Front Door Takes a Back Seat to Real Issues

Question: I am in the market for a new home. Some friends have told me to buy a house facing east, and others have told me to buy a house facing south. Can you help me resolve this and give me any other advice in buying a new home?

--Inquisitive in Irvine

Answer: A front door that opens to the south is often said to be lucky because emperor’s palaces were built that way thousands of years ago to shield the entry from fierce winds and dust storms blowing down from the north.

This was a practical response to wind patterns in that specific location, and it gave rise to a saying: “To face south is to become King.”

To this day, south is considered to be a very lucky direction, but living in a house that faces this way will not automatically turn you into a king or give you a Midas touch.

As feng shui spread to different parts of China, other folklore grew up around east-facing homes because they received the warmth of the rising sun early in the day. This is a nice feature in any home, for obvious reasons. But facing east when you leave home each morning isn’t likely to improve your ability to select stocks.

The direction your front door faces is only one of many elements to consider in choosing a new home, and it’s far from the most important one.

According to classical compass school feng shui, there are many complex factors that would determine the most auspicious direction for a particular home to face, including the birth date of its owner. Restricting your choice of houses to south- or east-facing buildings would not be particularly good feng shui, and it could be a major blunder for numerous practical reasons.

Instead, look for signs of good chi in and around the home you’re considering. Among the best indications of abundant chi are healthy lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers and plants. These are signs of excellent yin-yang balance because healthy vegetation requires a good mix of sun, shade, wind and water, natural elements considered important in the practice of feng shui.

Well-maintained parks, streets and houses, thriving shopping districts and good community resources also indicate positive chi flow. Notice that these are the same elements you’d be looking for anyway when purchasing a home.

It can be difficult enough to find the right home for your family as you attempt to balance the preferences and requirements of each family member against an affordable price and manageable monthly mortgage.

My suggestion is to concern yourself first with finding a house that best meets the needs of your family. If your home is chosen with an eye for abundant chi and for making everyone comfortable and happy, you can deal with any feng shui flaws later.

Beware of Hysteria When Reading Books

Q: I have reason to believe that my townhouse may have some problems. There have been several prior owners (five or six) in a short period of time who have divorced or become unemployed and consequently lost the house in foreclosure and moved.

Because I am a novice at feng shui, I was wondering if you could recommend any books that would help me with my search for an answer. Your assistance with this problem would be greatly appreciated before something terrible occurs in my life.

--Beth

(via e-mail)

A: I receive several letters every week asking which feng shui books to buy and where to buy them. You can find the books in the interior design section of almost any well-stocked bookstore.

Some larger chains, including Borders and Barnes & Noble, have separate feng shui sections within the interior design or home decorating sections.

And don’t forget that you can always get books at the public library. Check the computer catalog at your local library and you will probably find several titles under the subject feng shui.

I highly recommend books by Lillian Too, Derek Walters and Lam Kam Chuen. There is also an excellent anthology of feng shui articles in “Contemporary Earth Design” edited by Jami Lin. My two books on feng shui (titles are at the end of this column) are good for beginners and easy to find in any bookstore.

As to your townhouse, the track record does sound unlucky, to say the least. But you haven’t said anything to suggest you are having problems in your own life--marital, financial or otherwise. Do some reading to satisfy your concern about whether your home does have major feng shui problems. If you find serious flaws, keep reading until you figure out which remedies to use.

In the meantime, be careful not to succumb to feng shui hysteria, thinking that doorway alignment and badly arranged furniture may destroy your happiness and well-being. Feng shui can affect your life, but it shouldn’t rule it.

East Meets West in Our Understanding of Chi

Q: I am a skeptic but want to keep an open mind. To help, please give a more meaningful definition of chi. [The July 18 column defined it as a “universal energy force.”] I believe that I know the meaning of “universal,” “energy” and “force.” Nevertheless, I have no idea what “universal energy force” means. Are “energy” and “force” the same as what were meant by Newton, Einstein and others? If not, what are they? How do you measure them? Are there any conservation laws they follow? Do these terms have only impressionistic meanings?

--William Buchman

(via e-mail)

A: There are great similarities between what Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein meant by energy and by what the Chinese mean by chi.

But as you infer, the rationalists of Western science look at energy with a different, empirical eye than those from the East.

The ancient Chinese believed in a universal energy force that inhabits all living and inanimate things. They used a term that roughly translates as “magnetism” to describe the energy in every person.

The principles of feng shui rest on the proper alignment of the magnetism (the chi or energy force) in people and things. That is what is meant by putting the universe in harmony and balance.

Would Newton and Einstein and the others understand this belief system? Yes, I think so. The universe craves order and balance. Feng shui does, too.

Kirsten Lagatree is a Washington, D.C., writer whose books include “Feng Shui, Arranging Your Home to Change Your Life” (Villard 1996) and “Feng Shui at Work, Arranging Your Work Space for Peak Performance and Maximum Profit” (Villard 1998).

Mail your questions on feng shui to Kirsten Lagatree, Real Estate section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, fax them to (213) 237-4712, or e-mail them to [email protected] or [email protected].