Years before I started my own Feng Shui School, I had a “Case Study Club.” It was comprised of people from different schools and teachers who wanted to learn more Feng Shui than what was offered in the programs they had participated in. Each month I created a case study lesson plan and that went on for three consecutive years. Most of the Case Studies created at that time then became part of my own School’s curriculum.
There are three case studies in particular, which form their own “sub-set” of lesson plans because they are titled “Feng Shui Controversies,” Parts 1, 2, and 3. In these three separate case studies, I cover theories and practices, which are not universally known or validated by all consultants. The reasons for creating these case studies were two-fold: 1) to discuss advanced Feng Shui practices and 2) expose my students to the different and conflicting approaches “out there.” Part of my curriculum is designed to prepare a new consultant for what they may encounter, especially when coming in as a second opinion. What follows here is a brief description of each of these Controversy Case Studies.
In Part 1: I discuss the Solar Calendar versus the Lunar Calendar. Surprisingly, there are some big celebrities in the Feng Shui world who don’t know the correct date for the Feng Shui New Year. I also cover the two main camps for how a floor plan is gridded out, using either the Nine Palace Grid method or the pie-shape sector method. This case study also covers the “female gua” controversy, which was one of the main motivators to write the case study in the first place. I use some examples from Nine Star Ki to also bolster my argument since they both use birth year for predictive purposes. This article links to some explanatory posts for the lay person, but each case study goes much more in-depth for the advanced student or fellow practitioner.
In Part 2: This case study discusses the various theories about what can determine or change the Period chart for a house. It includes notions about moving a house (literally), radical remodeling, the “Date of Occupancy” theory (which is enduringly popular), and the lesser used Current Period theory. This case study also delves into the Southern Hemisphere Theory, which was conceived by an Australian chap who is otherwise highly regarded by practitioners around the world. However, his Southern Hemisphere theory had many of us shaking our heads in the 1990’s. He turned upside down foundational principles regarding the entire Earth’s relationship to the Sun, just to cater to seasonal differences in the Southern Hemisphere.
In Part 3: This Controversy case study covers some misconceptions people have had about the Four Major House types, the Non-Literal Center of a house, and how much of an Element is needed to adjust a space. Different schools also have their theories about how to treat “timely” stars and whether or not color has any power to change the qi in a room. There are also contradictory notions about how to interpret an individual apartment within a building or a commercial suite within a larger structure. And at least one Feng Shui researcher believes we have the start dates for the nine Periods all wrong….
Will I ever put together a Feng Shui Controversies, Part 4? Stay tuned!
Author: Kartar Diamond
Company: Feng Shui Solutions ®
From the Feng Shui Theory Blog Series
