“If there is light in the soul, there is beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there is harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there is order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace on Earth.” – Old Chinese Proverb

Feng Shui has been a topic of my life for over a decade. But what I found extremely overwhelming was the array of Feng Shui schools and approaches out there. Just as there are different types of Yoga practices, there are different approaches to Feng Shui. To help minimize confusion, here are 3 Truths about the Schools of Feng Shui:

1. They share the same basic goal

In my intro to Feng Shui, I mentioned that the practice of Feng Shui can be very confusing due to the loads of information out there. At the end of the day, all the different schools and approaches have the same end goal – that is to positively boost the energy of your home or office environment. That is it!

2. They use different principles to evaluate spaces

Each Feng Shui school considers different but practical approaches in evaluating spaces:

• Form School – This is the oldest form of Feng Shui that dates back to 2800 B.C. and has an animal associated with each compass direction –  and the energy of an environment is evaluated via its shapes and symbols. North, South, East, and West are represented by a Black Turtle, Red Phoenix, Green Dragon, and White Tiger, respectively. For example, a home with a mountain in the back symbolizes and creates great financial support for its occupants.
• Compass School – Another classical approach to Feng Shui that has existed for thousands of years is the Compass School, which utilizes a special feng shui map called a “Bagua” to evaluate spaces. The idea is to calculate an individual’s lucky and unlucky directions based on the year they were born and their gender. The Bagua has 8 compass directions including: East, Southeast, North, South, West, Northwest, Southwest, and Northeast, which each have a life aspiration associated with (e.g. Southwest is associated with relationships). In addition, each direction has an element, color, and shape associated with it, which can be used to balance or boost the energy of a location. For example, the South compass direction is associated with the fire element, color red, and the triangle shape.
• Flying Star School – This is considered the most advanced school of Feng Shui – time is factored into the energy or “chi” assessment of a given space. If you want to learn more about this advanced practice of Feng Shui, check out Lillian Too’s book Flying Star Feng Shui Made Easy.
• Black Sect School or BTB – Introduced in the 1980s, this modern school of Feng Shui factors takes a more spiritual approach at implementing Feng Shui and considers aspects such as sociology, psychology, etc. Unlike the Compass School, the BTB school utilizes the position of an entrance of a space, instead of a physical compass, to assess the Feng Shui of a location. If you want to learn more about the BTB school, check out Feng Shui for Dummies.

3. You can use approaches from one or multiple schools

I have found it easiest to tackle Feng Shui in small bits to avoid being overwhelmed by all it has to offer. Each school has it benefits, but I have found that the Form and Compass school to create great results for me – as it has for many others since they have been around for thousands of years!

There you have it: 3 Truths about the Schools of Feng Shui. Each school has its practical applications and focuses. You can try different schools as long as you pick a consistent method. The most important thing is to keep a positive and open mind. You are now in the drivers seat to change your life!