An Chien
Chinese word for “secret poison arrow”

Bright Hall
the open space in front of a building to hold benevolent feng shui forces.

Chang Lung
Green Dragon

Chi
cosmic Breath/energy. Sha Chi is a term for Poison breath

Compass School

There are two main schools of feng shui. The compass school uses the person’s date of birth and a compass to determine the best locations ad houses for people to live in.

Dragon’s Den
Used in feng shui terms where mountain ranges are called dragons. A dragon den’s is a spot of land where the configuration of the landscape allows the benevolent natural forces of the dragon to concentrate and is a good site for houses and graves, bringing prosperity to the people living there as well as their descendants.

Dragon Arm and Tiger Arm
Used in feng shui terms where the objects on both sides on a building help hold feng shui forces and prevent them from dissipating quickly. Object on the left is called dragon arm and that on the right is called tiger arm.

Eight Kua
A set of eight trigrams drawn up in the form of various combinations of continuous lines and broken lines. They originate from the ancient Book of Changes, the I Ching. The eight kua or trigrams are believed to reflect the universal order.

Feng Shui
Commonly used in Feng Shui Terms where Feng means “Wind”
And “Shui” means “Water”. It is the art of living in harmony with the earth. If we do that, we live lives of happiness, contentment, and abundance. Feng shui has been practised in the Far East for five thousand years. It is now spread around the world and is getting very popular.

Five Basic Elements
One basic principle behind all schools of Chinese metaphysics is that everything in the universe, including human beings, is composed of five basic forces called the five elements. They are the metal, wood, water, fire and water. These elements are related to one another by the relations called the Cycle of Birth and the Cycle of Destruction

Flying Stars
Refer to the intangible feng shui influences which change over time and space. Usually symbolized by the number 1 to 9, each number occupying a square in the nine-square chart.

Four Pillars of Destiny
An art of assessing human fortunes by expressing a person’s birth data in the form of four pairs of Chinese characters taken from the Chinese almanac. Each pair of characters representing year, month, day and hour is called a pillar. The day pillar symbolizes the individual self while the other pillar show his relation with other people, and his circumstances.

Form School

The form school is the orginal form of feng shui. It looks at the geography of the landscape and evaluates it for the quality and quantity of chi energy available.

Grand Duke Of the Year
Used in feng shui terms. The Chinese animal sign of a year actually represents a direction where the planet Jupiter is located. The direction is called the Grand Duke of the Year and has serious feng shui implications. For example it is recommended not to disturb the earth in the direction of the Grand Duke.

Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches
Terms used in feng shui. A pair of Chinese characters taken from the Chinese almanac form a Pillar of Destiny. The two characters are written vertically one on top of the other. The character on top is called heavenly stem and the one underneath is called earthly branch.

Hexagon
64 combinations of 6 tiers of broken & unbroken lines of the I Ching

I Ching
A form of divination which is also called the “ Book of Changes”

Luo Pan
A complicated Chinese compass for measuring feng shui direction and influences

Lo Shu Diagram
Refers to a special pattern of dots found on the shell of a legendary tortoise which emerged in the River Lo in China. The pattern is usually presented in the form of a nine-squared chart. Each square contains a number symbolizing the flying start influences. The lo shu diagram is considered the origin of feng shui revealing the pattern of change of feng shui influences.

Luck Pillars
The four pillar of destiny only shows a person’s character, potential, relatives and circumstances. The fortune he encounters throughout his life is represented by another set of pillars called the luck pillars. The luck pillars are derived from the person;s four pillars of destiny and they show a person’s passage through life. Each luck pillar contains two Chinese characters and governs ten years of a person’s life.

Magic Square

A magic square consists of a series of numbers arranged in a grid where all the horizontal, vertical and diagonal rows add up to the same total. It was the magic square found in the markings of a tortoise that marked the birth of feng shi, the I Ching, Chinese Astrology and Chinese numerology.

Mountain Star And Water Star
The pair of numbers found in each square of a nine-square chart. The one written on the left is the mountain star, associated with health; the number of the right is the water star which is associated with wealth.

Nine Square Chart
The common drawing representing the feng shui influence which comes from all directions to a house or place. It is like a horoscope of a house and is drawn up according to the birth year and the direction of a house. Each square symbolize a direction and the number contained in each square shows the feng shui influence that the house will receive from that direction.

Kan Yu
Ancient name for Feng Shui

Pa Kua
Used in Feng Shui terms meaning Eight Trigrams in Octogon shape. The Pa Kua  is frequently seen hanging over the entrances to Chinese homes as protection. As mentioned it has octoganal shape and usually has either a yin-yang symbol or a mirror in the center. Around this are placed the eight triagrams of the I Ching. 

Park Fu
“White Tiger”

Shar
Refers to bad feng shui influences. Also known as “poison arrows., are negative energies that travel in a straight lineThey are either tangible or intangible influences. For example, a sharp edge of a building is a tangible, physical shar. The direction related to the opposite side of the Grand Duke is known as the three shars.

Tien & Ti
Heaven & Earth

Trigram
8 combinations of 3 tiers of broken and unbroken lines of the Pa Kua. The straight lines are known as yang lines and represent male energy. The broken line are yin lines and represent female energy. The eight trigrams that are formed in this way represent the eight  different points of the compass and describe the type of houses  that face these directions.

Wu Hsing
The 5 elements – fire, wood, earth, metal and water

Yin and Yang
The basic principles of dualism in Chinese philosophy. The universe is seen as composed of two opposing yet complementary principles, the yin and the yang. Yin refers to the negative, female, the moon, dark, low, etc. Yang refers to the positive, male, the sun, bright, high,etc. Neither can exist without the other. Originally, yin and yang referred to two sides of a mountain. Yin depicted the shady, northern side and yang described the sunny, southern side.

Yang House
Houses for living people

Yin House
Graves for the dead.

No comments