Feng Shui participants in the art and science often have limited understanding of one of the greatest and most powerful of Feng Shui -indeed “The Bagua”. Just what is this Bagua and how can I and my families use it to good purpose?

To begin with by means of a simple yet thorough explanation – the”Bagua”is a practical means of applying the philosophical principles of I Ching ( also referred to and called “The Book of Changes”) to the science , art and practice of Feng Shui. No doubt about it to those familiar with this Chinese discipline that shape itself has an effect on the flow of energy and balance. Hence as both direct and indirect results the Bagua can be used like a map and applied to you’re your plot of land, your house, rooms and even furniture.

For many centuries the Chinese have consulted the I Ching or Book of Changes to give great insight into situations analogous in the same way that other cultures have used Tarot Cards, horoscopes and runes. The key to I Ching are trigrams which indicate degrees of yin and yan as well as the idea of constant cyclical change – the eight stages of life. The octagonal shape of the eight trigrams with unbroken lines. .

Each of these represent the eight life situations – prosperity , fame, relationships, creative energy, travel and helpful people, career, knowledge and family and lastly health – with the taiji (Tai Chi) in the middle , represented by the yin/yang symbol of complementary opposites.

Don’t be confused in the beginning of your learning and exposure to this tool of Feng Shui. You will sometimes find the Bagua represented as an octagonal shape and sometimes in the square luo-shu.

Yet the next question is how you as a budding practitioner and enthusiast use the Bagua do?

Start by placing the Bagua over a plan of your home or room so that you can identify your own particular problem area or areas of concern and then set about to take corrective steps in balancing them out. As an example you can activate the relationship corner of your home or your bedroom for example if you are single and out on the prowl for partner. In business alternatively you can relocate or place your cash register in the “wealth area” of your business premises or shop in order to increase customer traffic and profits.

Yet note and remember that to apply Bagua most effectively you will need a plan of your house, building or office drawn to scale.

This can be done in a low tech fashion with graph paper or in 2011 with computer drawing and integrated Feng Shui computer programs for your home PC or Mac computer. As part of the process on the graph paper you will need to locate the “center” and the “front” areas.

The “front door’ is where the qi enters your block of land, home , office or room and its position will always help you determine how the Bagua should be placed. The front door will always fall in one of three areas depending on whether your door is placed in the center ( career) , to the right of center as you are facing it ( travel and helpful people) or to the left ( knowledge and intuition).

Feng Shui!

Author Bio: Bonnie I. Vaceum Winnipeg Downtown HSC Hotels Winnipeg Choice Best Western Hotel Long Stay accommodations Canadian Museum of Human Rights