THE FENG SHUI SECRETS OF BILLIE EILISH’S FAMILY HOME
12 March 2021
People have their destinies. Feng Shui is one fifth of the influence on your life, so the ancient teachings say. Overarching that, there is the tripartite of Cosmic, Earth and Human manifestations known as Tian Di Ren. Billie Eilish and Finneas clearly have their destinies but what part did that one fifth play?
The American Craftsman type home the family have lived in since 2001.
The Grammy Award winning album was written and recorded here. Maggie wrote a movie here. A home full of creativity.
During this pandemic I have been expanding my knowledge on the cosmological origins of Feng Shui and studied lots of texts on the San Yuan tradition. I wanted to apply this knowledge to places I have lived in the past. Could it be retroactively looked at to see if the teachings were correct? Yep. It was incredibly accurate. Then I began to explore well known buildings, if I could find the date of construction and a clear Google Earth image I could do the calculations. I started calling it ‘forensic feng shui’ and it has been an active fascination for me. It helps me be an even better interior designer and advisor to my clients too as I am always improving and expanding my art in this area.
I hope you enjoy this analysis of a well known artist and her home. If you haven’t watched the RJ Cutler documentary ‘The World’s A Little Blurry’ do. This home and the family’s life is central to it and it’s why I was so interested to see if there was anything special about the Feng Shui here. There is!
I laid the luo pan over the home to make the calculations.
I’m such a nerd that I checked the magnetic declination for the year it was built and today. There was a shift but the home remained within its 15° Jia
A home’s 悬空飞星 Flying Star, Xuan Kong Fei Xing, chart comes from the direction it faces and when it was ‘born’ i.e. when the roof and walls enclose an interiority, locking in a pattern of time and space particular to its form.
At first glance the chart seems to be a negative one because;
~ it is a Reversed house (of the four Flying Star types Reversed has the worst reputation)
~ it has a 5 Mountain Star in the Heavenly Heart. That power can be too intense for human health.
~ The 5 Time Star is in the Sitting palace. Also not ideal as the Sitting is the support of a building.
This shows the position of the Prominent or Wang Star 3 when the home was built in Period 3, 1904 to 1923
Some books would say this is a negative chart but that is a superficial take. Looking closer, the chart reveals to me not just one, but two fascinating and special configurations. That is rare!
From what I know of the family, they have had financial and health challenges as well as great success. This chart points to this complexity. I’ll take you through it, starting with these two special aspects…
Notice the wrap around windows here.
Image CBS Sunday Morning, Gayle King’s interview
HE Tu 河图 Number Chart
Many millennia ago (2943 BCE) there was a revelation about the perfect pattern of Qi in the spiritual plane related to the birth of the world within the Universe, maybe even the Multiverse. It is known as the Yellow River diagram, the He Tu. It looks like this;
note; I try to not use the colonial Wade Giles but a lot of books are not Pinyin…so I may use a mixture as I write to help explain my sources.
Remarkably this pattern occurs in four palaces in the chart and therefore in the home itself.
~ In Billie’s room, the North palace 1-6
~ At the front entrance, the East Facing palace 3-8
~ In the kitchen and back door area, the Southwest 2-7
~ In the sitting room/ fireplace area, the Southeast 4-9
~ With the 5 at the centre or Heavenly Heart
The Early Heaven Ba Gua of the He Tu diagram shining through a normal house
Finneas sitting on the Southeast steps outside the kitchen. Google image.
Hidden Siren 伏 吟 fu yin chart
The second unusual aspect to this home’s chart is that it is Full Plate Fu Yin 伏 吟 or of the ‘Hidden Siren’. Fascinating for the home of musicians.
The pattern is on the Mountain Star side, affecting the health and relationships of the people who live here. When the Stars land in the palaces that are in the original Luo Shu some Masters say it is unlucky. But I don’t read the texts this way. I see that there is a meaning that speaks to a certain static-ness which I read as constancy. A good thing! Loyalty, cohesiveness, closeness, great qualities to have in relationships. As I understand it, this is a very close and loving family. The ideal, just like the Luo Shu magic square.
Fu Yin occurs when the 5 Yellow in the centre ‘flies’ forward in the correct magic square way.
Each Star lands in its original home direction. Usually when the 5 Yellow is in the centre, as Feng Shui practitioners, we are on the alert. There is a Source power to the 5 Yellow that can be too much for humans to step down. But in this, the original pattern, there is a harmony to it.
The original meaning of Fu Yin in Feng Shui terms is Hidden Song/Chant/Siren. Like a mantra; 5,6,7,8,9,1,2,3,4,5,6…repeating, a scared pattern.
Fu Yin is also interpreted as ‘prostrate duplication’. I see this to be like bowing down in respect to the original Luo Shu positions. Some writers in the past have said this is a disastrous chart but I just don’t see it in totality that way. All the Mountain Stars are landing respectfully at home in their original positions. That counts for something. The loving constancy and closeness of the family can’t be denied. They love this house too.
Photo taken in the garden
The O’Connell family. Google image.
There are health challenges to be aware of but its a compounding thing due to the Reversed nature and the bathroom in the sitting palace… but what what helps here is that the home doesn’t have external landforms that are bothering the house, aggravating things.
Also, the energetic centre, which is different, is possibly Finneas’ room/studio. More on that later down this article.
The architecture and interior design
Google image
Watching ‘A World’s A Little Blurry’ I noticed that their home’s design and decor was particular. Externally I noticed the full width porch, the tapered columns, stone walls, the historic wood stain colours, the timber windows some with multi top light designs. Inside there was built-in joinery, timber panelling, a fireplace surround with the same stone as outside. I thought it had a lot of decor indicators probably placed it as being from the turn of the previous century. It had the look and feel of a well loved home but also that there was something untouched about it, like it was of another era.
The fireplace in the Southeast.
Image Spaces interview on YouTube
A Google search answered that it was indeed an American Craftsman type home, that low pitched side gable with extended rafters for show, helping to identify it. It was built in 1911. A petition to have it listed as particular to its vernacular and therefore worth preserving happened in 2007.
The owners, Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell knew the value of it’s place in American residential design. Not everyone sees value in retaining the architectural past but they do and I respect them for it. Amazingly it has its original shingles, clapboard siding, carved roof brackets, even the original garden walls. It’s unchanged apart from a slight kitchen extension to the Southwest. Even more extraordinary is that despite the Baird - O’Connell family not being the first owners, the interior has not been greatly altered either since it was first fitted out over a hundred years ago.
noticing the symbols
I also noticed the four light glass front door. Reading metaphors in buildings is a thing I have always done, even before studying geomancy.
A young Billie watches her Mum work on the front porch - Google image
Structures say a lot symbolically in the way they manifest. This door design speaks to harmonious relationships of the four occupants. This is a family of four who so obviously get along well as equals and yet with four distinct voices; parallel lives lived individually while being close and aligned philosophically too. Visual analogies, correlations, intuitive readings happen often in my consults.
CRAFTSMAN STYLE
… the house displays a rare textbook purity of design that makes it an excellent example of the side-gabled Craftsman style of residential architecture.
This is a quote from the Historic-Cultural Monuments application to Los Angeles City Council in 2007. I don’t know if it got it’s heritage listing but I’d be surprised if it didn’t. Original built-in sideboard and wainscoting. Possibly stained oak.
The stained oak wainscoting, even the light fittings are original it seems. I noticed too that they haven’t fixed into the wall above the timber panelling. Is this a special plaster? or a original wallpaper? They may be respecting the Craftsman era decor by not nailing into the walls. Wainscoting often had grooves in the top shelf type rail for putting things like decorative plates. They are a busy family focused on their creativity and doing the right thing (washing out their plastic ziplock bags in the kitchen) so maybe they just never got around to it. [Yes, I noticed the clutter too :) It does block the best flow of Qi. I’ll probably address the clutter piece to this forensic feng shui analysis but its not the main story thread for this home.]
Their American Craftsman type home. I was able to draw this floor plan from reading the flow of the rooms in the documentary
Reading the ‘Reversed-ness’ of the chart
There are four main house types for Flying Stars and Reversed is said to be the most challenging. Don’t panic if you discover your property is Reversed too. It is called the worst kind of building but a deeper look is needed.
The first thing to notice here is that when this house was built in 1911, Period 3, the home was indeed at an immediate disadvantage as it had the wang (means monarch) Stars in the opposite way to where you want them. Hence the name. The most powerful stars of the Period, Star 3 were unhelpfully reversed - until 1924 when Period 4 arrived.
上山下水 Shang Shan Xia Shui means Up The Mountain Down The River
In Chinese this house type means ‘uphill, down-water’. Think how you would fare if you experienced daily uphill struggles and constant water downpours. Not great! So this house had it’s wang Mountain Dragon (broadly health) Star at the Facing side and the Water (broadly wealth) Star was in the Water Dragon position at the rear of the home. Tough.
But! Period 3 passed. We are in Period 8 now and have been since 2004. [Periods, or Cycles, are part of a larger way of placing years into larger time blocks. Each Period is 20 years, an Era is 60 years and there are three Eras or yuan in a Great Cycle of 180 years. This early Ming dynasty (1368-1644) system takes a much wider view of time; I’ll write about all that in another post.]
I took a look at what the home’s Flying Stars indicated before Maggie and Patrick bought it. Here is what the chart says about it’s life;
In Period 4 ( 1924 to 1943) the home didn’t have the benefit of the wang stars in a good position for health and wealth either.
In Period 5 (1944 to 1963) the home was in a 20 year ‘lock’ on the Mountain Star side so the residents may have had a lot of health challenges.
In Period 6 (1964 to 1983) the home also didn’t have the benefit of the wang stars in a good position for health and wealth.
The family moves in 2001
In Period 7 (1984 to 2003) it was the same story. Not great. In terms of timeliness it was a tough aspect to work with. Billie and Finneas’ parents bought the home in 2001 and Billie herself was born in December that year. They have spoken publicly about financial challenges, even into Period 8 (2004 to 2023).
Image iOS Maps
What this house has been missing, ever since it was built, was to have the Period’s Prominent or wang Stars to be in their best locations in the chart. This can’t happen for both Stars in a Reversed house but finally in Period 8, the 8 star is in the wealth position in the facing palace, right by the front door. At last some good fortune!
For a Reversed house the traditional remedy is to place a body of water at the back (swimming pool, pond, water feature etc) and a ‘mountain’ (stone wall, large boulder, stone sculpture, something like that) to the front. In Period 8, water to the southwest is the best but that is at the rear, so we look to the east as it is the second-best. But! the 3 Mountain Dragon is in the East and we don’t want to ‘drown’/harm the health of the house. So I would place the water very specifically here on the left hand side of the front garden path as you face the home. I’d need to lay the luopan over the floor plan/ google earth composite to be able to design the best water feature to suit. Exact 15° is critical here. Even when untimely, I still respect the 3 Star. I’d recommend they put a stone sculpture here in the front garden, on the right hand side of the garden path.
We are almost in Period 9 (some Masters say we already are) so if I was advising Maggie and Patrick today I would already be planning for that Period’s recommendations on placement.
LOCKS - WHEN YOUR HOME’S ABILITY TO SUPPORT HEALTH AND WEALTH ARE REALLY CHALLENGED.
In 2017 there was an Annual money lock as it was a 1 year, I checked to see if the 5 Star was helpfully in the 1’s home Palace i.e. the North… in the water dragon position. IT WASN’T. I saw somewhere that they had a tough financial year in 2017.
TRIGRAM HOME DIRECTIONS AND ELEMENTS
The home’s Trigram is ☱, Dui, and therefore is of the Metal Element. Traditionally this is supportive for the Youngest Daughter which I like to read more contemporarily as as early female life. I think it has been supportive financially but Billie Eilish has certainly had her health challenges too. Given the location of her bedroom and the Reversed nature not being corrected.
TIMELINESS & UNTIMELINESS OF WANG STARS
Unlike a lot of books and nonsense feng shui you might read online, its best to NOT think of Stars as being positive or negative. If I described them so to clients it is essentially disempowering. Remember they are just patterns of empirically noted energy. If we think “oh no! its a negative chart!” this implies that the Stars have an agenda when it’s really just cyclical, like day following night. It’s cosmic movement. What is empowering is choosing to work with the rhythms.
So lets look at the individual palaces and rooms to see what is happening in this magical home for the Baird O’Connells. Here I am looking at the combinations too, Feng Shui is so layered!
CENTRE
The centre of a home is also called the HEAVENLY HEART, as it contains the hidden potential for the whole house.
The Stars in the centre of a chart represent the vibe of the building. We can’t remedy them as they occupy no direction but they are important. They express a tendency for the whole structure, a correlation but not a given.
CENTRE - 5 Earth - 1 Water - 3 Wood Time Star
HEALTH = not good, WEALTH = finally getting better as we get closer to 2024
In this case they are not a great combo as traditionally they are correlated with illness and accidents and in a single storey, small home they are getting activated by fairly constant activity. Let’s look at the years in a bit more depth;
2001 ~ The 1 star on the Water Dragon side is distant future timely for wealth now in period 8 but in 2001 when they bought the house, it was still period 7. Not great for health or wealth.
2007 ~ The dreaded Annual 5 joined this combo, I read in Rolling Stone that they ALMOST LOST THE HOUSE this year.
2015 ~ The Annual 3 Star joined. The 3 is correlated with legs. BILLIE HAD HER MAJOR DANCE INJURY THAT YEAR.
2016 ~ the Annual 2 Star. Billie has said that depression was with her this year. The 2 Star has that reputation.
In Five Element theory, the 5 (Earth) Star dominates the 1 (Water) Star. The 5 Star is correlated with excessive energy, think the kind that created the Universe, what is called Source energy, and in this combination the 1 star is symbolic of blood. The old Feng Shui books point to the tendency for health to be compromised here, either through choice or by misadventure. They also indicate there could be a misdiagnosis and medication given that harms not heals. (poisons the blood). What is interesting to me as I analyse this home is that the Human Qi has turned these tendencies into creative output. The 1 Water Star is correlated with the colour black. I have the strongest feeling that Billie is aware of things happening at levels and dimensions that not everyone does… here is some of her art and aesthetic.
BILLIE’S ROOM
Black tears.
Black is the colour of 1 Water. I think this already dark room is kept yin. It’s window is north facing and has a narrow side passage due to the proximity of the home next door. There are mature trees that make this a dark space too, compared to the rest of the home. I’m not surprised that her aesthetic has yin elements to it.
NORTH - 1 Water - 6 Metal - 8 Earth Time Star
WEALTH SUPPORTS HEALTH BUT HEALTH DEPLETES WEALTH
The Ho Tu 1-6 speaks to the Creation myths of old. She has spiders which remind me of the Turtle Island’s Spider Woman great creatrix stories.
2019 ~ 1 - 6, 4 Annual
The 4 star is helpful for creative people, this is the year that she was nominated for many awards (Grammys, Billboard etc).
2018 ~ 1 - 6, 5 Annual
A challenging year for her I would say. The 6 star can mean arguments and power struggles and on the wealth side in a visiting 5 year… I wouldn’t have used that red light in here then, it would have just helped encourage the troublesome 5.
2017 ~ 1 - 6, 6 Annual
In Xuan Kong Fei Xing, the 6 Metal Star is associated with the head and lungs, and the image of ‘the father’ which I always read as the PATRIARCHY and systemic systems of control. With compounding influences (decor, a very yin environment, clutter, darkness) potential problems can present when there is a double 6. With the 6 star being related to the mind, it can mean power struggles. An outside someone in power being pushy or over stepping their rights since the 6 star is correlated with authority.
2015 ~ 1 - 6, 8 Annual
1, 6, 8 stars are considered inherently good. Even when they're not ‘timely’ in their wang cycle, they have a positive vibe.
2014 ~ 1 - 6, 9 Annual
The challenging aspects can come out with domination cycles, the 6-9 combination is Fire dominating Metal. The 6 Star, related to the head, the lungs and the father figure. [SYSTEM, SOCIETY] There is a system breakdown happening, patriarchy, systems of oppression, but there is still a lot of reasons in the wider scheme of things for Gen Z to be depressed about.
FINNEAS’ ROOM
NORTHWEST
6 Metal - 2 Earth - 4 Wood Time Star
Wealth is benefiting the health of Finneas here. As Billie spends so much time here then she benefits too. ENERGETIC CENTRE - this room has those great wrap around windows and has great light and energy.
Wealth is benefiting the health of Finneas here. As Billie spends so much time here then she benefits too.
ENERGETIC CENTRE - this room has those great wrap around windows and has great light and energy. As I ‘read’ this house I am seeing that Finneas’ room/studio is the energetic centre of the home. This is different to the geometric centre. The energetic centre occurs in the repeated use of a place, where there is lots of attention, activity, pathways worn to a place. It has the convergence of the 2-4-6 stars too. These as being all yin energies they are related to celestial, otherworldly, spiritual energy, and can attract that of the spirit dimension. Some ghosts, or intrusions. Could this have contributed to their art? Musically and aesthetically?
Looking at the 2 Star in the wealth position, I possibly would have recommended Metal be used to reduce the 2 Star’s influence.
There seems to be a fair bit of metal energy here in the form of their studio equipment, so this would have been a help here.
Google image - Finneas and Billie at work in his room
The 2 with the 6, it is said, can bring mental health challenges. I think that in a world where the ☷ Kun (2 Earth Mother) energy is so disrespected it is no wonder we can feel low and depressed. We feel the imbalance! This would have been even more noticeable in 2017 when the Annual 2 visited Finneas’ room. This doubling up of the 2 Star can intensify the predisposition to sadness, loneliness, depression, paired with Metal… it can be read as pain and bleeding. Billie has been open about cutting and self harm. She would have spent a lot of time in this room and indeed in the kitchen, which had the same energetic pattern show up in 2013.
(2 - 7, 2 ANNUAL IN 2013 IN SW)
2015 would have been very conducive to academic and creative achievements when the annual 4 visited. I think Billie graduated this year, gaining her High School Equivalency exam.
2014 would have been challenging also when the Annual 5 was here in the Northwest.
KITCHEN
SOUTHWEST - 2 Earth - 7 Metal - 9 Fire Time Star
Books say this Ho Tu combo helps female career advancement calling it ‘Queen Control’.
2017 ~ 2 - 7, 7 Annual. The ‘fighting swords’ of the double 7 Metals; legal matters, challenges. The 7 star is related to deception or betrayal.
2019 ~ 2 - 7, 5 Annual. This may have been a challenging year for Maggie and Patrick’s relationship.
BATHROOM
BATHROOM in the SITTING PALACE! not ideal - In San Yuan Feng Shui the Sitting Palace’s function is to support health. It represents the retaining Yin Qi of a structure, helping family harmony and wellness.
Billie in the family bathroom. Image O’Connell family / Rolling Stone
WEST - 7 Metal - 3 Wood - 5* Time Star (*3 Wood)
Metal chops Wood ; domination clash, health affecting wealth
3 = legs, feet 7 = bones
When the 3 star is being dominated it can bring out the health issues related to the Zhen ☳ trigram, The 7-3 combination can also mean robbery or theft, I’d be recommending that they take steps to have security measures in place. Metal related breaking accidents. I wonder if there were issues in;
2017 with the Annual 3
2013 with the Annual 7
2018 with the Annual 2
2015 with the annual 5
2019 with the Annual 1
I know there were physical injuries for both Billie and her Mum.
FRONT ENTRANCE
Front Door - FACING PALACE
In San Yuan (and many of the Schools) the Facing Palace’s function is to support abundance and wealth. It represents the retaining Yang Qi of a structure, helping family good fortune
Finneas standing in the east, the front door is on the right. Image from Spaces interview on YouTube
EAST - 3 Wood - 8 Earth - 1 Water Time Star
Wood depletes Earth ; domination clash, health affecting wealth. A red front door mat would be my recommendation.And a clearing and declutter.
STAR 8 Wang/Sheng: Fame, Wealth. Although now the Wealth Star is in the right place a tough conflict is when an annual 2 Earth or 5 Earth stars join the 3-8 combo.3 [EAST FEET, THROAT, NERVOUS SYSTEM] - 8 [NE BONES]
2014 3 - 8, 2 Annual
2011 3 - 8, 5 Annual
This is why a red mat or rug is better than painting the door red. You take it away in years when the 5 and 2 visit.
PARENT’S SLEEPING AREA
This is a two bedroom home, Maggie & Patrick slept in the main living space
‘Not ideal for a child to sleep in’ say the books; ‘prone to leg injuries’. I did hear Billie speak about having nightmares and separation anxiety as a child so she may well have slept here to be comforted and reassured.
Billie and Finneas in the northeast - Image from Google
NORTHEAST - 8 Earth - 4 Wood - 6 Metal time star
2019 ~ 8 - 4, 2 Annual
2016 ~ 8 - 4, 5 Annual
Another tough conflict is when the Annual 2 or 5 Earth stars join the 4 - 8 combination. Since it is a more yin (bedroom) area I would have not recommended red in those years. I’d get a great crystal for the 8 though.
LIVING ROOM
SOUTHEAST -4 Wood - 9 Fire - 2 Time Star
4 - 9 The very auspicious He Tu brings power to the female known as ‘Queen Control’. This combo in this directional sector benefits late female life creatively and ‘if the female child is wealth conscious, can create wealth’ says one text. I would say that is true!
‘Queen Control’
Maggie and Billie sit on the couch in the southeast. Image from ‘The World’s A Little Blurry’ AppleTV+
DINING ROOM
When the 7 Metal Star is added to the pair, it can suggest a surgery or metal cutting. This 9 - 5, Annual 7 happened in 2015, the year Billie tore her hip growth plate. I don’t know if she had surgery though.
Billie Eilish in the dining room. Image ‘The World’s A Little Blurry’ AppleTV+
SOUTH - 9 Fire - 5 Earth - 7 Metal Time Star
9 Fire feeds 5 Earth
The traditional advice is to reduce the overpowering 5 Yellow with adding symbolic metal. This combination can be accident correlated when untimely but its getting better for health as we get closer to Period 9 in 2024.
HOUSE SHAPES
What helps this home is that IT ISN’T an odd shape. Any environment which causes the Qi flow to be erratic, exhausted, overly sped up or unevenly distributed can contribute to it ‘feeling off’ at best. This is why clutter is unhealthy. It’s not allowing light and fresh air to move about. It causes stress too when we can’t find things due to the amount of stuff. Also it is harder to keep our homes clean when there are layers of object and items on surfaces.
Billie Eilish photographed for Rolling Stone standing at the back door between the garden and kitchen
Forensic Feng Shui is something that I am asked to do and as you can see from the above analysis it is quite involved.
Please do get in touch if you want your home or business premises to receive the same in depth attention.
Áine
