Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher born in the year 540 BC, is the one credited for the phrase "change is the only constant”, which inspired me to write this article. I assume that when he made that statement he was following the steps of the Chinese sages who developed the I-Ching, known in English as the Book of Changes, which resulted from the observation and interpretation of the yin and yang forces in the universe that give shape to everything that exists.

Today, 2000+ years later, all cultures agree with Heraclitus, and with the Chinese sages, regarding change.  The Chinese sages, following the identification of yin and yang, also identified that the energy around us changes every hour, every day, every month and specially every year on February 4^th, which is the first day of the Chinese solar calendar used in Chinese metaphysics.

The interaction of that constantly changing energy with your own energy is what governs your path in life. If the energy around you or coming your way is favorable, no matter how bad you behave, most likely you don’t get caught. On the other side, if the energy around you or coming your way is unfavorable, even if you behave, any little mistake gets you in trouble.

This is why even in the worst economic times, some people do very good, and even in the best economic times some people lose everything. The same thing happens with love or with health: For instance, as good as it is to be in love, not everybody who is in love is happy; or as bad as it is to smoke cigarettes, not everybody that smokes cigarettes dies from lung disease.

It all depends on how the energy coming your way interacts with your own energy. This is revealed through #ChineseAstrology and #FengShui and it needs to be assessed at least once a year because as written above, the energy is constantly changing.

Don’t let fortune or misfortune get you by surprise. Find out ahead of time the quality of energy that is coming your way and act accordingly. Check out my periodic assessment service and/or join me at Joey Yap's Feng Shui & Astrology 2018 seminar in New York to learn to evaluate some of the energy yourself.  See you there! #EarthDog2018 

As incredible as it may sound, the shape of your residence and the location of the room that you are at influence your personality, your looks and even your passion. All is explained in the BaGua, the arrangement of eight (Ba) trigrams (Gua) that results from the interaction of yin and yang and represents everything that exists, including you.

The BaGua is a mathematical model to calculate Qi, if you understand the BaGua you are able to deduce what happens in a property. The first step to do that is to superimpose the BaGua on the property, the second step is to calculate the Gua of the occupant(s) and the third step is to know the characteristics of each Gua and apply them accordingly. 

First Step

To superimpose the BaGua on your property, lay over its floor plan a 3x3 grid to obtain eight equally sized boxes on the sides and one in the center. Label each box on the sides with a cardinal or ordinal compass direction as follows: go to the center of the property, hold the compass in your hands pointing towards any direction, stay still until the compass stops moving, mark that direction on the corresponding box and then label the other seven boxes accordingly. Each box is considered a sector and houses a Gua.

Second Step

To calculate your Gua (Life Star) go to my BaZi Calculator, input your date of birth (no need to input your time of birth) and plot your BaZi chart. Your Gua comes out under your name, on the top right side of the page. Males identified with Gua 5 are treated as Gua 2. Females identified with Gua 5 are treated as Gua 8.

Third Step

The characteristics of each Gua are endless. Table 1 shows some basic ones, which are very easy to apply.

Table 1 - The BaGua

With the information above let's explore some tips to improve your love and passion as well as your looks:

1. If you are a female and your Gua is:

3 or 4, make sure you have in your place at least one of the sectors that are metal (NW and West), otherwise it is hard for a male partner to come into your life.

9, make sure the north sector is part of your place, otherwise it is hard for a male partner to come into your life.

2 or 8, make sure you have in your place at least one of the sectors that are wood (east and SE), otherwise it is hard for a male partner to come into your life.

6 or 7, make sure the south sector is part of your place, otherwise it is hard for a male partner to come into your life.

1, make sure you have in your place at least one of the sectors that are earth (NE and SW), otherwise it is hard for a male partner to come into your life.

2. If you are a male and your Gua is:

3 or 4, make sure you have in your place at least one of the sectors that are earth (NE and SW), otherwise it is hard for a female partner to come into your life.

9, make sure you have in your place at least one of the sectors that are metal (NW and West), otherwise it is hard for a female partner to come into your life.

2 or 8, make sure the north sector is part of your place, otherwise it is hard for a female partner to come into your life.

6 or 7, make sure you have in your place at least one of the sectors that are wood (east and SE), otherwise it is hard for a female partner to come into your life.

1, make sure the south sector is part of your place, otherwise it is hard for a female partner to come into your life.

3. On top of the sector(s) that should be part of your residence according to tips 1 and 2 above:

If you are looking for a formal male partner make sure your residence is not missing the northwest, otherwise you won't find a partner or the relationship won't last because the location of the adult male figure doesn't exist in your place.

If you are looking for a formal female partner make sure your residence is not missing the southwest, otherwise you won't find a partner or the relationship won't last because the location of the adult female figure doesn't exist in your place.

4. Regardless of your Gua and gender:

If you want to feel desire for your significant other, make sure your residence is not missing the north sector, which empowers all reproduction for males and females. North missing implies very low desire.

Make sure the south sector is part of your residence because love and desire are better with passion and fire in the south is the sector that fuels it. South is also associated with happiness so it should really be part of your place.

5. To increase your attraction factor activate your peach-blossom location. Go to my BaZi Calculator, input your date of birth (no need to input your time of birth) and plot your BaZi chart. Your peach blossom location comes out as part of the BaZi Analysis on the top right side of the page. Place in that sector a bucket of water with a couple of flowers. You may avoid the flowers and just leave the water in order to expose more water surface to the energy Qi that rides on the air. For "Zi" the sector is north, for "Wu" the sector is south, for "Mao" the sector is east and for "You" the sector is west. Keep the water there for two weeks. 

For females stay in the west that is the sector associated with young pretty girls. If staying there is not possible at least keep the sector unobstructed, make it look nice and enhance it with metal objects.

For males stay in the northeast that is the sector associated with young handsome boys. If staying there is not possible at least keep the sector unobstructed.

Fat tends to accumulate on the hips and on the belly, avoid obstructions on the southeast and the southwest respectively, let the energy Qi flow freely in those sectors to diminish the risk of getting big.

Hope you enjoyed reading these tips :). There are many feng shui formulas and applications, learn about them, implement them and experience their benefits through a feng shui consultation.