Feng Shui Considerations for Purchasing a New Home

Author: Jerry King
Publish date: July 5, 2013

In the past year, I have received many emails regarding buying a new home, or moving to a different property. There are many positive and negative designs that you can spot even with the naked eye.  It would be easier if you brought along a Feng Shui practitioner to look at the directions and designs and have the practitioner explain where the auspicious areas are in a house but not many people can afford the money and time to go through every detail.  Getting a house properly “Feng Shui’ed” requires the use of many tools and details such as the Luo Pan (羅盤) Compass, Flying Stars, the Five ‘elements’, the Four Pillars of Destiny (八字) and many other methods.  Ancient Geomancers would go as far as tasting the soil on the ground!

Here are some pointers in terms of what you should be aware of when buying a house as an experienced Feng Shui practitioner (this list is in no particular order):

  1. It is preferable that the house is squared or rectangular, avoid missing corners or slanted edges. Obviously, houses shaped like a diamond or triangle not appropriate. It is very difficult to do the Feng Shui of such houses. Many mishaps can occur with irregular-shaped houses.
  2. The location of the house is very important. Avoid purchasing a house near Churches, Temples, Fire Stations, and Police Departments.
  3. The front of the house should not face any jagged edges, rocks, or ‘unhealthy’ objects.
  4. The front of the house should not face waters without land across the waters. This means having a waterfront property with nothing but waters in front; it will result in loss of wealth. There should be land across the water trapping the “chi”.
  5. Sharp corners pointing at the house and roads cutting around the house are not appropriate.
  6. The front door MUST be evaluated. The location/direction of the entrance should belong to a favourable direction based upon a traditional Chinese Feng Shui method.
  7. The washroom should be ideally located in the bad sectors of the house. The bad sectors can be determined different Feng Shui schools, whether it’s Eight Mansions, Flying Stars, or Dragon Gate.

The list above is by no means exhaustive. It is just some of the things we should be aware of when buying a house. Obviously, Feng Shui is much deeper than just a few points listed in this article. I would like to add a few more pointers below regarding the main entrance.

Main Entrance

The main entrance is considered “The Mouth of Chi” and this is where energy comes into the house.  So what should we look at regarding the main entrance? Most of the time, I would ask my clients these two questions:

1. When you stand at the front door looking out, what do you see?

2. When you open the front door and look straight inside, what do you see?

Everything about your main entrance should be strong and inviting.  Imagine getting home after work and when you open the door, you see something uninviting, or something is impeding you at your entrance.  The same goes for coming out of your house.  You should be excited and energized in the morning coming out of your home!

Here are some negative things to notice when you open the door of the house and look outside:

a. Facing a tree when you’re standing at the front door. That is considered a poison arrow.  The tree would block off any opportunities that you might have in life, such as career and investment opportunities.  The tree is also giving negative energy, in Chinese, ‘Sha Chi’. (殺氣)

b. Facing directly at the neighbour’s door.  Imagine if you opened the door and your neighbours opened their door at the same time.  Would you feel comfortable?

c. Look for sharp corners pointing at your main entrance, this could be a neighbour’s corner, or it could be their pointed roof.  Try to avoid these since they are also considered ‘Sha Chi’.

Here are some negative things to notice when you open the door of the house and look inside:

a. Facing staircases, either up or down. If you see staircases leading upstairs directly from the door, this is inauspicious. It could lead to loss of wealth and it can result in difficulties in retaining wealth.  On the other hand, if the stairs lead downstairs, well, we know what belongs underground and let’s not go there.

b. Facing the bathroom door.  This will lead to a constant splurging of money and it can also result in difficulties in retaining wealth. It is also said that this can cause problems with one’s reproductive organs and system.

c. Facing a window leading right to the backyard/garden.  In Feng Shui, good Chi flows and meanders around the house; if you open the door and the energy goes straight through the back window, it would be difficult to retain energy.  This can also result in the loss of wealth or even more!

Note that if you decide to hire a Feng Shui consultant, ensure that they take into consideration the direction of the home. Even the location of the sun, the velocity of the wind, and the location of major water features and parks can affect the energy of the home. Think of the home as a living feature similar to us where meridian points can be found. It is not as simple as moving furniture and then you suddenly feel comfortable with your home. People who are in bad cycles may “think” that things feel good, that is why a professional Feng Shui consultant should take into account one’s birth energy taken from a Four Pillars reading. The Feng Shui consultant should provide you with a reasonable understanding of why they are advising water/metal features in particular sections of the home. There is a reason why certain features are placed in specific areas and if your consultant cannot explain it, you may be in for a rough ride.