The formations of hills, mountains, water features, trees and buildings are important for the Qi flow and direction of the wind.

There is less vital energy in an area with a flat, open landscape than in an area with hills, mountains, and trees. A quietly flowing, meandering river brings a lot of Qi and prosperity into an area.

People have always settled on the waterside: cities like Amsterdam, Venice, Paris, London, and New York owe their attraction and prosperity to the presence of water.

The Chinese call a large open space at the front of a house or building Ming Tang. This open area in the front is the realm of “the Red Phoenix”. If we have a wide view we can “see” possibilities. For someone with a blocked view it is more difficult to imagine the possibilities of good energy and of prosperity, because, “What you see is what you get”.

Many houses and buildings are very open at the back. According to the rules of Feng Shui it is difficult to hold energy and money in a building like that. A good backing is very important to make us feel secure and give us a sense of support. This can be a real mountain or a hill, but also a group of trees or a high building. The symbol for this is the turtle. An ideal location has hills on the left and some lower hills on the right side (respectively the Green Dragon and the White Tiger). This is the so-called “armchair principle”.

A building that conforms to these conditions has 50% good Feng Shui. In a Feng Shui consultation all these elements are studied and weighed against each other. Then we look for answers to the following questions:

• How can we change the energy of a building?
• How can we create a view if we don’t have one?
• How can we create a backing if we don’t have one?
• Where do we place water for more prosperity