Whenever I hear about anything happening on my local news channel, I immediately look into whether Classical Feng Shui principles may have had any bearing. One of the recent big news stories these days are of the mass graves and mistreatment of Native Americans at residential schools.
I have been able to research a couple of the schools and the one thing that keeps jumping out at me is the combination of 3 and 8. Wood 3 and Earth 8 are in a controlling relationship. The image is that Wood 3 penetrates and rips 8 wood. A tree’s roots will naturally penetrate into the earth. This relationship can be both beneficial and destructive.
It was the start of Period 9 Fire when the Bagot Commission decided it is best to separate Parents and Children to give the children a better education. A few years later Ryerson Education Policies decreed that the children need religious instruction and training in agriculture as part of their schooling. Period 9 is a representative of education so it may have been with the best intentions that this program got started. It was not until Period 2 in 1892 that the Residential School Agreements were signed.
Come 1904 and the change of qi power to 3 Wood. Now we are more concerned with business, less of education, and even less of children. The school system was changed to have the kids doing more mandatory manual labour and less class time. Studies were shortened to 2 hours a day the rest of the time was working in and around the property. It was never the intention to teach these residential children. “They were never meant to compete with the whites.”
The 3 during 1904 and 1924 is call the “Noble Ruler” and is the strongest qi type. Yet, even Nobles have their likes and dislikes. When we look at the 5-Element sequence, we see 3 wood attacks 8 earth. The middle age (3) will have “issues” dealing with young children (8). They will have no patience needed for children. The 3 needs speed and the 8 wants to stop so this is one of the biggest differences in the qi types. It was during this period that a lot of the schools were built and/or renovated to be Residential Schools.
In ancient texts we are warned about this combination of energies (qi).
Line 63 “Secrets of Xuan Kong” states:
A maimed Gen Palace [8 Earth] leads to withered ligaments and fractured arm.
This is the result of 8 being out of “timing” and “attacked” (being in the presence of) qi type 3 or 4 Woods.
It further states that any “negative” landform outside the palace in which the noble sitting star resides, denotes adverse people luck, and in the worst case, even death.
Some of the news stories are about how the children received little “education” maybe only a couple of hours a day. The rest of the time they were doing manual labour. Children are not cut out for that, especially if you want it done quickly. The poor young child would get easily lost in detail which may lead to feelings of confusion. Children have a tendency to be indecisive, fragile and perhaps even timid at times.
The middle aged caregivers are influenced by the power of the noble ruler 3. It brings a tremendous amount of energy, and full of new ideas. So it is not uncommon for them to be constantly changing directions and to the child that is mind boggling as they are detail oriented. This may have brought on a lot of conflict between the two; as witnessed by this tragedy.
The 8 and 3 combination is just about the worst you could have for a place of children. The schools that I have check have this combination as their main qi mouth. The place where the qi is strongest.