And Another Thing

[Guest guest]

All,

Since I recently attended a wonderful feng shui seminar, I am thinking about it, and I want to tie this in to herbology. According to the teacher, the cardinal directions mean:

North: Direction from which energy comes into the world, new energy, creativity, controlling influence, mysticism, deepest destiny, isolation, indigo, dark-blue, black

East: Culture, tribe, community, family, warm blue-green, ocean colors

South: Old energy, popularity, red

West: Children, dependence and co-dependence, white

The other directions:

Southeast: Red and blue-green, resources, connection to money issues

Southwest: Red and white, partnerships, marriages, alliances, assembling allies for causes

Northwest: Black and white and grey, agents and agencies, networkers

Northeast: Blue-green and black, learning, teaching

 

Herbal masters who probably know way more about this subject than I, when you consider herbs from different parts of China, do you see any connections to the above points? Particularly for herbs which have different varieties that come from, say, north and south, such as chai hu and sha shen?

 

By the way, an interesting corollary to the above is that many if not most cities and perhaps countries, and the world, for that matter, lay out a la the four directions. Controlling money and influence in the northern areas, old ways in the south, bustling communities in the east, and youthful culture (and therefore crime) in the west. The area where I live now, Phoenix, certainly fits this picture.

Joseph Garner