Linda Binns is the founder and executive director of the Feng Shui Success Institute and owner of Harmony Inside. She explains the universal nature of feng shui, "Well, basically, it originates from China. Although Feng Shui exists in many other countries, it is called something different everywhere. For example, in India, it is called Vaastu Shastra. That is a very similar thing to Feng Shui with the same kinds of principles."
Feng shui did not start out as a method for designing living spaces, but as a way to determine the best places for the dead. Linda tells us about the evolution of feng shui, "Feng Shui has been going on for more than 3,000 years. Originally, in China it was designed for identifying the best places to bury people. They studied the land. They became very familiar with the energy of the land, and how it would affect the people. A select few were trained in this, and they were initially asked to locate graves. The Chinese believed that you had to bury family members and leaders in the most auspicious places possible. They believed it ensured good fortune for everybody. And then, it went on from there to asking consultants about the best places to build homes, communities, and temples, to ensure that structures did not negatively affect the energy of the land. People wanted to make sure they weren't going to be affected in a harmful way, so they were very careful to find the right kinds of locations and to make sure that the buildings themselves did not affect the energy negatively. That is how it started."
Feng shui is a relatively new concept for Westerners. Linda says, "Like anything else that has come out of the East, it has come out fairly recently and has branched out everywhere. Initially, students were taught Feng Shui subjects, but no student was allowed to write anything down. It was all just word-of-mouth." Now feng shui can be studied in universities, online, and in hundreds of books.
Many schools of feng shui have emerged over the years. Some are more complicate than others and some incorporate techniques such as numerology and astrology, but that are all based on the same basic principles of harmony, balance, and energy flow.
Black Hat Sect - determines life areas and energy flow in a pattern based on the point of entry into the house
Flying Star - uses numerology and astrology and is very common in Asia
Compass School - determines life areas and energy flow in a pattern based on the directions (North, South, East, West, etc)
Form School - works primarily with the shape of the landscape
Eight Mansion - uses a person's kua number to determine life areas, and good and bad directions
Nine Star Key - primarily based in astrology
Four Pillars - also primarily based in astrology, and a fairly rare school of feng shui
Feng shui and similar practices are growing in popularity and have become common throughout the world.
