Feng Shui is based on the principles of Yin and Yang. The true symbol of Yin and Yang is orientated just as it is in the above illustration with the left, white half ascending and the right, black half descending.

Yang is the left. This half represents heat rising. It is heading East - think of the sun rising in the East. Inside Yang is a seed of Yin waiting to descend into darkness. Yin is the right half, the dark half, night. The sun sets in the west. The seed of Yang is inside Yin waiting to ascend into light.

If it were a 24-hour clock, Yang reaches its lightest at noon and Yin reaches its darkest at midnight.

If it were a calendar of all 12 months, Yang reaches its warmest in July and Yin reaches its coldest in January.

If it were a compass it would actually be upside down - the top of the symbol is not North, it is South. Yang is in the East and Yin is in the West. Yin is in its fullest in the North.

The true Feng Shui, or Chinese Geomancy, is based on repeatable calculations and based solely on the five elements — Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. It is how these elements interact. It is the placement of these elements in our surroundings.

The following will help us get a good perspective of how the five elements relate to each other:

Wood burns, producing Fire

Fire leaves behind Earth

Earth is the source of Metal

Metal melts into liquid (or Water)

Water becomes nurishment for Wood

Look at the way seasons relate to the five elements:

Spring gives way to new Wood

Summer brings Fire and heat

Autumn cools like Metal

Water freezes in Winter

Feng Shui should not be confused with any kind of religion. It is a way of arranging one’s environment to take advantage of good "chi" or life energy.