Schools of Feng Shui
There are many schools of Feng Shui, each with their own loyal followers. However, the most reputable and comprehensive one is the Xuan Kuan or the Flying star school of Feng Shui which will be explained shortly.
The Form School of Feng Shui, the oldest school dating back to the Song dynasty, incorporates outside forms especially water and mountains or water-like and mountain-like objects into account in a Feng Shui reading of a site. They are popular with both grave sites and house readings.
The Compass School of Feng Shui considers the energies coming from the 8 cardinal directions into a house. They use a compass or what is called a luopan to find out which direction the location of interest faces. There are 4 lucky and 4 unlucky directions for each person or site. People are also divided into West or East groups depending on their birth data.
The most comprehensive method is the Flying Star method. The Flying Star school not only takes both methods of the Form and Compass schools into account, but also uses mathematical calculations to come up with the blueprint or the natal chart of your site.
In order to map the flow of these energies also known as stars, one must at least know the following:
1- The year of the construction of the house
2- The magnetic facing direction of the house
3- The layout of the inside of the house / site
4- The forms that surround the home
There are 3 types of energies or stars. Mountain / Health star is responsible for the well being of people. The water / wealth star is responsible for financial issues. Both mountain and wealth stars interact with the time star which is related to the construction date of your home. How you support these stars or energies is what is important in a Feng Shui reading of your place.
These stars are usually numbered from 1 - 9 and each one has an element attached to it. For example 3 is Wood and 9 is Fire. Check out Feng Shui Elements for additional information.
There is an over-simplified method of Feng Shui, which has flourished in the West, called the Black Hat Sect or Western Style Feng Shui. People who are familiar with the authentic style Feng Shui will warn you against using this style.