Feng shui is about the energy related to space. Astrology is about the energy related to time. After the 14th century in China, astrologers fused their ideas with feng shui concepts linking the energy impact of a house with the time of construction and the resident’s birth time.
People call this approach “cosmological feng shui” or “astrological feng shui”. In simple terms, it is similar to finding the astrology of a house or building.
From a classical feng shui perspective, a good house is based on the design of the building and energy of the land. The resident’s date of birth or the year the house was built is not relevant to the energy of the house. Personal preference in the particular design of a house may play a role in suitability, but it does not make a house with “bad energy” turn into a house with “good energy”.
In a way, it is similar to assessing the quality of a car. It is based on objective assessments of its features and functionality. People do not choose to purchase a make and model of a car based on their birth date. As astrology has nothing to do with the quality of a car, astrology has nothing to do with the quality of a house.
The Cosmology School
Cosmology School feng shui is also referred to as Astrology School and Compass School feng shui. It is a generic term for numerous feng shui approaches that use the “time” and “orientation” factor in qi assessment. In its approach, it bundles the Chinese concepts of Yin-Yang, Wu-Xing, Bagua, Heavenly Stem, and Earthly Branch together to legitimize its philosophy. The more popular schools are San-Yuan (三元派), Flying Star School (飛星派), San Ho School (三合派), and the Ba Zhai School (八宅派).
The Cosmology School concept initially appeared in China during the late Sung Dynasty (A.D. 960-128) and continues to develop into many sub-schools. It was mostly practiced in southern Chinese provinces such as Fujian (福建) , Zhejiang (浙江) , and Sichuan (四川).
Cosmology School feng shui applies abstract astrological concepts to interpret qi energy. It establishes a complicated system to assess and interpret the qi energy of a building and the impact on the residents.
Each sub-school established different feng shui astrology charts based on a combination of variables which could include some of the following:
• Birth date of resident
• Gender of resident
• Eight directions house faces
• Time period of when house was built based on the Yuan Yun Concept
• 24 directions/24mountains house faces
• Date when house is inhabited
The variables employed by different schools may vary, thus, the feng shui assessment of a house could be very different.
To establish credibility and legitimacy, many Cosmology School books claimed to be written by Yang Jun Song (楊筠松) the most renowned master of Form School in the Tang Dynasty.
However, records of these new concepts were introduced during and after the Sung Dynasty, centuries after Yang’s time!
Cosmology Feng Shui and the Form School
When this novelty idea of the Cosmology School concepts appeared in the 11th century, practitioners who subscribed to this new concept all realized and agreed that it could only be used as a supplemental feng shui interpretation; and should not override nor substitute the traditional Form School concepts.
However, over time, many who subscribed to the Cosmology feng shui concept continued to incorporate additional variables for analysis creating many sub-schools. Each attempted to outperform the other by introducing new variables.
At the beginning of the 17th century, there were a few dozen cosmology sub-schools debating and competing among themselves with different ideas of feng shui interpretation.
While busy arguing and criticizing each other, their attention and understanding on Form School feng shui slowly receded and eventually disappeared. The Cosmology feng shui approach became totally separated from the Form School.
Author: Master Shan-Tung Hsu
