Many feng shui practices say that a house which sits at the end of T junction is not auspicious.  From the feng shui point of view, when a road points directly to the front door of your house, the flow of energy could be too fast, thus it is not ideal. Psychologically, the image of a car driving toward your doorway is not the most pleasant feeling.  If this is a concern for you, the best remedy, without moving the door, is planting a tree to block the view of just the street, not the general open view.  Doing so, you will not immediately see cars coming and going when you exit your house. But do make sure the tree is not too close to the door, such that it blocks the view and normal energy flow to the house.

However, there are many kinds of so-called T junctions. Often it might not necessarily be a concern to you. The scale of impact has a lot to do with the length, width and straightness of street.   If the street is long, wide and very straight, it will have a more negative impact.  It also has to do with if the street is on a flat open field or has houses along both sides of the street.  In general, a street with tall houses along both sides of the street creates a tunnel effect; the flow of energy tends to be much more violent, thus has a more negative impact.

Often you might not be able to tell if your particular situation could affect you.  Here are some suggestions.  If you have lived in the house for 2-3 years, and everything is just fine, your concern might be unfounded.  If however, you experienced issues happening in your family and cannot find an obvious reason, this may be one concern.  Those in other situations as, “But I am just considering if I should buy the house” here’s what you can do.  Stand in front of the door, and pay attention to the street to see if the passing cars bother you or not, then turn to your feelings for decision making.

There are many practical factors one would consider based on their own situation. For a family with school age children, they will have concerns based on the quality of the school district, for the working public, their concern includes the convenience of their commute, to those retired, security of the neighborhood could be a priority, and people with health issues may consider the weather a factor in their choice of home.  All of these can be easily figured out by common sense and reasoning.

From the feng shui point of view, the primary concern is the Chi (qi) energy of the house. This has a direct impact to people’s health, relationship and prosperity. The three major things to be considered are:
1.  The land where the house is located
2.  The form of the house
3.  The design (floor plan) of the house

Good land location has to do with the presence of the four features in feng shui:
1.  Dragon
2.  Guardian
3.  Energy spot
4.  Water

The form of house should be wholesome, not too complicated and jarring. The floor plan of the house should provide smooth energy flow.

I know, you might think this answer is not plain enough to understand.   May be then it’s time to pick up the book, The Fundamentals of Feng Shui, a very small, simple and easy to read book.  You will enjoy reading it, and it may benefit you more than you expected.

Form defines energy.  When form is not wholesome, energy is not wholesome.  Clutter represents a chaotic form, thus, chaotic energy.  When clutter is removed, additional space is created.  A genius of the last century, Nicolas Tesla, once said, “There is an abundance of energy in space.”    I view this is an understatement.  To say that there is an abundance of energy in space is just as if to say that there is an abundance of water in the ocean.  The ocean is Water! In the same way, space is energy. However, this is a form of energy we do not yet know how to measure or tap into.  So, the less clutter you have, the more space you have and the more energy you have, and the better feng shui.

The three-toed frogs work just as well as buying a lottery ticket for attracting money.  People can be stupid, gullible, or very desperate, and may believe in such a thing.  If this worked, maybe we should propose to President Obama using some of his stimulus package money to buy a three-toed frog for every family in America, to help solve the financial crisis. This is a superstition floating around in China, and spreading to the west.  It has nothing to do with traditional feng shui. However, from a feng shui point of view, where there is an abundant energy flow, there is abundant money; where energy coagulates, money collects. The energy flow to the house mostly relates to the main entrance of the house. When the door faces a nice open, flat space (also with the view of water), there will be a better flow of energy.  So, make sure your courtyard is open and clean with no blockage.

The best color is the color that blends in and resonates with the design and color of the house and its neighborhood.  There is no such thing called ‘the’ best color!  Some feng shui books and teachings suggest that using red for the front door as it is an auspicious color.  This concept comes from Chinese tradition.  In ancient China, there was a very strict building code; people were allowed to build a house with so many rooms and to have a particular color for their door, based on their status in government and society. Most civilians were not allowed to use red color for the door. Red color could only be used for ranking official’s family.  Therefore, a red door represented the rich and noble. However, this may be a cultural value, but not a universal value. If something is not universally true, it’s not feng shui.

To see things from a feng shui point of view, we have to look at a thing from all its aspects; we have to see it from the aspects of matter (physical manifestation), energy (qi) and information (thought or form). There are volumes and volumes of analysis written about the Middle East from a manifestation (material) level, such as ethnic, economical, historical, military, social, etc., factors; too much, in fact, to put together into a clear, concise understanding.  But, if we see it from the energy level, we can see it through the form of its land (as in ‘Form defines energy.’).  In our 2008 newsletter, we said that Israel’s land form is the shape of a dagger (a triangle form) thrusting into the surrounding territory; unless the national boundary is redefined, the conflict will continue.  Additionally, from the informational level, if you believe in soul, spirit and reincarnation, where did the souls from all of those violent deaths go?  Many of them are confused, and still wandering that place; could they not also affect the energy and emotions of people living there?

Why is this bad feng shui? Does this thought arise from the fact that the flowers are dead? The lumber in our furniture is made of dead wood, also. If people enjoy dried flowers because of their beautiful color, form, or scent, what is wrong with this? However, a dead plant or tree is a different issue. There is already no use for it, so why keep it around? Also, there is the issue of artificial flowers (silk flowers). People use artificial flowers to decorate the space with their form and color. This can be useful sometimes. However, I would definitely prefer to use a living plant. Living plants provide energy, make energy connections, and cleanse and harmonize the space.

There is nothing wrong with having mirrors in a bedroom. Otherwise, where would you put the vanity table?  It is not a should-have or should-not-have issue. It is a scale issue; how many mirrors or how large a mirror are we talking about? A large mirror panel on the closet door may have a more significant impact; a smaller mirror may have no impact one way or the other.

People have also stressed that you should not place a mirror across from the bed. Yes, ideally you would like to be able to see the mirror only by choice, and when you lay in bed you cannot avoid seeing yourself in such a mirror.  Some people suggest covering the mirror at night. Why make your life so complicated? The worry itself creates more problems that the problem we are worry about.  If the bedroom is the only place to put it, live with it; it will not kill you.

The issue of mirrors in general has been overblown by feng shui gossip. Some feng shui schools emphasize the use of mirrors, proposing that almost anything wrong can be cured by a different use of mirrors.  Let’s use common sense and not ascribe too much power to the mirror.  What is the mirror used for?

1. To reflect more light inside
2. To create the illusion of larger space
3. In very rare cases, to reflect a good view from outside to inside
4. Most importantly: for make-up and checking to see if you are dressed properly

So, when you are thinking of placing a mirror any place in your house, ask yourself which function you are trying to fulfill, and what is your reason for having a mirror?  Do you really need a mirror there?

A mirror also can have negative aspects: it can create confusion and disorientation, and in doing so, it can create feelings of stress or conflict rather than peaceful feelings.  Thus, the mirror-paneled closet (2-4 panels of mirror) may affect the emotions and sleep in a negative way.

Normally, my answer would be “place an abundance of living house plants in your house.”  This is the simplest and easiest thing to do.  Washington State University did some research in the 90’s, studying the impact of living plants in the office.  It concluded that living plants reduce stress levels and increase productivity.  Feng shui practitioners have known this for millennia; however, it’s good to have some “scientific” proof.
In view of our modern way of living, especially the abundance of the America life style, I would say the first feng shui issue for a home is to keep the house clean, tidy and un-cluttered. This should not be an issue to begin with; we should take this for granted as the normal state.  Unfortunately, it is a big challenge to American society.  So, before this issue has been taken care of, we should not even talk about what good feng shui is.