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 Dose of good luck Too
Sunday People,
Sunday 29th January 2006
By Rachael Philip
IF you tell me that Harry Potter and his bosom buddies carry magic mirrors, mystic knots and amulets in their knapsacks, lunch boxes and under their robes, I would readily believe it.
They have, after all, to watch out for the dark forces of Lord Voldemort and his guys. But do we, mere mortals, need to equip ourselves thus?
For instance, would these things help us ward off our daily problems such as inability to find a parking space in congested Kuala Lumpur?
Well, Lilian Too thinks so. The famed feng shui advocate has come straight from the hair salon for our interview that day. Her short hair is a soft shade of ash brown with gold streaks to lend it a mellow glow.
“It is too bad I am not carrying my regular bag which is much bigger than this,” she says clutching a small furry Ferragamo.
“I bought this in America. You know, the first thing you should do when you land in America is to look for an outlet mall. You can get everything there at a discount price. I bought this for only US$300. I love it.”
Surely Too (right) cannot function out of that Ferragamo purse. It’s way too small. It probably suffices for a quick trip to the salon but not for a feng shui expert or anyone running a business empire.
It appears we are mistaken when she fished quite a few things out. “These are my phones. My Treo Palm and my Nokia 3G. I carry two because they perform two different functions,” she explains.
“While the Nokia is for personal use, the Palm is stored with lots of useful information. I have in there my feng shui charts such as the Flying Start Chart, a picture of Lama Zopa Rinpoche, my guru, it’s got (pictures of) my Buddhas and the Goddess Tara.
“It’s really cool. You can access the Internet, read your mail, play music, it’s also got an easy-to-use organiser,” she says.
“Now THIS is the amulet for the Year of the Dog,” she says, holding up an amulet protection coin, a triangular trinket dangling at the end of a red string.
It sports the image of a chimera and according to Too, it can be used to overcome feng shui afflictions for the new year.
“In the new year, the quarrelsome star is in the centre for everyone. With this, there would be no quarrelsome energies, creating a very harmonious, nice and balanced year with no aggressions.”
Too tells us she started applying the feng shui articles a couple of weeks ago in preparation for the new year. She keeps a couple of essential objects in all her 30-40 “active” handbags.
“The Five Element Pagoda is another must-have this year as the harmful 5 Yellow star will bring great misfortune and losses. Hence, displaying the pagoda will stave off negative qi.”
Next, she fishes out her Chanel reading glasses which she bought in London. The Ferragamo must have magic compartments as it holds a surprising number of items.
Too carries two purses. The regular ladies Prada purse — “I only buy red or gold coloured purses” — holds loose change, pictures of her family and a credit card. It’s the wealth wallet, bright red on the outside and gold on the inside, that holds a modest stack of notes.
Always in her possession is a compass — not the luopan that feng shui masters use, but one that would always keep you facing the right direction for optimal good luck. The compass is a key chain in the shape of a dragon as dragons are the secret friend of roosters.
“It is made by me and is available in my stores. It’s very cheap. It’s very powerful. It works. It really works!” stresses Too, her shrewd businesswoman persona comes into full play.
“Now this is a brass mirror. It is a magic mirror. It is very, very powerful. It is also for longevity. This is very important for me.
“If someone has got ill feelings or negative qi, reflect him onto this mirror and then go out into the sun and point the surface of the mirror towards it; it will instantly transform bad vibes to auspicious energy.”
Too says she even does this in public. What if people see her? “Do it discreetly! How would they know?” she says.
Next she brings out a lovely blue sodalite mystic knot choker. “It comes in five colours. You rub this if you can’t get a parking space. Try it,” she says, giving it to me. “For me, it’s very auspicious.”
As for makeup, Too carries one stick of lip colour, Carnevale Red 49 from M.A.C. “At my age, I can carry it off. The young can’t use this colour, they will look like a slut. If I use something lighter, I will look half dead.”
What’s left in her bag are two pouches of mantras for protection. “Everybody in the country has it, darling,” she insists.
Isn’t it cumbersome walking around with all this “excess baggage”?
“In my life, I avoid risky situations. Touch wood. I don’t go out late at night, I don’t get drunk, I don’t smoke and I don’t do drugs.
“But you must also have a healthy respect for the energies,” she concludes, hence the need for the amulets and protection objects. With that, I thanked her and headed for a densely populated car park to try out my new mystic knot... |
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