The Four Heavenly Animals

Turtle, Dragon, Tiger and Phoenix. What do really the 4 Heavenly Animals represent?
To help memorizing and to evoke the influence of the environmental structures, the Feng Shui Classics contain many symbols, taken out from the culture and folklore. Or maybe it is the culture that took Feng Shui as a model!
The Turtle represents the alliance between Heaven and Earth, longivity, protection. It also symbolizes the house.
The Dragon is the Yang force, authority, prosperity, while the Tiger is the Yin force, communication, patience, maternal protection.
The Phoenix binds Yin and Yang forces, male and female, providing happiness to the couple and equilibrium of these forces. It carries in itself the five virtues of the man and leads the immortals to heaven.
For the Feng Shui practitioner, these 4 animals are evoking the structures of landscape, the shapes of mountains surrounding the house, called « embracing structures ». Nothing more in fact. This principle is very simple, but however important.
The symbolism associated to these mythic figures is a source of confusion.
Although associated to the North and to water, the Turtle is not necessarily at the North of the house. It should be present to the back, in the shape of a protective mountain.
The Phoenix represents a small hill or a mound, in front of the house, still, enabling a clear vue from the entrance door.
Turtle at the back and Phoenix at the front, the Dragon is at the left, idealy higher and extending further than the Tiger, at the right.
The ideal role of these formations of the landscape is to protect the house from winds that bring the bad Qi or take away the good Qi. It is definitely a protective function. The 4 Heanvenly Animals are the 4 Guardians of the house.
Any lack leads to inconvenients, specific to each structure.
Then, how can we remedy it ?
If there’s no hill and no embracing mountain, the artificial forms can play this role. In town, the surrounding buildings are the Turtles, Dragons, Tigers and Phoenix. So, we can sometimes find, in the urban environment, excellent formations.
Without mountain and without building, nothing can replace the missing Animals. Trees are not mountains. And of course, none of the objects inside the house can replace a mountain. Statues, ornaments, images and representations are perfect illusions and are useless.
If you don’t have any Tortoise or Phoenix at your house, don’t worry about replacing them by their symbol, that is not usefull. You may apply this principle for your next house. But do not rush on moving because Tiger or Dragon is lacking, unless you live some really negative events in your house.
Feng Shui is the result of a group of factors that combine, adding or subtracting to each other, leading to a particular, unique outcome. The overall offspring is the very important factor.
One can scarcely controle the undesirable and isolated influences that rhythm the everyday life. What's the point? Nothing is totaly Yang or Yin. Small troubles, that can be overcome, add piquancy to life and are even stimulating. On the other hand, one should be convinced that big recuring problems, fall within the Feng Shui practitioner’s skills.