Feng Shui Kit: The Chinese Way to Health, Wealth, and Happiness at Home and at Work

Michael-Ann Cerniglia
Senior School History Teacher
Sewickley Academy
Feng Shui Kit: The Chinese Way to Health, Wealth, and Happiness at Home and at Work, by Man-ho Kwok, attempts to make the practice of feng shui accessible to the Western novice. Like many belief systems, feng shui can be presented as a reductive set of principles or a complex system of science and metaphysical beliefs. Depending on the school of feng shui, the culture, the practitioner, and the wind (literally), measurements and solutions can vary widely. While I would say that it is the best resource I found that combines the philosophy and science of feng shui with a simplified method of application, it remains rather complex. Essentially, preparing to use the kit is a bit like following directions to put together hundreds of pieces of Swedish furniture; navigating the details is agonizing, but once you understand what to do, it’s a breeze.
I used this kit with Grade 6 students, for a religion and philosophy unit. Students who chose to do projects about feng shui used the kit to apply feng shui principles to a teacher’s room in our school. The kit begins with an introduction to feng shui, then introduces the instructions for using the bagua, or feng shui compass. It is very tricky to use (i.e. the bagua relies on south, rather than north as the primary direction) and I found it easiest to learn it myself then model for students how to use it. Once I modeled the process, the directions made more sense and students were able to trouble-shoot using the text.
Once measurements are taken, the students also had to do calculations with the teacher’s birthday and interpret the results. This also required assistance and modeling; but, again, they were able to apply it once the process was demonstrated. The final process involved determining solutions to the imbalances in the room. They were able to use some suggestions from the book that recommended materials (i.e. water or metal to correct an energy imbalance) and also found some common solutions online.
In the end, it was difficult to ascertain “correctness” of students’ solutions due to the myriad ways that a room can be read and interpreted. Still, and most importantly, my students had fun using this kit and ended the unit with a good understanding of the beliefs underlying the practice of feng shui (i.e. qi and yin and yang), as well as the goals of feng shui to achieve balance for prosperity and good health.