The Flying Stars are arguably one of the strangest and most difficult to understand aspects of the traditional methods of feng shui.

It is, in essence, a study of the changes that the passage of time has over space. In simple terms it means there is a method for calculating the ‘seasons’ of a building, just as we might read the weather for a specific period of time. Looking at the calendar and knowing what month it is, we can know that we would do well to carry an umbrella with us during a particular season or a warm coat in another.

We are all aware that as seasons come and go, so too does the weather change for that time of year. George Santayana the famous philosopher expressed this by saying,

Repetition is the only form of permanence Nature can achieve.

If we recognise in this truth that it is the very nature of time itself which brings change to everything, then it follows logically that the dynamics involved in buildings will also change with the passing of time.

Ancient Chinese scholars made some conclusions with regard to this and their observations of the movement between the Big Dipper and the Pole Star. Once these conclusions were confirmed, they realised they had a method for being able to determine what the feng shui of a site would most likely be in any given particular time. Thus came about the Xuan Kong Fey Xing School or ‘The Mysterious Phenomena of the Flying Stars School.’

Predicated on a series of complex grids placed over any site and dependant upon the particular time span during which the building was built (or sometimes reconstructed), certain Directional and Locational Influences and the very concept of the Time/Space Dimension itself, calculations can be made which will tell the specialist the most likely forces to be present and at work within the building.

By forces, it must be clearly understood that I refer to natural phenomena which occur in all buildings and have more to do with the fortuitous nature or otherwise of these phenomena.

What is meant by phenomena?

It appears that there are certain configurations which result in some buildings being more healthy than others. Some for example which are better for harmonious relationships, or others in which finances are terrible and thus contribute to a general collapse of the inhabitant’s security, relationships and so on. Such things as whether the occupants can expect to enjoy good health or conversely, to suffer from ill health within the structure between certain periods of its existence; be exposed to legal hassles which seem to perpetually go against them etc etc. are all able to be calculated and read.

All of these highly variable components are a part of this Time/Space Dynamic. The list I have given above is by no means exhaustive. A full list of all the possible configurations and their potential significance takes much effort and many years of practise to learn and understand. Even a professional feng shui consultant may never see certain examples in their years of practise.

Learning what these configurations may imply for the occupant is one thing. Learning how to adjust or alter the feng shui so as to maximise the auspicious and to minimise the potentially harmful is another thing altogether and takes real expertise and insight.