Chinese New Year is around the corner again, and as the zodiac changes from Rooster to the Year of the Dog, so does your Feng Shui!
We wrote some articles previously, particularly about choosing the right home, and what to make your home have better luck last year. This year, we consulted Master Yap Boh Chu of the Yap Cheng Hai Academy to see how 2018 will look for us, and what should take note of.
What to expect in the year of the Dog
2018 will be the year of the Earth Dog, and according to Master Yap, it’s going to be a year where we’ll be doing a lot of climbing (not literally). We’ll be experiencing what Feng Shui experts call a “Double Earth Year”.
“2018 will be a tough year since the dog’s origin nature originates from the Earth, and it’s the year of the Earth Dog. Thus, earth elements stacked together would be akin to a mountain. There will be a lot of obstacles along the way.”, says Master Yap.
Although next year seems to be one that will be testing for all, Master Yap this year is also the year where humility gains rewards. So be patient, and keep your head low, guys!
What you need to know
Master Yap then tells us that in Feng Shui, there are 5 aspects that are key in a person: Health, Wealth, Authority, Relationship and Descendance. Whilst the first two need no explanation, Authority here refers to both authority of position and authority of the person. Relationship, on the other hand, dabbles in the general, and all around you are taken into account. Descendance is something your mother-in-law or your mother herself would ask for during the reunion dinner.
Take note of these, as you may not have five of these affected at one go, rather one or two of them might be affected. Master Yap gave us an example:
“I had a client whose Feng Shui readings were foretold to be poor during the year. However, she did extremely well with her relationships, securing networks for her businesses. Her wealth was not so good, though.”
How will our homes fare this year?
In this aspect, our homes are broken into directions of the compass, and every year, every different direction of the home, which includes the inside of the homes, will have a flow of energy, or chi, that will be too strong, and that is considered “bad” chi.
Master Yap tells us that in 2018, the North, Northwest and the Southeast of a home will have bad “chi” present, and more will be flowing to the North. However, homes that are facing South should also be wary. That’s because the house that faces South is considered a house that is “sitting on North”, and that will also cause it to be inauspicious. As most of us would know, there is good and bad feng shui, and for the homes that have bad feng shui to start with, this year is the year where you’d feel the full effects of it.
How do we solve this?
Master Yap tells us that this energy will stay for the whole year, and there’s nothing we can do about it, unfortunately. This applies to the affected directions that changes every year. One of the few things that we can do, is to not “activate” the particular area which is facing north.
How does one “activate” this area? Think of it as a balloon filled with stinky gas. If you pop it, it’s going to spread throughout your home, and you’re going to be covered in a stink. The more you smell it, the more it makes you feel uneasy, and in Feng Shui terms, will affect your own local “chi”. The more of this bad energy you take in, the more it’s going to affect every part of you, which includes your own mental wellbeing. You could end up making a silly mistake, or even a costly one. However, If you move around the stinky balloon, and not do anything to it, this bad energy will stay dormant.
One of the common things that we do to our own homes that could “activate” the area with the bad “chi” is through renovations. Master Yap has advised us that it’s better to stay away from any home improvement activities to the area of your home that is facing north, be it brick-laying, or breaking the walls to extend the room, to miniscule things, like hammering a nail on the wall to hang a picture.
“Even lifting heavy furniture could activate the area, so it’s best just not do anything at all to the area for the year”, adds Master Yap.
What if you’re the type of person who’d ask: “Is there any sort of items we should put there, just to keep it dormant for the rest of the year?” The answer is yes, and for the year of the Earth Dog, it’s metal.
Yes, metal. Be it heavy metal or just something metallic.
Well, not this kind of heavy metal.
Why metal? Master Yap explains to us that in Feng Shui, there is a five element cycle; earth, fire, water, wood and metal. The nature of this “bad energy” is earth, and as we explained earlier, too much of the earth element is not a good thing, especially so with the year of the Earth Dog.
“We now go into the five element cycle, and we see that metal, weakens earth.”, Master Yap elaborates, “We get metal from the earth, and when we mine the metals, the earth weakens.”
The traditional metal item that is usually used to “weaken” the earth here, is our small wind-chime. Master Boh tells us that he prefers a brass windchime, but any form of metal would do.
“You could even get a steel sheet, or tube, something as small as 300mm x 300mm, to be used to ‘treat’ the earth, but of course, that is not really practical”, he adds.
Conclusion
Either way, Master Yap has also advised us that we should not harp on making drastic changes as soon as we know what 2018 has in store for us.
“Feng Shui is like a river. It’s better you go ride the current that comes with it, rather than trying to change it. Who knows, if you decided to change the flow of the river, it could end up flooding your home!”
So there you have it, an overview of the Year of the Earth Dog, and we hope it has at least perked your interest in what you should and should not do next year.
We would like to thank Master Yap once again for lending a hand in this year’s article, and if you need any consultations for your home, consult your resident Feng Shui master!
You can find out more of Master Yap’s services here. Master Yap has diverse experience in the field, and has also done readings for various property projects, from local towns such as Bandar Utama, to abroad, such as the Taman Memorial Graha Sentosa in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Europe.
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(Written by: Henry Choo, 7th Feb 2018)
