The Truth About Feng Shui and Religion
Is feng shui a religion? You might think so depending on what kind of feng shui book you are reading. Feng shui comes from China where the most popular religious practice is Buddhism. Feng shui is not a Buddhist practice. Some Buddhists practice feng shui and some don‘t. When feng shui was introduced to America, it was altered from its classical form to what is known as Western or New Age feng shui. They made it easy and fun so we would try it.
American pop culture loves fun, easy things. Happy Buddhas, fortune kitties, lucky gods, lucky frogs, love symbols, wealth corners, and lucky bamboo plants are fun. Today, businesses are even marketing products as having “good feng shui”. My grocery store sells bamboo plants with signs on them that read “lucky bamboo“.
Classical or traditional feng shui does not use any religious statues or lucky figurines. Or lucky anything for that matter. Classical feng shui uses the five elements: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal to bring the energies in a structure into balance. So if we remove all the religious figurines and lucky statues of new age feng shui and strictly use classical feng shui, what could be in conflict with any particular religion? The most popular religious practice in America is Christianity. There are different denominations of Christianity. Some denominations prohibit dancing, drinking alcohol, celebrating birthdays, and reading the daily horoscope in the paper. Others sponsor festivals with dancing and drinking. So you would need to look at each individual denomination of Christianity to see if the basic principles of classical feng shui are in conflict with church doctrine.
The basic principles of classical feng shui are using the year of construction and compass orientation of a structure and a mathematical formula to determine the flying star energy pattern or "natal chart" for the structure. The five elements are applied to bring these energies into balance. Your birth date and gender is used to determine your positive compass directions for sleeping. If church doctrine allows acknowledging your birthday, there is “probably” no conflict with using feng shui to determine your four positive compass directions for sleeping. If you can acknowledge your own birthday and use math, then there is “probably” no conflict with using the year of construction for your home (it’s birthday) and the compass orientation to calculate the flying star natal chart.
If church doctrine allows watering lawns to nurture the grass and garden, then it would “probably” be okay to add a fountain where you need the yang water element for your home. Or a metal table, or live green plants, or any of the five elements. I say “probably” because I am not an expert on religious doctrine and it is not my place to say what is or is not in conflict with your religion. That is for you to decide, or for your spiritual advisor or church leader. I can only give you these “ifs” for comparison.
As a feng shui consultant, my clients have identified themselves to me as Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, exploring all religions or believing in God with no religious affiliation. There has never been an issue about their religion and the use of water, wood, fire, earth or metal. Classical feng shui can make your home feel like your own little heaven on earth, but it is not a religion or a religious practice.