by Raihan Elgihani

Imagine a relaxed life filled with positive energy and complete harmony, being able to sit down, with your eyes closed, imagining yourself at a waterfront. You feel the wind brush gently upon your skin, and hear the seagulls warble their songs as they fly above. This tranquility can be accomplished. But how? Through the sumptuous art of Feng Shui, a cultural way of life that helps achieve this peaceful tone.

The definition of Feng Shui is “a pseudoscience originating from China, which claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment” (dictionary.com). Also, the literal translation of the term “feng shui” is “wind-water.”

Whether it is effective or not, it is harmless to try. And to be completely honest, I personally believe it IS effective.

Here are 7 steps you can try in order to acquire your place of zen

1. Eliminate the clutter you have. Hoarding is definitely a big “no no” when it comes to Feng Shui. This step is VERY essential for creating the harmonious environment in which you will live in.
2. Try to acquire clean and good quality air. Invest in filters and dehumidifiers.
3. Eliminate sharp or thorny decor pieces. Such items will bring forth bad luck and create a distressing environment.
4. Define your energy map. As you can see…specific locations in your home have a correlation to a specific aspect in your life. For example northeast is associated with spiritual growth.
5. Utilize the basic elements of Feng Shui. Lush green plants will assist you in having a better health and wood helps you to attract greater prosperity.
6. Get in touch with your birth element. For example if your birth element happens to be fire, then you should utilize colors such as red, orange, purple, magenta, pink, yellow.
7. Find Out Your Kua Number and Your Lucky Directions. To calculate your Kua number (or someone else’s Kua number), all the information you need is the year of birth and the gender. However, make sure that the year of birth is in accordance to the Chinese calendar.

Also keep in mind that:

• The Kua number calculations for a female are different from the Kua number calculations for a male.

• For those born after the year 2000, the Kua number calculations are slightly different.

Now we may begin the calculations (key factors are in bold):

KUA NUMBER FOR A FEMALE (born before the year 2000):

1. Add the last two numbers of your year of birth and bring it to a single digit.
2. Add your single digit to number 5. Bring this number to a single digit, too, if needed.
3. This is your Kua Number!

NOTE: For a female born after the year 2000, add 6 instead of 5.

KUA NUMBER FOR A MALE (born before the year 2000):

1. Add the last two numbers of your year of birth and bring it to a single digit.
2. Deduct your single digit from number 10.
3. This is your Kua Number!

NOTE: For a male born after the year 2000, deduct from 9 instead of 10.

Important: A male born in 2009 and 2018 will have the Kua Number 9.

My lucky number is seven due to the Kua calculations, yet I still am yearning to find out my lucky direction! There is a correlation between your kua number, or gua number, and your luck direction.

As we all know, there are eight directions. In Feng Shui, they are divided into two groups: East Group and West Group in which each direction has a corresponding Kua number (Gua Number).

• East Group: 1 (North), 3 (East), 4 (Southeast), 9 (South);
• West Group: 2 (Southwest), 5 (male Southwest, female Northeast), 6 (Northwest), 7 (West), 8 (Northeast)

The people who belong to the East group should avoid the directions in the West group and those in West group should avoid the directions in the East group. The directions in this same group are all lucky ones.