If there’s one thing that I get asked a lot from those on social media, it is regarding what are the best books on feng shui that they can pick up to learn this metaphysical science themselves and apply on their own homes.
Well… the best feng shui books are those classical texts that are written in traditional Chinese.
This is because only by going to the source, will your be able to really appreciate what the writers were trying to communicate.
And because mandarin words can have profoundly wide and deep meanings behind them, one would not be able to fully appreciate what certain words, phrases or sentences mean unless they have a competent grasp of the Chinese language.
It’s no exaggeration to say that if you have only read English books about feng shui and Chinese metaphysics in general, you have only been exposed to the very tip of the iceberg. There is really so much more that you would discover if the the language barrier is broken.
However, I do realize that most people who casually ask this question are not attempting to be professional feng shui practitioners themselves. All they want is to learn enough so that they can conduct their own feng shui arrangements at home.
So there are actually various very good books about feng shui that are written in plain English that anyone can pickup at the bookstore or Amazon to learn this metaphysical science.
As you can imagine, when you ask any feng shui master which books are best, they would undoubtedly recommended books written by themselves.
It is as if admitting that someone else who has written a good book on the topics equates to the admission that someone else is more credible than themselves.
I have no problems suggesting good feng shui books.
I don’t feel embarrassed to read about feng shui from the point of view of another practitioner. In fact, I think that there’s a lot to learn from all the expert feng shui practitioners around the world.
And here are some of them in no particular order. And yes, I have read all of them.
The thumbnail book covers will bring you straight to the book.
1) A Master Course in Feng-Shui – Eva Wong
Eva is one of the pioneers of writing books about feng shui in the English language.
She might not be as big a name commercially as some other practitioners who would be mentioned later, but her credibility on this topic is unquestioned.
She also has deep knowledge of Taoism and it’s practices. Putting her in a unique position that can clearly identify what types of practices originate from religion and what is authentic feng shui.
This book is one of the best that can easily explain the basics how feng shui works to beginners.
2) Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui – Karen Kingston
I really enjoy reading books about feng shui that focuses down to a very narrow topic.
It really takes a very knowledgeable practitioner, or a very good writer, to produce over 200 pages of content on something as specific as clearing your clutter at home.
This is a must-read if your are getting a headache in the midst of organizing your furniture and personal stuff in the house.
You’d feel that all the reading and guided actions you take would be all worth it in the end.
One issue with this publication is that it applies the western bagua concept which a lot of practitioners have discredited in recent years.
However, the content consist of useful and practical guides on how to deal with clutter (which is a natural feng shui nemesis) with feng shui in mind.
3) Feng Shui For Apartment Homebuyers – Joey Yap
Joey is a serial writer of English feng shui books.
He often tries to drill down to the very essence of things and continuously attempt to transcend the practice of feng shui into a science.
He is not just a translator for feng shui. But rather takes the teachings from the past to apply it in the modern world.
His work and contribution to the world of feng shui deserves respect.
This book focuses on the topic of feng shui for apartment living.
Most feng shui books talk about feng shui for landed houses and buildings.
But the fact of the matter is that a huge portion of residents live in apartments. This is especially true for those living in modern cities.
Whether you are a homeowner, or tenant, this is a book that you must have in your shelf if you live in an apartment. Or considering to move into one.
4) Feng Shui For Interiors – Lillian Too
No list of best books on feng shui book can be complete without mentioning the Queen of feng shui literacy.
Many people in the industry attribute the rapid rise in interest on feng shui during the last 2 decades to her various best-selling books on the topics that took the world by storm in the 1990s.
Just to put this into perspective, that was a time when a publisher had to really fancy you to print out hard copies of your book to place on valuable shelf space in bookstores.
Her best book that I continue to steal a peek at from time to time is Feng Shui For Interiors.
It is a collection of some of the most common feng shui problems homeowners face and how to remedy them with cures and clever layout design.
The only complaint I have with this publication is that as a book of reference, navigation is not that simple.
But it’s not exactly easy to categorize the various things about interior feng shui.
5) Flying star feng shui – Stephen Skinner
I considered myself pretty proficient in flying stars feng shui when I first picked up this book and really didn’t have high expectations on the material inside.
But after browsing a few random pages at the book store, I didn’t hesitate to bring it to the cashier.
I then cannot wait till I get home so that I could start reading it from cover to cover.
Unlike the various books on flying stars available these days, this one spends time talking about the why and how.
Other authors often leave these information out as beginners might not be interested in them. Either that, or readers have to buy more books to learn more…
I find that this publication is really impressive… and somewhat reminded me of the days when I first started learning feng shui.
6) The Practical Encyclopedia of Feng Shui – Gill Hale
I really came across this one by chance.
What I really like about this book is that it spends a lot of time and pages discussing application of feng shui rather than just blabber about concepts and theories.
The word practical in this book title is rightly appropriate.
It covers a wide range of topics and also application. There are also a lot of pictures to give readers a visual understanding of what is being discussed.
The one complaint I do have about this one is that it’s a physically large book at 9″ by 11.6″. So it’s not as portable as regular sized books.
7) The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Feng Shui
The Idiot’s guide serious of publications are one of my go-to resources when I’m interested in a topic or researching into one. And I was actually surprised when I first came across this one.
I really like how these series of books are structured.
This book is written in a flowing manner to enable beginners to follow smoothly from topic to topic, and transitions are amazingly impressive.
If you like easy-to-read books, and have some sort of a liking to the idiot’s brand, then this is one that I can definitely recommend to beginners to learn the basics.
They are very good for reference as this publication covers the main topics of feng shui including bagua, flyings stars and bazi.
These series are specially written to be well structured so that beginners would find it easier to flip pages around when needing to refer from one topic to another.
8) The Complete I Ching – Master Alfred Huang
If you have an interest in the topic of feng shui and have done some research yourself, then surely you must have come across references to the I-Ching which is also known as the Book of Changes.
I’ve mentioned earlier that one would not be able to truly comprehend the original classics of Chinese metaphysics unless they have a competent proficiency of the Chinese language. And the I Ching is one of those books.
But this publications is as close as you can get to understanding the book of changes translated into English.
Just be prepared for some intense reading.
9) The Destiny Code – Joey Yap
Another golden publication from Joey Yap.
While this is about bazi instead of feng shui, the two concepts are related and intertwined.
Bazi is basically a Chinese version of astrology and horoscopes.
It tells a lot about a person’s cosmic make-up. And with this information, one can approach life with an objective of maximizing his or her potential.
This is an excellent book that easily explains the basics of bazi that anyone willing to spend some time reading it would be able to comprehend.
A drawback is that sometimes I feel that certain singular concepts are elaborated with repetitive examples, and examples are not always explained in a way that would make sense for someone who is new to the topic.
But maybe that impression I have is just because I’m not a basic reader.
10) The Complete Illustrated Guide to Feng Shui – Lillian Too
For those who learn better with visuals, then look no further than this book.
It explains feng shu ideas and concepts with pictures, diagrams and images. It is almost impossible not to understand what she is talking about in each chapter.
For beginners, this is an ideal book to get a good grasp of the basic concepts of feng shui.
If you read this one from front to back, you should be ready for something that is more advanced.
Finally, don’t become an armchair theorist.
Put what you have learned into practice and enjoy the good luck that good feng shui can bring into your life and the loved ones around you.
