A question that comes up periodically with my clients around the world is what to do with outside water features when the weather does not permit their use. Here I am in sunny Southern California, where it doesn’t even rain that much and it’s almost never freezing. So sometimes I forget about how other parts of the country, and world, have some limitations with exterior adjustments to their property.

In Feng Shui practice, we use outside water for distinct purposes compared to interior water features, and yet there can be an overlapping in some instances where strategic placement of water is used to increase wealth potential. If you live in an area where your outside fountain cannot be used in winter, rest assured that you can compensate with other prosperity remedies internally within a structure.

In fact, there are so many indirect prosperity remedies available, that an adherent to these practices should not fret about a seasonal absence of an outside water feature. And yet, some people are so committed to their outside fountains and ponds that they will use pond and fountain heaters during the freezing cold months, just for Feng Shui purposes.

Some outside water techniques have mystical sounding names, such as “water dragon” formulas. I remember taking a class many years ago with one master who touted that his clients would pay many thousands of dollars just to get these tricks of the trade from him. While I might take issue with someone charging exorbitantly for such recommendations, I understood the real point he was trying to make about how these techniques more than pay for them selves after installed. And that is exactly why some people will go to the trouble of keeping their fountain or koi pond circulating even as it’s snowing outside.

This article has been written in a time frame referred to as “Period 8” and in Period 8, there are a couple of generally good placements for outside water features to help promote prosperity. Period 8 is a twenty year Era from 2004 until 2024. One good location for outside water during Period 8 is to the southwest of a property. One really needs to use a compass and know for sure where the range of southwest truly is, relative to the center of the structure. This is not something you want to just guesstimate. Our reference in Feng Shui is magnetic North which is different than True North. The range of southwest is from 203- 247 degrees.

An entire course can be created just around the use of water and even the 45-degree range of southwest can be subdivided into three separate 15 degree increments. The precise application of water within southwest can be tailored to the birth data of the person occupying the house or business where the water is to be placed. General guidelines however include the following: 1) water should be clean, never dirty or stagnant, 2) water should move up to down or roll gently in a contained area and not appear to flow away from a property, and 3) the sound of water should be pleasant and relaxing-not harsh or rough sounding.