Many times we are consulted if we perform Feng Shui adapted to the Southern Hemisphere, and always our response is that this Art – Science is Universal and that in reality there is no Feng Shui for the Southern Hemisphere. It is correct that certain topics related to this as ” The Celestial Animals “, which we will explain later, should be adapted to our conditions, but in no way can we consider that we fully carry out a Feng Shui for the Southern Hemisphere.

In this article we are going to elucidate the most important aspects of this long controversy.

The most recognized masters of traditional Feng Shui like Joseph Yu, Eva Wong, Derek Walters and many others, consider the universality of Feng Shui. But the Feng Shui School of the New Zealander Roger Green, argues that it is necessary to adapt the principles of Oriental Feng Shui to the Southern Hemisphere. This School bases part of its foundation on the so-called Coriolis effect (described in 1835 by the French scientist Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis)The most well-known and widespread manifestation of the Coriolis effect is that the winds or ocean currents that move along a meridian deviate by accelerating in the direction of turn (East) if they go towards the poles or vice versa (West) if they go towards Ecuador ( in the northern hemisphere). These two ideas of the same effect are transformed into a single one when it is said that the deviation occurs towards the right in the Northern Hemisphere. Of course, the counterpart for the Southern Hemisphere is that the deviation generated by the Coriolis effect occurs towards the left, that is, towards the West when there is a displacement towards the Equator, and towards the East when traveling towards the South. See Fig. 1.

Therefore, the whirlpool in pools and bathtubs rotates in different directions depending on the hemisphere in which we are. The explanation makes sense and, when we travel from one hemisphere to another, we are expecting to see that effect with our own eyes. What is not well explained, or defended, is why some people are disappointed when they see that the water follows the same direction as in the pool of their house, be it in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. Due to the rotation of the planet, currents, winds, missiles, airplanes and any moving object, it seems to veer to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. Coriolis was a French scientist who mathematically and physically expressed this detour.

Another argument on which Green is based is on the inversion of the seasons between both hemispheres (while in the Northern Hemisphere it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere it is Summer and while in the Northern Hemisphere it is spring, in the Southern Hemisphere it is autumn) and in the inclination of the solar rays in an inverted manner over the North and South Hemispheres of our planet, so that the schemes, says this School, must be reversed. This is because the axis of rotation of Planet Earth has an inclination of 23 °. See Fig. 2 and 3.

On the other hand, the Earth is divided into polar zones, temperate zones and tropical zones. The polar zones are between the polar circle and the pole itself. There are two polar zones, one North and one South. The temperate zones are defined between the polar circle and the tropics. The tropics are the point of greatest solar elevation and where the solstices are produced. See Fig. 3. The North tropic is called Cancer and the South Tropic Capricorn. There are therefore two temperate zones, one North and one South. The intertropical zone is one, comprised between the two tropics and in its middle is the Equator and it is here where the Achilles heel fails and of the theory formulated by Roger Green, since for those born during the equinoxes (where the days and nights have the same duration), that is, on March 21 or September 21, the sun is perpendicular to the equator, this tells us that as formulated by the School of the Southern Hemisphere, there will be no Kua or Feng Shui number with which to focus on those days. See Fig. 3

Ecuador undoubtedly is one of the keys to discovering the validity or invalidity of the foundations of the Southern Hemisphere school that also reverses all correspondences of the Chinese compass or Luo-Pan. Let’s analyze this topic … !!! The Lo Shu refers us to the universal cycles (Taoist philosophy), and has been associated with the compass. The compass has a magnetic needle with a positive pole and a negative pole. If we are in the Northern Hemisphere its positive point is attracted by the negative North pole, so we use the traditional Lo Shu. If we are in Ecuador, its positive point is attracted by the negative North pole, so we use the traditional Lo Shu. If we are in the Southern Hemisphere its positive point is attracted by the negative North pole, so we use the traditional Lo Shu. This is true everywhere in the World

But what happens with the Lo Shu in Ecuador according to the principles of the School of the Southern Hemisphere … ???. Let’s see, in the Northern Hemisphere the Lo Shu is not modified, it is used according to the principles of the traditional Classical School. In the South, according to the concepts of Green, the Classic Lo Shu is reversed, so far there seems to be no disadvantages, but in Ecuador, how do we use Lo Shu? See Fig. 5. As you can see it is an absurdity and this is where again Green’s fundamentals lack consistency and veracity. See Fig. 5

The Southern Hemisphere school says that personal Kua numbers must also be reversed and even reverses the signs of the Chinese zodiac ” the Twelve Earth Branches “, according to this School those born in the Northern Hemisphere will have a certain sign and those who were born that same day in the Southern Hemisphere will have the opposite sign. Once again we demonstrate an absurdity.

Celestial Animals or Localization Principles

Originating in Chinese astronomy, the so-called Celestial Animals are used in the School of Forms as a way of representing the right and left side, the front and back of a building or dwelling. According to the principles of Feng shui of the School of Forms, a correctly protected location will be one that presents the disposition of the celestial animals, that is to say that it must have the shape of an armchair, with a backrest, the Turtle, and two armrest to the sides, the Tiger and the Dragon, the phoenix is ​​the front where the sun passes and it is also where you have access to communication routes, in this way the place embraces us containing the beneficial energy and avoiding entry of destructive energy. The effectiveness of the guardians or protectors will depend on their form and their own interactions. See Fig. 6. This scheme corresponds to the Northern Hemisphere where the South for this Hemisphere is the orientation where you get more heat and the North colder.

It is totally logical that the scheme of the Celestial Animals varies depending on the location of our implantation or settlement, since it is not the same to build a settlement in the Northern Hemisphere as in the South and as the goal of the Four Guardians is to protect against the inclemencies and the topography is correct that this scheme is susceptible to be adapted according to the climatological and topographic conditions of each place. In the Argentine pampas, for example, there is no elevation and no trees. When a house is built on the pampa, care is taken to plant a “mountain” (group of trees) to the south or southeast of the house, to protect it from the winds of these quadrants that are cold and intense. The mountain rises at a safe distance from the house, to avoid that eventually any tree or branch falls on the house. In the case of the Turtle, the function is of protection and in this case that function is fulfilled by the mountains. The location for the southern hemisphere is as follows: the “Turtle” must face the dark and colder side, the South, the Tiger, to the right, the West, and the Dragon, the East, the sunny and lighter side, the North, naturally corresponds to the Phoenix This is the correct disposition of the Celestial Animals for the Southern Hemisphere See Fig 7

To conclude and give a sort of closure to this controversy of Feng Shui for both hemispheres, it is very clear that the localization principles for the Southern Hemisphere must be adapted. Since Feng Shui has to take into account the prevailing climates and the topography of each region of our beautiful planet Earth. On the other hand it is evident that the compass, the Luo shu and all the formulas derived from this fascinating discipline should not be modified because until now there are no concrete theories or hypotheses that prove otherwise. “Traditional Classic Feng Shui is Universal .