Rating
I'm a fan of Stasney's books, largely because of the photos. They don't look impossible — just good and inspiring. This book is primarily organized around bagua areas with emphasis on the I Ching trigram which represents a particular area.
I appreciated her advice on upholstery fabrics on page 148. "Busy patterns will keep your mind moving, but make it harder to concentrate for any length of time; and darker colors are more grounding than lighter ones."
She writes about affirmations, rituals, space clearing, and organizing. The book touches on a lot of topics. I would have liked to have seen more information on poison arrows and also being able to see the door. The only reference to poison arrows is on page 102 in a shadow box. And, it's not in the index. Sitting at your desk and being able to see the door is quite basic in feng shui. It is a significant factor in all my office consultations. Stasney's reference to it is in the same shadow box. It's 7 words in a 62 word sentence. The meaning gets a bit muddied in a sentence that long. The topic deserves a more prominent mention (and a clearer sentence.)
On page 83, she perpetuates the myth that Dracaena sanderiana is bamboo. It's not and never will be. It just has a common name of "lucky bamboo."
Tabletops with bare glass edges aren't used a lot in offices. Some have them, but most don't. For good reason as far as I'm concerned. The full page picture facing the table of contents shows such a table with no comment about its cutting energy. I'm concerned that people might think it's good feng shui. It's not.
She has interesting sections on oils and fragrances as well as shiatsu finger massage. The old feng shui masters didn't have to contend with carpal tunnel syndrome.
Sterling Publishing Company, New York, 2004, www.chapelleltd.com, 1-4027-0402-X, 160 pages, color potographs and drawings, paperback, $19.95