good and the bad, the living and the dead, and is one of the key principals behind Feng Shui interior design.
Most Westerners knew nothing about Feng Shui until 1972 when Richard Nixon visited The People’s Republic of China. New Age by western entrepreneurs then reinvented Feng Shui. Feng Shui now speaks to the profound role of magic, mystery and order in American life.
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