There are many applications of Qi in the East.  The more popular forms of FengShui has many schools of philosophy, as with martial arts.  No one school or concept is complete and no method is all encompassing.  Again, balance is the key, and acquisition of knowledge of the different methods, emphasis, philosophies will help to enlighten the individual.  However, there are basic tenets that are applicable across the different schools, just like basic math in the western sciences.  

Feng Shui

Otherwise known as geomancy, this application of Qi by man in his environment has been practiced in the East for centuries, perhaps even millennia.  The art and science of living harmoniously with the environment, ie. nature cannot be over emphasized.  In harnessing the positive Sheng Qi while avoiding the negative Sha Qi, one can thus enjoy the benefits of better health and wealth.  

One school of Feng Shui emphasizes the form, ie. the shapes and location of buildings, objects....while another school focuses on the energies prevailing.  The latter is also known as the Flying Stars system.   A thorough audit of a site will encompass both systems.  Branching out from these two basic system, one will encounter other such as the Xuan Kong Da Gua system, the Water Methods, which emphasizes different aspects of basically the same energies.  

Here, we shall focus on the Flying Stars system, also known formally as Xuan Kong Fei Xing (XKFX), literally Time & Space Flying Stars.  It is basically a system utilizing numbers from 1 to 9, based on the magnetic orientation of one's home to chart out the energies there.  These numbers are called 'stars' for want of a better term.  Think of these 'stars' as energy fields, if you like.  Just as a baby being born draws its first breath yields its astrological chart (Ba Zi in this case), the time that a house is built also yields its astrological qi map, based on these numbers.  Analysis of this qi map will enable one to tap into the good energies while avoiding the bad, thus improving one's life.   The moving of furniture and objects around the house is only a small part of the equation, as we try to balance the energies around the dwelling.  Since there is no perfect energy (qi) map, there is also no perfect house.  Every house has good areas and bad areas, goes through good times as well as bad times.  Just like a human being's ups and downs on in life.

Luo Shu 

The basic configuration of these 9 stars is shown below ;

                      4    9    2 
                      3    5    7
                      8    1     6

The origins of this apparently magical square can be further explored.  The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feng Shui provides a very good summary of its historical development.  Note that the numbers all add up to 15 in any direction.  This is known as the Luo Shu or The Magic Square of Three.  Note too that all the odd numbers form a cross, while the numbers at the opposite end to each other add up to 10.  For eg.  4 + 6, 2 + 8, 3 + 7....etc. No wonder it's call the magic square.  

Compass Reading

We also need to know the orientation of a dwelling before we can go further.  To do this, one needs basic knowledge of how to read a magnetic compass.  While a compass that provides a magnetic reading down to a 1 degree accuracy is good enough, a more sophicated instrument called a Luo Pan is used here.  Basically a magnetic compass, the Luo Pan however contains other information, sometimes customized by individual Feng Shui Masters, to enable quick determination of energies in certain directions. 

Star Chart
With these two concepts, and the date of construction of the dwelling, one can come up with the Flying Star Chart for it.  A sample star chart is shown at left.  The energies are represented by the numbers, which have the elemental properties mentioned in the More About Qi page.  The relationships among the stars are of key importance, and a thorough analysis of these enables one to tap into the Shang Qi and mitigate the effects of Sha Qi.  

A competent Feng Shui practitioner will offer several 'remedies' to the occupants.  Since the stars move around durnig the course of the year, a more detailed analysis by the month may also be performed.  However, most audits done annually should suffice.  

Ba Zi (4 Pillars)

In the Chinese system of astrology, the concept of free will plays a part in the determination of one's fate and fortune.  Thus, it can be said that destiny is not entirely cast in stone.  What it means is that one's destiny is predetermined to the extent that a framework of possibilities is mapped out for a person, based on his/her birth data.  ie. when the baby draws its first breath.  However, with conscious decision making, a person may then make choices in life that determines the final outcome of his/her life.  

The chart at left shows a graphical depiction of this concept.  Imagine that the two solid lines are the best and worst that can occur in a person's life at that particular point in time.  Through making good or poor decisions, he/she will be travelling along the dotted path in actuality.  The 4Pillars system attempts to provide a glimpse of the solid lines, but how one lives ....that is free will.  While one can always argue that the upper and lower limits are too limiting, this is just an example, and there is no actual scale to the graph.  It is all relative.  

This concept can be further extended to include a third dimension, where space (geographical location) plays a role as well.  

Why Four Pillars ? Well, first of all the formal name for this is Ziping Bazi (Eight Characters of Ziping).  With the 8 characters, the hour, date, month and year of birth can each be represented by 2 characters.  That makes 4 groups of 2 characters, giving rise to the 4 pillars concept, when the characters are written top to bottom, as traditional Chinese is written.  For more on the logical association between the characters and time of birth, write the author at jcheah@netzero.net.  

At left, is a sample chart drawn up for a male baby born on June 3rd, 2009 at 12.20 pm Central Daylight Time.  We are concerned with actual time here, thus daylight savings time will have to be adjusted for real time.  How can one tell ?  The only true measurement of real time is based on nature.....and not on man made time.  Setting clocks forward and backward is man-made, so is the Gregorian calendar.  Which is why we use the Solar calendar for reading the characters.  The system refers to the so-called 10,000 year calendar.  Actually the calendar spans about  100 years, and lists all the characters for each day

The two circles on either side are just examples of the generating flow (left) and controlling flow of the elements.  If the Chinese characters are hard to recognize, then use the color to associate with the elements.  For example, red is Fire, blue Water, green Wood, grey Metal and brown Earth.  Thus, one can see that in the right circle (controlling), it is indeed reasonable to have Water controlling Fire, which controls Metal, that in turn controls Wood which controls Earth, which completes the control with Water.  

As with Feng Shui, the art and science of reading the chart depends on the practitioner's knowledge and experience.  A lot of insight is obtained from this kind of chart.  So much so, that in many big companies in the East, before hiring an executive of any standing, the company CEO/owner may request for a reading of the candidate's BaZi.  Usually that information may be disclosed or obtained without much trouble.  However, key individuals guard their hour of birth information jealously, as this is usually the final piece of the puzzle, and can be the game changing key, especially when the stakes are high.