To maximize your chances of success in the workplace, be in your most auspicious areas.

by Erlinda Sorreda

It helps to know what orientations or locations are our luckiest. According to Lillian Too, a World of Feng Shui International, there are four auspicious spots that we have to determine in any room, whether it's in the home, school or office. Lillian emphasizes that staying in these specific locations can protect us from illness, accidents, robbery, or even bankruptcy.

What's Your Number?

To determine your four auspicious locations, you have to know your kua number. First, find out if you were born before the lunar new year of your birth year. If so, deduct one from your year of birth. For instance, someone born on January 3, 2005 is born before the lunar new year on February 9, 2005, and thus should deduct one year from 2005. That becomes your "new" birth year. To be sure, use a lunar calendar to get the exact date. If you were born on or after the lunar new year, you can proceed to the next step.

Add the last two digits of your birth year, and if the sum yields two digits, add them as well. Keep repeating until you have just one digit left (e.g. 1957; 5 + 7 = 12; 1 + 2 = 3).

For men, deduct the resulting number from 10 (e.g. 10-3 = 7). For women, add this number to 5 (e.g. 5 + 3 = 8). If you get "10" it is considered as "1". What you have now your most auspicious sectors or directions, which are listed from the luckiest to the fourth luckiest (e.g. which are listed from the luckiest to the fourth luckiest (e.g. for those with kua number 1, southeast is the best orientation).

Kua Number	Lucky Directions	East/West Group
1	southeast, east, south, north	east
2	northeast, west, northwest, southwest	west
3	south, north, southeast, east	east
4	north, south, east, southeast	east
5	women: southwest, northwest, west, northeast men: northeast, west, northwest, southwest	west
6	west, northeast, southwest, northwest	west
7	southwest, northwest, west, northeast	west
8	southwest, northwest, west, northeast	west
9	east, southeast, north, south	east

Having trained under Lillian Too, Marites Allen is the first and only franchisee of the World of Feng Shui boutique in the Philippines. She suggests, "To enjoy good feng shui at work, you must choose your workspace carefully," and follow the separate guidelines for the east group and the west group people.

East Group People:

• Energize the east corner with plants, flowers, and paintings that feature lush vegetation and water.
• Avoid anything metallic in this corner. Wind chimes, scissors, and blades might cause a lot of harm.
• The southeast area should have the same objects, and you could also display a miniature fountain or a simple bowl of water.
• A broad-based bowl of water with a terrapin (a diamondback turtle) inside would be suitable on the north side of the room. A real terrapin is preferred to an artificial one.
• On the south corner, bright lights and red objects such as a carpet, paintings, and cushions can help you maintain a good reputation.

West Group People

• Strengthen the west area with a model airplane that is laden with coins and tied with red thread. Bells and wind chimes are also effective.
• Do the same on the northwest. Don't use bright lights in the west and northwest sections as the light can magnify your problems.
• Natural crystals are good for the southwest sector. If your main door is also located in the southwest, placing a large, real crystal stone is very auspicious. Capture all the good fortune coming into the office by keeping an amethyst crystal boulder that has a deep hollow. It brings abundant luck in business.
• Crystals are also appropriate for the northeast side, but they don't have to be large.

Basic Feng Shui

Marites says that feng shui adheres to common sense. For example, a very cluttered table is considered bad feng shui as it creates too much yin. Even without knowing this, we are already aware that on a practical level, a messy desk can hinder work progress and create chaos.

Other features believed to cause bad feng shui are the sharp edges of tables and open bookshelves resembling blades that send out killing energy. The solution is to remove them, move away from them so you are not directly in their path, or to place obstructions between you and them.

Here are other ways to foster positive chi in your workplace:

• Position your desk at the far corner diagonal to the entrance door. The more internal your location is, the better your feng shui will be.
• You should not sit under an exposed overhead beam. Otherwise, you'll often feel pressured and suffer from headaches.
• Don't situate your desk at the end of a straight corridor or across the entrance door.
• Your opportunity for advancement will be badly hindered if your desk directly faces a staircase or a restroom.
• Avoid sitting with your back to the door.
• Sharp table corners are considered "poison arrows, or use plants to block the negative effect.
• Do not sit directly opposite a square pillar. The cutting edge of the pillar will wreak havoc in your work life. Success will be difficult to obtain, and you will often be sick. The best solution is to move out, but if you can't deflect the bad energy by surrounding the four sides of the pillar with plants or mirrors. This symbolically makes the column or pillar disappear.

The Trouble with Doors

• If the office door is at the end of a corridor, it receives killing chi everyday
• Having doors that face the elevator is discouraged. The constant opening and closing of elevator doors creates a great deal of imbalance.
• If the door faces a staircase, the chi is extremely negative. If there are two staircases, there will be a great deal of disharmony and altercations in the office.