What is Feng Shui

First of all, if you don't want to look bad, pronounce Fen shwèi .

Literally Feng Shui means " wind" and "water", to identify the two natural elements that shape the earth. To understand what Feng Shui is, one could start from a comparison within Chinese culture: while Chinese medicine deals with the circulation of qi between the various organs of the body, Feng Shui aims to harmoniously flow the energy of qi between the spaces . The management of the spaces and the arrangement of the objects influence the energy state of the rooms and, in return, on that of those who live there.

Feng Shui symbols: the Bagua

The key symbol of Feng Shui is the BaGua (or Pa-Kua ). The Bagua is a grid in the shape of an octagon that takes up the symbols of the I Ching, Book of Changes, a text of sacred wisdom with a divinatory character. Ba means eight and gua means trigrams : the meaning is therefore eight trigrams . The Bagua is represented by the central symbol of the Tao surrounded by eight trigrams each aligned according to a cardinal point in order to form a perfect octagon.

The lines forming the trigrams are of two types:

- Whole lines representing positive polarity;

- Broken lines representing the negative polarity.

The trigrams are therefore made up of 3 lines that are assembled in 8 initial combinations. Each trigram can be combined with each of the others giving rise to 64 groups of 6 lines, in practice 64 hexagrams.

For the ancient Taoists the combinations of lines represented possible living conditions, states and moments of life in which a man could find himself and recognize himself.

Feng Shui symbols: the five elements

The interpretation of the Bagua is combined with that of the five elements : Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.

The five elements in Feng Shui are reciprocally linked and convey the qi that is within each being and at the same time interacts in the cycle of universal creation and destruction. In addition to the element, each direction of the Bagua is also associated with a cardinal color and direction .