Sickness or death of a colleague at work can be traumatic, especially if one is asked to take over the desk or office space of the person involved. Can fung shui help? First, find out if your predecessor was sitting under a beam, ceiling lights, water sprinklers or overhead fans. Having such structures above your head, while sitting in your desk for long periods, will result in chi pressing down on you, leading to poor concentration, severe headaches and stress. Second, check the sector in which your predecessor was sitting. The 'Flying Stars School' of fung shui examines the different types of energy that rule a certain sector at a particular time. For this year, the five yellow energies that may result in accidents and mishaps are in the southwest sector, while the two sickness energies are in the northeast. Renovation work in these sectors might account for unfortunate incidents. Annual energies work in tandem with the energy that is already present in the sector, determined from the orientation and time of construction or renovation of the office, which is usually calculated by fung shui professionals. Choose another room if you are unable to reorient the desk or make any changes to the office. Otherwise, reorient the desk so that you sit with your back to the wall and have a clear view of the door, and move your desk to make sure that nothing is hanging above your head. The wu lou, or calabash, is used to absorb the negative earth energy of the sickness star. Placing one of these in your office, even in a discreet area, such as below your desk or in a cabinet, will reduce the possibility of you being affected by the sickness energy.
