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com
Layman’s Guide to
Property Selection
By Sherry Merchant

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M E R C H A N T Layman’s Guide to Property Selection
 What exactly iS Feng Shui ?

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Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of assessing
property and land.

It is based on the assumption that Qi, the lifeblood or

“soul” of the universe, is an indestructible force, that
changes with time, and affects individuals, land,
properties or dwellings (known as yang house Feng
Shui) and most importantly, in the Chinese context, it
governs burial sites (known as YIN house Feng Shui)
A qualified Feng Shui practitioner knows how to
harness and use this Qi to benefit the property and
optimise its potential to the maximum.

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M E R C H A N T Layman’s Guide to Property Selection 2  
 How relevant is this to us?

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Des'ny  
Property  
Effort  

We practice with the assumption that the quality of

our lives are influenced in three distinct ways.

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M E R C H A N T Layman’s Guide to Property Selection 3  
 Feng Shui & the Layman

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This presentation is designed
for the busy individual who does not
have any prior exposure to the subject
but is prudent enough not to disregard
the relevance of something that may
be of some help to him.
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 Good Design is Good Feng Shui

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In both practices we
strive to achieve:
•  Balance
•  Harmony
•  Ergonomics
•  Smooth flow of energy
•  Open spaces and
good lighting
•  Practicality

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 How, exactly does one do that ?

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Without going into technical detail, one
begins with the selection of land based on
certain principles.

The footprint of the structure is also decided

with these principles in mind, as are the water
placements, doors, entrances, room
arrangements and kitchens.

If greater details are sought, one could even

arrange beds and stoves based on the
occupants date of birth, and specific goals.

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M E R C H A N T Layman’s Guide to Property Selection 6  
 What can you hope to achieve.

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Harmony, easy progress of the site, and no
obstacles are some of the benefits that are
enjoyed by the developers, architects and
contractors.

Increase in profits, detection of wastage and

points of possible theft are other factors one
can be sure of.

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 What do you need to do?

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A simple regime is all you need to follow:

1.  Plan your space using a qualified and

recommended Feng Shui practitioner, and
stick to the plans.
2.  Select a good day to begin.
3.  Adhere to recommendations where work
should not be done, where it should begin
etc.
4.  Correctly place your site office.

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 What do you need to do?

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Here are a few pointers on how to apply Feng
Shui norms in your day to day practice.

Please bear in mind, Feng Shui is not a Do-It-

Yourself hobby, but a very serious study.
After all, you would not go to a doctor who
was educated by “reading medical books as
a pastime” would you?
A proper consultation may yield for more input
that this presentation offers.
Consider this to be just a “trailer”.

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M E R C H A N T Layman’s Guide to Property Selection 9  
 Plot Selection

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Plot shapes are very crucial in the success of a
property:
•  Look for: Regular shapes, either square or
rectangular.
•  Avoid: multiple sided plots
•  Plots with sectors missing

 
GREAT!                Forget  it!  

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 Why? Missing sectors are no good!

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DESIREABLE: UNDESIREABLE:
Regular shape; square Avoid multiple sided plots
or rectangular

Missing sectors

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 The rules & reasoning

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The FOUR POINT GOLD
It is extremely important to ensure
South South
that every plot or building is four East
South
West
sided with all the sectors
completely built up or at least East CENTER West
roofed.
North North
North
Each sector that is missing has East West
special significance as per the
Bagua, the Feng Shui template.

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 Knowing the LOSHU

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This is the only technical bit you need to know:
THE LOSHU
This is the basic “magic square” upon
which all Feng Shui calculations are South South
South
East West
based. 9
4 2

Each sector of this basic 3X3 grid has East CENTER West
a meaning, so knowing it by heart 3 5 7
can be helpful.
North North
North
East West
1
It is called the magic square because 8 6
when you total up the numbers in any
direction any which way, the
numbers total up to 15.

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 Knowing the LOSHU

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The loshu forms two
groups: South
East
South
South
West
9
4 2

1,2,3 & 4 are part of one East CENTER West

3 5 7
group and
North North
6,7,8,& 9 are part of East
North
West
1
another. 8 6

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 Knowing the LOSHU

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1,2,3 & 4 are where your
ground should ideally be
lower. South South
South
East West
6,7,8,& 9 are where your 9
4 2
ground should ideally be
East CENTER West
higher. 3 5 3
If these criteria are fulfilled North North
North
you have perfect land. East
1
West
8 6
However, this is nearly
impossible to achieve,
so……..

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 Knowing the LOSHU

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1,2,3 & 4 is where you must
attempt to locate water,
entrances and activity (lifts,
staircases, kitchens etc.) South South
South
We call these areas YANG, East West
9
essentially areas where activity 4 2
is desirable. East CENTER West
6,7,8,& 9 are areas that should 3 5 7
be kept quiet, so one can North North
locate higher structures, East
North
West
bedrooms etc here. 8
1
6
We call these areas YIN, where
inactivity, stillness and quiet is
desirable.

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 Knowing the LOSHU- Water placement

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Pools, ornamental water falls, South South
South
East West
even lower ground where 4
9
2
water can collect
East CENTER West
accidentally in the monsoon, 3 5 7
should all be in East, South
North North
East, North and South West North
East West
1
areas. 8 6

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 Knowing the LOSHU

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Placement of bedrooms
The bedrooms should generally
South South
be in the West, North West, East
South
West
South & North East areas of the 9
4 2
house. East CENTER West
3 5 7

The choice further depends on North

North
North
East West
which direction the building 1
8 6
faces, but that part is best left to
a professional.

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 Knowing the LOSHU

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Placement of kitchens:
There are always preferred
South South
in the East or the South East East
South
West
9
but South and South West 4 2

too is fine. East CENTER West

3 5 7

North North
Avoid placing kitchens in East
North
West
1
the West or the North West. 8 6

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 Knowing the LOSHU

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Placement of entrances:
There are always preferred
South South
in the East, North, South East
South
West
9
East and South West too is 4 2

fine. East CENTER West

3 5 7
Avoid placing entrance
North North
doors in the West , North East
North
West
West, North East or South 8
1
6
sectors.

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 What is a Sector?

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center

1.  Square off the missing sectors to form a 4 sided image.

2.  Find the center by bisecting the plot corner.

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 What is a Sector?

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East
South East
South

South West
North East

NORTH North West West

1.  Locate the North using the center as a reference point.

2.  Divide the plot into 8 equal divisions of 45 degrees each.
3.  Name each sector

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 What is a Sector?

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East
South East
South

South West
North East

NORTH North West West

•  You now have a plan which you can use to decipher where your main
entrance is located.
•  In this case, the office occupies the North and North East sector of the
floor with a little bit of the North.
•  The main entry point to the office is in the North East sector (green arrow)
•  The main cabin is in the North East sector and the desk faces South West.

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 Entry Points

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It is very important to enter from the correct sector.
Like you need just one hole to make a leaky bucket, your
wrong entrance can nullify otherwise perfect Feng Shui
arrangement and land.
•  East
•  South East
•  South West
•  North
In the last example, the entry point was in the North East which
is not very good.
Entering from the center, is even worse.

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 Look after the center

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The central palace is In this case, the main entrance
determined by marking the comes in the center. BAD.
plan into 9 squares, placing a So does one lift come in the
grid over the entire property. center. Also BAD.
In this example we are looking
at just the office, not the floor.
The central portion is marked
out to be left unencumbered,
meaning, no doors, no lifts or
anything requiring movement
and no heavy objects.

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 Look after the center

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One needs to be careful when planning
apartment blocks that have a central atrium,
which is fine, so long as it does not contain
water. It must also be proportionately spacious
not a duct-like dimension.
In fact, an open center, like in ancient houses,
is actually good. The problem begins when
you place a water body inside. This is specially
with respect to pools, fountains etc.

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 Look after the center

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Especially dangerous is placing the bathrooms
and kitchens in such a way that they extend
into the central part of the house.

Even the ancient Indian system of Vaastu

dictated that such placements are wrong.

In fact Vaastu describes that a central open

space called the Brahmasthaan be retained
in all properties, as an open area.

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 Look after the center

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Another example is when two apartments are
joined to make one larger one, and the lifts
and stairwells end up in the center. This should
be avoided at all costs.

If you are planning a space that may merge

two apartments into one as an option, make
sure the lifts & stairwells are at the side and not
the center.

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 Room Shapes

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Each room should be
a square or a
rectangle. Look out for
shapes that are
irregular.
A common example is
a room which has a
passage and
bathroom all within
one 4 sided shape, like
this example:

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 Room Shapes

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While, at first glance, the
room appears to be 4 sided,
look carefully, it is not.
The bathroom makes the
bedroom “L” shaped, what
is known in Feng Shui as a
“sickle shape shar”
Such a shaped room gives
the occupant bad health as
the shar points straight at the
bed.
BUT
there is a solution:

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 Room Shapes

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The solution is very simple:
Add another door and
the room becomes
regular shaped.
This shape of room occurs
commonly in most
apartment buildings but
the solution is also very
simple.
An ingenious designer can
come up with their own
alternatives.

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 Four Celestial Animals

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There is another factor that we take into great
consideration in Feng Shui regarding the manner in which
the land around you is positioned, which is devoid of
directions.
This refers to the star positioning in the sky that is attempted
to be replicated on earth.
However, non-professional Feng Shui enthusiasts take this
literally and substitute these forms with real animal
“shapes”, which is not the proper form.
The glass tortoise you see behind a persons desk, is not
Feng Shui. The effect it will have will be as much or as little
as say a glass dog, or a glass statue, in short, ornamental.

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 Four Celestial Animals

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BLACK TORTOISE
It is good to have higher ground
WHITE TIGER behind the property.
GREEN DRAGON
A low ridge of land raised ground
like an arm is good here is good for
here. The longer it is wealth. Greenery
the more POWER the or a hill is also
occupants are said beneficial, as it
to receive. This is also forms part of an
part of the RED PHOENIX “embrace”
“embrace”
This is a slight elevation, like a
table mountain in front, said to
retain the Qi. A pool of water
within this position is vary
beneficial.

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 Importance of a Bright Hall or a Ming Tan

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•  One very important aspect of Feng Shui is the presence
of a Bright hall or a Ming Tan.
•  This is the area that is in front of the entrance, which is
the place where Qi is received.
•  (Qi is the form of energy, much like Prana, in our Indian
context, that all Feng Shui studies devolve on)
•  The Ming Tan should be clean, clear, slightly lower than
the floor of the house, and well lit.
•  A Ming Tan has the ability to dissipate the most negative
Qi and convert it into benevolent, or at least non-
harmful Qi.
•  Multiple Ming Tans are very beneficial and you see the
use of this method widely in Chinese Ancient Tombs.
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 Feng Shui v/s Vaastu

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An age old dilemma
All I can say on this is, both are sound practices, the
efficacy of which depends entirely on the skill of the
practitioner.
A word of caution, follow one or the other, but do it
completely. Trying to combine the two is like making
Chinese food with Indian ingredients.
This is because while there are some similarities, certain
ideological differences that are so huge, they cannot be
resolved by combining both, under any circumstances,
and if anyone claims to do BOTH, you have someone who
is inexperienced, and should therefore be avoided.

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 Feng Shui v/s Vaastu Similarities

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•  Prefer North & East openings
•  Kitchens are fine in the South East
•  Center should be unobstructed
•  Prefers 4 sided regular shapes, as opposed to
irregular shaped plots.
•  Prefers land sloping down to East & North
•  Prefers land raised in West and South
•  Considers roads around plots in similar ways to be
good/bad.

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 Feng Shui v/s Vaastu Differences

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1. Vaastu Prefers the South West to be high.
2. They consider the SW to be the “best” position for
master bedroom or cabin, this works in only half the
properties, which we classify as West Group houses.
3. Vaastu Prefers the North East to contain water
This is fine in certain timing in Feng Shui which Vaastu
will not take into account.

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