Module 3
Feng Shui Studies is delighted to share the Introcution of Module 3 of the Feng Shui Practitioner Course. To answer any questions on course requirements, please see Shui Studies’ Feng Shui Practitioner core curriculum page.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Origins of the Five Elements and the Bagua Map
Chapter 2: Trigrams and the Bagua Map Connections
Chapter 3: Five Elements and Trigram Connections
Chapter 4: Five Element Cycles
Chapter 5: Bagua Map Reading
Welcome to Five Elements and the Bagua Map. In this course you will learn more about each of the systems of the Bagua Map and Five Elements separately and then how to integrate them.
When I studied feng shui, l learned the Bagua and Five Elements as two separate systems, and when I did consultations I applied first the Bagua Map and then looked at it again from a Five Element perspective. Since my experience was that Five Elements not as intuitive, I found myself using it less frequently, and since I was already using a Four Element Native American Medicine Wheel system, that is the one I preferred.
It wasn’t until I began doing my own research into the roots of Feng Shui that I realised the colours of the bagua came from the Five elements and further, that each gua was associated with an element. This was quite a revelation. I realized that just by using the Bagua I was using the Five Elements.
The further I went into my research the more intrigued and excited I was, and I had to wonder why the Five Element system is presented separately from the Bagua Map, since the two go together hand in hand. I have not been able to find any explanation except that it is true that there is a lot more information to take in initially by combining the two systems. To my way of thinking, combined they support each other in a way that tells a story, which in turns makes it easier to remember. Uncombined it is actually more difficult because it is much more rote learning; without explanations, the Bagua Map and the five elements systems fall into a ‘mystery school’ and the transcendental (where there is no logical explanation) much more than they need to.
What I discovered when I began searching for the roots for the original meaning and intent of the symbols is that there is a logic and a practicality; being from Chinese philosophy the logic is different from what I was exposed to in my Western upbringing, but still I found I was able to follow the train of thought quite easily.
How has this changed my practice? Integrating the two systems makes it more efficient for both myself and the client since I am not doing two separate steps. It also gives me an advantage: with the hundreds of books on feng shui available and the vast amount of articles and videos on the internet, feng shui is becoming a DIY art. When all the books and the articles offer the same or similar information, it almost is a cookie-cutter approach. The idea situation is that the Feng Shui Practitioner has a deeper level of knowledge beyond what is available in books and the advantage of combining bagua map and five elements is that it gives me a deeper insight with which I can create custom enhancements for my client.
What You Are Going to Learn
In this course you will get learn about the origins of the bagua map and trigrams and why they are a flow of energy rather than distinct and separate entities.
- You will learn Bagua Map origins and why it is arranged the way it is.
- The energy behind each of the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water, including the corresponding body systems and emotions, and how these merge into the trigrams of the bagua.
- You will learn how to use the five element cycles, when to use which one and what their effects are.
- We will go back once again to the Bagua Map to learn more about how to read them and how to solve for difficult arrangements.
- Learn how to the use the principle of opposites.
- How to download information from floor plans.