Feng Shui- The Qilin and The Three Killings

Feng Shui- The Qilin and The Three Killings

It is part of Feng Shui practice to ascertain the direction of the Three Killings each year. This direction, also known as the Saam Saat, always occupies one of the four cardinal sectors-North, South, East or West and the affliction that covers 90 degrees of the compass. In this year, The Year of the Water Dragon, the Three Killings are located in the South.  It is imperative that you do not carry out any noisy activity, renovation, or construction, conduct maintenance work or digging with noisy equipment inside or outside your property in this direction.  Once disturbed, this affliction will bring about three types of misfortunes: financial loss, sickness and arguments. If this is unavoidable you should place a six hollow metal rod wind chime between the work being carried out and the building for your protection. Another important thing to remember this year is that, when seated in your office or at home you must avoid having the South behind you. Confronting the Three Killings will not hurt you but having them behind you will. The South also is a Li trigram which can affect the head and lungs. If your bedroom happens to be in the South of the house you can hang a brass Wu-Lou (gourd) or a heavy round object close to your bed for protection. Round metal objects are also good to have in the South this year. Be sure to incorporate the colours of black gray or charcoal in your décor and avoid any fire colours such as red, pink, purple burgundy or orange; furthermore, no candles.

Finally, if you can, place three Qilins (Chi Lings) in the quadrant of the Three Killings, all three facing South. This will effectively restrain and prevent the killing Chi from harming you.

 In case you are unfamiliar with Qilin (Chi Ling, Kirin), here is some added information:

Qilin is a mystical hoofed chimerical creature, often depicted with what looks like fire all over its body. It has the head of Dragon and the body of horse. It represents protection, prosperity, success, longevity and illustrious offspring.  It is a good omen that brings ruì (roughly translated as "serenity" or "prosperity"). The Qulin (sometimes misleadingly called the "Chinese unicorn" due to Western influence) is believed to manifest upon the occasion of an imminent person’s arrival, or when a wise sage or an illustrious ruler has departed.

The earliest references to the Qilin were in the 5^th century BC, in the book of Zuo Zhuan. In its historical account we are told that after Zheng He’s voyage to the East Africa around the area of modern day Kenya he had brought back two giraffes to the Emperor in Nanjing. The giraffes were thereafter referred to as Qilins.  The Qilin and the giraffe was both vegetarian and shared a quiet nature on top of their reputed ability to "walk on grass without disturbing it”. Furthermore, the Qilin were described as having antlers like a deer and scales like a dragon or fish whereas the giraffe had horn-like "ossicones" on its head and a tessellated coat pattern that looked like scales. Even today the giraffe is still called girin by Koreans and kirin by the Japanese.

Back then the Emperor had proclaimed the giraffe as a magical creature, whose capture signified the greatness of his power. By the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) the original Qilins were long gone. In the subsequent legends their appearance took on a more stylized representation of the giraffe, becoming mixed with some attributes of the tiger, dragon and other animals. The Ming artisans represented the Qilin as an oxen-hoofed animal with a dragon-like head surmounted by a pair of horns with flame-like head ornaments and a scaled body.  Sometimes the creature is depicted with a single horn on its forehead, a multicolored back, and hooves of a horse, body of a deer and the tail of an ox.

During the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644–1911) the Qilin was depicted as having the head of a dragon, the antlers of a deer, the skin and scales of a fish, the hooves of an ox and tail of a lion.

 The Qilin’s attributes are:

Though fearsome, the Qilin only punishes the wicked. Its manifestation bespeaks of a wise and benevolent leader in a country or even a household. Being such a peaceful creature when it walks on grass or vegetation it takes care not to trample a single blade or step on any living thing. A Qilin is said to be able to walk on water. If a pure person is threatened by an obvious culprit the Qilin transforms into a fierce creature, spouting flames from its mouth and displays other fearsome aspects.  

Legends have accounted for Qilin’s being manifest in the garden of the famed Huangdi and in the capital of Emperor Yao. The birth of the great sage Confucius had also been presaged by the appearance of a Qilin.

Note: Before the Qin Dynasty, during the Zhou dynasty, Qilin ranked higher than the Dragon or Phoenix. Qilin was first, the Phoenix ranked second and the Dragon third. In the Post-Qin Chinese hierarchy of mythical animals however, in some fables where the Qilin was depicted as the sacred pet of the deities, Qilin ranked the third after the dragon and phoenix. In Japan (Qilin) Kirin are portrayed as a dragon shaped like a deer with an ox’s tail, and they preserved their importance, with the Phoenix placed second and the Dragon third.

The End