I am currently a zoology/biology student, so I keep various exotic animals as pets, including several nonvenomous snakes. I am relatively new to Feng Shui, but I understand that the center of the household is associated with the Snake. My question is: will keeping my snakes in this sector of the house be inauspicious, or will it augment the area in some way? Is keeping snakes in general considered auspicious or inauspicious?
I'm very curious about this, and hope you can provide some insight. Thank you!

Dear Flannery,
1. Under the symbolic animal concept, yes, the centre represents the Yellow snake.
2. Overall, we should not take the animals "literally". As the saying goes "a picture paints a thousand words".
3. Let me go off-track (first): In Singapore, when we started our first Singapore elections to elect representatives to Parliament, it was mandatory for political parties to adopt animal signs.
4. Thus, if one does not have or could not think of one; candidates can choose from the register a list of "party symbol". Thus one can find an independent candidate with e.g. an animal symbol as an example an elephant, or star etc...
5. Therefore, if (in a hypotheical case) if the candidate choose an Elephant symbol; it does not necessary mean that there is something unique associated with it.
Here, the rationale why, symbols have to go with party names is because of the literacy rate at that time was very poor especially with adult voters.
Therefore, when adult voters cannot or may not really read "romanised names" symbols are easily recognised by most of us.
6. Here, parallel can be found with pictorial representations:
6.1 When one sees a Phoenix: It is considered pink/red and represents in it's original form pink/red = South direction while a bird is akin to flying freely in a clear space environment.
6.2 A tortise with it's hardshell represents or looks like a hill/mountain. And one look and one can visualise it as a `solid backing'.
6.3 Similarly, we call the centre animal " Yellow Snake ". Here, the snake is again a pictorial representation of the earth element (which is the centre of the house). And it is also known as the "yellow snake". Where yellow colour represents earth element.
7. Therefore, in my opinion, there is really not much issue with your interpretation of centre as the `snakes' domain.
Warmest Regards,
Cecil

Quote

On 3/14/2002 11:41:00 AM, Anonymous wrote:
I am currently a
zoology/biology student, so I
keep various exotic animals as
pets, including several
nonvenomous snakes. I am
relatively new to Feng Shui,
but I understand that the
center of the household is
associated with the Snake. My
question is: will keeping my
snakes in this sector of the
house be inauspicious, or will
it augment the area in some
way? Is keeping snakes in
general considered auspicious
or inauspicious?
I'm very curious about this,
and hope you can provide some
insight. Thank you!