Most people in the United States live in residential developments and the average lot is shaped like a square or rectangle. This is considered normal and inconsequential.

But sometimes a house might sit on an unusual shaped lot and this directs the chi (life force energy) around the house in such as way that the occupants will either benefit or be undermined.

A triangular shaped lot can make occupants more prone to arguing or getting in accidents. Of the two possibilities, it is better to be situated on a triangular shaped lot with the wider part in the back behind the house as opposed to having the lot narrow to a point in the back. This arrangement can make it harder for the occupants to save money. If you can imagine the energy entering the property from the front side and then getting squeezed or restricted in the back, as if emptying out through a collander.

A "flag lot" may be a basic square shape, with an extended area or strip of land for a driveway. From an aerial view it would look a bit like a flag. In traditional feng shui, knowing the real compass orientation of a property can reveal many things because the directions are symbolic of family members and body parts. For example, if a flag lot created an extended northwest section to the parcel, it could mean that the father or husband in the house is very strong. This is because NW is inherently associated with the man in the house. If the southwest section was extended, just by the shape of the lot or as a driveway to a flag lot, this would mean that the woman in the house is very strong since SW is associated with the wife or mother.

Some parcels of land would be perfect squares or rectangles, but they are minus one directional sectional. When there is a missing directional section, it can indicate a weakness or absense of a certain family member. For instance, the direction of east is associated with the eldest son in the family structure. A parcel of land that was missing its east quadrant would indicate that a couple may have a difficult time conceiving a boy in the house that sits on that land.

Some lots have unusual or imperfect shapes that can be regulated and made even with landscaping techniques. Going back to the triangular shaped lot that narrows in the back, with enough room, this could be squared out in the back with plantings, a wall, a hedge, or bushes.

Kartar Diamond is a classically trained feng shui expert who advises clients worldwide and resides in Southern California. Diamond advises on land selection on a regular basis and has also been documenting the effects of land shapes on people for the last 13 years.

Her first book, Feng Shui for Skeptics, has been translated into 6 languages and her new book, The Feng Shui Matrix, will be in stores in early 2006.