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The Southern Hemisphere
by Gayle Atherton
Because I live in the southern hemisphere, I am often asked if Feng Shui or Chinese astrology needs to be changed or altered for the Southern hemisphere and since I have heard this discussion for so many years I decided to write my findings and add another opinion to the list!
Having practiced Feng Shui in the southern hemisphere for nearly ten years, I have heard all the arguments for and against . I have also had the opportunity to make my own discoveries, based on the success rate of my consultations, as well as researching some of the greatest minds amongst Asian Feng Shui masters on the topic. The reader should bear in mind that making alterations for the southern hemisphere (according to the current arguments presented) means changing the entire Lo Pan compass, as well as the complete Chinese calendar.
Arguments in favour of making changes include:
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That there are differences between the magnetic fields of the southern and northern hemispheres. For example, if you release the water from a bathtub in the northern hemisphere, it travels in a clockwise direction, whereas in the southern hemisphere, it travels in a counter-clockwise direction. |
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The original Lo Shu grid is drawn showing the south at the top. South is the direction of fire and the direction of the source of heat or light. In the northern hemisphere this is the natural arrangement between the five celestial animals shown on the Lo Shu grid (and Lo Pan compass). The phoenix is in the south, the tortoise is in the north, tiger to the west and dragon to the east. In the southern hemisphere, if you position the south direction to our source of light and heat, it should point to the north (our natural heat and light source), which creates an incongruity in the Lo Shu grid and the celestial arrangement of animals. If you point the grid to the south direction (in the southern hemisphere) then this is facing the south pole which is a sources of coldness - incongruent with the south or fire direction. |
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The seasons are different. When it is winter in the northern hemisphere, it is summer in the southern. This makes a difference to the Chinese astrology factor, because a person born in the winter months of the rat, for example (December to early January), is actually born in the summer months in Australia, etc... This makes a difference to the elements of the Chinese astrology chart. |
Arguments against making changes include:
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Although there are magnetic variances in the two hemispheres, this does not mean those variances reverse. The fact is that, in any hemisphere, the compass is still calibrated to point north. For example: airline pilots do not switch to a different compass when the plane flies across the equator. Magnetic fields have variation, but they do not reverse. The equator is a man-made imaginary line. |
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The use of the five celestial animals has never had only one translation. The existing use very much applies to each and every building holographically. So if there is no dragon to the left of your building - there is no dragon. Not every building is meant to point south in Feng Shui. Even in China and other Asian countries, buildings have always been aligned differently. This detail has also been factored into the original mathematical formulae developed by the Chinese thousands of years ago and, as a result, we can measure the unseen influences of any building in any direction. In fact, the Chinese have never specified that all buildings should be erected facing south to accommodate this piece of information (otherwise every building built on a different alignment - even in China - would suffer from this problem). The fact that the Lo Shu grid shows south at the top of the chart (and why they arranged it this way) is a detail that is still not truly known - even by the Chinese. There are some Chinese who think this is reflective of the pathway of the sun along the ecliptic line, ie, the sun (or fire) travels overhead along the ecliptic path. |
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While it is true that the seasons are different in the northern and southern hemispheres, it is also true that the compass reflects information at a much deeper level. In fact, the Lo Shu grid, the basis for the Chinese compass, also reflects the Chinese calendar and, as such, the true pathway of life force energy. For example, the sun rises in the east and travels to the west. It does this in any hemisphere. This means that the natural flow of life force energy goes in a particular sequence from daylight to night time and back to daylight again the next day. This is the pathway of yin and yang and the natural cycle of life force energy, which is precisely what the Chinese compass reflects. The same goes for the seasons. The seasons in any hemisphere naturally go from spring to summer to autumn to winter and back to spring. This is how life force energy progresses in its natural form. If you were to reverse this, you would be going from summer, to spring, to winter, to autumn, and this is not how life force energy naturally works. |
The Lo Pan compass and Chinese calendar alike are holographic systems which naturally reflect the order of the universe. Patterns of weather vary in any hemisphere. For instance, take the United States of America. In winter, the east coast has completely different weather patterns from the west coast. In a country like Singapore, closest to the equator, there are only two seasons - the wet and the dry. In fact, countries along the equator do not have a winter at all as we (or other countries who experience the cold of winter) know it. Alaska does not have summer months as we know them, there is snow all throughout the year. Then you could take a country like India, which only has three seasons - the wet and the dry, and spring. Even in a country like Hong Kong, the beginning of spring (according to the Chinese calendar) can sometimes be even colder than their winter months, when the cold mists come down from the Himalayas. All the above-mentioned countries are in the northern hemisphere.
What do the Asian Feng Shui masters think?
Amongst the many Feng Shui Masters and Grand Masters I interviewed, there were none who understood or agreed to the reasons for change. They could understand why you might think it would change, but they did not think it important enough because of the information that is actually imparted in the Chinese calendar and on the Lo Pan compass. The study of Feng Shui and the Lo Pan compass is layer-upon-layer of intricate knowledge; its use is not simplistic.
Some of their comments included: 'But yin is yin and yang is yang in any hemisphere'. 'Life force energy is life force energy - no matter where you live'. 'The compass still points north (showing the nature of the more subtle energies that will occur in an environment)'. 'The compass shows the five elements, which go much deeper than weather patterns'. 'But one must have the skills to cater for any energy encountered in an environment'. 'The system of Feng Shui has a 5000-year history of success'.
Some even expressed a conviction that better understanding of the Lo Pan compass was needed.
My experience and summary
After listening to the many arguments for and against, I am still not convinced that we need to throw the baby out with the bath water. I have had a lot of success with my clients (in both hemispheres) over the years and have been practicing only authentic Asian Feng Shui. The Chinese compass reflects a lot of information and much of it goes beyond the seasons or weather patterns. This is the nature of Feng Shui - it deals with the seen and the unseen. Weather chi is only one of the multitudes of energy that a Feng Shui practitioner must understand in a consultation.
From a Feng Shui perspective, the reality is that any land showing continuous change in magnetic field should be studied closely by a Feng Shui consultant, because of the fact that magnetic flux will either be beneficial or not, and can, therefore, cause sickness and misfortune. In truth, this has been a well-known Feng Shui fact for thousands of years. I believe that the variances of magnetic fields between hemispheres is merely another type of energy influence that must be understood and catered for, if it is relevant.
To me, the systems of Feng Shui and Chinese astrology (Four Pillars of Destiny only) are systems that reveal a holographic universe: a universe that combines the understanding of many subtle unseen influences. I think it is very interesting to note how the natural sequence of the I Ching trigrams combines to directly mirror the code of the human DNA. Perhaps this is why Feng Shui and Chinese astrology can be so powerful - the creation of an environment or an astrology reading can tell you about your own DNA pattern. Again, the DNA is a holographic system. In the case of Four Pillars astrology, the composition of the five elements in a person's chart reflects the type of energy they will encounter throughout their life - not a weather pattern. Although the season is important for determining the horoscope, it is also reflective of the person's unique holograph - what they encounter within their pattern.
The natural order between heaven, humankind and earth reflects the natural path or progression of life force energy. This is precisely the information that is imparted on the Lo Pan compasses as well as the Lo Shu grid/pattern. Over years of experience, I have developed great respect and awe for the creators of this science. Who were the people who developed such sophisticated mathematical equations? How did they know they could track life force energy in time? The deeper knowledge known to these ancient creators is phenomenally vast.
The practice of Feng Shui entails a lifetime of study. In my experience, the current system works very efficiently.
© Copyright Gayle Atherton 2000. All rights reserved. This excerpt is a chapter taken from Gayle's book: Feng Shui - The Perfect Arrangement (simple secrets unveiled) by Gayle Atherton. This information cannot be re-produced in any way without the authors expressed written permission.
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