Feng Shui Schools: BTB, Classical and Intuition

I guess you are confused about why so many people strongly believe in power of Feng Shui while others are sure that Feng Shui is fake science. Why is it so? Answer: different Feng Shui schools.

Let’s discuss the main Feng Shui schools. In the end I will tell you feng shui school that I belive in.

The schools of Feng Shui can be classified in three categories:

1) Black Sect Tantric Buddhism School of Feng Shui (BTB School)

2) Traditional (Classical School)

3) Intuitive (Modern School)

Black Sect Tantric Buddhism School of Feng Shui (BTB School)

BTB was Founded by Professor from USA Lin Yun in mid-eighties. BTB School uses Bagua (Pa Kua). This school does not use the compass, so directions are not important here. It doesn’t matter which direction the main door faces, the BTB feng shui school bagua will always be placed in the same way. The center of the facing wall is considered as the Fame & Reputation. BTB Feng Shui School includes the essence of Taoism, Confucianism, Eclecticism, Yin-Yang philosophy, Buddhism.

Bagua (Pa kua)

Feng Shui Symbols have a rich, culturally specific history and meaning. Most of us are familiar with the look of many feng shui items such as Chinese coins tied with a red string, gods of wealth, wind chimes, three legged toads, etc. What is important to understand is that, in order for feng shui to work, you do not necessarily have to apply traditional Chinese feng shui symbols. You have to apply culturally specific symbols that resonate with you. Applying feng shui correctly does not imply you have to apply the culturally specific feng shui items that you may not understand or resonate with.

Some of the most popular Chinese feng shui symbols are:

Love & Marriage Feng Shui Symbols (Dragon and Phoenix, Mandarin Ducks, The Double Happiness Sign, Peony Flowers)

Health Feng Shui Symbols (Gold Arrowana or Koi Fish, Chinese Coins, The Three Legged Toad, Golden Ingots, Sailing Ship)

Good Fortune Feng Shui Symbols (Chi Lin, the Dragon Horse, Golden Cicada, The Red Bat)

Health & Longevity Feng Shui Symbols (Sau, the God of Longevity, Lucky Bamboo, Wu-Lou, Gourd)

Feng Shui Symbols were used for centuries in feng shui applications because of the power of symbols and associations, as well as because of the energy certain items embody. If a certain feng shui symbol does not resonate with you, feel free to chose one that works for you, expresses the same energy, and it is from the culture you grew up in.

Traditional (Classical Feng Shui Schol)

Feng Shui has a history of many thousands years, some say 2,000 years, some go as far as 5,000 years. One of the most famous Feng Shui names in the history of Feng Shui is Master Yang Yun Sang, who left many classical Feng Shui texts and is considered the founder of the form (landscape) school of feng shui.

In time, almost a hundred years later, another feng shui school appeared – the Compass Feng Shui School – gained strength and popularity. The main influence in this feng shui school was a Feng Shui Master by the name Wang. The time dimension was first introduced by the Compass School Practitioners. So they calculated the best timing for best energies in specific places. Furthermore, the concept of the Kua number was introduced as the way to calculate the directions of most auspicious energies based on the person’s date of birth.

There are two main classical schools:

Form School (Landscape Scjool)

Form school is based on concept of the earth/geography. Originally Form School was used for placement of burial graves, and later was changed and now is used to building location for the living. This focuses on finding the best position within the landscape. Our ancestors placed their homes according to Form School principles to ensure survival and protection. Form Feng Shui School doesn’t use compass directions. This school focuses on the landscape contours, the shapes of hills and water to provide protection from the wind (Feng), and for the provision of a good water (Shui). The main principle of the Form School is to find auspicious landforms. They are called the Tiger and the Dragon. They are found by looking at the contours of the hills surrounding a site, and determing whether their layout will bring good or bad luck.

Compass School

Compass school is based on the concept of heaven and astronomy. They use Chinese compass called the Lo Pan and the 5 Element Theory (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) . Compass Feng Shui School is divided into such schools: Flying Star, Eight Mansions, 4 pillars and other. The Compass School is based on the 8 trigrams of the I Ching, known as the Pa Kua, which, in turn, is based on the eight compass directions. Each direction being associated with a season, and a specific energy or ‘element’, (more correctly, 5 stages of change).

Intuitive School (Modern Feng Shui)

Intuitive School is a Western adaptation of some levels of Traditional Feng Shui.

Very often a good Feng Shui consultant will apply more than one feng shui approach, or school. If you are planning to have a feng shui analysis of your home, do ask the Feng Shui consultant about his or her training and see if that meets your expectations.

Be sure to choose a feng shui school that you like and understand..