The Chinese Feng Shui Compass – Tool of the Feng Shui Practitioner
The ancient, nature honoring art of Feng Shui is a well known aesthetic guide from the eastern hemisphere, and its main tool of divination is the Chinese Feng Shui compass. For centuries it has been used to locate a home or building’s main focal point of energy, and to perfect the flow of the life force through the spaces.
In contrast to the Western world’s compass that directs you toward the North Pole, the Chinese compass actually guides the bearer to the South Pole. This resulted from an ancient experiment that revealed to the old scientists that the magnetic pool of the planet originates from the South and travels North, so they designed a compass that would always seek the starting point.
In Chinese, the compass is referred to as the Lo-Pan, meaning the ‘bowl of everything’ or ‘bowl that opens the gate to all mysteries in the universe’. Drawing from the literal coordinates and surrounding landscaping of a building, the Lo-Pan is utilized in leading the way to achieving harmony with the local flow of energy, rather than moving against it. It also can be useful in placing certain objects of furnishings in particular places where the energy could use it the most, and to remedy a troublesome doorway, perhaps, if the building was constructed without the use of a compass.
With its magnetic pull, the compass’s reading will be thrown off by any area with a high gathering of metals, and this subsequently is believed to put a block in the path of the planet’s own magnetic flow. Any master or experienced Feng Shui user will know the dispersion of metals is highly important, if at all possible, since stops in nature’s energy are perfect places for negative energies to dwell.
This good energy of nature is known as the Qi, usually said Chi, and it permeates throughout every living thing and all places in the world. To encourage Chi to move correctly through an artificial construct such as a human home, certain precautions must be taken to ward off opportunistic negatives. Specific kinds of Chi can also be invited in by appropriately placing plants such as bamboo, or Chinese gold coins.
The user of the Lo-Pan can assess any area of their home simply by facing it, and reading the direction the needle points toward. After consulting the ancient wisdom of what should be the case for a piece of furniture or a doorway for example, the user can adjust the objects in the space. The elemental division of the compass also allow for the user to put their own emphasis on any element they prefer.
The Lo-Pan has been used in China for centuries, leading as the guiding force in constructing buildings, and even the directions of entire cities. The Chinese Feng Shui compass takes on a few different forms to better suit varying personalities and experience, allowing anyone to access the ancient wisdom of beauty in nature.