Properties from a Feng Shui perspective: Part 199
By David Koh and Joe Choo | July 15, 2011
Feng Shui: Living in Paramount
In our previous article, we visited the “food centre” of Paramount Garden, which consists of a few restaurants and coffee shops situated close to each other. This area around Jalan 20/14 and 16A sits on a plateau. (For Google map reference, log on to http://maps.google.co.uk/ and search for “Kuala Lumpur”.)
The landform tapers downhill toward the south, where we find another residential area. The houses arrayed along Jalan 20/15, 17 and 19 run parallel to each other and have a north or south orientation. At the east end of these roads, we find Jalan 20/14 running perpendicular from north to south until the intersection with Jalan 20/19 and 18. The road bends sharply to the east – technically this is where it joins (or changes its name to) Jalan 14/47. Jalan 20/22 connects the western ends of 20/15 and 17 but not 20/19. Since Jalan 20/19 and 22 are not joined, they are both dead-end roads or cul-de-sacs.
Further south, we find the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system, with the Paramount Garden Station located not far away off Jalan 21/12. The tracks run in a north-west/south-east direction along the boundary between Section 20 and 22.
High front, low back
According to Environology principles, properties with a high back and low front have a good orientation. They should also face a “concave” river (where the bend forms an embrace around the property) or at least follow its downstream direction.
Therefore, properties facing south along Jalan 20/15, 17 and 19 have a good orientation and should fare better than their neighbours across the road. The owners will enjoy relatively better fortunes and can upkeep their properties better.
Properties facing north come face-to-face with high ground and oncoming earth energy. This form of energy is powerful and can overwhelm the occupants, causing problems such as poor health, troubled relationships, failing to recognise and seize opportunities or an inability to study and focus.
If a person has a strong Life Profile (Bazi) and his main entrance, kitchen and master bedroom are located in his good sectors, it will enhance his situation: if his house has a good orientation, it is wonderful; if it hasn’t, then the ill-effects are only mitigated temporarily.
Cul-de-sac'ked
Cul-de-sacs can upset matters. Houses do well when their surroundings are infused with movement and activity. Passing traffic helps circulate energy and keeps it fresh. Such movement is limited at the end of cul-de-sacs. Therefore, properties here tend to get stale energy and are worn-down with time. It is better to live in houses near the entrance of the cul-de-sac as there is usually more traffic there.
Another equation changer is the presence of train tracks and high-tension power cables – both of which are present side-by-side. Trains have an “air cannon” effect as they push forward and create a vacuum in their wake. The wind turbulence they create can disperse earth energy. Power cables also emit electromagnetic radiation which is not conducive to people living too close to these lines.
Therefore, properties near these structures may experience further setbacks or deterioration. Do cul-de-sacs near train tracks cancel out each other’s effects? Not likely. Even if strong winds disperse energy, thereby avoiding a situation of stagnant energy, the effect is still a lack of conducive energy that benefits the occupants.
Driving along Jalan 20/14, one cannot miss the Maz International School simply because it sits at the sharp bend of the road directly in front of the road users’ line of sight. This is a private international school that follows a British curriculum. It began in 1991 in a bungalow.
Although its location has high visibility, it is not considered favourable or conducive from an Environology perspective. Earth energy is deflected by roads and rivers. If the road or river bends and embraces a piece of property, that property is said to enjoy good landform forces if it faces that embrace. On the other hand, if a road or river curves away – like the outer side of an elbow – that location is considered weak.
Dispersed energy
Earth energy bounces off roads and rivers, and when their shapes form a convex or elbow, the energy is dispersed and does not confer any benefits to the land. This is analogous to pouring water on an overturned wok. In our experience – and throughout our series of articles – we have found evidence supporting this observation. It would be interesting to observe how this school fares over time.
SEA Park or Section 21 is located next to Paramount Garden. It also contributes to the latter’s reputation as a food haven. Both these sections are well-integrated with many through-roads joining them.
Jalan 21/16, 12, 18 and 20 have a north-south orientation, with the southern ends stopping close to the LRT tracks. These ends are also cul-de-sacs and are likely to experience ups-and-downs from the chaotic energy patterns created by trains against the stagnation of dead-end roads.
The terrain slopes downhill from north to south like the roads. Therefore, houses here face neither high ground nor low. The slope is sideways relative to their sitting position. According to the Bagua, the highest sector will benefit a corresponding family member while the lowest sector would indicate that another family member would be struggling.
Since the north end is highest, there are three possible permutations: north-west (father), north (middle son) and north-east (youngest son). Correspondingly, the lowest points could be south-west (mother), south (middle daughter) or south-east (eldest daughter).
Jalan 21/27 cuts across 21/12, 16, 18 and 20 but there are no houses built along it. Houses are only found when the road bends toward the north-west and runs parallel to the LRT line. Jalan 21/27 becomes 21/35 after it intersects with 21/22. Jalan 21/23, 25, 31 and 33 are parallel to 21/27 and 35. Houses here face either north-east or south-west.
The terrain still slopes downhill from north to south, and north-east to south-west. Therefore, properties that face downhill have good orientation while their opposite and back neighbours do not.
We will examine more of SEA Park next.
*This series on Feng Shui and real estate properties appears courtesy of the Malaysia Institute of Geomancy Sciences (MINGS). David Koh is the founder of MINGS and has been a Feng Shui master and teacher for the past 36 years.
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Regular folks who could afford it would have three courts.
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We have been writing about ancient Chinese courtyard houses in recent weeks, and discussed how the houses were segmented into different courts. The number of courts a person was allowed to have depended on his status. The emperor’s palace had nine courts; top ministers had seven while the wealthy were limited to five. Regular folks who could afford it could have three.
The innermost courts were restricted for privacy and the security of the owner. The children did not stay with their parents. They lived in separate areas at the east and west sides of the house. The boys stayed in the east wing while the girls were confined to the west wing and were seldom allowed to leave.
This layout is in line with Feng Shui principles, namely the arrangement of the Bagua. The Bagua is like a 3x3 grid with the outside eight boxes each representing a sector in the compass. North-west represents the father while south-west is the mother; east is for the eldest son; north, the middle son; north-east, the youngest son; south-east, eldest daughter; south, middle daughter; west, youngest daughter. East represents male while west represents female.
This is true for all traditional courtyard houses regardless of the number of courts or segments they have.
Both these wings would be landscaped, with the secluded girls’ wing nicely decorated with elaborate gardens and ponds. The wealthy did not send their children to school. The youngsters were home-schooled by tutors, and back in those days, only boys were given a full education.
Marriages were usually arranged through matchmakers who would compare their dates for birth to ensure compatibility. The girls were not usually introduced until the wedding night itself.
The only way they could catch a glimpse of prospective suitors was through peepholes in court four (or six, in seven-court houses). These buildings usually had attics with holes discreetly made in the ceiling. The trouble with that was, the view was usually limited to the top of the suitor’s head!
In ancient times, houses were not arrayed in terraces. They were standalone properties surrounded by forests or jungles, hence the tall walls and fortress-like design. The land outside was usually cultivated as orchards and gardens, and may even include plots for the ancestral burial ground.
Other articles on Feng Shui by Master David Koh and Joe Choo:
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