Feng Shui Book Review: Year of the Ram 2015—Secrets of Heaven and Earth by Michael Wu

Year of the Ram 2015—Secrets of Heaven and Earth by Michael Wu

Michael Wu is a Compass School feng shui master in Honolulu. In his book Year of the Ram 2015—Secrets of Heaven and Earth he refers to Landform (Form School) Feng Shui, the kind of feng shui that I practice, as Architectural Structure Feng Shui and I love that. I’ve never heard that name used before but it couldn’t be more apt! He explains that by using this feng shui method, you don’t have to move Wealth Corner enhancements. I’ve gotta tell you—that’s the exact reason I’m a feng shui consultant. If this method didn’t exist, I wouldn’t be drawn to practice feng shui at all. I’m just not the kind of person that could ever move my decorative objects around based on what year it is. Master Wu is that kind of person and he does the most brilliant and lucid job I’ve ever seen of showing you where to put what in this current year 2015. I plan to get my future years’ copies at the beginning of each year because Wu includes something for everyone, whether you use a compass or not. There is valuable information for everyone interested in feng shui, regardless of which school you follow.

Over twenty years ago, I decided not to pursue Compass Feng Shui as a practice, but I still read all the literature avidly. Why? Because I’ve always considered myself a lifetime learner, and there’s almost always a great section of catch-all information at the back of the book. These catch-all sections are almost always golden! There are nuggets of very pertinent information, and in this case richly illustrated. The book has plenty of color photographs and drawings, and starting on page 71, Master Wu reveals information about the Wealth Corner that I’ve never seen so well-explained and illustrated in any other book. He stresses the importance of stillness as a noticeable quality of a successful Wealth Corner. There are four excellent color drawings of very different home layouts and the Wealth Corners are pointed out. I guarantee they are not where most people (including many consultants) would expect to find them. Sometimes he shows the Wealth Corner is in the far right corner, and sometimes it’s in the far left corner. He says, “The Wealth Corner is a corner or sector of your home where the Chi can be accumulated and the Chi should be still.”

Wu points out five more circumstances when a Wealth Corner has what he calls a “deficiency.” In a Wealth Corner, it’s disadvantageous to have mirrors, a glass sliding door or a trashcan. I discuss those in Feng Shui for Love & Money, but Wu adds two things which I didn’t include in that book, but I sure will include in future books—don’t have fans or air conditioners in Wealth Corners. The air conditioner is actually not a problem unless it’s turned on. The idea is that since you don’t want things that disturb stillness, you don’t want to be blowing the air around in that corner. You may wonder why a fan is a problem in a Wealth Corner if it’s not turned on. My explanation would be that a Wealth Corner is not a proper place to store a fan, and that’s what you would be doing if it were never used there.

Wu says, “Generally speaking, the Wealth Corner is located 45 degrees diagonally when you are standing at your entrance door looking into each room except the bathroom and kitchen.” One thing that disturbs stillness is being in a direct line with the door into the room.

Here’s how I discuss that situation in Feng Shui Demystified:

“When a door to a room opens directly along a left or right wall, the chi is guided by that wall, builds up speed, and then knocks into the far corner ferociously. Some feng shui teachers maintain that when this happens, the area it hits is bounced along the wall to join the area at the other corner. This means that a Relationship area could be knocked into a Fortunate Blessings (Wealth) area, or vice-versa. It is not a bad situation; it’s just something to be aware of. If there is an interruption along the side wall, such as a large piece of furniture, the bounce is only partial. In such a case, fifty percent of the Relationship area may be left in its original location and fifty percent may get bounced. If this happened, you would just want to be sure that the Fortunate Blessings area had some of the characteristics of the Relationship area—for example, pairs of objects.”

As part of the delightful section near the end of the book, Wu discusses the entrance door, then briefly discusses each room, noting what to watch out for and how to improve it. For instance, he cautions never to have a big mirror behind a couch—it shows people behind you and suggests that you are more vulnerable to things that could go on behind your back. The exact word he uses is “backstabbing”—Wu does not mince words. His book is available by contacting him at fengshuiwork@yahoo.com or 808-533-7092, or at his store, Feng Shui Arts and Gifts at 1023 Maunakea St. in Oahu’s Chinatown.