An old Grandmaster I know, once told me that Feng Shui was a "Mysterious Science" and for the person just starting out, Feng Shui seems like a maze of mirrors. At first its inconsistencies, its contradictions seem unsurmountable but the closer you get, the more you learn to discriminate and understand what takes predence…

To understand it in perspective consider that in ancient times, Feng Shui Master's had to study their all the components of their subjects for some twenty years before they were considered knowledgeful enough to begin consulting professionally.

The true components of Feng Shui include:
1. The study of Form and Shapes within the environment;
2. A study of the five elements within the building and in the surrounding environment;
3. The Flying Stars method for analysing the Horoscope and Fortune of the building;
4. The Study of Feng Shui Astrology. How the people fit into the building and how they can be harmonised for certain areas of the building;
5. A Study of the Eight Mansions and how and when this relates to the rest of the Feng Shui.
6. The Study of Chinese Astrology (for people);
7. The Study of Yearly and Monthly Influences;
8. A Study of the Relationship between Heaven, Man and Earth in the Building;
9. A Study of Waterways where applicable;
10. The Study of Mountains (or the surrounding Buildings in the Cities) or the Geography when required;
11. A Study of any other activites going on in Nature;

Finally, at the end of the day an authentic Feng Shui Master applies whatever is neccessary - according to the needs of the consultation, the people, the circumstances of the consultation.

In fact, the greatest asset you can apply in Feng Shui is your ability to think along logical lines according to the knowledge of Feng Shui because whilst at one level Feng Shui is an intuitive science at another level Feng Shui is really based on cold hard facts.

For instance, if your front door is opposite your back door - there is nothing intuitive about this... Its a cold hard fact! If your building falls at the end of a T-intersection... again, there is nothing intuitive about this - it is a cold hard fact! So in Feng Shui, cold hard facts come first and intuition comes second.

To learn how to decipher and think clearly you have to base your thinking around the cold hard facts first and the reason why this is so important is because Feng Shui is about Balancing Yin and Yang.

According to the cold hard facts, if your building has too much activity (too much Yang Chi) then, it will not be settled or harmonious as a home because the energies are always moving and unstable (which makes the perfect conditions for business but not a home - we need an environment that's more peaceful for our home). The opposite of this is when a building has too much nourishing Yin Chi - which is good for a home but not an office. So cold hard facts are the starting point and intuition comes in when you have enough cold hard facts under your belt to apply your intuition.

A key thing to know about Feng Shui is that in reality it is always about balance. A balanced state of existence brings the greatest harmony to people and their buildings.

Too much of something creates over stimulation. Too little creates stagnancy. Finding and getting the right balance is where it's at.

Wishing you good Feng Shui—Gayle Atherton.