Answer

Hmmmm.

• 8 is the current yuan.
• Water and Earth is Controlling Cycle, which diminishes returns.

I’d question adding water to an 8.

I have always been skeptical about the idea of always adding water to “activate” the wang star. It is too general, too like McFengshui.

Some claim that you activate only the water star. But if it’s wang, why do anything? It doesn’t make any sense — like amps in This is Spinal Tap!

Remove the rugs and furniture, and wax the floor: that increases yang. Paint the walls with the glossiest paint you can find. Minimize what is on the walls. If a nearby door is shut, keep it open; provide unimpeded access to an entrance or window. Change the routine enough that the area naturally gets more activity.

It is illogical (from a wuxing standpoint) to try “activating” the wang star by controlling it. If you want more you add Fire for this yuan — it’s maximum yang, after all, not maximum yin like water.

I wonder whether this “activation” idea has been misconstrued or if there is an important point that I’m missing. In the 1990s we saw the same thing happen with the instructions for installing water features outdoors — though that calculation is extremely effective.

I am just as skeptical about reflexively treating “locks” (period doubling) — especially when most clients don’t experience the “textbook conditions” we were taught to expect!

In my experience, only certain types of houses create the dramatic effects that are “textbook cases.” If a house doesn’t match the profile, the problem can be triggered by some feature of the structure, or a peculiar aspect of the surrounding environment. But if you have none of these conditions, a lock is likely to have low-intensity effects at best.

In most cases, I’ve learned a lock is worth investigating only if a client can provide details on what circumstances changed abruptly the first week in February.

A house with recurring locks typically has a host of problems you want to treat aggressively. The locks are just a manifestation. When you treat the big issues, often the locks will take care of themselves.

Try providing an unimpeded path to a window or door to correct the situation. And, if all else fails, there is the option of the wang door.