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Feng
Shui For the Southern Hemisphere We have received a lot of inquiries from Australia, New Zealand, Brazil , Argentina, Venezuela, South Africa, Singapore and Malaysia. The simple question is: "Can we practice the art of feng shui without modification in the Southern Hemisphere and along the equator?" The simple answer I gave out was: "Yes. There is no need to modify the conventional technique we employ in China. Feng Shui Principles and auditing method remain the same in all parts of the world. Perhaps there are two places on earth that we cannot practice this art and these two places are the North Pole and the South Pole. These are points of singularity (Wow, a sophisticated mathematical term!). At the North Pole all directions are South and at the South Pole all directions are the North." My answer is based not on theory but practical data both by feedback from fellow practitioners and my own experience. If we examine the fundamentals of Feng Shui, we will discover areas that cast doubt on the above experimentally based answer. The Five Elements These need not be modified. Since they denote different forms of energy they will be the same even in other parts of the Universe. However, we must know that the words we use to represent these energies are only the words that most satisfactorily display the behavior and character of these energies. Thus
Yin and Yang This is a universal concept of contrasting qualities and it should not be modified. There is a common mistake in classifying yin and yang. Some people think that mountain is strong while water is weak and thus mountain is yang and water is yin. This is not true. In Feng Shui, we emphasize on motion and stillness. Mountain is stationary while water is moving. What is stationary is yin while what is moving is yang. Therefore water should be considered yang while mountains yin when they are compared[1]. The Bagua Here I refer to King Wen's Hou Tian Ba Gua that is used in Feng Shui. This is commonly translated as "The Later Heaven Ba Gua". It is a word for word translation.
but the terms "Hou Tian"and "Xian Tian" are compound terms made up of two characters and "Hou Tian" does not mean "Later Heaven".
The "Xian Tian Ba Gua" was supposed to have been discovered by Fu Xi [2]. King Wen [3] modified it according to the Luo Shu and it became known as the "Hou Tian Ba Gua". This is the center of controversy around the Southern Hemisphere issue if we consider the Ba Gua merely as an energy map. 
Since the study of Feng Shui originated in China, a lot of the principles are referred to the geographical aspects in central China. It is natural to think that the Ba Gua was created with the climate in China as the basis. The heat energy mainly comes from the south and thus the Fire Palace of the Ba Gua is assigned to the south by King Wen. The eastern parts of China is more vegetated than the west where minerals may be more abundant. King Wen thus assigned the Thunder Palace to the east, Wind Palace to the south-east and these two palaces are both wood in nature. He further assigned the Marsh Palace to the west and the Heaven Palace to the north-west and these two palaces are both metal in nature. There is abundant storage of water in the form of ice in the north and it is not coincidental that the Water Palace is in the north. The remaining sectors, the north-east and south-west are assigned the Mountain Palace and Earth Palace respectively. Now in most part of the Southern Hemisphere the heat energy mainly comes from the north while the south is the ice-clad Antarctica. Should we modify the Ba Gua? Yes, if we consider the Ba Gua as the map of different energies from the eight directions : N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW. The fact is that it is not. The Ba Gua contains much more than that. Before we discuss the Luo Shu, let us try to answer the question, "Should the Ba Gua be modified in different areas of the earth?"The reason why we have four seasons is because of the altitude of the sun at different times of the year. A map may be designed to locate the different sources of energies. As we move towards the tropical area heat energy dominates throughout the year. If we move towards the north pole the water energy dominates. The same map is used but the strengths of the various energies vary. As we move to the Southern Hemisphere the situation is reversed. It is just natural to design the map in the following way. 
For areas on and near the equator it is the fire energy
that dominates. Fire energy comes from all directions in addition to the
other energies. The fact that in the tropical areas diseases can spread more
easily is because the fire energy strengthens the #2 and #5 evil stars. It
is also a fact that the tropical areas are more productive because the fire
energy also strengthens the #8 fortunate star. The map that describes the
basic energies that come from the eight directions is actually changing with
the latitude. If the Ba Gua is considered the map of energies caused by the
climate of a localized area then each locality will have its own Ba Gua.
There will be an infinite number of Ba Guas instead of only two, one for the
north and one for the south. The Ba Gua, viewed this way, is not all that we
consider in feng shui studies. FuXi created the Ba Gua considering what he
observed in the sky, on earth, and the people. To study the energies on
earth, let us consider the "Luo Shu" which is the real energy map
with energies from all sources - solar, magnetic, cosmic, .... The Luo Shu The Luo Shu is the location of the nine stars at
different times. A lot of people think that they are the stars in the
Dipper. This is not true. There are billions of stars in the Universe. Why
do these stars and not the others [4] affect the feng shui of a place?
Besides, the Dipper cannot be seen in a lot of areas in the southern
hemisphere. Does it mean that Feng Shui cannot be applied there? Ancient
Chinese were fond of using the names of these stars in astrology [5] and it
was just natural that feng shui masters used these names as well. I would
rather say that the nine numbers represent nine different kinds of energies
that change with time. These energies exist in the Universe and can be
mapped onto a confined area defined by the relative position of the mountain
and water [6]. For houses we define the energy map by the way the house is
oriented and also by the time when the house is built [7]. The Luo Shu was said to have been discovered by the
first Emperor of the Xia Dynasty on the back of a giant turtle in the River
Luo. Could it be a diagram on a space ship that visited earth at that time?
This is not impossible and in fact more credible than the story of the giant
turtle. Since the formula embedded in the Luo Shu magic square deals with
all energies, it does not need to be modified. North is north no matter
where on earth you are except perhaps on the north and south poles. In fact,
the earth is only a speck of dust in the universe. 4 9 2 3 5 7 8 1 6 The Luo Shu Magic Square Effects of Modifying the Ba Gua If the Ba Gua is the superficial energy map of a place
taking into consideration the strengths of the five elements in the eight
directions then it needs be modified with the latitude of the place under
discourse, the prevailing winds and other local climatic conditions. The Luo Shu is the energy map of a confined area
defined by the positions of the mountain and the water. If the confined area
is a house then it is defined by the orientation and the year of completion
of the house. It does not need to be modified. Modifying the Ba Gua affects the kind of energy from
each of the eight directions. Since the Luo Shu is not modified the location
of the stars in each direction is not changed. When we study the feng shui
of a house it is the facing stars and the mountain stars that play the most
important role. The facing star is responsible for the wealth while the
mountain star for the health of the people in the house. The time base star
is the basic energy in that location. The basic nature of a particular corner in a house can
be compatible or incompatible with the stars. This affects the capability of
the stars in that area. Houses with the same star chart may differ according
to the location. It does not need to go down under to feel the difference. The Eight House School This school of feng shui uses what are known as the
"Eight Wandering Stars": Four Fortunate Stars
Four Harmful Stars
The location of these stars is based on formulas
relating the Xian Tian Ba Gua and the Luo Shu numbers. Since we do not
modify the Xian Tian Ba Gua and the Luo Shu, it should not be modified. Conclusion Common sense tells us that there are some differences
between the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres. Feng Shui is common sense
and of course it is more than just common sense. In the Northern Hemisphere,
we like to build houses on the southern slope of a mountain and say it has
good feng shui in the sense that it receives good energy. Can we do the same
in the Southern Hemisphere? In the Southern Hemisphere the prevailing winds
and the ocean currents are different from those in the north. We know that
wind and water are the two ingredients of Feng Shui. Why then do we say that
Feng Shui theories used in the north can be applied without modification in
the south? Is it not arrogance? The answer is simple: The principles are
unchanged. What changes are the forms (environment), not the star charts. We must accept that there are differences and modifications are necessary. It is true that the formulas are not changed. Those areas that need be changed are the actual forms that affect the stars. We must know what are, and what are not, to be changed and why. Feng Shui masters who pass on the art of Feng Shui in the form of writings had no experience with places other than China (Central Nation). Our hypothesis that Feng Shui can be practiced with the same methods in all parts of the world with only slight changes in the strengths of the energies from various directions is only logical deduction. It needs be verified by experiments.
References 
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