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 Scroll Three
The Schools of Feng Shui

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Scroll Three contains:
- The Three Schools of Wind & Water

- The Form School
- The Compass School
- The Urban School

The Three Schools of

As professional practitioners, we must understand the basic principles and symbols of Feng Shui, of which the most important are:

(1) The Yin-Yang concept,

(2) The Ba Gua,

(3) The 8 Trigrams of the I Ching, and

(4) The Lo Shu magic square.

Each of these will be discussed in their proper place as we progress.

The above principles and symbols permeate all Feng Shui practice, regardless of which school is being followed; they are fundamental concepts of the Chinese view of the Universe and the forces that affect destiny.

We will now Consider the 3 major Schools of Thought of the Feng Shui tradition :

The Form School

Let's pretend that you are a Geomancer in the court of the Emperor of China.

The Emperor has chosen You to find the perfect site for his new summer palace. Like other Geomancers ("Earth Diviners") before you, you must travel the length and breadth of the "Middle of the Earth" (China) in order to find an outstanding location for a Palace, a Temple, or a City.

Fortunately, you have three basic rules to guide you :

Guideline #1

Balance Yin & Yang

Select a site that demonstrates a harmonious balance of Yin and Yang.

Desert land is too Yang. It is inhospitable and dry. There is no water (Yin). A dry landscape does not house Dragons, and therefore can never be auspicious.

However, a hilly, verdant landscape is the perfect home for the Dragon and will be full of promising and supportive energy.

< This picture depicts "Good Feng Shui."

-Note the Dragon Hills in the background

Guideline #2

Locate the Dragon

Select a site that demonstrates the presence of a Dragon :

The shape of the Earth Dragon is identified in the ridges, slopes, and valleys of hills and mountains.

Do not build on the Dragon’s head!

Guideline #3

Find the four animal spirits in the Hills

Select a site that demonstrates the classical Feng Shui presence of the four animal spirits :

The Black Tortoise is in the North, providing shelter from the force of cold, winter gales.

The White Tiger crouches to the West, and the Green Dragon rises in the East.

Perhaps you have heard the term : "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"

The Red Phoenix-bird is a small hill that rises gently in the South, where it will not interfere with daily Yang energy received from the Sun.

Example of a Black Turtle - right on the Continental Divide :

Cerro Negro, New Mexico
An ancient volcanic cinder-cone, part of the Chain of Craters located in the "Land of Fire & Ice"
Elevation: ~ 8000’

The Compass School

Later Developments (after the original Form School) brought the use of the Compass into Feng Shui. When erecting specific buildings, the doorways, windows, and interior areas were designed with the use of the Compass.

The main idea is that the Yin areas of the house should be in the North, preferably backed up by a solid turtle hill, while the Yang areas are in the sunny South.

However, the compass points will not help us much in our next subject, for the modern Urban School does not rely on the compass.

The Urban School

Eventually, our cities became so crowded that today we have virtually nothing to say about our location or our compass directions.

If we are seeking rural land, then we can often use the practices of the Form School. If we are building our own house, then we can usually use the Compass.

But for most of us, when we seek a home or an office, we generally look for a house or an apartment or a room that is already built, and we learn to live with its location and direction. This is the essence of the Urban School of Feng Shui - It is completely based on the location and direction of the existing main entrance usually, this is what we call the "front door."

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