What is Qi?

“The gentle steam which settles on the nourishing rice plant."  

In the character Qi, is the upper part interpreted as "steam" and the bottom as "rice plant".

Qi (pronounced: "tschi") is the vitality which surrounds us all described. Qi is the potentialof all life, movement and change. In other cultures Qi is also referred as Chi, Ki or Prana. It derives the theory of yin and yang , the five elements (wuxing), the eight trigrams (bazhai), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Feng Shui, Flying Stars (bazi suanming) etc.

To perceive the Qi better, I picked outthe following entry exercise of John Dennis Govert ("Feng Shui - harmony between heaven and earth"):

For fifteen seconds vigorously rub palms against each other. Then hold your palms about 25cm apart. Keep your hands away at the level of the navel about 15-20cm from your body. Relax! You will feel a slight magnetic attraction between the palms. If you find it difficult to perceive this, run your palms together closer until you feel the force. Play easily with the magnetic feeling, while you bring together the hands sometimes closer, sometimes further pull apart. Throughth is exercise, the flow of Qi increases so it will be easierto perceive this phenomenon.

 Yin and Yang

Yin means "The dark side of a mountain."

Yang means "The sunny side of a mountain."

Yin and Yang complement, serve each other and take turns in the rhythmical change. One cannot exist without the other.

There are always two aspects required to form a functioning system. Yin and Yang are always striving for harmony.

                                                          Examples for the classification of Yin and Yang:

 ^{The Five Elements}

Just as people are born, grow and die; so it is similar to the seasons. From the spring to the summer, become out of it the autumn and finally the winter.

The Five Elements are called wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Please do not confuse this with the four elements of Western astrology (earth, fire, water and air).

These five elements form two different cycles while the constant changes are expressed.

The generating (nourishing) cycle:

Fire creates earth while the fire turns to ashes (soil), earth produces metal while soil brings forward minerals (metal), metal takes the form of water, water produces wood while water nourishes the plants (wood), wood produces fire while wood brings fire to burn.

The controlling cycle:

Fire controls and exhausts metal, while it allows melting the metal, metal controls and exhausts wood, while it smashes the wood, wood controls and exhausts earth because it takes away minerals from the earth, earth controls and exhausts water, while it limits the water, water controls and exhausts fire, while it extinguishes the fire.

The qualities of the Five Elements:

     High, vertical, rising, green, turquoise, wood, linen, paper, plants, bamboo, cotton, cork, east, southeast, 

     spring, active, creative, flexible, growth.

Pointed, cornered, red, dark orange, purple, fire (candle), leather, wool, pelts, plastic, south, summer,

 inspiring, exclusive, effectively, warm, passionate.

Rectangular, horizontal, yellow, beige, brown, ochre, terracotta, cream-coloured, sand, ceramic, soil,

 stones, brick, clay, grit, southwest, northeast, middle, cosy, tidy, regulative, down-to-earth.

Round, spherical, gently curved, silver, gold, white, light grey, metal, marble, paint surfaces, West,

northwest, autumn, cold, centred, clinical, sensitive, aesthetic, tidy, clear.

Wavy, irregular, blue, black, purple, water, glass, flowing and fluent fabrics, north, winter, calm,

 communicative.

Therefore, all Five Elements are necessary for healthy environment. The same applies to your home, the workplace, the business and for the people, who also represents the five energies.

If all Five Elements harmonised, then we feel at home or at work internally harmonious and balanced.

What is Bazhai?

The Bazhai (Ba = eight, Zhai = house, mansion) is the school about the eight cardinal directions, which are reflected in the eight trigrams. The Bazhai is based on a mixture of the eight trigrams and nine palaces. Every direction has a different effect on people and their physical environment.

There are four favourable and four unfavourable directions for each person.

Using this method special occasion such as marriage, exams, move, store opening, contract signing etc. can be determined for each person individually. It’s used to find the best time for an important decision.