Feng Shui is divided into two ideologies: San He and San Yuan. These two schools originated over  over 1500 years ago and their fundamentals have remained unchanged.

San He deals with landforms. A Feng Shui practitioner must look at the appearance of the surrounding environment--roads, buildings, mountains, rivers, trees, etc. Certain configurations of the mountain ranges and water courses must be observed and determine whether it is auspicious or inauspicious. For people residing in the city, the same theory is applied to the shapes of the buildings (mountains), and the roadways (water) that surrounds the property.

San Yuan, on the other hand, focuses on the aspects of time and how it affects us. This is a dynamic view of Feng Shui, one where a person's environment runs in 20-year cycles after which their "luck" expires, unless the energies in their environment are renewed. For instance, we are now in Period 8 and the energy we are receiving is not the same as when we were in Period 7. The formula used in this system focuses on how the quality of Qi in a property changes in cycles. Both (San He and San Yuan) techniques must be applied for accurate Feng Shui assessment.

Authentic Feng Shui deals with matters of energy in our environment and is specific to each individual. To perform an audit, one must take in consideration the environment (San He), the time (San Yuan), and the occupants (Ba Zhai). This means, one must look at the environment that surrounds the property, the time the occupants moved-in, and the occupants date of birth.

The best way you can filter information you read about Feng Shui is to use common sense--know that Feng Shui is not magic and it has nothing to do with religion. Authentic Feng Shui is not about the trinkets you wear or the religious-related items (e.g., statue of Buddha) you decorate your house with.  Authentic Feng Shui is about Time (invisible energy) and Space (visible energy). 

To know and practice Feng Shui, it is important to know and master the fundamentals: Yin and Yang; Understand the flow and the quality of Qi; Five Elements; 24 Mountains; Bagua; Luo Shu and He Tu; and taking directions with a Luo Pan.  In addition, you must have a good understanding of Forms, Eight Mansions, and Flying Stars.

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of harnessing the natural forces of nature to promote prosperity, harmony, and vitality.