Garden fountains and Feng Shui: The practice of Feng Shui has been traced back several thousands of years.

Garden fountains have an important role to play in Feng Shui. The flood-prone landscape in the lower areas of China contrasts strongly with the wind-swept upper mountains. Reliant on agriculture, the farmers in Southern China learned to read, interpret and balance themselves with the earth and it's signs. These signs would help guide the planting, harvesting, and arrangements involved in day-to-day life. Examples are changing directions of streams, how water flows from garden fountains, the way plants and trees would bend towards the sun, or from the wind. The science of Geomancy was developed from this practice.

"Yin" and "Yang" were used by the ancient Chinese wise people to help reason the events and occurances of the world around them, long before written language was in use. Once letters and language became available in written form a group of spiritual women, called the Fuxi, began the long process of putting form to the precursor of what is known as Feng Shui today. This group of women were spiritual advisers to the chief of an ancient tribe of the northwest part China, FuXi. Through the intermixing of the I-Ching and Geomancy Feng Shui was developed. Uses included choosing burial sites, decision making for the wealthy, and palace locations.

Feng Shui: What is it?

Feng Shui is the balance of divergent elements in our personal and professional environments. Feng Shui experts and afficianados look at how the energy known as Chi moves around your home or office; the positioning of your home on its lot, its surroundings in total, the shape of your land and the house, elements like garden fountains, the compass direction of all the rooms within the house, the entrance to rooms and the furniture populating it, and many other factors, especially landscaping. Feng Shui authorities inspect each of these in terms of balancing Yin and Yang, taking into account associations with the five elements - Wood, Earth, Fire, Metal and Water. For wall fountains that conform to Feng Shui principals, order water fountains.

Feng Shui: How does it work?

Wu-Xing is the contstant state of change between the five elements mentioned above:

• Mu = Wood
• T'u = Earth
• Jin = Metal
• Shui = Water
• Huo = Fire

Your goals and aspirations, both in your personal and professional life are the key, thus the Feng Shui expression: "Keep your attentions on your intentions". Hence, your experiences should be of the mental and spiritual plane, as well as where to place furniture and personal belongings. The elements are in constant flux, adjusting to and overcoming each other in a continuous cycle. It follows the full cycle of life, fire burns wood, leaving ash, becoming earth, the earth gives metals and minerals, metals melt and flow as water, the cycle continues.... water and earth in combination provide a suitable environment for the growth of wood, while water will douse fire, metal can be used to chop wood, etc... you can see the almost endless cycle that comes about.

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