Renowned for bringing the ancient art of Chinese Imperial Feng Shui to a modern audience, Richard Ashworth is a name that commands respect and admiration in the world of Feng Shui. Widely recognized for his innovative approach to classical Ba Zi and Feng Shui, Richard has not only changed lives but has also inspired many professionals who have studied under his guidance. Richard Ashworth’s reach extends beyond individual consultations. He has shared his knowledge on platforms as prestigious as the BBC’s Housebusters, authored the entertaining and insightful book The Feng Shui Diaries, and addressed international conferences from Singapore to Turin. In this exclusive interview, we delve into Richard’s journey, his unique methodologies, and how his authentic Chinese Imperial Feng Shui continues to transform spaces and lives across the globe. Mystic Mag discovers the wisdom behind the man who has redefined Feng Shui for the modern era and learn how his profound insights can bring harmony and success into your life.
Your book, The Feng Shui Diaries, is renowned for its humor as well as its insights. How did you balance the need for accurate Feng Shui guidance with an engaging, humorous writing style?
I’ve always found constructive facetiousness a healthy approach and I wrote the book in a “voice” which with a bit of tidying up is pretty much how I speak. There’s no reason you can’t be both precise and entertaining.
In your view, what distinguishes authentic Chinese Imperial Feng Shui from other Feng Shui practices, and why is it important for individuals seeking to improve their spaces?
Feng shui is a Chinese thing. There are rules. I am not cynical about various kinds of practitioners being able to improve people’s spaces and lives using other methods. I do get a bit tired however of hearing about ancient Chinese principles that were devised by Europeans in Hackney Wick in 1985. I don’t really take seriously anyone practicing feng shui who has not traveled to South East Asia and studied the material of the Chinese Masters.
As for the value of working with our spaces, feng shui is Wind & Water. We build houses to keep those unstoppable natural forces out; we attempt to make them safe and neutral. Which offers us the opportunity of inviting them in on our terms.
What type of services do you offer?
I’m best known, as you’ll have picked up from my book The Feng Shui Diaries, for ba zi or Four Pillars. If you mean how do I serve people – broadly I aim to heal heartbreak and make dreams come true, whether by addressing the detail and often structure of a house, by selecting auspicious dates for various kinds of endeavor or drafting and debriefing a ba zi.
Four Pillars is sometimes misleadingly called a Chinese Horoscope but actually amounts to a snapshot of the prevailing Elements at the moment of birth. Since the Five Elements appear cyclically, a ba zi can be run forward or backwards like the mileometer in a car, which will reveal moments of choice. Human beings are decision-making creatures and some of those are choices to turn left when we should perhaps have gone forward; some maybe to reverse
when staying put was a better option. This is the true value of the ba zi. For me – and you don’t have to agree of course – pretty much any decision can be unor re-decided. Which can transform someone’s life. The ba zi is the most effective mechanism I have found for achieving that.
Most ba zis are about “qing” – caring. Feng shui surveys too. You find what brings people to tears and the healing starts. Often you can either see it or feel it in the building. Some variety of forgiveness is usually the key
How has your personal practice of The Course in Miracles and the Book of Changes influenced your Feng Shui work and philosophy?
Both have changed my life for the better. I spent much of the 90’s working with Chuck Spezzano’s Psychology of Vision which is based in the Course in Miracles. There is nothing I do, work or play, that is not influenced by Chuck. Interestingly his “Miracle Cards” are an obvious steal from the Yi (ie Book of Changes) which has at times in my life been my closest friend. It’s not there so much to make my decisions as to clarify what they are and have been.
How do you approach integrating modern needs and aesthetics with the traditional principles of Feng Shui in your practice?
People haven’t changed much in hundreds of thousands of years. And physics hasn’t changed at all. The problems – too much Fire, too little Water or whatever – remain much the same now as they were in the Han Dynasty. The solutions too. Novelty as Robert Bly used to say, is to be approached with caution.
What is the most common misconception people have about Feng Shui, and how do you address it in your consultations and teachings?
That there are generalized “tips”. Effective feng shui is a very personal, tailor made thing. I aim to give each person customized attention.
Some approaches to feng shui demand a great deal of credulity. I like not to insult people’s intelligence. As feng shui practitioners we are both technicians operating to rules not generally respected on this side of the world, but also diviners to whom the universe is constantly offering guidance. This last is, if you like, simply respect for the Tao and as Lao Tze wrote, “the Tao that can be named is not the Tao”. These things are widely misunderstood.
