Dear Karen,

I am confused about where the prosperity area of my home is. When I use the bagua system in your book I get one thing, and when I use the Feng Shui compass system I get another. Help!

- A.R., New England, USA

Karen's reply:

The two systems are very different and are not to be mixed.

Feng Shui practitioners were originally great masters who designed buildings to promote balance and harmony between humans, their environment and the gods. The most skilled would also be able to create temples where high spiritual connections were made possible.

This, of course, is a very far cry from the way Feng Shui practitioners are taught today. Most are not even able to feel the chi (energy) that Feng Shui principles are based on, and rely instead on prescribed formulae learned from books. My experience of visiting homes where other consultants have been before me is that only the most advanced compass school practitioners are able to achieve good results - the rest are a public menace!

Doing Space Clearing can help you to begin to feel the energy in your own home, and the bagua grid aligned to the front door is the only system I recommend. I have found it to be accurate in every country and culture I've worked in, and it can also be used safely without the huge amount of study required by the compass system.