Guest Author - Diane Kern

A coffee table book is usually in a large, oversized format. But this small book could easily qualify for a place of honor on your coffee table despite its size. The Practical Encyclopedia of Feng Shui is less than seven by nine inches but it is packed full of exquisite color photographs and charts to please your eye. (Please note this book has been re-released in a bigger format now.)

It is divided into three major sections: Feng Shui in the Home, Feng Shui in the Garden and The Feng Shui Office. This arrangement, instead of the usual alphabetical composition of an encyclopedia, allows you to go directly to the topic that interests you most. The index is particularly useful as it includes a separate index of all the tables in the book as well as the standard listing of items. A bibliography, which is also broken down into categories such as Modern Feng Shui and Space Clearing is an unusual feature. There are enough reading recommendations here to keep you in a cozy chair with a cup of coffee for a very long time. There is also a list of useful addresses which encompasses the United Kingdom, Australia and the U. S.

The Introduction should not be ignored if you are new to Feng Shui. It gives an overview of the various approaches to Feng Shui and its principles. The five types of energy or qi-wood, fire, earth, metal and water are covered with attention to their characteristics, personalities and associations in a descriptive one page reference. A very nice section on Chinese Astrology explains the Chinese animals of the zodiac, the animal years and a compatibility chart along with a table to help you find your own Chinese animal. The bagua is discussed in terms of both traditional and Black Hat Feng Shui.

The first section, Feng Shui in the Home starts with an exploration of the outside world and how it affects us. Mind you, Feng Shui is not just about how you arrange your furniture. Assess your location whether that is urban or suburban for seen and unseen energy. The flow of qi and how it is affected by roads, paths, rivers, bridges and even vegetation is touched upon. Inside your home you are introduced to how Qi flows and is directed by walls, corners and slanting walls and roof lines. Doors, windows, plants, materials and lighting are all considered. A lovely section on the senses, and often ignored topic, is included. Putting it into Practice takes you through each room of the house and helps you evaluate and plan your space.

The second section, Feng Shui in the Garden, explores further Qi the universal energy, the five elements, garden shapes, unseen energy again and the use of the bagua in garden planning. Making it all practical you are given guides for choosing plants furniture, pots and ornaments the use of water and much more. Different types of gardens are discussed such as courtyard, waterside, terraces, and roof gardens.

The final section, The Feng Shui Office, is a compendium of information on Qi, furniture measurements-yes size matters, how to set up your work space and communal areas. We come back again to the Chinese animals and their personalities which may help you interact with your office mates and bosses. There is also advice on business trips and hotel rooms.

If I were to have one criticism of this book it is the size of the type. The text is smaller than the average phone book. This makes it difficult to read, especially in less than adequate lighting or if your eyes are in the geriatric range. Would that the publishers had increased the dimensions of the book and used larger type this would be a much better read. As it is now, it is tiring to read for any length of time. Maybe you aren’t supposed to sit down and read through an encyclopedia or dictionary. But many people do and this diminishes their enjoyment of this book. But don’t let that stop you. Find a copy of this book and enjoy it in small doses. Just looking at the photos and charts will give you many ideas.