The recent few months has been one report after another of floods, wild forest fires, hurricanes and earthquakes. Across the world it looks like the elements of the environment are not only unbalanced and in disarray, but disharmony has extended deep into the earth’s water levels bringing rising waters to places as diverse as the English countryside and the Indian subcontinent. The earth’s core is also bursting to erupt as earthquakes of gigantic magnitudes have destroyed buildings from Peru to Indonesia. A third element, fire is also thrusting its fierce upwards energy in a killing rage as thousands of hectares of forests in America are being ravaged.

Al Gore and Leonardo Di Caprio continue to nag us about global warming but is it really due to man’s carelessness that all these disasters are taking place? Or are the burning bushfires, fierce flooding and earthquakes caused by unbalanced feng shui forces? In her Extravaganza last year, Lillian Too strenuously warned about the destructive forces of fire and water, urging everyone to wear their protective amulets.

She repeats the warning in her blog this issue. In her LIFE WITH LILLIAN column she goes further and urges caution for those invested in the financial markets. Indeed, the month of August saw some scary falls in world stock prices as the US sub prime mortgage failures led to severe credit shortfalls and caused massive falls in many stock markets. Happily, Central Banks and Federal Reserves stepped in to bring back confidence. But it seems the feng shui charts tell us the worst is far from over, so it is advisable to continue to be extremely cautious.

It is a good idea to protect ourselves and our wealth with wearable amulets and decorative objects that at least keep the bad luck at bay.

With our minds on money, our two lead stories this issue focus on the better halves of the seriously wealthy. We feature Wendi Deng, wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and how her Chinese heritage is helping this powerful man bridge the East-West divide and assisting him to conquer the China market. We also look at other billionaire wives. Are they the secret weapon behind their husbands’ success? How do ordinary women bag such super special men? Is it brains, beauty, luck, karma? The answer is that these women are far from ordinary; indeed they are extraordinary and this is shown on their faces. Read up on what they have in common on page 21. Our Hollywood personality this issue is Tom Cruise simply because we discovered just how lucky this ever popular star really is when it comes to finding love. Astrological research into their birthdates reveals he, Katie and baby Suri are simply perfectly matched for each other. Find out how on page 27.

As feng shui becomes increasingly mainstream, we see two sides of a growing divide. The “Classicists” insist only Traditional Feng Shui is authentic as this knowledge comes direct from ancient texts, which they argue hold all the “secrets” to feng shui. The “Modernists” on the other hand believe that feng shui is a science, and like all sciences, develop over time adapting and evolving to the scenario of the day and to changing circumstances. This school advocates adding complementary practices in feng shui practice, styling this NOUVEAU feng shui. We have two meaty stories that address this issue; Lillian Too compares the two schools in her Fine Points column, and Edith Lindner talks about widening the breadth of feng shui and using it as a tool to create greater global harmony.

There’s also much to be said about symbolism… our story on auction house Christie’s recent Imperial Collection highlights the huge relevance of symbolism in Chinese cultural history, while Boucheron’s deadly flowers collection look to tempting the fates. Other scrummy stories for you to dig into this issue are our feature on Eyes and what they tell you and our story on Entrances and Doorways and their importance in feng shui.