Generally speaking a business success is measured by its capacity to generate continuous wealth. To reach that estate it is necessary to count with support from the environment, otherwise it might never take place.

Some are born very lucky and are able to get support from their surroundings without even knowing it exists. Some others are not so lucky and have to intentionally go and look for it.

To get support from our surroundings we follow the principles of feng shui, the ancient practice developed in China through thousands of years of empirical research.

Nowadays we are exposed to several feng shui systems and school of thoughts but classical feng shui is divided into just two major systems, the oldest one which focuses on the observation of forms and environmental features and the youngest one which adds a time dimension to the study of forms and is primarily based on formulas.

The study of forms must always come before the application of formulas because if the forms do not allow the correct collection of Qi (energy) and/or foster unfavorable Qi, the corrections based on formulas have reduced positive impact.

In any case classical feng shui is based on location and direction, for this reason when applying it, it is necessary to use a compass to determine the orientation of the property and to establish the cardinal and ordinal directions.

When evaluating the forms and environmental features, some of the most basic but powerful recommendations to be successful in business and in life are as follows. Apply them at home, where you spend most of your time, and at your place of business:

1. Make sure that any visible bodies of water from the property (lakes, ponds, pools) are only located north, east, southeast or southwest in reference to its center.

2. Make sure that the main entrance to the property is free of obstructions on the outside and on the inside.

3. Make sure that the main entrance to the property has an open space right outside where the Qi settles before coming in. This space is known as Ming Tang or Bright Hall in feng shui terminology and if it is recessed, it pulls in favorable Qi.

Within the application of formulas, the most basic but powerful recommendations to be successful deal with the BaGua that literally translates eight trigrams. Each trigram is symbolized by three parallel broken or solid lines and each trigram represents an element, a number, a family member, a color and much more.

When using the BaGua we superimpose a 3x3 grid on the property based on its orientation, so we divide it into 8 equally sized sectors and the center. Each sector houses a trigram and according to Chinese metaphysics, the mother of feng shui, the eight trigrams represent everything that exists so one trigram also represents you.

To find out your trigram look for your Life Star or Gua number at www.vivianaestrada.com clicking on the BaZi Calculator page. It comes out under your name, on the top right side of the page when you plot your BaZi chart.

To superimpose the BaGua on the property, divide the floor plan into nine boxes and measure its orientation with a compass: go to the center of the property, hold the compass in your hands pointing towards any direction and stay still until the compass stops moving. Mark that direction on the corresponding box and then label the other boxes accordingly.

The box, or better said the sector, that houses your trigram is your life palace and it governs your capacity of achievements.

If the property doesn't have your sector or the sector is afflicted by negative features like a column in the middle or a staircase or a storage room or a bathroom, then the property doesn't promote your wealth capacity. But don’t panic, there are additional ways to succeed.

If the sector exists and additionally it is an active place, used by you and/or your family members or employees like a meeting room or the main door, your capacity increases.

Opposite to your life palace is your opportunity palace. For instance, if your life star is number 4, your life palace is Southeast and your opportunity palace is Northwest. All life stars have an opportunity palace except number 5.

The life palace talks about your capacity as an individual, how much you can do by yourself. The opportunity palace tells you what comes to you along the way, like people, business deals, investment opportunities, to name some. Maybe your life palace doesn’t exist or it is afflicted but your opportunity palace is very good so you can still do good because powerful people, good opportunities, profitable deals, and so on are always coming your way.  

Generally speaking when we talk about a business we own the business so we work for ourselves or we work for others that own the business or we partner with others to jointly own the business or at least to jointly get things done so the third sector that needs to be assessed in a property is the partnership palace.

Partnerships can be one of the fastest ways to succeed in business because they are synergy, so check out your partnership palace. The trigram that represents that palace is determined through a mathematical model that is beyond the scope of this article but the table below summarizes the results.

If you have two of the three previously mentioned sectors in the property and they are not afflicted, you are in very good shape to succeed. To increase your chances, use those sectors, spend time there and keep them free of clutter allowing Qi to flow.

Once you make an assessment of the three sectors that are directly related to you, go and look for the sector that represents what your business and you actually do.

To do so you first have to identify the true purpose of the business or your true role within the business if you are an employee and you are applying this formula to look for your individual success. Then use the following guideline to determine the sector:

Once you define the sector(s) that represent the true purpose of the business look for them within the property. Do they contain any unfavorable features? or are they spacious and bright allowing Qi to flow? If the sector(s) are afflicted or don’t exist think about moving or reinvent the business to focus on a different purpose that is represented by one of the non-afflicted and better kept sectors in the place. 

When applying feng shui the best practice is to avoid the bad and go for the good because not everything can be cured. For this reason when it comes to buying or renting a home it is better to evaluate it following some basic feng shui principles before making a decision.

The first thing that you need to do is check out its surroundings: make sure the land behind is higher than the land in front; the front of the house is open and clear of obstructions; there are no energy pylons close by, the landscape around looks lush and healthy and there aren’t any bodies of water (ponds, lakes or pools) located at the northeast, northwest, west or south of the house.

Once you verify the outside ask for a copy of the floor plan, a printed one because what you need to see is the shape of the house and that is not easy to verify just by walking around. Does the shape look like a square or a rectangle? If it doesn’t it is better to forget about buying or renting that place or to engage a professional feng shui consultant to determine exactly what areas of your life are going to be affected due to the missing sectors or protrusions. The reason behind this recommendation is that each of the sectors in a 3 by 3 grid is associated with a member of the family, a part of the body, a sickness, a life aspiration and much more. If you superimpose the 3 by 3 grid on the floor plan and you find out that one or more of the sectors of the grid don’t exist, the absence of those sectors will negatively impact the aspects that they represent.

Maybe the affected family member(s) aren’t members of your household or maybe you don’t care about the life aspiration that the sector(s) represent(s), if that is the case it might be OK for you to live in that house but please check it out. Once you verify the shape of the house go and explore the location of the main door, the bedroom(s), the home office (if you plan to work from home) and the stove. Avoid obstructions right inside the main door, pillars in the middle of any space, awkward bedroom shapes and sloped ceilings. Avoid as well ceiling beams right on top headboards, stovetops without support, and fire places, bathrooms and staircases in the center of the house.

If all the previous tests scored high you might want to engage a professional feng shui consultant to determine the quality of energy inside the place based on formulas. The main door is the conduct of energy into the house so you want to make sure that whatever comes through that door is favorable; the bedrooms are the locations where you and your loved ones spend at least eight hours every day so the energy in those rooms better be good too otherwise it could cause sickness and misfortune; the home office is the place where you spend at least other eight hours every day so it also needs to be favorable; the stove is considered the center of health that allows you to generate wealth so you really want it to be in a safe place.

I know the perfect home is not easy to find but if it was easy everybody would have a perfect life.