As a predictive art and metaphysical science, Feng Shui has been around for thousands of years. But to keep Feng Shui out of the reach of “everyone”, the ancient Masters codified their references. Also, when these references began to be translated, the translation was not always pure and was often influenced by the superstitions of the culture rather than the actual science of Feng Shui. Today, popular Western authors have done even more damage by concocting a bunch of New Age interpretations.

Often times, after consulting with another Feng Shui practitioner, clients call me wondering why they haven’t seen results or, worse yet, are seeing new problems. Sometimes I am surprised by some of the crazy recommendations they received. A client told me recently that she was told to put sealed water bottles in the center of her house and in her closets as her cure. Now, for the water to work, it must be open to the elements. These bottles were sealed! No wonder the customer didn’t see any improvement! When she tried to contact the previous Feng Shui consultant with her concerns, her voicemails went unanswered.

Always ask yourself why you are being asked to implement a particular recommendation. If the answer doesn’t make sense to you, then don’t do it!

Now, from the phone calls I received recently, I want to share these five flagrant examples of Feng Shui fraud:

1. Images of actual fish or fish bring prosperity. FAKE. The fish is just a symbol of prosperity. It is the water that they swim in that really helps attract wealth. This is such a common myth that some fish have been known to sell for thousands of dollars because they are associated with wealth. So it is not the fish themselves that bring wealth, but the fact that they move the water. Moving water, placed in the right place, can indeed attract money luck. But the attraction happens whether you use fish or a pump to circulate the water! Similarly, images of fish do not bring money luck either.

2. Keep the toilet seat down or it will “empty” your wealth. FAKE. This is not only false, but also very stupid and one of the most annoying new age myths. In fact, some books even say that you should wrap your drain pipes with red duct tape to prevent your wealth from going to waste. Well honestly! Visit any mansion and you’ll find plenty of bathrooms, and the rich stay rich without red tape. So while there are plenty of good reasons (like germ control) to keep your toilet seat down, protecting your wealth isn’t one of them!

3. Placing objects in pairs brings romantic luck to a single woman. FAKE. I have been in many homes where the women are desperately looking for husbands even though everything, and I mean everything, in the home is in pairs. When I ask why, I often hear that they read the idea in a Feng Shui book or received advice from a New Age consultant. The fact is that placing pairs of things is nothing more than a superstition. What brings romantic luck is activating the right energies in the right areas for your own specific energetic makeup.

4. Paint the door of your house black for professional luck. FAKE. A New Age ezine recently recommended painting your front door black for career luck. The reason was that according to the Black Hat school of Feng Shui, the central front of your home is the career sector and belongs to the water element that is associated with the color black. This is a very, very dangerous simplification. In fact, because different people have different energetic patterns, assuming that the center front of your home is the “career” sector is incorrect about 99% of the time. Also, the colors black and blue can be quite damaging if not used properly in a home.

5. Hanging or placing crystals fills a room with positive energy. FAKE. Unlike real crystals, commonly used glass crystals have little power to change the energetic composition of a room. The good news is that they probably won’t cause harm, but they won’t activate positive energies either. So if you like them, hang them up, but don’t expect your luck to change!

The ingenious mass marketing of Feng Shui has created everything related to Feng Shui: candles, jewelry, fashion, fragrances… While these may support the concept of balance and positive reinforcement, none of these items are real home remedies. . Authentic classical feng shui is about controlling the actual energy patterns within the environment to improve any given situation and ultimately the quality of our lives. Bottom line: if you want real change, you need real Feng Shui.

(c) 2009 Rupal Mehta Turner