Most of use educated in the western system are used to maps showing north on the top.
The ancient Chinese prefer to show south on top. They even have a saying to affirm this practice. It is, “Heaven South, Earth North”.
It is nothing more than a mapping convention. I know it is difficult for the beginner to Feng Shui. Remember that south is still south. It is simply drawing upside down!
The lung takes in free air (qi) and expels carbon dioxide (and other gases).
The blood in the body flows through the lungs to exchange fresh and stale air before traveling to other parts of the body (including the skin).
Poor lungs function will likely result in unhealthy skin.
If you house is facing between 157.5 and 202.5, it is deemed to be facing south. South like any of the other cardinal and inter-cardinal directions is a span of 45 degrees.
Many Feng Shui systems further divide the 45 degree span into three equal spans of 15 degrees each and given a name. For example 157.5 to 172.5 degree is called ‘Bing’, 172.5 to 187.5 degrees is called ‘Wu’ and 187.5 to 202.5 degrees is called ‘Ding’.
Admittedly names like ‘Bing’, ‘Wu’, ‘Ding’ is difficult for the western educated. This gives rise to the alternative convention of S1, S2 and S3.
S1 is simply ‘Bing’ and denotes the facing direction between 157.5 – 172.5
S2 is ‘Wu’ the middle sector between 172.5 and 187.5 while S3 is ‘Ding’ between 187.5 and 202.5
It is also ways label from left to right and applies to all the other direction, for example, N1, N2, N3 or SW1, SW2 or SW3.
The 24 divisions is known in Feng Shui as the ‘24 Mountains’.
The spleen regulates the flow of blood in the vessels. It helps to nourish the limbs and the muscles and controls the flows of blood in the arteries and veins.
When the spleen is healthy and able to regular the flow of blood in the body, the lips is red and lustrous. However if the spleen is not able to do its job properly, the deficiency in the blood is reflected as pale lips.
The five taste of sour, bitter, sweet, pungent and salty are associated with the Five Elements.
Remembering them is not as intuitive as say remembering the seasons. For example it does not require a lot of imagination to link summer to fire, spring to wood and water (in solid form like snow or ice) to winter.
To help me remember the taste of the Five Elements, I have developed a simple system of association.
When it comes to water, I think of sea water. Sea water is salty therefore the taste salty is associated with the element water.
When it comes to earth, I think of sweet potatoes which grow on earth. This is how I related the taste sweet with the element earth.
When it come to metal, it gets trickier. There was a metal rocky band called Pungent Stench. I am not sure if they are still around but it is how I related the taste pungent with the element metal (as in metal rock band)!
When it comes to fire, it gets even trickier. Someone told me that if you chew the petals of a rose, it taste bitter (have not tasted personally). Most of the roses that I have seen are red in color which associates with fire). This is how I relate the taste bitter with the element fire.
That leaves the taste sour and the element wood.
Recently, I read about this tree called the Sourwood tree that is found in eastern USA. Sour and wood, it does not get any more direct!
If you have another of remember the taste and the Five Elements, please share with us.
The space between the eyebrows is called the Yin Tang.
If this space is wide and clear the person tend to be broad-minded. Then does it means that of the space is narrow or both eyebrow appear to be joint together, the person is narrow-minded?
The answer is no. The Yin Tang is more about outlook. A person with a wide Yin Tang is likely to forgive easily while a person with a narrow Yin Tang may not.
In a previous post, I introduce the Five Zang. What then are the Six Fu’s?
They are the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, bladder, gall bladder and the triple warmer.
“Henry, what can you tell if the ears stick closely to the face”, my friend asked.
In the old days, this is a highly sought after feature. It denotes obedience and compliance which is the hallmark of a good son or daughter.
The opposite where the ear flares out like Mickey Mouse was an undesirable feature then as it implies non-compliance and a tendency to go against (break) tradition.
However these days, it no longer seen as a bad thing because doing things differently, being more creative and the willingness to take alternative approaches can be a good thing (if done responsibly).
So if you son has a flare out ear and he wants to have a pet snake instead of the regular dog, it is in the ears!
No, it does not work that way. The Chinese have a saying, “Facial features arise from the heart”. It means that the features on your face are a reflection of what is inside, (and not the other way around).
In Feng Shui, mountains represent relationship and health. Water represents money or wealth.
Accordingly, when there are lots of mountains in the vicinity, the people living in the area have good relationships and are healthy.
On the other hand, those living near water e.g. river, lake, sea focus more on wealth building or there are more commercial activity.
(Think about this: Many commercial capitals are located near rivers or at the confluence, near the sea or next to large lakes).
Do you find this to be true, especially the part about mountains?
It is a term that the Chinese physicians used to collectively refer to the five vital organs of the heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys and the liver.
Each of the organs is associated with an element. For example heart is fire, spleen is earth, lung is metal, kidney is water and liver is wood.
Chinese medicine believes that the organs influence each other based on the productive and controlling relationship of the Five Elements. Take the example of the lungs (metal) and kidneys (water). Since metal produce water, we can improve a weak kidney by strengthening the lungs.
Let’s take another example of the liver (wood) and the spleen (earth). In the controlling relationship of the five elements, wood controls earth. Therefore an unbalanced liver can wreak havoc with the digestive function of the spleen.