The Encyclopedia of World Religions

150 S feng shui

structure relates to land and water features that surround it. A southern exposure is often consid ered best. A hill or other natural feature should protect the site from behind, while a source of water should flow toward, but not directly at, the front of the structure. In addition, feng shui practitioners analyze both the outside and the inside of structures. To do so, they use a compass based on traditional Chi nese ideas about the universe as well as sacred squares consisting of three rows and three col umns of numbers. These instruments as well as other principles help determine ideal positions for parts of buildings such as doorways, hallways, liv ing rooms, sleeping rooms, bathrooms, and kitch ens. For example, according to feng shui it is best to avoid front and back doors that are connected by a single hallway. Such a configuration allows whatever beneficial energy that flows into the house through the front door to escape immedi ately out the back. People may consult feng shui practitioners while they are designing and building a structure, but they may also consult them while the structure is being used. If practitioners find problems, they may propose remedies. One example is to place a mirror at a certain spot to counter ill effects. fire and religion The religious use and sym bolism of fire. Fire is one of the most important symbols in religion. Its light, purity, and energy suggest G OD , the soul, or newness of life, while on the other hand, its destructive power indicates the burning wrath of God against EVIL , and the way all that comes into being in this world will go out of being and be destroyed in the end. In the ancient Hebrew religion, fire was used to burn whole offerings, suggesting the utter purity and dedication of the sacrifice. Perpetual fire was kept burning in the temple in J ERUSALEM , as it is in Zoroastrian temples and was by the Vestal Virgins of Rome ( see Z OROASTRIANISM and R OMAN RELIGION ). A principal deity of Vedic India was AGNI , the fire god, for SACRIFICES were offered to him, and he in turn was the “messenger” to the gods who car

to oppose feminist initiatives that violated their religious convictions. Catholic and Muslim cooper ation on these issues has continued into the early part of the 21st century. CONCLUSION In the 1990s and early 2000s the word “feminism” acquired a bad reputation among some women. Although they actually supported many of femi nism’s goals, they began to distance themselves from the label. Still, feminism has changed the lives of women around the globe, and it promises to continue to do so. Further reading: Nancy Auer Falk and Rita M. Gross, eds., Unspoken Worlds: Women’s Religious Lives, 3d ed. (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth/ Thomson Learning, 2001); Jane H. Bayes and Nayereh Tohidi, eds., Globalization, Gender, and Religion: The Politics of Women’s Rights in Catholic and Muslim Contexts (New York: Palgrave, 2001). Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins, 2d ed. (London: SCM, 1995); Rita M. Gross, Buddhism after Patriarchy: A Feminist History, Analysis, and Reconstruction of Buddhism (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993); Judith Plaskow, Standing Again At Zion: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990). Traditional Chinese art of situating and designing the exteriors and interiors of build ings. Feng shui has sometimes been called the Chinese art of geomancy, “earth measuring.” The words literally mean “wind and water.” The main goal is to order dwelling spaces in such a way that the inhabitants are exposed to beneficial energies but protected from harmful ones. The dwelling spaces can be either for human beings or for spir its. In other words, Chinese have used feng shui to situate and design tombs as well as houses and other structures. The principles of feng shui are very com plicated. The most basic aspect concerns how a feng shui