For advanced practitioners, knowing when a house or building was built reveals so much information that to not have that piece of information can seriously limit the type of analysis normally available.  Usually, this information is obtainable through Titles companies, the Tax assessors Office, or other documents that the owner of the property will have in their possession. Real Estate websites get their Year Built information from public documents. Occasionally, the information is not available.

As an example, let’s say one house was built on a parcel in 1912 and then another one built or moved to the same parcel some years later.  The Title company might only have one of the structures listed. I always do a comparison of the two most likely time cycles and get feedback from the client to help narrow the possibilities. If someone definitely knew that their home was built in the 1940’s, then I would compare the calculation done for any house built between 1940-1943 with the house types built between 1944-1949. The 1940’s is split between what we call Period 4 and Period 5.  Another example of an easier situation would be a house built for sure in the 1990’s. Period 7 was 1984 through 2003.  So I can be confident about “the 1990’s” being a Period 7 house.

 

  1. Additions from unknown construction time periods is another complicating factor, much like the first example. As well, how the addition was done can determine whether or not the entire house has a newer energy verses some of the house being considered original energy.  As an example, if a house is gutted at the same time a second story is added and the first floor is open to the sky, then it could be considered a totally new house.  But if the ceiling from the first floor stays intact while a second story is added, then the two floors could retain separate energies from their respective construction Periods. In other instances, the top floor will assume the energy of the first floor, which is the floor anchored to the ground. It’s one challenge to figure out which part of a house represents a certain Construction Period and another dilemma when the additions are obvious, but there is no record of when the changes were made.  Depending on when a house was built and what country it is in, the record-keeping will be different. I’ve reviewed some older homes from the 1800’s and even a few from the 1700’s, including some memorable homes that started out as barns.
  2. An indefinite compass reading can also make analysis tricky.  Most houses comfortably fit within a 15 degree range that classifies it as a certain direction, but sometimes the compass reading is only within a degree or two from another direction.  With the following example, 22.5 degrees marks the cut off point between the direction of northeast and east.  If a house was facing somewhere between 21-24 degrees, comparative charts would need to be reviewed.  This doesn’t happen very often, but it is metaphorically like a house that is built on the borderline between two different states. Its location is not easy to define.  This is like an astrologer not knowing exactly where someone was born.  It limits the analysis.

There are other things which could make a Feng Shui analysis difficult, but the ones just listed here are issues which have nothing to do with the capabilities of the practitioner. In fact, it’s only with a high level of training and experience that the practitioner is even aware that these important details matter, such as how an expansion was built or how to deal with an iffy compass reading.

Not being confident about the Sitting and Facing can also make the analysis difficult, but quickly recognizing a non-obvious front and back comes with experience. I am rarely stumped when it comes to which is the facing side, but once in a great while a floor plan will be confusing, with compelling facing sides for two different directions. As an example, this could happen with a corner end unit apartment or condo, with balconies on two sides.

Another feature which makes a reading difficult is when a house has had numerous additions and not just one or two, like a person whose had too many cosmetic surgeries. In this case, we might know exactly when and how each addition was done. But it can end up a Judgement Call:

Does each addition get its own separate grid? Have the newer additions taken over the older? Have the newer parts been absorbed by the original energy?  When all is said and done, too many additions may weaken the energetic integrity of the house.

With all of these predicaments, a feng shui practitioner must do their best to keep their own bias or assumptions in check and try to formulate the most objective, logical way to interpret the findings, as complex or contradictory as they may be.

Author: Kartar Diamond

Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®

From the Architecture and Design Blog Series