October 8 takes us into the month of the Water Dog in both the Chinese solar calendar and the lunar calendar, with the moon turning new on the same day. The Dog marks the last month of autumn, a season ruled by Metal, in the year of the Earth Dog.

The appearance of Water element in the heavenly stem of the month is a welcome presence in what’s been a dry, heavy year dominated by strong Earth element. Just like nature, use this transitional month to slow down, conserve energy, and clear away unnecessary baggage. As Water is also associated with Fear, awareness of your own mental and emotional state is key in these last few months of the Dog year. For those who’ve had their Chinese Astrology natal chart read and know their Bazi, Water is the money element to those born on an Earth element day. If that’s you, take a breath of relief as the next four months will finally bring in more income!

The Dog is a Yang Earth element sign, associated with mountains, valleys, and canyons of the world. Two Dogs in the month’s chart indicates there may still be mountains of blockages ahead but Water is the element that can go around a mountain. Follow the water to turn your challenges into opportunities. Transform your fear into courage by going with the flow.

In the Flying Star Feng Shui chart for October 2018 above, the numbers in green are the annual stars for the current year (good until February 4, 2019), while the numbers in blue refer to October’s monthly stars.

The most auspicious sectors in October are the center and South sectors, with Star 6 (trigram Heaven / “Qian”), which brings power and authority when activated, in the center. Do your work or meetings here if the center of your home or office is a usable space. Star 1 visits the South sector, and together with the annual 4 already in the South make for an auspicious combination beneficial to those in need of inspiration, wisdom, creativity, and academic luck.

Even more auspicious is if your center and South sectors are one big open space. The monthly 6 in the center and the monthly 1 in the South form an auspicious “Hotu” combination, which enhances the sectors’ positive energy as the annual star 9 in the center and annual star 4 in the South are already an existing Hotu pair.

Monthly illness star 2 “flies” to the North, which is the year’s most sensitive sector afflicted by the annual star 5 of misfortune. Keep the North sector as quiet as possible as the 5, 2 combination is most dreaded by those who practice Flying Star Feng Shui. With the monthly 5 visiting the Southeast sector, refrain from spending too much time there until November 7. You can learn more about the stars of illness and misfortune here.

This month, for the most part, is blessed with potential auspicious combinations that lessen the presence of negative stars. The West sector, with annual star 2 and monthly star 8, also benefits from another auspicious combination called the “sum of 10”, which buffers the negative impact of the annual 2. There are two other Hotu possible pairs (9 in the NE and 4 in the East, as well as 3 in the SW and 8 in the West), but keep in mind that the positive benefits can only be activated if there’s no wall separating your Northeast sector from the East sector, or the Southwest from the West sector.

If you know your home’s natal Feng Shui chart, you can also look for sectors that have these three heavenly combination of stars (all three of which must exist within the same sector): 258, 369, and 147, which are possible given this month’s combinations. *Note that these “three combinations” are rare and most effective when they exist in a home’s natal chart. I’ve consulted with clients whose homes are blessed with this lucky combination, and they’re indeed very much blessed with good health, wealth, and love.

Contact me here if you’d like to identify and activate the auspicious sectors in your living or office space and subdue the influences of inauspicious stars to help manifest your highest potentials. A proper Feng Shui analysis always takes into account the floor plan of a home, its location, direction, external and internal environment, and the year the home was built, as well as its affinity with the residents’ natal charts.

Feng Shui has nothing to do with having a “consultant” come and “clean” your space with sage, incense, or palo santo sticks. While I love those space-clearing tools, they’re as good as vacuuming and mopping the floor and will not get you to the root of the issue. In fact, it is better to vacuum as the noise and movement activate a positive sector – I highly recommend doing so on the first day of the new solar month! Just like we spend time on self-care as part of our life’s self-work, there is major “home” work involved once you’ve had your home professionally Feng Shui’d. Knowing your home’s natal energies can be enlightening and also frightening as it brings full awareness to your internal environment, which is a major part of our luck and destiny.

**Although there may be remedies to lessen an afflicted sector’s negative energy, the best solution is to keep the area as quiet as possible and respect whatever energy is visiting there, especially if you’re not familiar with your home’s natal energies.