Internet articles abound at the beginning of each year with warnings and predictions about the “Tai Sui” and the “Sui Po” and the “three killings” directions to avoid. Some people look to the Chinese Feng Shui and Astrology calendars for more input about what they should be aware of for each year. In my own Annual Update reports for clients I let them know what parts of their home or business should not be remodeled or what directions could be irritated with landscaping or digging. What your neighbors do around you can affect your health and well-being as well.

Some of these problem directions come with major warning labels about how one should not even sit facing that particular direction in any given year or not to turn one’s back to that direction when approaching their front door. Some even advise not to sleep in a particular direction if it is a precarious direction for that particular year. I have seen the manifestations of these construction sha directions when a person is renovating their own property mostly, and their neighbor’s projects secondarily.

The term “sha” can mean any type of negative influence. There could be “sha” in the rude way one speaks or in the unhealthy food one eats. But the phrase “construction sha” is relevant and real in a Feng Shui audit. Some Feng Shui professionals will even make predictions about where in the world there may be natural or man-made disasters, combined with the location of the Five Yellow Star for any given year.

A client recently asked me to be more specific about the ramifications of disturbing any particular direction in a year when the direction is being called the Tai Sui direction, as well as the other sha directions. For example, in 2015 it is the Year of the Sheep, which is associated with the direction of south-southwest. In 2016 it is the Year of the Monkey which is another sector of southwest, but closer to west, 30 degrees away from the Sheep sector.

The direction of southwest is associated with the abdominal area, digestion, elimination and the spleen. A theoretical example would go something like this: homeowner remodels their kitchen in the southwest portion of their home in a Sheep or Monkey year and then during or shortly thereafter they have a health issue arise related to the body areas connected to the southwest. Perhaps the builder working in that exact location has an injury or health crisis related to those body areas as well.

Sometimes I am more general in my cautionary recommendations, where I tell a client it would be best to postpone a project without saying exactly why. I don’t like to cause unnecessary panic, which seems to be running rampant these days with people interested in Feng Shui, but with too little information to make a really informed decision on the matter.

The twelve Chinese Zodiac signs cycle through perpetually in order, representing each passing year. They are hinged to a 15 degree sector of one of the eight major directions.

Below is a list of the zodiac sign, the major direction it is related to and some of the body areas associated with that direction. This is by no means a complete list, but something to refer to for the more common situations that can arise.

Tiger=NE=bones, muscles, limbs, joints, fingers, hands

Rabbit=East=feet, throat, liver, nervous system

Dragon=SE=hips, low back, legs

Snake=SE= hips, low back, legs

Horse=South=eyes, heart

Sheep=SW=abdominal area, digestion, elimination, spleen

Monkey=SW= abdominal area, digestion, elimination, spleen

Rooster=West=teeth, mouth, jaw, breasts

Dog=NW=head, lungs

Pig=NW= head, lungs

Rat=North=kidneys, blood, circulation, ears

Ox=NE=bones, muscles, hands, fingers, joints

Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®
From the Architecture and Design Blog Series