The palatial 6-star Venetian Macau, an integral member of the Cotai Strip, is a multiplex housing a 3000-suite room resort hotel, casino, 350 retail stores, 25,000 sqm convention space, 75,000sqm of exhibition space, and, entertainment centers altogether.  (Check out Wikipedia’s information on the Venetian Macau.) For punters and Macau tourists, it is THE destination.

It is also a valuable Feng Shui site for research as it was said to be built from ground zero with Feng Shui to attract a large crowd to compete with other long-standing casinos in Macau.

For any scale of Feng Shui, it is always important to understand the overall Qi Map from macro to micro scale. Layers by Layers.  (Yes, even if we are only referring to a work desk, a bed, a stove, a toilet door etc.)  There is no point in analysing Feng Shui (any system) if there is no road map…

The following is a macro Qi map of the land where The Venetian was built.  It sits on the Taipa island where there are 2 Water Mouths to contend with.  One is in 亥 and the other in 甲.  When it comes to islands and Flat Land Dragon, the Water Dragon (hence Water Mouths) takes priority over Mountain Dragon.

(Side note:  A common misconception of Flat Land Landform is on Support Mountain.  A good quality land is in fact without Support Mountain in Flat Land Dragon.  The Chinese term is 放空.  The emphasis and dependence on Water Mouth is much more important than Mid Land Landform…）

Such map is good enough for a professional practitioner to decide during the pre-architectural planning / drawing stage:

  • Facing and sitting (some practitioners do request for certain degree for the sitting of the buildings.)
  • Location of entrances and car parks,
  • Building structures conducive to receive, contain and circulate Qi.
  • General shape and space volume of each section.
  • Connection of pathways
  • Functions of each section with considerations to the Client’s needs.

These Feng Shui recommendations are not meant to intefere with the design or aesthetic inputs of the architect but to maximise Qi containment and circulation.

They are 2 different though complementary functions and roles.  From experience, if the Feng Shui recommendations come later, the owners of the projects are going to make changes to the architectural plan till it meets Feng Shui requirements. That is why experienced project development owners always sort Feng Shui input first before other professional inputs.

Here, the chosen sitting for the resort hotel and its casino is on 辛 (facing 乙), the Main Lobby at Zhen 震/ Xun 巽 Gua, the West Lobby at Qian 乾 Gua, and, the natural reservoir at its Kan 坎 Gua. The whole site’s building volume, structures, design and shapes are maximising on the natural terrain and surrounding buildings to match Yin-Yang and the Qi Map.


(Please double-click on above map for larger image.)

West Lobby 收山出煞

From the manner the entrances are located and designed, the practitioner had intended the West Lobby to be the main Qi receipt pocket for the whole complex.  Indeed, it is has the most traffic in the whole complex as an in-house bus depot is located right in front.

A Qian Gua entrance with both natural and man-made embraces, table mountain, roads etc are all aligned and maximised to receive Qi.  Both Right and Left Embraces are tight and protecting this entrance which taps onto 亥 Water Mouth.  A Metal-shaped Hill acting as Water Mouth guardian forms part of the entrance’s Right Embrace.  It is an ingenious usage of natural terrain and surrounding buildings which brings The Venetian streams of tourists and punters entering from this lobby.  情景是車水馬龍！

From the reception of West Lobby, the introduction of Qi into the hotel suites and casino is also a fine showing of the practitioner’s work.  Internal layouts and volumes are applied at each adjoining sections and pathways, a Form application of 收山出煞 , (a method of introducing both Yin and Yang using layers and volumes of voids and structures).

The West Lobby section is truly a wonderful play of both Forms and Formula Feng Shui.  Its location, facing, opening and installations meet Direct / Indirect Spirits, San He External Feng Shui – Yang Fire Structure 陽火局墓向絕流, and, San Yuan’s 乾坤國寶 Qian Kun Guo Bao of receiving the Guest Gua 收賓位.

Main Lobby

The East (乙) facing Main Lobby is a ‘Feng Shui in the making entrance’. The human traffic of this entrance is less than a quarter of the West Lobby.  Why so?

Firstly, the Embraces are ‘loose’.  There are clear gaps. Secondly, the natural facing is Yang 陽朝 but as the casino belt along Estrada do Istmo are getting constructed, the quality of its facing is affected. Thirdly, there is a building structure which ‘cuts’ into the lobby’s facing entrace.  Fourthly,  the canal at its facing has a technical flaw even though it is also a 乾坤國寶 Qian Kun Guo Bao’s technique of connecting / converging Later and Early Heaven Guas to the Water Mouth at 甲 (副水口).

There may be many reasons behind these ‘imperfections’.  One plausible reason may well be it is a Feng Shui formation in the making to meet the evolving Cotai Strip along Estrada do Istmo.  And, hence the internal layout was designed to receive Yin instead of Yang.

The result is the East facing entrance of the Main Lobby serves mainly as a photography spot for tourists with little incoming human traffic.

Most of the guests and patrons enter the Main Lobby from its side entrance, a South facing entrance located in Xun 巽 Gua, the Early Heaven Gua of Dui. The entrance is well hidden and protected though it lacks a good Left Embrace.

Overall, it is the Form and Qi containment quality of the Main Lobby (not Formula Feng Shui) that causes its human traffic to loses out to the West Lobby by such stark contrast.

The Casino

If you have been to The Venetian’s casino, you would not miss its center section – a 3-storey volume of space with grand ceiling designs and crossing of escalators at 1st floor’s landing sending guests from the 2nd floor to the ground floor.

It is not a coincidence that (1). the casino itself is a half hexagon shape (West-facing side) (2). all the table games are located near to the center where the Qi would be the most vibrant (3). The tables and jackpot machines are arranged in a certain formation. The intention is to draw every Yin and every Yang from external layers to internal layers.  Again, the bottom line of The Venetian’s casino speaks for itself. (Link: The Market Watch’s report on Sands China. )

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It is interesting how the practitioner has chosen to locate the lobbies in the Guest Gua (Qian & Zhen) of San Yuan’s Qian Kun Guo Bao.  Personally, I think it was to encourage a quick turn over of hotel guests and punters. It is a proof of how dynamic Feng Shui applications should be to suit each and every premise and specific purpose. (I.e. it is not necessary to draw Qi from only Early and Later Heaven Gua for the Feng Shui of a premise to be vibrant.)

Interestingly, The Venetian’s casino has a higher than usual percentage of female patrons (serious gamblers and high rollers types).