How to: Choosing a good Feng Shui Master

How to: Choosing a good Feng Shui Consultant
Some key considerations to take note on choosing a good Feng Shui Consultant
by Jon Sim

Recently, I attended an old-friends gathering. During the get together, one of them ask me this question - How to go about choosing a good Feng Shui Consultant? Well, I shared with them some pointer and we had some pretty interesting discussion. So, I thought I should share them with you too.

When getting a house, most people will usually engage the service of a Feng Shui consultant for an assessment of their new home for good luck, especially the young couples and first-timers. So, what are some key considerations to take note? Here are some common questions you may like to ask.

Question #1: How much should I be paying?

In the past, consultation fee are given in token of Red Packet (no fixed price). But gone are the red packet days... Today, cheque payment is probably one of the most popular methods of payment. Some even accept credit card and online payment.

So how much is considered reasonable? In the market, consultation fee can range from $488 to $1388 (for a HDB-4 room). Expect different rates for different type and size of houses. In general, consider first your budget on which you will be comfortable with and then work around it but whatever it is, make sure you employ a master who is trustworthy, typically if you are engaging his service for House Selection. Regret is not about how much you pay for the consultation fee but for the price you pay for the house. If the Feng Shui assessment is wrongly done, you will have to stick to living in a house with bad Feng Shui. It's not like buying of clothes that you can easily buy another one if you regret on the design you bought.

Question #2: How do I know who to choose?

First of all, don't have this wrong perception. Don't assume that the most expensive one will offer you the best and similarly, don't assume that the older the master age is, the more skillful he is.

Understand which school of Feng Shui the master is from. I am not going to explain too much on the technical part and get you confused. But to note, traditional Feng Shui can be generally categorized into San Yuan or San He Feng Shui. Any others that employ the use of talisman or religious rituals, those do not belong to the traditional or pure Feng Shui.

You can or rather you should ask about their lineage, the origins of their Feng Shui knowledge and skill. It is common for many masters to tell you that that skill is imparted to them from their parents through grandparents but yet they never mention names. A reputable school of Feng Shui with lineage will always be open and feel honored to explain to customers who they are, with proof of their lineage or certificate of graduation. You can then read up more on the lineage and decide on their trustworthiness and dependability.

Question #3: What do the service include?

Find out what the package consists of.

Apart from the assessment, does the package include date-selection - the date & timing for Renovation & Alteration of the house-layout and Actual Shifting-in. And how are the dates actually selected? Are they generic dates simply taken off the Almanac? When we talk about date-selection, we look at detailed & accurate dates. Here, we refer to advance Xuan Kong Da Gua (XKDG) or Qimen dates. To base date selection on the Almanac is not enough especially if your house is affected by annual and monthly affliction. So, remember to enquire on how the date selection is done. Again, a trustworthy and skillful master will be open to his customers. Though they might not be able to explain the complex technical part to you but they definitely can tell you clearly the method (with names) they are using e.g. XKDG. If one tell you, oh I am using very special very special method and yet not able to tell you clearly the name or term of the method, it is fishy.

Is there a final follow-up? All consultation should generally provide you a report or house-layout plan after the Feng Shui assessment. After which, there must be a final follow-up inspection. This is an important procedure which all masters must practice, it is their professional responsibility. Why? What is something went wrong during the renovation? A final Feng Shui inspection has to be done to ensure all things went well before the owner shift in. You couldn't be the one doing the final inspection yourself right? If you know how to, why engage the master's service in the first place?

Question #4: Will I need to buy additional Feng Shui items?

Apart from the assessment, would you need to buy Feng Shui items at additional cost? That would depend on the Master you are engaging, what nature of Feng Shui practice is he adopting. If you looking at the pure Traditional Feng Shui, there is no requirement for any additional Feng Shui items.

To conclude: You pay for what you think it's deserving and who you be happy working with. Most importantly you be fair to yourself, you are the one paying for the service afterall. So never be afraid to ask. A trustworthy master must be approachable, willing to share with you and open with their background.

Last but not least, at the end of the day, result is what we are looking at. You may wish to find out on the works the Feng Shui consultant has done, the successful cases they have handled. Don't just look at how big the project is but also how many successful cases there were. Commercial projects are usually subjected to confidentiality though. Nonetheless, you can always ask around for feedback from friends who have employed the consultant's services.

Remember, you are engaging the service to help improve and better on your life.

Article brought to you by Jon Sim, Art-of-Fengshui.com.