There is a sense of mystery and often times, confusion as to what goes on in a Feng Shui consultation.

Some callers to my office inquire as to whether there will be chanting and prayers.

Some even wonder if it will involve an elaborate ritual and if it will take the whole day to Feng Shui their property.

In order to clear the air, I am going to provide you with some simple insights on what really happens when you engage a professional Feng Shui consultant to undertake a consultation on your home.

I am going to make a few assumptions here.

•  We are going to be looking at what happens in an authentic, classical Feng Shui consultation.

Which means, we are not going to be referring to the “pop” Feng Shui methods that recommend products and items as quick fixes to cure everything anything that ails you.

Neither would we be concerned with cultural beliefs, superstitions or spiritual practices which strictly are not part of classical Feng Shui.

•  You will be working with a professional who does this on a skilled level

Individual Feng Shui consultants will have different methods and working practices. Most will use a combination of techniques based on the requirements of their clients and the given circumstances.

As with any professional service, choose a consultant you trust and are comfortable with. Ultimately, the success of a consultation depends on the partnership between the consultant and the client.

The first step to any Feng Shui consultation is to determine why you are undertaking a Feng Shui consultation. You need to have a clear idea on what you are looking to achieve with the consultation.

Most skilled Feng Shui consultants will usually use this as their reference point when making their recommendations.

What to expect and what not …

In the initial stage of the consultation, often referred to as the pre-consultation phase, the consultant or his assistant will discuss with you your requirements and glean more information on the property to be consulted. You may be asked about the size and type of property, as well as the general location of your property and the number of occupants or key personnel (if it is an office building).

Once they have these details, they will usually quote you their consultation fees.

At this point, they would also usually ask you why you are looking to get a Feng Shui consultation and what you intend to achieve with the consultation.

Beware of those who promise you the moon – Feng Shui practitioners do not play God and even if they want to, they usually cannot change your fate overnight or ‘make' you an instant millionaire.

An honest Feng Shui practitioner will make realistic promises on what they are able to deliver based on your expectations.

Once the discussion is over, you will need to furnish your consultant with the plans of the property as well as the birth details for their initial analysis.

The consultant, based on the information you have presented, will prepare the relevant astrological charts (usually known as BaZi or Destiny charts) as well as do a preliminary analysis on the layout of the property.

A Feng Shui audit that incorporates a BaZi or Destiny Analysis would be more comprehensive and complete.

This is why it's important that your Feng Shui consultant should be well versed in BaZi or any other system of Destiny Analysis – so that they are able to chart out your luck cycle and tailor your Feng Shui accordingly. Remember - BaZi is the diagnosis and Feng Shui is often regarded as the prescription.

During the consultation – on site

This stage of the consultation is when your consultant will be on site. Here, he will be surveying the area, checking the landform and taking note of the various environmental features in the surroundings.

It is quite common for most professional Feng Shui Masters today to have an aerial survey of the surroundings and clients will oftentimes also need to guide them around the property.

This is a crucial step in an authentic, classical Feng Shui consultation – without assessing the landforms and environmental features, there is no way your consultant will be able to accurately determine the type and quality of Qi affecting your property.

(Note that an assessment that only involves the internal layout of your property or the immediate garden space is often not a complete assessment.)

Landforms, meaning the environmental configuration of the nearby mountains, hills, land contour, roads, river, neighboring buildings and land quality constitute a major portion of the Feng Shui quality of your property.

Once the external environment has been measured and taken into account, the internal layout of the property is then assessed.

The location of the key aspects of the property for a home is the main door, bedrooms and kitchen, for an office, the location of the CEO and key personnel are all considered in detail.

During this on-site assessment, your consultant will usually advise you of his findings and make suggestions accordingly.

It is during this phase that you will also be providing feedback to your consultant on what changes are possible and what would be beyond your present capacity.

After the consultation

A professional consultant will usually formalize the findings, advice and recommendations provided on-site into a summary or report. This will then be discussed after the previous site visit.

Of course, there are those that may require you take your own notes during the consultation and you would then clarify this with them after a consultation.

When implementing the recommendations your consultant has made, he will usually be available to guide you and make sure these recommendations are implemented correctly.

If you already have a report provided by them, this is usually much simpler since all the recommendations would have been clearly detailed in the report.

If necessary, your consultant may make follow-up visits to the site as well, to ensure things are implemented as per his recommendations.

At times, follow-up visits are essential when particular recommendations, such as the main door direction or exact location of a water feature, have been provided for in the consultation.

Although not commonplace for residential properties, you may also choose to have a yearly assessment. Consultants will usually charge for this, so this optional annual assessment may vary from client to client, depending on their requirements.

All said and done, there are many different approaches and applications in classical Feng Shui.

Depending on the skill of your consultant and the level of professionalism, you may receive a different level of service from consultant to consultant.

Always check references if possible, ask around and don't take for granted that they are skilled or knowledgeable simply because they happen to be elderly or they claim decades of experience.

A Feng Shui consultation, done correctly, can be a very fulfilling and satisfying experience with the long term potential to support you in achieving your goals and ambitions.