Feng Shui is has been made into an slang term for all things that have to do with cleaning and decluttering, its seems everything can be Feng Shui-d. I‘ve seen articles that say you can Feng Shui your wallet, car, business cards and even key chains! The truth is Feng Shui has largely become a catch all term for describing a taoist or zen approach to decor and minimalism. I suppose with these beliefs it's not inconceivable to hear you can apply Feng Shui to a grave. The origins of Feng Shui are much deeper than the methods of item placement and lucky colors. In fact the practice of Feng Shui as we know it today, actually began with the practice known as Yin house Feng Shui. Feng Shui used for burial sites. It's said the early origins came from masters who learned these secret concepts of geomancy to find good landform (mountains, water, median spots) are said to be auspicious even in death. Eventually, this tapping into of energy was applied to Yang houses, for the living.
Asian cultures take the practice very seriously as it's said to affect the decedents of the deceased. Many times theres disputes over burial dates as a date chosen is found luckier for one offspring than another. In extreme cases there been reports of caskets not going into the ground for years until the perfect date is chosen. I have one across terms in date selection that are noted to are considered to be extremely unlucky to bury a relative such as the day that contains the stars known as “double funeral” and “voluminous”. Since these starts double the effect, it’s said if you have a funeral on one of these days, you’ll lose another relative shortly faster as the names imply.
As with all good things location is key. Many will even start searching for their burial spot years in advance so a seasoned master can find the perfect spot for them. In Korea two families have reportedly fought over a location said to bring wealth for years! However, like all things in life this practice is not immune from the occasional scam artist. Unfortunately, it's a bit more common than you'd think, as just doing research for this article I came across 2 accounts from this year alone of so-called masters illegally building tombs on government land and selling them. In April 2019, an article in The Star Online stated the natural land was being destroyed from being excavated by these self proclaimed masters in their quest for the perfect burial spot. The article states, "The announcement came after Xinhua on Friday reported that a huge number of illegal burial sites had been developed in mountainous areas and that many of them had damaged the environment and posed a threat to local drinking water sources. The report highlighted a development on Nanyang Mountain in the Jiangtian township of Fuzhou, where it said there were more than 100 luxury tombs under construction. In the worst cases, as much as 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) of forest had been felled to make room for them, while in other areas whole reservoirs had been surrounded by unapproved grave sites, it said." from The Star Online link here
Another case from just this month from the same source stated another master was accused of going over the boundaries of surrounding land, again onto government property. “The developer (who owned land in adjoining parcels) had initially disputed the state’s contention and even brought along a feng shui master to plea his case. But it is clear that the state is the rightful landowner,“ Chow said today.
The developer allegedly encroached into Lot 248 and Lot 1449 at Mukim 13 in Batu Kawan, which was earmarked as the state’s newest satellite township.” Read article here
They actually demolished many unoccupied and what are known as “living tombs”. Living tombs are said to be tombs, in which a living person buries such effects as hair and nail clippings and personal items thought to be lucky. This is a new concept to me, so i cant speak to the validity of this practice. Apparently, it’s a widely held belief that people will pay big bucks for. I however, have never heard of this practice until I started researching for this post. It was also said on social media, that as retribution, the grave of this con mans grandfather was smashed. Although I couldn’t verify these claims, I will keep updated on further events regarding this matter. If this is true, this really is a case of instant karma.
Aside from the crooked dealings that go along with this practice, there are real procedures a Feng Shui practitioner has in place when they carry out the practice of Yin house Feng Shui. I mentioned two already which are location and burial dates. But theres much more to the practice. Again, this is not a filled of study Ive had the chance to learn throughly. I only have a vague understanding of how the process is carried out. What I DO know is they also consider the orientation of the coffin, head store placement: direction and date of placement. Aside from that you can compile an exhaustive checklist including many things that are practiced with Yang house Feng Shui such as:
Landform:
* Finding a cemetery that has a mountain at the rear of where you want be oriented
* If there are mountains at the front of the cemetery, they should be father away
* Avoid burial sites on an actual mountain top as this is said to lead the female offspring to have a hard life.
* The land can be flat but not concave
* There should be a large open area at the front of the cemetery (bright hall)
Water Placement:
* Water can be auspiciously placed for wealth of future generations. In fact its said theres been a disputes over “lucky land” said to bring wealth to the family.
* But don't place water too close to the actual burial site.
* Water at the front of the cemetery
Qi Flow:
* Choose a site that has lots of sunlight as the belief is that if you select and dark spot, there will be few male offspring’s and generations of females will be sad
* Avoiding a burial plot under a large tree or planting tree directly on top of the burial plot
* Do not concrete or pave the whole burial site but instead plant grass on top
* You should sweep the burial grounds at least twice a year. There's generally festivals and days set aside to do this.
* Keep existing tombs clean and in good repair.
Like with Yang house Feng Shui, I feel like it can get superstitious very fast so I tend to only take into account a few a these factors as truth until I do more research into this field. Until then, if you find yourself reading this discouraged over the impeding doom of your decedents, just remember that many people don't practice this form of Feng Shui and transition on without a hitch. Like all fields of Feng Shui, it’s simply another point of view to consider.
This post was a companion to my podcast on daily tips and feng shui. To listen visit the podcast page here