Unless you have been holed up in Siberia for the last 3 years, you would have heard a friend or family member mention the Feng Shui of Period 8. Or heard something about it on television. Or read about it in the newspapers. Often with a possible ‘doomsday’ twist to the mention of this term.

The changeover from Period 7 to Period 8 was the Feng Shui equivalent of Y2K – that point close to the new millennium when people started frantically stocking up on food for fear of the sky falling down when the clock signaled in the year 2000. Similarly, as February 4, 2004 inched closer, there were more than a few Feng Shui enthusiasts frantically renovating their homes to ‘conform’ to the new Qi of Period 8. But unlike the Y2K bug, which most people in the computer industry now acknowledge was blown out of proportion, Period 8 continues to be a source of concern for newcomers to the field of Feng Shui and clients who fear their luck has somehow ‘expired’ and that they need to make massive changes to their homes.

Now, the cause of this ‘the sky is falling down’ syndrome when it comes to Period 8 is quite simply, a lack of understanding about what the changeover really means and the perpetuation of the myth that ‘luck expires’. In this article, I hope to adequately address and put to rest any concerns about Period 8, changing your home and these supposed Qi Expiry Dates.

Understanding The Changeover

In the practice of classical Feng Shui, there is a reference to time. Our universe is dynamic – the world is ever-changing and ever evolving. Qi too is dynamic and Feng Shui understands and caters to this. The time dimension of Feng Shui divides time into 20 year cycles, at the end of which there is a capital transformation in Qi. Period 7 runs from 1984 – 2003 and Period 8 which began in 2004, will end in 2023 ( February 3, 2024 to be precise). It’s all very organized and well laid out – which again should reassure you that the world is not about end just because it is now Period 8.



Flying Star Feng Shui is really where all this time dynamic takes place. Your home has a Natal chart, known as a Flying Star chart, that maps out the Qi of the property. It is drawn up based on the Period in which the building was completed and when you actually moved in to the property. (Chart One, above)

In every Flying Star chart, the top right hand corner represents the Facing Star, the top left hand corner represents the Sitting Star. In general, Facing Stars govern wealth and career aspects and Sitting Stars govern people and health aspects. The idea behind Flying Stars Feng Shui is simple, a Flying Star practitioner wants to identify good facing or sitting stars to help the residents in their endeavours.

The question is, what numbers are good? This is where the period (timing) information plays a major role. In different periods, different star numbers are regarded as good and other star numbers are regarded as having a negative impact on the Feng Shui of your property. In Period 7, the good star numbers are #7 but in Period 8, the star #7 now slowly begins to assume its negative qualities.

Just like the Y2K panic all around the world, some Feng Shui enthusiasts were given the impression that they needed to renovate their properties as the Qi in their Period 6 (1964 - 1983) and Period 7 homes had expired and that they needed to ensure that their homes were now Period 8 houses. Renovation in Feng Shui terms invariably requires at least changing the roof, digging up the floor and replacing the floor tiles and replacing the main door. Period 8 does not come cheap.

The Good News

In actual fact there is no need to update your house so that the Flying Star chart of your house is a Period 8 Flying Star Chart. My article on Period 8 written in 2003 (titled Hoo Hah About Period 8) which can be found on http://www.joeyyap.com/fengshui/articles/index.asp - clearly explained that there is nothing to worry about when Period 8 rolls around. You just need to use the existing energy map of your house to tap into the correct sector of your house once you identify the location of the Qi for Period 8. And this exists in your Period 7 and even Period 6 Flying Star charts.

But there are some Feng Shui practitioners who took this opportunity to create a climate of fear in an attempt to flog off items that would provide a ‘cure’ to the malady of Period 8. When asked to update your house to a Period 8 house, always ask what is the logical reason behind it. Most likely, there is no need to change the period of your house; managing the Feng Shui of Period 8 is all about knowing how to use the existing Flying Star chart of your house.

For instance, Chart Two (above) is a South 2 Period 7 chart:

During Period 7, the Wealth star is in the north. The water or main door would have been located in the north to activate the Star #7. Now that you are in Period 8 – without any serious renovations, you would still have the same Period 7 Flying Star chart in Period 8. The chart itself does not change – only the time changes. And with that, we also need to make small changes in how we use the Period 7 Flying Star chart of your home. What happens now is you no longer will want to activate the North #7 Star, you would concentrate your efforts on activating the #8 Facing star in the Southwest.

All this can be done at minimal or no cost at all. Often, all that is needed is to make use of the room in which the #8 Star is located or have a water feature here to activate the Qi for Period 8. All this ‘upgrading’ of your house to change the Flying Star chart to Period 8 is not only a massive waste of money, it is uncalled for and in certain cases, downright counterproductive to the Feng Shui of your property.

Moral of the Story: It is not about the chart you have but how you USE the chart. A Period 6 Flying Star chart that remains unchanged can STILL be used in period 8.

Let’s take another example of a Period 6 (1964 - 1983) house that is facing Southeast 1 – as you can see, Chart Three (above), if you have this chart for your house, and we are now in the year 2005 in Period 8, all we need to do is activate the #8 Facing star in the Southwest.

There is no need to change or upgrade a Period 6 house to a Period 8 house.

Throwing a Qi Party?

I remember hearing about an acquaintance throwing a major party and having a Lion Dance because it would supposedly change his Period 7 house to a Period 8 property.

Your house chart will not change because of a massive celebration or the so-called Yang energies of a lion dance. This is just plain wishful thinking.

Unlike milk, which carries an expiry date, Qi in the environment does not ‘expire’ overnight or change suddenly. It is a gradual process. Just as the Qi cannot turn bad in a day, it cannot be rejuvenated or turned favourable in a few hours just because you decide to have a lion dance, bang some drums and throw a party. Qi just does not work that way.

When it comes to Period 8, the key is in understanding what it is all about before determining if you need to change your house chart.