Mental Illness and the Feng Shui Influence

Mental illness has probably always been a part of the human condition. But is it more prevalent now than long ago or is it just more commonly identified?  I’m reminded of the phrase “black sheep” and in American culture we used to use that phrase to describe a family member who did not fit in for one reason or another. Usually, it was a person who lived their life in a very different way than the cultural norms and it could have been as benign as a woman who decided not to get married at a time when almost all women did.  For sure, the “black sheep” of the family might have also been a person who suffered from addiction or a mental illness. Family members may or may not have been totally aware of what was really ailing the person or how to help them.

In ancient Chinese culture and medicine, there were certainly individuals who were understood to be mentally ill.  And over the years I have come to the conclusion that our very own planet Earth probably hosted civilizations which were more advanced spiritually and technologically than where we are today.  Perhaps mental illness was understood even better than it is now. Perhaps there were even cures for mental illness or at least treatments which afforded a mentally ill person the same functionality and joys in life as the rest of us fools.

Fu Xi, the “father of Chinese medicine” has been credited with being the first to implement cannabis medicinally, circa 2900 B.C.   Currently, modern science has discovered that early use of cannabis (in teenagers and still developing brains) can open doors to psychosis which may have never been opened without partaking of this herb. Ironically, CBD oil without THC (the psycho-active component) has shown some promise in abating psychosis as well or better than the current anti-psychotics on the market. We can rest assured that humanity has been dealing with mental illness for a long time, although some cultures interpreted the behaviors of the “mentally interesting” as having spiritual and shamanistic powers.

But where does Feng Shui play a role in influencing mental illness? Over the decades I have been blessed with thousands of clients and they have provided some very compelling case studies in all areas of life, including the correlation between certain flying stars and certain outcomes related to mental illness.

We know that the flying star 2 can result in depression and taken to the extreme, it could be prominent in the home of someone with bipolar disorder, especially if paired with the 3 star, which is related to anger and rebellion. Taken to an extreme, that 3 star energy could trigger manic behavior.  Does this mean that anyone who sleeps in a 3-2 or 2-3 combination is mentally ill?  Certainly not!  But when we ask the question of which comes first, the chicken or the egg, I have seen that people with mood disorders, personality disorders and full-blown mental illness tend to be in homes with poor feng shui and some of the predictable flying star influences.

When the 9 star was in a bad phase, prior to 1984, it was indicative of insanity. Our feng shui forefathers recognized that these stars could influence us in our psychological capacities and not just in areas related to wealth luck, physical health, or relationships.  Even the 7 star, which is related to deception or betrayal, could go either way: It can indicate that someone has in fact been betrayed, but it could also produce a mindset where a person becomes paranoid and just thinks they have been betrayed, or spied on.

One of the most conclusive feng shui predicaments, which seem to match up with occupants with mental illness, is the Out of Trigram House type. This is the house type which has a compass orientation right on the line between two distinct directions.   For example, 22.5 degrees is the cut-off point between north and northeast.   Another type of Out of trigram house is one which sits right on the line between the first and second sector of any direction.  As an example, 82.5 degrees is the cut-off point between East-1 and East-2.

Over and over again I have seen clients in Out of Trigram houses who are very nervous or compulsive at the very least.  But at the extreme end of the spectrum, I have seen Out of Trigram houses where the occupants had schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses. I have also evaluated Sober Living Houses and Board and Cares for the mentally ill that were Out of Trigram.  I have even evaluated Yin Houses (grave sites) that were Out of Trigram and the descendants had mental illness. So I don’t need any convincing that the Out of Trigram chart type is one of the more challenging bad Feng Shui circumstances and directly related to mental illness.

I have many other examples in my own case studies and I think it is an important area for all feng shui consultants to familiarize themselves with. To serve people well, we need to steer clients away from these existing house types, and from building these house types in the first place, especially if there is a known history of mental illness with the client, for their protection and for a better chance at recovery.