After Mrs. McCann took a real estate continuing education class on classical feng shui with Rochel Parker, she decided to move Taylor's bed in the direction where she awoke. From then on, Taylor slept soundly.

"My husband thought I was out of my mind, but it helped her sleep. And she stopped sleeping sideways. He can shake his head, but that little thing really made a difference," said Mrs. McCann, who works for Prudential Georgia Reality.

Mrs. Parker teaches classical feng shui and its supplementary practice, called Four Pillars of Destiny, to the Cobb Board of Realtors and Kennesaw State University continuing education program. The Four Pillars and classical feng shui aren't voodoo, New Age theory, coincidence or folklore - it's simply science that has its roots in ancient China, she said.

Feng shui

"This is physics, cause and effect. It's not a religion," said Mrs. Parker, 55. She has studied classical feng shui with masters from all over the world for the last ten years, and now teaches it and practices it in the area.

Feng shui began 5,000 years ago and is the study of how to identify environmental influences and then manipulate their influence on humans.

Mrs. Parker uses a cell phone as an easily digestible metaphor for how it works.

She said cell phones emit an invisible frequency, or energy pattern, that are identified and harnessed by towers. It is similar to other frequencies but still unique. If the signal is good, cell phones work. If the signal is bad or interrupted by other frequencies, then the cell phone doesn't work well.

"Like cell phones, animals respond to invisible energy patterns and they have for millions of years. We are no different. When the magnetic poles shift, our bodies respond," she said.

The year, month, day, time and place of an individual's birth all plays into how the environment affects him or her. The magnetic poles are placed at a certain degree when someone is born. Each year, the magnetic poles shift a few degrees, and that leaves an imprint on physiology, said Mrs. Parker.

Initially, Chinese scholars used landscape astronomy to develop patterns in nature and their influence on humanity. After the compass was invented, Chinese scholars created a Lo Pan, a giant circular compass with feng shui formula written on each of the 360 degrees. Mrs. Parker learned Chinese in order to read the Lo Pan and the manuals.

Mrs. Parker experienced the power of classical feng shui in her own life. She was working as an environmental engineer in Marietta when she saw a report on CNN about a builder who couldn't sell his house because his show rooms were unsettling. He hired a feng shui consultant, and his houses began selling.

As an environmental engineer, she understood how subtle, unconscious environmental factors impacted physiology. She also hired a feng shui consultant who rearranged her space.

"I went from living in a 15,000 square foot home to moving to a 5,000 square foot home. I had been single for 15 years, and after that I met the man I married," she said.

But in trying to learn about feng shui, Mrs. Parker encountered misinformation, contradictory ideas and nonsense. That's when she decided to take a seminar with a master, who introduced her to classical feng shui.

Four Pillars of Destiny

In her pursuits, Mrs. Parker also learned about the Four Pillars of Destiny, a forecasting system the Chinese use along side feng shui. Four Pillars of Destiny is a complex system of calculating information gathered from the time and location of birth to determine future frequencies and their influence on people and their future. This practice is nearly 3,000 years old, and is very common in China, said Mrs. Parker, who began studying this craft.

"As an engineer, I like to analyze. There are very specific manuals that help me interpret someone's forecast," she said.

Darien Chimoff of Marietta met Mrs. Parker at a lunch and learn with her company and found the practice fascinating.

"I was very skeptical because I'm not the type of person who would do something like this," she said.

"But I was amazed when I had it done. Not only was she right on about things that had happened in my life, she was able to help me see more clearly things I'd been thinking about for a while," she said.

The forecasts Mrs. Parker made for Ms. Chimoff are starting to form in her life, she said. "It's like a guide that helps you focus your efforts, accept things and manage your life," said Ms. Chimoff.

Mrs. Parker said the Four Pillars of Destiny readings aren't physic set-in-stone predictions, but "lets people know what they are up against," or if it's a good year to make changes.

"The Chinese say that one-third of your life is determined by the Four Pillars, one-third is your Feng shui and the other third is your personal effort in your life. All make sure your life is operating at the most optimum level," said Mrs. Parker.

cknight@mdjonline.com