FENG SHUI FUNDAMENTALS with T. Raphael Simons

The Number 10 in Feng Shui

The Chinese character for ten looks like our Western plus sign: + . In the ancient Chinese dictionary, called the Shuo Wen, the number ten was called the most complete and far-reaching of the numbers. With its horizontal line representing East and West and its vertical line representing North and South, it describes the four cardinal directions and the middle, or the essential compass. The four directions and the middle also signify the five elements, East representing Wood, West representing Metal, North representing Water, South representing Fire, and the middle representing Earth. The character for the number ten thus implies the five elements.

When the five elements are viewed in their their Yin and Yang forms they also become what is known as the ten Heaven Stems. The ten Heaven Stems are an essential part of the great Chinese astrological system called Ba Tzu. The Ba Tzu astrological system combines the ten Heaven Stems with the twelve animal signs (Rat, Ox, Tiger, etc.) to form the sixty element and animal combinations used for naming years, months, days and hours. The year 2005, for example, was the Wood Rooster; next year is the Fire Dog, and so on. These element-with-animal signs, besides playing a major part in Chinese astrology with its related divinatory systems, have an equally important place in the Chinese compass, called the Lo Pan, and they are used in Feng Shui for analyzing, judging, and designing dwellings and landscapes in relation to the natural order of the cosmos.

By applying the principle of the number ten, as understood by the Chinese, we have all of the elements of the traditional practice of Feng Shui at our finger tips. Because the Chinese astrological and compass methods relate to one another like the two sides of one coin, they comprise one system in which your astrological chart shows you what the elements mean for your life, and the compass shows you where your luck is to be found. If you consider the Chinese number ten in its spatial sense you can see how it shows the symmetrical arrangement of the four directions from the perspective of the middle, and if you consider the Chinese number ten in its astrological sense you can see how it signifies that everything flows and changes.

When applying these concepts to your home, whether you understand the Chinese astrological and compass methods or not, aim to make your home look and feel balanced and easy, uncluttered and open. Make your home easy to move about in and easy to breathe in so that your health is supported, your mood is bright, and the challenges that you face in life can be met with equanimity.

© T. Raphael Simons, 2005.

Articles by T. Raphael Simons:

Harmony of House & Doorway

Indoor Shars

Secret Arrows

Underground Shars

Positioning Yourself for POWER

The Balance of Your Relationship: Who Goes on Which Side of the Bed?

Spiritual House Cleansing

The Year of the Firedog

The Number 10 in Feng Shui

Peace in Your Home

Finding a New Home

Money Point

2005 in Chinese Astrology and Feng Shui

Feng Shui and Healing

Equilibrium

Mirrors in Feng Shui

Form Methods in Feng Shui

Feng Shui and Recreating Oneself

Interview with a Feng Shui Expert