SIMPLY PUT, FENG shui is about how the environment affects a person’s luck. In other words, how a person is oriented to his environment can impact his fortune. Still, the beauty of feng shui goes beyond reading a person’s fortune within a confined space. It is about the knowledge of orienting a person to his environment to harness beneficial energies and avoid the harmful ones in order to bring him good fortune.
It is common knowledge that location and direction are key factors in classical feng shui. In ancient times, where man lived closer to nature, orientation to environmental features such as mountains and water were of particular importance.
This still holds true for the San He (Three Combinations) school of feng shui — which requires an understanding of Man (home) with respect to surrounding mountains and water — as well as the San Yuan and Yi Jing Ba Gua schools of feng shui.
Typically, depending on the location of the property itself or the direction of the main door of a property, there are certain prescribed positions for a mountain or a body of water that can bring good fortune or misfortune.
According to the feng shui lineage I belong to, we not only consider the external environment (macro-feng shui), but also the internal environment (micro-feng shui). We also look at natural and man-made features. This is part of the practical evolution of feng shui to keep up with the times.
I usually ask my client to acquire a crystal rock to symbolise a mountain and a little table fountain as a water feature when a San He formation is called for to enhance a client’s feng shui. A beautiful rock that looks like a mountain will usually suffice, as the aim is to get something that resembles a mountain but please do not get something that is made out of polymer or papier mache. Also, crystal instead of ordinary The hunt for
crystal mountains A long hard journey through China in search of Mother Nature’s jewels mineral rock tends to combine the placement concept of feng shui with the beneficial effects of crystal energy.
However, my work often does not end there because it is not so easy to purchase these crystalline rocks in the different cities and countries that I consult in, especially those that are beautiful and worthy of the interior of my clients’ properties.
Thus began my hunt for rock crystal mountains. Last December, together with a geologist friend of mine,
we travelled into the interior of southern China near the border with Vietnam to source Mother Nature’s jewels, ranging from the ubiquitous quartz crystals to the precious gemrocks
— a journey of 8,000km in 15 days.
STROLLING ALONG THE DRAGON’S VEIN
Magnificent views along our street as we stroll to our neighbour’s for afternoon tea. A stroll along the Dragon’s spine, also known as the Dragon’s
