East Coast (East

East Coast (East)- Eight Treasures Unicorn

The presence of an auspicious dragon vein indicates an auspicious den. The stretch encompassing Marine Parade, East Coast Park, and from north to south of Changi Road is an auspicious feng shui land. Located here are unicorn, turtle and phoenix lands - just imagine the prospects!

Marine parade has the formations of oyster producing pearls and ruyi falling to the ground. Pearls and ruyi are symbols of official power and authority, but for them to complement each other they must be located on auspicious land. In feng shui, the stretch form East Coast Road to the area near Kew Drive is known as eight treasures unicorn. Unicorns usually come in pairs like the unicorns of scholarly pursuit and prosperity at Lady Hill in Orchard Road and the area around Shangri-La Hotel. There is only one eight treasures unicorn formation, and this unicorn possesses eight mystical and powerful treasures - gourd, sword, fan, drum, flute, yin yang jade board, flower basket and lotus flower.

Residents will have a habit of collecting treasure and are able to accumulate wealth. However, they must be wary, as there are two sides to a unicorn. Its virtues included honesty, uprightness, fairness and a sense of gratitude. It makes proper use of the eight treasures, thereby reaping great fortunes, which it shares with the common people. On the flip side, it has a despicable and greedy side that uses unorthodox methods to gather the riches of the world, enabling it to live in the lap of luxury.

The eight treasure unicorn, sent by the Jade emperor to guard Earth's treasures, can sometimes be seen in temple paintings. I have also seen a painting of the word greed hanging in confucius' abode in Qufu district, Shandong, China. It was said that Confucious had hung this character on the wall to remind his descendants not to succumb to bribery and to uphold honesty.

The Chinese characters greed and poverty are very similar, differentiated by only a couple of strokes. Although greed may bring one riches, one's spiritual development will be poor; there is little meaning in leading such a life. It is only when a person living on a prosperous land matches the characteristics of good feng shui that one can achieve prosperity. Never let the unicorn be consumed by greed.

Some people believe in using animal statues to complement or make up for the feng shui of a land. For example, placing a statue of a tiger or phoenix in homes if living on a tiger or phoenix land. I am not against such feng shui beliefs. However, I am concerned with the position of the stature in the home and its effect on an individual's life. Can you be sure that after placing a unicorn statue in your house, you will not be engulfed by greed?

Things are not as simple as they look and there are many aspects to consider. In Malaysia, after a pair of unicorn statues was placed outside the Malaysian Chinese Association, the organization had to brave many problems which faded away only after thee statues were removed.

Another auspicious area in Singapore included the southern and northern stretches of Changi Road and the Singapore Expo. The feng shui in this area is like a turtle entering the phoenix's nest. Simple put, this means the turtle land and phoenix's nest have combined into one. The phoenix returning to its nest formation is similar to the characteristic of a turtle ground. No matter where one roams, one will eventually return home. Why had the turtle mistakenly entered the phoenix's nest? All I know is that this area is largely composed of loose sandy sold, and occasionally, large rounded stones resembling eggs can be dug from the soil. One wonders, are these phoenix or turtle eggs?

Singapore has many turtle grounds, which are best located near the sea. Among the animals that can survive on both land and sea, the turtle is the best traveller. Its grounds have proven to be good for overseas expansion and multi-tier developments. Having the Singapore Expo here poses a major treat to the World Trade Centre. The latter concentrates on the local market whereas the former focuses on international markets.

If the factories built around this area can seize the opportunity, they stand a good chance of breaking into the global market. The direction of the turtle is north and this symbolises intelligence. Thus, engaging in hi-tech research and development here will definitely gain many overseas customers. However, a turtle's character is slow and steady. Efforts to make haste will only backfire. Also, no matter how far business has expanded, a company's headquarters must never be moved out from here.