There are almost as many definitions of Feng Shui as there are books written about it. However, if you study the different Feng Shui schools closely, you will find that they are all trying to do more or less the same thing, though their methods may differ. Feng Shui is the study of the energy in your living environment, and practical techniques to shape that energy so that you may experience success, health, happiness, and spiritual growth.

Everything in life is imbued with energy or "chi". The Earth has energy; cities and neighborhoods have an energy; trees and rocks have a characteristic energy, dogs and cats too; houses have energy as do their furnishings; every person has a particular energy, their clothes have energy, every action has an energy and even your thoughts have an energy!

This energy is not just a single strand of energy, but a blending of many different energies, each with various qualities. There is a yin and yang quality to energy. Yang is very extroverted, loud and forceful. Yin is quiet, subdued and calm. Dogs are more yang, while cats are more yin. Feng Shui organizes energy into different categories. One category is called the Elements. The Elements are Tree, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. The Elements describe different qualities of energy such as its direction and type of movement. For example, Tree element energy is upward moving, branching out like the limbs of a tree. Fire Element energy is radiating, like the heat from a fire. Elements also describe the yin/yang quality of energy; Water Element energy is cool and calm - very yin, whereas Fire Element energy is hot and vibrant - very yang.

Another category is related to the directions of the Compass. The Compass directions are North, North-East, East, South-East, South, South-West, West, North-West and Center (the center of the compass). Each compass direction (except for the Center) is associated with a Trigram from the ancient book the I Ching. A trigram is a series of three lines, either solid (unyielding - yang) or broken (yielding - yin), one on top of the other. There are eight possible combinations of solid and broken lines and the sages understood that these 8 patterns could be used to represent the 8 basic patterns or states of all energy. Energy is always moving; always changing. So, the energy states described by the trigrams are not static, but rather dynamic. The sages believed that any moment in time was characterized by two trigrams in dynamic interaction. There are 64 possible combinations or pairs of the 8 trigrams and these are called hexagrams. By comparing two hexagrams, one for the present and one for the future, they could divine how the energy was changing and in what direction it was moving over time. Sort of like a weather forecast for energy!

Through their trigram, each Compass Direction is associated with a characteristic energy. The sages used analogies such as the time of day, the season of the year, members of the family and symbols such as mountain or heaven to describe the various qualities of the energy of each trigram. For example, East, which is associated with the Tree Element which is an upward branching out energy is represented by the trigram Chen which has a solid line on the bottom and two broken lines above. Chen is the sign of the Arousing. It has the quality of the energy of the morning in the course of the day, and Spring in the course of the year - it has the energy of the seed which is bursting forth, growing with great potential. The West is associated with the Metal Element energy which is an inward introspective energy. Its trigram is Tui which has two solid lines at the bottom and one broken one at the top. It has the quality of the energy of the early evening - sunset in the course of the day, and Autumn in the course of the year - the time of the ripening and harvesting of the fruits - the time of great joy and pleasure.

By considering these analogies, you can get a sense of the "feel" that is characteristic of each of these compass directions. If you overlay the floor plan of your house with a diagram which divides the floor plan into the various compass directions, you can estimate how each room may "feel" given its location from the center of the home. Then, you need to consider the type of each room, its main function, and the kind of "feel" or energy that would be most beneficial for that room. A bedroom located in the South, which is associated with the Fire Element energy, and with the trigram Li which has the quality of brightness may be too active, too passionate, too yang to support restful sleep. And so, you may wish to choose a room located in another area in your home for your bedroom. Or, if this is not possible, you might be able to change the natural quality of the energy in the room by decorating in colors, patterns, material or shapes that will bring in other energies that can tone down the natural energy of a Southern room, so that it will be more conducive for sleep.

Many people seek a Feng Shui practitioner when moving to a new home or when redecorating or remodeling their current home. Feng Shui practitioners are people who have trained themselves to discern very subtle qualities of energy, and who have learned various practical techniques for balancing and shaping the energies of a room to fit its intended function. In this way, they are not unlike a classical musician who has been trained to hear a musical piece on many more levels than the average person. All people can perceive energy, in the same way that all people (hearing impairments excepted) can perceive music. It is simply a matter of studying it, paying closer attention to it, learning to pick out the subtle nuances. With a little guidance and a little effort, anyone can become knowledgeable enough to become their own Feng Shui practitioner, and there is no one more qualified to shape the energy you would like to live in than you yourself!

The Great! Feng Shui software program was created with this in mind. Its purpose is to simplify some of the arcane calculations that are part of Feng Shui, and to supply the background knowledge and theory of Feng Shui principles so that a person who is still developing their energy awareness will have the direction and support that they need to make their own decisions. The software can point out potential problems and suggest likely remedies. You then choose what course to take, and watch the effect that your change has made on the energy of your home. Through trial and error over time (weeks, months, even years), you will come to discern subtle energy changes yourself, and will know how each technique you have applied has shifted that energy.