Hiring a feng shui consultant is easy once you determine the results you desire. If you're experiencing issues in your life, you can find a consultant to conduct a detailed feng shui analysis complete with suggestions for remedying afflicted areas.
Assess Your Needs and Expectations
Before you start a search for a feng shui consultant take time to assess exactly what you hope to accomplish with a feng shui analysis.
Make a list of the things that you feel need attention. This can be a job promotion, health concern, children, love/relationship, and other areas of your life.
What do you expect from a consultant? For example, you may not be able to reap immediate benefits.
How much input do you want to have in the overall process? If you want someone who will let you have more control of the process, look for one who is welcome to your input and whose personality meshes with your own.
Make sure you have a general understanding of the different schools of feng shui. Determine which one(s) appeal to you. Begin your search for a feng shui practitioner that uses your chosen school(s) of feng shui.
Remain open to discussions about feng shui and the various schools a practitioner might prefer to use.
Once you've answered these and other concerns, you're ready to start your search for a feng shui practitioner.
Start With Referrals
The best place to start in your search for a feng shui practitioner is through personal referrals. The results are the best proof of how good and effective a feng shui consultant is.
You'll want to ask what kind of analysis the person had.
Were the desired results and expectations realized?
Keep in mind that some feng shui remedies are intangible at the time they are implemented although there will be an obvious visual change of some kind. Most remedies will change in the energy flow immediately and some results can be instant. Other remedies may take a while to effect the desired change. It's difficult to gauge when you can expect results, but invariably, you'll feel the shift in energy when the remedy is applied.
Testimonials and Reviews
Part of a referral approach for finding a consultant is to read website testimonials and various reviews. If possible, you want to ask questions of those making the testimonials and giving reviews. Social media is an ideal way to engage with these people. Some consultants maintain a list of clients willing to talk with potential clients. This is a great opportunity to get firsthand information another way to assess the working relationship between the consultant and clients.
Check With Professional Organizations
Many feng shui consultants are members of professional organizations. For feng shui consultants, you can search the International Feng Shui Consultant Guild. The Guild is easy to search; simply enter your location, skill level desired, and any keywords (such as the school of feng shui). Results will have the person's name, contact information, and a brief bio.
You can also check with local or regional feng shui professional and/or instructional organizations. For example, you can find feng shui consultants in Hollywood, Florida or Atlanta, Georgia. Stopping into a feng shui store may also yield local recommendations from the staff and customers. If you're interested in learning feng shui as well as utilizing a consultant, check with institutes and schools that teach the practice.
Remote vs. In-Person Analysis
There are many capable feng shui practitioners who offer online evaluations along with local ones.
Remote Option
Modern technology remote anlaysis a viable way to be cost-effective, while having access to well-known reputable feng shui practitioners. A remote analysis often requires you taking a compass reading under the practitioner's guidance. However, with GPS technology, many practitioners can gather the necessary compass information once you give them your address. The analysis can realistically be conducted remotely, especially when you augment with photos/video.
In-Person Option
Some feng shui practitioners don't approve of remote readings since there are many nuances that can only be recognized by an in-person consultation. For example, you may live where there is high air traffic. Other things could include how a neighbor's roofline creates a poison arrow directed at your home. These and other inauspicious aspects of your home and location can often be overlooked when a consultant doesn't tour your property in-person.
Assess if an in-person or remote analysis is right for your home and your needs. If you feel only an in-person consultation will give you the analysis you desire, then you'll want to hire a local feng shui practitioner.
Interview Feng Shui Consultants
Before hiring a feng shui consultant, you want to assess if the two of you are a good fit. Personalities can always play a major role in any type of relationship. It's best if you have a good rapport with anyone you contract to work for you. It just makes good business sense.
#1 What Schools of Feng Shui Used?
Ask which school(s) of feng shui the practitioner follows and uses in an analysis. This is a vital question since there are many schools of feng shui.
Black Hat - Some feng shui practitioners only use Black Hat Sect feng shui. This Tibetan feng shui uses what's called a cookie cutter approach where a bagua is placed over a home layout with the South compass direction always being at the top of bagua, regardless of the actual compass direction. Some basic feng shui principles are used in this form of feng shui and it's often called the Western form of feng shui.
Other schoools - Form and compass, flying stars, eight mansions and so on, are all part of classical feng shui and typically used together for a complete evaluation that includes using the birth date of your home (construction date) and the birthdates of every member of the household. These dates determine the auspicious and inauspicious directions for each person and reveals which sectors in your home may be afflicted by negative stars.
If you aren't sure which school of feng shui is for you, ask each consultant why they chose a particular school(s) of feng shui. Their responses will give you greater insight and help you reach a decision.
#2 How Long Have They Practiced Feng Shui?
There is something new to learn about feng shui every day. No practitioner knows everything. Just because someone is new to feng shui doesn't mean they can't help you. Similarly, someone who has been practicing feng shui should still be excited about their work and understand that they are constantly learning new things.
Ask about their training: Who taught them? Did he/she have a mentor? Who? What are the mentor's credentials?
Ask about their credentials: Do they possess certificates of study, accreditation, etc.?
All of these answers are important pieces of information for assessing the practitioner's ability to deliver an authentic feng shui analysis. More importantly, the answers will help you decide if this practitioner is a good fit for your needs and even your personality.
#3 Ask to See a Portfolio
Feng shui consultants should have some kind of portfolio to demonstrate the before and after effects of their work. You'll want to inquire about the project(s) they show you, so be sure to ask more questions, such as:
What were the main concerns the person had and why did they turn to feng shui? The consultant's answer will give you a glimpse into their working style and how they address the concerns of their clients.
What changes did they experience once you implemented the analysis and remedies? These results are what you're looking for. You want to know if this consultant can deliver what feng shui has to offer. You'll need to evaluate this response and if the consultant accomplished the goals set forth by the client(s).
#4 Request to Talk With Former Clients
This request should be one that the consultant is eager to grant. Most people with success stories of working with a feng shui consultant want to share their experiences and the positive results of the analysis and remedies. If a consultant is reluctant or can't provide a client willing to talk with you, then move on to another consultant. It's likely not the consultant's fault, but most businesses are built on referrals and testimonies. Any consultant that cannot produce at least one of these is not someone you want to hire.
#5 What Is the Consultant's Working Style?
You want to find out how the consultant works before ever hiring. Ask a few questions such as:
How do you work?
What's involved with an analysis?
The answers to these questions are important. Things you might hear include:
A grid overlay will be made determined by the sitting/facing directions of your home.
A calculation of the flying star locations will be made and transferred onto the layout/grid.
Each family member will receive an analysis of their Kua number that reveals their four auspicious and four inauspicious directions.
Afflicted areas will be identified and remedies offered.
#6 What Is Your Fee Structure?
Just as with any business, a feng shui practitioner will have a fee structure for different levels of an analysis. Ask for a fee schedule to help you decide on the services you want. Be sure to discuss these with the practitioner so you thoroughly understand what is included with each one. Now is the time to ask questions you may have about feng shui, what you can expect, and how long the analysis will take from the time of the in-person visit to delivering your analysis and recommendations.
Some services provided could include an exterior analysis, an interior analysis, a combination of both, a flying stars report, a weekly, monthly, annual flying stars report, an eight mansions report 8 Mansions (Kua number for each family member), and other feng shui analyses.
Making a Decision
Armed with enough information and a good idea what you wish to achieve with a feng shui analysis means your expectations will be met. Once you decide on the feng shui school and find a feng shui consultant, be sure to follow all recommendations to ensure successful remedies.
