Reviewed by : Marjie Courtis

Johnny Depp, Madonna, Oprah and Donald Trump have a lot in common with my Chinese friends - they all take Feng Shui very seriously.

So I decided to give it some serious consideration myself and read Feng Shui For Dummies®.

It is written by Feng Shui expert David Daniel Kennedy, who follows the principles of Feng Shui Grandmaster Professor Lin Yun.

David Kennedy presents Feng Shui For Dummies® as an ancient design philosophy.

It explains that good Feng Shui design is not just a visual design concept, but an approach which harnesses the hidden flows of energy.

It has a healthy section on Harnessing the Energies of the Five Elements. These five elements are wood for growth; fire for expansion; earth for stability, metal for contraction; and water for stillness.

Kennedy explains how to introduce 'cures' into an unhealthy environment, to achieve the right balance between the five elements using particular objects, shapes and colours.

And as though Feng Shui was the source of the lateral thinking idea of "thinking outside the square", the book introduces the Feng Shui Octagon.

The Feng Shui Octagon has 8 sides and a centre, and the book demonstrates how you can overlay this octagon onto a plan of a room or a house - inside or outside the square - to achieve positive outcomes in 9 areas of your life.

And who wouldn't aspire to positive outcomes in these nine aspects of our life - Wealth, Fame, Marriage, Children, Relationships, Career, Knowledge, Family and Health.

So room by room, I was able to discover how merely changing the lighting, colour or placement of furniture could improve one or more aspects of my life. The book also shows how you can apply Feng Shui to your office, garage and our home purchase decisions.

The book thoroughly describes the design principles of Feng Shui but presents them as guiding principles, rather than prescriptions.

I think that Kennedy explains Feng Shui in a very practical and plausible way. You can use the book as a reference rather than having to read it cover to cover, and the prominent headings and icons make it easy to find what you’re looking for.

The book is very good value, whether you want to experiment in a big or small way, or simply to find out what Johnny Depp and Madonna are making such a fuss about.

Feng Shui For Dummies® will definitely be a well-used reference book on my bookshelf.

Feng Shui For Dummies® 2nd Edition
ISBN 978-0-470-76932-4