House of the Dead Feng Shui

It does not need to be Halloween for the dead to influence the living. Since ancient times the bizarre and mysterious practice of “Yin House Feng Shui” or “House of the Dead”, has been creating a geo-metaphysical confab between the deceased and their descendants for generations.

It’s a little known fact that the science and art of Feng Shui was originally created for burial. Should this conjure up images of a gravesite resplendent with “Mc Feng Shui” octagon mirrors, mini bamboo and other profit driven Chachkies? Nope; not even close. Truth is stranger than fiction when learning how to bury the dead.

The earliest written record of Yin House Feng Shui (Zang Shu) is the “Book of Burial” recorded by Guo Pu (276 – 324AD). Guo Pu, a scholar of the Eastern Jin period, was regarded as the best educated man of his time. He served as top advisor to the emperor, scholars and the military, was considered peerless as an editor, writer and commentator of China’s most ancient texts as well as being a revered Taoist mystic, dream interpreter, geomancer and collector of strange and fascinating tales.

Translating from the now lost book “Classic of Burial”, Guo Pu recorded burial techniques that produced predetermined benefits for the remaining family; these benefits were heavenly gifts sent from the joyful ancestor spirit who kept them flowing continuously for 3+ generations. However as good as the results could be they also had the potential to be as equally disastrous if done incorrectly.

The “magic” of Yin House Feng Shui is achieved by utilizing the cyclical influence of our cosmos, Earth’s electromagnetic field, Chi (subtle vital life energy not yet fully understood) and the ancestral bond of human DNA. All of these factors combined are at least partially responsible for creating an undeniable geo-metaphysical link between the deceased, their immediate blood relatives and how the relatives’ lives unfold after the ancestor’s burial.

DNA may be the key here as well as the burial site’s geographic location, magnetic qualities of the sub rock and soil, celestial timing and the physical shapes surrounding the gravesite. All of these factors are painstakingly calculated by the Yin House practitioner, creating a self organizing paramagnetic “antennae”. This “antennae” amplifies Earth’s magnetic field and resonance, transmitting energetic information between the grave site, the living and their dearly departed. Definitely bizarre and kinda spooky – yet intriguingly touched upon by modern day scientists.

DNA:
 In the early 1990s it was discovered that sample DNA has an instantaneous, identical response to the emotions the original DNA host experiences. This military research project took DNA swab samples from hosts, isolated the swabbed DNA from the host for up to 50 miles and then subjected the host to controlled visual stimulation of violence and beauty, all the while measuring the host’s electrical/emotional responses. Without fail the isolated swab DNA exhibited identical and instantaneous electrical responses as their host’s DNA exhibited. These experiments were measured by an atomic clock to ensure precision. Would we see similar results testing deceased’s DNA interacting with living relatives?

Location and Shapes:
 Phillip S. Callahan Ph D has written extensively on shapes, specifically Ireland’s round towers and Egypt’s pyramids as well as ELF (extremely low magnetic fields) and soil composition; revealing their long term affect on human beings. Certain compositions of soil and shapes exert a surprising naturally occurring magnetic field that has an astonishing impact on insect life, plant growth and the human mind. Authors David Cowan and Chris Arnold conducted similar experiments by measuring the magnetic field of all sorts of different shapes, some sacred and many every-day shapes, as well as bodies of water and their long term affect on human health and well being.

Earth’s Magnetic Field:
 Geophysicist Joe Kirschvink at the California Institute of Technology has been conducting studies of a human sixth sense or Magnetoreception – the innate ability to detect magnetic fields. Organisms such as birds and animals use this ability to detect migratory direction, altitudes and location. How planetary magnetic fields effect health and thought process in human beings is extraordinary. These studies are so profound they are continuous; the leader in research being the HeartMath Institute and The Global Coherence Initiative.

Chi and Timing – when to bury:
 Chi and sacred timing may be the most elusive and mysterious elements of Yin House and at the very heart of the practice. When planning a burial during/for (added) a specific day, time and orientation are chosen to capture the most auspicious Chi and geomagnetic forces that can benefit the spirit of the deceased. Using the order of the universe and the power of nature, Yin House also heavily relies upon physics, astronomy, astrology, geometry, geography, intuition and the gift of magnetoreception to ensure the absolute perfection of the ancestor’s inhumation and the results the family can expect. In essence, an energetic “lightening rod” is created via the gravesite and headstone that focuses very specific results for the family. The family members closest to the deceased feel the greatest impact of the burial practices yet each and every relative up to 3 generations is said to receive benefit or misfortune. Usually it is the family member working with the Yin House practitioner that gains the greatest advantage. You can imagine how complicated burial can become depending on the size of the remaining family!

Does cremation rule out Yin House practice? No, the ancestor’s Chi remains within the ashes and can be used, though it’s noted that the remaining family will become “hot tempered and intolerant” after cremation. I’ve observed this first hand on several occasions.

So, what’s the criteria of a beneficial Yin House grave site? And what are the factors that can have a negative impact on the ancestor and their descendants?

Beneficial House of the Dead practices:
 This depends on what the remaining family desires to gain. A beautiful setting is always desirable; with shapes (mausoleums, statues, neighboring headstones, etc.) that are not gruesome, broken, overbearing or too close to the site – this includes trees, trash cans, utilities yard, pathways in disrepair and roadways that end in a T-junction or curve sharply towards or away from the site. A shady area is fine but must receive a good amount of sunshine each day to avoid depression in the descendants. The ground should have good soil composition; not too loose or wet and not too hard or dry. Avoid geographic stress lines, earthquake faults and liquefaction zones. In rainy areas the plot should be slightly less than level to ensure water does not gather on the grave. The headstone should be in excellent shape; not cracked, unsteady, dirty or overgrown with plants. Depending on the deceased’s birth date the plot’s orientation must be a good match; a simple example would be the case where the deceased was born in the year of the Rooster – Here you would want to avoid a plot orientation facing the East as that is opposite to the classical West orientation associated with Rooster. The site should also take into careful consideration a facing orientation that is specific to a living family member – what is the view from this orientation? When wealth is the goal for the family special shapes of roadways, ground elevations and dips are tantamount along with the presence of mountains in specific directions and bodies of water. These are some of the basic good Yin House guidelines to consider. Following good Yin House practices is said to produce intelligent, clever, attractive, witty, elegant, virtuous, scholarly, wealthy long lived descendants.

Unbeneficial House of the Dead practices:

Unbeneficial House of the Dead practices include a grave site that is ugly, too shady or too sunny, surrounded by grotesque shaped hills, dirty or fast moving water, uneven scattered rocks, lots of ants or bugs, a windy location or one that easily floods. Bad water that comes from the Lu Cun (loo chin) Get Money direction of the ancestor or family member will produce activities that result in “dirty” (illegal) money and troubles with the law. An uneven burial of the body, where the head is lower than feet, produces stupid choices in the family. An empty space behind the headstone takes support away from the family while dry, hard or mushy soil creates disease or instability. An ugly, broken headstone crowded by other graves lessens opportunities for the descendants as does a facing orientation that is opposite to the deceased or offers an ugly view in the direction of a living family member; this is said to bring a very specific type of bad luck depending on the direction. A fenced off plot creates isolation for the family while a mausoleum in a state of decay is said to ruin the reputation of the descendants. These few examples of bad Yin House practices are believed to anger or bring sadness to the ancestor spirit which in turn produces descendants that are obstinate, stupid, foolish, wicked, unattractive, poor, short lived and inferior to others.

Burial Practices Around the World:

Yin House is one of the oldest and most elaborate burial practices in the world. Other unique practices include the hanging cliff coffins of China, Indonesia and the Philippines. Making beautiful beads out of the cremated body is common in South Korea while no self respecting Cajun burial is complete without a jazz band walking the ancestor to their final resting place. In many Buddhist and Tibetan traditions the deceased’s body is given over to the elements in a “sky burial”; where the body is allowed to be eaten by wild birds and animals; only a rock outline of the body remains, representing the freed spirit. Cannibalism is still practiced by the Yanomami tribe of the Amazon where the cremated is mixed into banana paste and eaten to “take in” the freed spirit; while more digestible practices include mummification in ancient Egypt and the Bog Bodies of Northern Europe.

The list of burial practices goes on and on. My favorite is the careful choosing of animal statues added to the plot in order to protect the spirit. It is believed that the statues over 100 years old come alive on a full moon, leaving their cold pedestals to roam freely until the break of day. I have not gotten up the nerve to test this yet – maybe this year a stroll around midnight in a local cemetery is on the list…but probably not!

Article by Lee Ann / LivingSpaceFengShui.com