Flying Star Feng Shui is a time honored, sophisticated Chinese Feng Shui system that measures the flow of beneficial and harmful time-space energies that affect our lives. Similarly, I-Ching Feng Shui comprises a rigorous method of calculations designed to assist us in capturing what is traditionally called "auspicious cosmic breath". In modern terms, we might conceive of this as learning to align ourselves with harmonious energies, while avoiding or minimizing harmful ones.

In the Flying Star system, eight stars float in eight equal quadrants of a circle, with a ninth star occupying the circle's centre. Each star represents a constellation of qualities and attributes, some beneficial, others debilitating or harmful. One might think of each star as the tip of an iceberg of energetic qualities that influence our lives. We know, thanks to modern radio telescopy, infrared and thermal photography, that we live in a sea of energies, but as these powerful energies are largely invisible, we seldom give them much thought. At the same time, we must be aware that there are simply too many instances in which human's contract cancer for no apparent reason, in spite of taking exercise, eating healthy food and getting sufficient rest. From the Feng Shui perspective, the energies of position and the flow of chi can often explain these anomalies. The wrong placement of either bed, or bedroom door, or the main door to a house may produce strong negative effects over time. These issues of placement are not based on groundless superstition, but on careful and exacting observations of how living things react to the topography and to the subtle energies of their environment. Animals are often much more attuned to these energies than humans. Note how often a dog will circle and move around to find just the right place to rest. Research in Germany has demonstrated that dogs will never sleep over geopathic stress zones, i.e., zones of negative radon energy or other negative telluric energies emanating from the earth.

It is beyond the scope of this short description to describe the complex observations and interpretations of natural and cosmic energies that have produced the designations for each star in the Flying Star Feng Shui system. Here, we can only note that the following correlations have been established: In terms of health, Star # 1 governs our urology system. Star # 2 governs the abdomen, Star # 3 governs the liver, spleen and legs, and Star # 4 governs our respiratory system. Therefore, if this last star is adversely positioned or afflicted in our chart, asthma, bronchitis or other respiratory problems may be aggravated.

Star # 5 is related to malignancy. If this star is badly situated for someone, in conjunction with a Star # 4 affliction, there may be increased risk of breast cancer or acute asthma problems

Star # 6 governs the head, including the brain. Star # 7 governs the lungs. Star # 8 governs the back and fingers. Star #9 governs our eyes, heart and blood. The full list of anatomical correlations is far more comprehensive, but for simple applications, the above list will suffice.

The method of floating is difficult to learn and to explain. Though an oversimplification, it might be useful to think of the nine stars as nine constellations moving around the points of the compass with ourselves as the compass point center. One year a given star will be to our Northeast, another will be in the West, a third in the Southwest, and so on. We can learn how to align and position ourselves in our living spaces to enhance the influence of beneficial stars and minimize the effects of harmful ones.

Traditional Feng Shui offers many suggestions for the neutralization of the bad stars, to keep them from flexing their muscles, so to speak, and causing us injury, and sometimes life threatening problems. These methods run the gamut from simple to complex and only a proper course of training in Feng Shui will equip a person to use them with consistent good effect. Nevertheless, a simple explanation may be given based on the generative cycle of the five principal elements - Earth, Fire, Water, Wood and Metal. In this system, each of these elements has a specific relation to the others. One element will augment or benefit another, while producing a destructive effect on another. An obvious example is fire burning wood. In this relationship, wood is very beneficial to fire, increasing its heat and intensity. Wood takes energy away from water, however, by soaking it up. Feng Shui geomancy determines the position of these elements in a person's birth chart and relates that person's cycle of rising and falling fortunes to larger astrological cycles which are, in turn, governed by a specific element.

In application, this may mean, for example, that if a person is being adversely affected by the earth element of a bad star in his chart, the remedy may involve the use of brass in the person's workplace to counteract that negative earth energy, since metal weakens earth in Five Element Theory. Similarly, the use of red colored material, such as a red carpet, may be used to neutralize the negative wood element energy of a malevolent star. Here, the red color, as fire energy, burns the wood. It is always important to remember that we are not just talking about the literal visible elements here, but more importantly, about the energetics of their interactions.

A common Feng Shui remedy involves relocating or changing the compass direction which the front door of a house faces. The door is like a mouth, and if it's not in line with beneficial cosmic breath, the room will not be filled with harmonious energies. What complicates things here is that there is not one beneficial direction for all persons. Depending on the balance of five elements in one's natal chart and other considerations, a beneficial direction for one person may be disadvantageous to another and vice versa. A skilled compass based Feng Shui practitioner can sort out the complexities of good and bad directions for each member of the family. It may strain credulity to suggest that changing the direction one faces while working or placing one's bed to face a certain direction can have profound effects on one's health and fortune, but these geomantic methods have been used for thousands of years, with thousands of people swearing to their efficacy through personal experience.

One final word, no science, including Feng Shui, can halt the aging process, but it can be used to slow it down. The system, skillfully used, can assist us toward a healthier, happier life, but we must co-operate with Feng Shui energies by taking adequate exercise, healthy food, rest and etc. The avoidance, as far as possible, of the bad stars in our home can be achieved through the art of placement, which can make a difference, sometimes dramatic, in our fortune and well-being.