Feng Shui in the Year of the Wood Rooster -The Edge Haven
December 2004 - January 2005
by Au Foong Yee
TRANSLATED INTO CHINESE, feng shui or geomancy literally means wind and water. These two elements of nature impact the flow of energy and can be harnessed so that one is in harmony with the environment, bringing about good health, happiness and prosperity — not necessarily in that order.
Although its origins can be traced to ancient China, the popularity of feng shui has, over the years, spread the world over. In the East, feng shui is hot, especially among the business community that in general would not ignore anything that could help improve profits, avert corporate disasters or polish careers. In the West, more and more are reading up on feng shui, if the rapidly growing number of titles on the subject is any barometer.
Through the years, numerous approaches to feng shui practice have emerged. Some involve basic common sense, paired with the application of symbolic gestures. Other approaches necessitate complex numerical calculations. Some schools are more well known, promoted by high-profile practitioners and consultants, but others remain relatively low key.
One practitioner who needs no introduction here or abroad is grandmaster Yap Cheng Hai. Armed with more than five decades of experience, the 7 7-year-old is one of the world's most sought after feng shui speakers and trainers, with more than 3,000 students from all over the globe.
Together with son Boh Chu, Yap founded the Kuala Lumpur based Yap Cheng Hai Academy to propagate the teaching and practice of classical feng shui and qi gong. The academy, which aims to be a repository of books and writings on feng shui and related Chinese cultural arts, conducts courses on the theory and practice of classical feng shui.
Here, the father-and-son team offers an inkling of what's in store for you in 2005, the Year of the Wood Rooster and a brief introduction on how the 12 animal signs in the lunar calendar came about.
So, what's your best direction to tap good fortune and pave the way to health, wealth and happiness? Read on.
Feng Shui in 2005 Starts on Feb 4
Take note that feng shui applications for 2005 begin on Feb 4, which signals the start of spring in China. The Chinese follow two calendars — lunar and solar. The solar calendar is similar to the Gregorian calendar (commonly used the world over) in that both are based on the movement of the sun.
The Chinese solar calendar, which goes back to ancient times, is still used today as a guide for planting and harvesting crops. It is divided into 24 seasons of two weeks each. The first day of the first season, (coming of spring) usually but not necessarily falls on Feb 4th each year. For feng shui purposes, the solar calendar is generally used as it is associated with the big positive (Ta Yang) of the sun's energy.
Enter the Wood Rooster
The year 2005 will be the year of Yi You or the Wood Rooster. Yi is part of a set of 10 characters called the celestial or heavenly stems. Each heavenly stem has an element attached. In 2005, the element of Yi is Yin Wood.
The second character of the year is taken from a set of 12 characters, called simply the terrestrial or earthly branches. While a knowledge of the heavenly stems and earthly branches is essential for all Chinese scholars especially those studying feng shui, the combination of heavenly stems and earthly branches will not make much sense to the layman.
To make it easier for most to relate, the heavenly stems are referred to by their element. At the same time, uneducated folk in ancient China used the animal correlation to the 12 earthly branches to identify the years. In short, it is easier to refer to 2005 as Wood Rooster rather than Yi You.
Because each year is associated with an element and animal, the common belief is that the person born in a particular year will take on the characteristics of the animal and the element. For instance, a person born in the Year of the Rooster is said to be hardworking, likes to preen and is conscious of his or her appearance. And because it is a wood year, the person will be straightforward and direct. Right? Wrong.
As explained, the animal names are just an aid in remembering the respective years. So, not all Dragons (those born in the Year of Dragon) are majestic and neither are all Tigers fierce. By the same token, not all Rats are meek nor Roosters conscious of their appearance.
New Age Feng Shui
Location and direction, pertinent to the practice of feng shui, are not static. Your auspicious directions and locations vary in their strength from year to year.
Some practices maintain that good feng shui can be obtained by placing certain objects throughout the house. This is a common practice of new age feng shui that is very different from the classical feng shui of the early masters. If the item is meant to be symbolic, for example two mandarin ducks, then it is not classical feng shui.
Any item that is placed has to have the purpose of activating the good qi (energy) of an area through any of the five elements: metal, wood, fire, water and earth. As such, a figurine of a rooster cannot be considered metal unless it is actually made of metal. Plastic figurines do not work...
So, generally, what are the good directions and the directions to avoid in 2005?
Directions to avoid in 2005

San Sha (Three Killings); East; 52.50° to 127.50°
- Do not dig, renovate or move heavy furniture in this sector.
- If possible, do not use a room located in the East sector of the house or office for anything important.
- If moving to a new house that faces East, try to do so before Feb 4, 2005
- If house moving has to be after this date, seek professional advice for an auspicious date.
Sui Poh (Year Clash); 82.50° to 97,5°; East;
(which falls under the direction of San Sha)
- The Sui Poh and the Three Killings coincide. Do not disturb — dig, drill or renovate — in the Eastern sector of the property
- Try not to have your bed or desk face East.
Tai Sui (Deity of the Year); West 262.5° to 277.5°
- Do not dig, drill or renovate in the Western sector of the property.
- However, one may face West.
Five Yellow (5 Star Earth Killing) North West; 292.5° to 337.5°
- Do not drill, dig, renovate or have water bodies in this sector. You may be affected even if your neighbours dig or renovate in YOUR North West sector.
- As this is an earth-killing force, use the energies of metal to reduce the strength of the earth. Do this by placing metal objects at the 5 yellow position of the house. These metal objects can be metal pots, six-rod metal wind chime or metal Qi Lin.
- If you are thinking of changing furniture or renovating, try to do so before Feb 4, 2005. At the same time, be careful about disturbing 2oo4's killing areas! (refer to overlay charts)
Note: 5 yellow is in "retreat"
Your Gua number
In feng shui the Gua number of an individual is not interchangeable. First, find out what Gua number you have been born into (see table 1). If a male is born in the year 1975, his Gua number is 7. However, for a female born in the same year, her Gua number is 8. Note that there is no Gua number 5.
With the Gua number determined, you can then establish your best and worst directions for 2005 in particular and for life in general (see table 2 and diagrams).
table 1

Year |
Male |
Female |
 |
Year |
Male |
Female |
 |
Year |
Male |
Female |
 |
1900 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1935 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1970 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1901 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1936 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1971 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1902 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1937 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1972 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1903 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1938 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1973 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1904 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1939 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1974 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1905 |
2 |
1 |
 |
1940 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1975 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1906 |
4 |
2 |
 |
1941 |
2 |
1 |
 |
1976 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1907 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1942 |
4 |
2 |
 |
1977 |
2 |
1 |
 |
1908 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1943 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1978 |
4 |
2 |
 |
1909 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1944 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1979 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1910 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1945 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1980 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1911 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1946 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1981 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1912 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1947 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1982 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1913 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1948 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1983 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1914 |
2 |
1 |
 |
1949 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1984 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1915 |
4 |
2 |
 |
1950 |
2 |
1 |
 |
1985 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1916 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1951 |
4 |
2 |
 |
1986 |
2 |
1 |
 |
1917 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1952 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1987 |
4 |
2 |
 |
1918 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1953 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1988 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1919 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1954 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1989 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1920 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1955 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1990 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1921 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1956 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1991 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1922 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1957 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1992 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1923 |
2 |
1 |
 |
1958 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1993 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1924 |
4 |
2 |
 |
1959 |
2 |
1 |
 |
1994 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1925 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1960 |
4 |
2 |
 |
1995 |
2 |
1 |
 |
1926 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1961 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1996 |
4 |
2 |
 |
1927 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1962 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1997 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1928 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1963 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1998 |
2 |
4 |
 |
1929 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1964 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1999 |
1 |
8 |
 |
1930 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1965 |
8 |
7 |
 |
2000 |
9 |
6 |
 |
1931 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1966 |
7 |
8 |
 |
2001 |
8 |
7 |
 |
1932 |
2 |
1 |
 |
1967 |
6 |
9 |
 |
2002 |
7 |
8 |
 |
1933 |
4 |
2 |
 |
1968 |
2 |
1 |
 |
2003 |
6 |
9 |
 |
1934 |
3 |
3 |
 |
1969 |
4 |
2 |
 |
2004 |
2 |
1 |
table 2

Gua Numbers and their Corresponding Auspicious Directions in 2005

Gua |
 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
BEST |
 |
S |
W |
SE |
S |
SW |
NE |
W |
N |
 |
 |
 |
SE |
NE |
N |
E |
NE |
SW |
SW |
SE |
 |
 |
E |
NW |
S |
N |
W |
NW |
NW |
E |
 |
 |
N |
SW |
E |
SE |
NW |
W |
NE |
S |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
W |
E |
SW |
SW |
SE |
N |
S |
NE |
 |
 |
NE |
SE |
NW |
NW |
E |
S |
N |
W |
 |
 |
NW |
S |
NE |
W |
N |
SE |
E |
SW |
 |
WORST |
 |
SW |
N |
W |
NE |
S |
E |
SE |
NW |
The best directions in 2005 will supercede that for life. Then again, for practicality's sake, one could strike a balance in tapping on his or her auspicious directions.
For instance, you could sit at your working desk facing your best direction in 2005. You could also sleep with your head pointing to the same direction.
Since it is not practical to change your front door every year, it could then face the overall and lifelong best direction associated with your Gua number.
diagrams
Gua numbers and their corresponding auspicious directions for life. The higher the positive number, the more auspicious the direction
General Prediction Worldwide

Property
The property market will generally do well with some hiccups in the beginning of the year. A rally can be expected towards year's end. Do not, however, expect each and every property investment to be favourable — do your homework and be mindful of all the necessary considerations such as the location factor.
Stocks and Shares
These will be down in the early part of the year but will pick up and then rally towards the end of the year.
Education
A good year for businesses related to the education industry.
Plastics, chemical and IT
These sectors will pick up late in the year.
In Malaysia
- Expect health-related issues in both Sabah and Sarawak and the peninsula.
- Relationship between Singapore and Johor will see a steady improvement.
- Avian flu in Kelantan and Terengganu will last longer than expected.
- There is less luck in northwest Malaysia — businessmen take note.
Gua Number and its Supporting Colours in Descending Order

 |
GUA |
 |
 |
COLOURS |
 |
 |
1 |
 |
 |
Blue, black, white, metallic silver, metallic gold |
 |
 |
2 |
 |
 |
Yellow, beige, red |
 |
 |
3 |
 |
 |
Green, blue, black |
 |
 |
4 |
 |
 |
Green, blue, black |
 |
 |
6 |
 |
 |
Metallic silver, metallic gold, yellow |
 |
 |
7 |
 |
 |
Metallic silver, metallic gold, yellow |
 |
 |
8 |
 |
 |
Yellow, beige, red |
 |
 |
9 |
 |
 |
Red, green |