Fraudulent Feng Shui

As a predictive art and metaphysical science, Feng Shui has been around for thousands of years. But to keep Feng Shui out of “just anybody’s hands”, the ancient Masters coded their references. In addition, as these references began to be translated, the translation was not always pure and was often influenced by the superstitions of the culture rather than by the science of actual Feng Shui. Today, popular western authors have done even more damage by inventing a whole truck load of New Age interpretations.

Many times, after consulting with another Feng Shui practitioner, clients will call me because they wonder why they haven’t seen results — or worse, they’re seeing new problems. Sometimes, I’m stunned at some of the crazy recommendations they received. One client recently told me she was told to put sealed water bottles in the center of her home and in her closets as a cure. Now, for water to work, it must be open to the elements. These bottles were sealed! No wonder the client didn’t see any improvements! When she tried to reach the previous Feng Shui consultant with her conce
s, her voicemails went unanswered.

Always question why you are asked to implement a particular recommendation. If the answer doesn’t make sense to you, then don’t do it!

Now, from the phone calls I recently received, I want to share these five blatant examples of Feng Shui Fraud:

1. Images of fish or real fish bring prosperity. FALSE. The fish is only a symbol of prosperity. It is the water in which they swim that actually helps to attract wealth. This is such a common myth that some fish have been known to sell for thousands of dollars because they are associated with wealth. So, it’s not the fish themselves that bring wealth, but the fact that they move the water. Moving water – placed in the right location – can in fact attract money luck. But the attraction occurs whether you use fish or a pump to circulate the water! By the same token, pictures of fish also do not bring about money luck.

2. Keep your toilet lid down or you will “flush” your wealth away. FALSE. This is not just false but also so stupid and one of the most annoying new age myths. In fact, some books even say you should wrap your drain pipes in red duct tape to keep wealth from being flushed away. Well honestly! Visit any mansion and you’ll find plenty of bathrooms – and the rich stay rich without red duct tape. So, while there are plenty of good reasons (like germ control) to keep the toilet lid down, protecting your wealth isn’t one of them!

3. Placing objects in pairs brings romance luck to a single woman. FALSE. I’ve been in plenty of homes where women are desperately seeking husbands even though everything -- and I mean everything – in the home is in pairs. When I ask why, I often hear that they read the idea in a Feng Shui book or got the advice from a New Age consultant. The fact is, placing pairs of things is nothing more than superstition. What brings romantic luck is activating the right energies in the right areas for your own specific energetic makeup.

4. Paint your front door black for career luck. FALSE. One New Age ezine recently recommended painting the front door black for career luck. The reason was that according to the Black Hat school of Feng Shui, the center front of your home is the career sector and belongs to the water element which is associated with the color black. This is a very, very dangerous simplification. In fact, because different people have different energetic patterns, assuming that the center front of your home is the “career” sector is incorrect about 99% of the time. Plus, the colors black and blue can be quite harmful if they are not used correctly in a home.

5. Hanging or placing crystals fills a room with positive energy. FALSE. Unlike authentic crystals, the commonly used glass crystals have little power to change the energetic composition of a room. The good news is that they probably won’t cause harm, but they won’t activate positive energies, either. So if you like them, hang them, but don’t expect your luck to change!

The clever mass marketing of Feng Shui has created Feng Shui everything: candles, jewelry, fashion, fragrances …. While these may support the concept of balance and positive reinforcement, none of these items are actual remedies for the home. Authentic Classical Feng Shui is about controlling the actual energy patterns within the environment to improve any given situation and ultimately the quality of our life. Bottom line: if you want real changes, you need real Feng Shui.nn(c) 2009 Rupal Mehta Turne