This article was directly inspired by a student in our School who is trying to get some real case study experience. How to do we know if a row of bushes or a hedge are helping or hindering the energy surrounding a property? How do we know if an even more solid fence or wall is needed?

What we want to see, generally, is a balance of outside landscaping. Each property is unique, but sometimes we purposefully want to draw in more qi flow to a house, whereas other times we may want to block or slow down the qi flow towards a house.

These theories and examples are covered in the beginner’s curriculum, although the information bears repeating. And there is nothing like a real physical example of any feng shui principle, for it to become very real and emblazoned onto your memory.

In general, we don’t want to see a wall, fence, hedge or overgrown bushes literally blocking easy access to a front door. We don’t want to see any of these blockades also diminish a sufficient amount of natural light from coming through any given window. Why? Because there would be a tendency for a chronically dark space to become too “yin” and that can lead to feelings of melancholy and even sickness for the occupant.

In feng shui, we often discuss how the very shape of a lot can re-direct qi flow and a border-less lot may also make it harder for the qi to settle down and stay long enough on the property to benefit the occupants. Wouldn’t it be interesting if we could all literally see this parade of energy coming and going all the time? Apparently, birds can see magnetic fields! Oh, to be as evolved as a bird….

If a property has a large frontage, such as an expansive front lawn, it may be perfectly fine to have a tall wall or hedge in front to maintain privacy. We can take it or leave it. However, the wall or hedge may actually serve as a good feng shui remedy if the house is at the end of a busy T-juncture or across the street from some unsightly building. There are many other examples, where a tall fence or bushes can usefully block some other “sha qi” such as the straight line of qi coming off the corner edge of another house or building. In fact, I trust the effectiveness of a wall or hedge more than I do in posting up a Ba’ gua mirror.The ba-gua mirrors may have their own energy, and they certainly have their own history, but I am just thinking in terms of physical, common sense, geocentric applications.

There can be many ways to solve a certain problem. For example: If your neighbors are perpetually noisy, you can wear ear plugs, sound proof your house, or move. Hanging a ba’ gua mirror might work in some esoteric way, but I would rather do “defensive” feng shui remedies than “offensive” feng shui remedies, mindful of the Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians to “Do No Harm.” Use of a Ba’gua mirror with its reflective quality, if they work as intended, could actually push negative energy right back to its source. Do you want to take ownership for that?

Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Kartar’s School of Traditional Feng Shui
For: Kartar’s School of Traditional Feng Shui Newsletter