Yin and Yang are the two major types of energy in Feng Shui. Ideally, these two types of Chi should be balanced in every place where humans are present. Places with inadequate equilibrium of Yin and Yang are unfavorable for people and very bad for living premises.
Soil, for instance, can be Yin or Yang– solid or soft, fix or movable. Yin has the qualities of control and attraction; Yang is about broadening and dispersion.
Yin and Yang in Nature
An example of excessive Yang energy is deserts – vast hot and bad lands that are totally unsuitable for being naturally inhabited by people. In contrast, Antarctic glaciers are a representation of Yin energy. However, they, too, are unsuitable for normal human life. Such places, though may, potentially, be inhabited, are not the best areas for living. Their excessive Yang or Yin energy can be adequately sustained for only short periods of time.
Therefore, when analyzing sites for constructing offices or dwellings, much attention should be paid to the smallest misbalances between Yang and Yin. If there is such a disharmony between the two types of energy, you should determine how strong it is and what can be done (if anything) for improving the situation.
Mountains and Water as Representations of Yin and Yang
According to the teaching of Feng Shui form method ( San He system) , the whole Earth is divided into two spheres – mountains and water. Mountains are the bones of earth, while water is its blood.
If there are mountains but no water in some place, energy flows weaken and, finally, fade out. The energy of places with many water features but no mountains is difficult to control and, as a result, it becomes uncontrollable and destructive. So, in order for the place to be favorable for people, its energy should be neither stagnant nor dispersed.
Yin and Yang Mountains
Though in general mountains possess Yin energy, they can be divided into two types in relation to each other: high sharp mountains are Yin, while low and rounded (flat) ones are Yang. Front slope of the mountain is Yang, and the back umbrageous one is Yin. The Yang type mountains carry positive Chi, while the Yin type ones bring destructive Sha Chi.
Yin and Yang Water
Unlike mountains, water in general belongs to Yang energy. However, it can also be divided into two categories. Water that falls from height (a waterfall, for example) is considered to have Yin qualities. Water in a lake or a river belongs to Yang. If a river is extremely tortuous or fast flowing, it is Yang. At the same time, a river with smooth bends and slow flow is Yang. Yin water has destructive qualities, while Yang water near the building is always a good thing.
In general, since water is dynamic, is it a Yang feature. Mountains, being static, are Yin. A place with a harmonious combination of the two types of Chi should, therefore, harmoniously consist of mountains and water. So, an ideal place for living should have both – mountains and water.
Alla Kondrat - Alla Kondrat+ is a Feng Shui topic editor at Suite101.com, as well as a full time freelance writer and translator (Russian and Ukrainian). ...
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