Move the Door? First Check Up on Expert, Advice

Question: We just moved into our new home two months ago. A feng shui consultant came to our house recently and calculated the dates of birth of my husband and me.

Our main entrance door faces west. He said that is bad for both of us because our door should face north. Is there a way to fix this problem? Must we move the door or is there an easier way?

JUDY LE

Los Angeles

Answer: It’s true that advanced feng shui calculates favorable home directions based on various numbers, including the owners’ birth dates and the date the house was built.

Real estate deals have fallen out of escrow because prospective home buyers called in feng shui experts and walked away from supposedly unlucky homes after they got their reports.

Since your feng shui expert arrived after you moved into the house, you need to make some practical decisions about how to respond to his recommendations.

But before you do even that much, first make sure that your expert is qualified. Where and with whom did he study? For how long? What type of feng shui does he practice? Did he come recommended by people you know? What suggestions did he propose to help you make necessary changes? Did he tell you bad things would happen if you didn’t follow his recommendations? If he did, be suspicious of his credentials.

Feng shui is not an exact science of prediction. It calculates probability and offers solutions to enhance your chances for health, prosperity and other life blessings. No feng shui expert can predict gloom and doom based on an analysis of your home.

If you’re interested in moving the front door, the next question to ask yourself is what would happen if you did. How would a north-facing door work for your home in practical terms? How much would it cost to move the door? Would that cause financial hardship?

If your answers to all these questions indicate that moving the door is a reasonable thing to do, then by all means gain peace of mind by moving it.

If, however, you’d cause practical problems for yourself by such a relatively drastic project, forget about it because it’s not worth doing.

Remember that feng shui is only one of several forces that influence your life; destiny, luck, philanthropy and education are the others.

You can control how generous you are with other people (philanthropy), and you have control over the amount of education and information you arm yourself with. Focus on what you can control, and try not to worry about the rest.

A Good Point: Mirrors Can Reduce Cars’ Glare

Q: Our house is in the middle of a very large block. We are the last house before the road starts a steep incline. I feel this is the reason that people (neighbors, lost drivers, etc.) use our driveway as a turnaround.

During the day it is irritating; during the night it is startling because headlights shine into our living room.

I’m wondering if it is bad feng shui for our house and our family to have cars pointing themselves at the house throughout the day and night.

Please tell me if mounting mirrors over the garage door would help.

MICHELLE BRITT

Via e-mail

A: Yes, it is bad feng shui, and you can be certain of this because you find the situation irritating and startling.

Because the practice of feng shui is about achieving harmony and balance with your surroundings, whenever your environment causes problems, discomfort or distractions, you’ve got bad feng shui.

Hanging small convex mirrors over the garage (assuming it points toward the street) might be helpful. You can find these ba gua (eight-sided) mirrors in Chinatown, in some New Age stores and often through the Internet at such locations as https://www.fengshuiwarehouse.com and https://www.wind-water.com.

Another possible step, if it is allowed by your police department, is to place orange traffic cones at the base of your driveway to make it inaccessible for turnarounds.

Waterfall Would Need Special Safety Steps

Q: We are considering remodeling our swimming pool and adding a “boulder-scape” multiple waterfall on the west side of our yard and appear to naturally derive from a rear slope to our backyard. Any thoughts?

N.M.

Via e-mail

A: Ideally, your waterfall would be on the north side of the yard to take full advantage of water’s corresponding direction. Water in the north encourages business success and prosperity. But it doesn’t sound as if it would be practical to put the waterfall there.

West is the direction that governs children and creativity, so while you’re making sure you’ve met all the requirements for child safety in and around the pool and waterfall, you might want to think about adding a playful or creative element to the design. A metal sculpture would be interesting, and a metal slide might be fun, but I’m sure plenty of other creative ideas will occur to you if you keep feng shui in mind as you proceed.

Developing a Taste for Small Bites of Feng Shui

Q: I’ve read both your books on feng shui and also looked at a few of Lillian Too’s books at your suggestion. Between these and reading your column, I’m getting the idea of feng shui even though it still gets confusing sometimes.

I want to learn more, but I don’t have time to read books very often. Is there a magazine or publication from which I could learn about different things but not too much at once?

HOWARD JU

Los Angeles

A: Yes. Here is subscription information for a feng shui magazine I’ve picked up on the newsstand. It’s not cheap--about $60 for 12 issues--but it’s beautifully produced and may be just what you’ve been hoping for: Feng Shui for Modern Living, published in Britain by Centennial Publishing. To subscribe or get more information, call (310) 358-2981 or send an e-mail to nimitaparmar@fengshui-magazine.com.

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Kirsten Lagatree is a Washington, D.C., writer whose books include “Feng Shui, Arranging Your Home to Change Your Life” (Villard, 1996) and “Feng Shui at Work, Arranging Your Work Space for Peak Performance and Maximum Profit” (Villard, 1998). Mail your questions on feng shui to Kirsten Lagatree, Real Estate section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, fax them to (213) 237-4712, or e-mail them to kfengshui@aol.com or Real.Estate@LATimes.com. All questions will be considered for use but cannot be answered individually.