Coutts Woman

It’s a pig of a year!

While Christmas and New Year celebrations are firmly behind us in the western world, in China, planning is underway for the most important date in their calendar - Chinese New Year.  This is the 15-day celebration also known as ‘Spring Festival’ or ‘Lunar New Year’ celebrated by people across China and other ethnic groups including the Japanese, Koreans, Miao, Mongolians, Vietnamese, Tibetans, the Nepalese and the Bhutanese.

So what actually happens?  In the days leading up to Chinese New Year, families thoroughly cleaning their homes.  They believe the cleaning sweeps away bad luck and makes their homes ready for good luck to arrive on the New Year.  Parents also begin cooking large amount of food in preparation for the ‘reunion dinner’, a feast for the whole family held on New Year’s eve. 

On New Year’s morning, the family begin the day by wishing each other ‘Kung hei fat choi’ (‘Good luck, good health and be fortunate’) and then adults and married couples distribute red envelopes containing ‘lucky money’ to younger children and single people, as a gesture of good luck for the year.  These red envelopes contain anything from one dollar to several hundred, but they are always even amounts as odd amounts of money are given at funerals.  The red colour is also thought to scare away the evil spirits and bad luck.

“There are a lot of gods present on that morning, according to Feng Shui calculations,” adds Feng Shui expert, Master Yu.  “The money god is in the south, the happiness god is in the south east, and the noble god is in the east.  So, during the first hour that people’s go outside on Chinese New Year, people will turn to these directions to welcome and receive the gods for ten minutes.”

Celebrations continue for the next 15 days, with carefully prepared food and family visits, all focused around maximising good luck and prosperity.  Beyond that however, Chinese people look to Feng Shui for guidance on good and bad luck for the year. This is the ancient Chinese belief system involving a mix of geographical, religious, philosophical, mathematical, aesthetic and astrological ideas.

Master Yu began his training in Feng Shui 20 years ago, becoming a ‘Master’ six years later.  “Before that, I was young and didn’t believe the Feng Shui or story telling.  I thought it was superstition.”

For him, the turning point came for him at age 30.  He experienced trouble which a previous Feng Shui master had warned him about years before.  This spurred him on to learn more about the belief system.  Today, Master Yu teaches Feng Shui to over 30,000 students in Hong Kong.  He says: “I know that it sounds like superstition but for Chinese, fortune telling and Feng Shui is the reference to happiness.”

So how does Feng Shui work?

“Stand in the centre of your room and use a compass to test your good luck”

Essentially, it is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment.  There are nine numbers or ‘stars’ in Feng Shui which correspond to spacial positions that can be applied to a room, a home, an office – anywhere. 

These are the centre, north, south, east, west, south east, south west, north west, and north east.  And, depending on the Chinese New Year, these positions have positive or negative energies which can impact people’s lives.

“Stand in the centre of your room or house,” says Master Yu, “and use a compass to find these directions.”  Then follow this advice below for maximising your good luck during the year of the Pig (February 18 2007 to February 7 2008).

• South west – is the best number and star this year.  “It is good for everything including health, wealth and love,” insists Master Yu.  “It is good for praying, sleeping and for the good energies and good luck.  In every room, the south west position is the best.  So, if you’re having a bath, try to rest your head in the south west corner and it will be better.”
• East – is good for romancing, marriage and giving birth, Master Yu says.
• West – is good for studying, exam preparation and career promotion.
• South – is good for people at management o executive level.  “So, if they arrange their office chair right at the south, this will be must better for them.  Or the engine, such as the computer, of the office can be located in the south for maximum luck,” confirms Master Yu.
• South east – is the engine of the house.
• North – is neither a good nor bad position.
• Centre – the centre of the room is linked to illness or sickness.
• North east – is the worst number and star for disaster during the year of the pig.  “This could be an accident, bad health or bankruptcy. So, if you are in this corner over night or sitting, playing or working there for long periods during the day, it is not good.  It is not good for wealth either. 
• North west – is another bad location, according to Master Yu.  “It links to conflict and financial laws,” he warns.

Trouble ahead?

Birthdays and dates can also be linked to good and bad luck with Feng Shui.  “We calculate Feng Shui on the year, month, day and the hour.  So the more information you have about your birth, the better assessment we can give,” he says.  According to Master Yu, some birthdays are perhaps in trouble or not so good during the year of the pig.  These include Snakes born in 1941, 1953, and 2001. 

“Not all snakes will experience bad luck, but these three snakes during the year of the pig must be careful.  The may have problems, trouble or an accident,” he warns.  “Those who will enjoy good luck will be horses, goats and various others.”

Business people also follow Feng Shui closely.  For these people, Master Yu has identified some auspicious dates for re-opening businesses after Chinese New Year.  These are:

• February 18 between 11am and 1pm is not good for the Ox. “The other animals can use this date and house for re-opening, but not the Ox,” explains Master Yu.
• February 20 between 11am and 3pm is not good for the Rabbit.
• February 21 between 11am and 3pm is not good for the Dragon.
• February 23 between 9am and 11am and between 1am and 3pm is not good for the Horse.
• March 1 between 9am and 3pm is not good for the rat. 
• March 4 between 11am and 3pm is again, not good for the Rabbit.