Outfoxing the Wedding Cake House

Feng Shui Curse

It is no secret that where we live has an effect on our mental and physical well being. Depending on if a person works out of their home, or is home very often, the “house to human” energy exchange can be surprisingly profound. According to the ancient Feng Shui sages, just owning a house is enough of a link to affect the owners of that building. This just might be the case in Los Angeles for the famous – or infamous – “cursed” Solar Drive Wedding Cake House.

To the casual observer it may seem like a no-brainer – we either like a building or not, we either have good experiences there or not so much – simple. However, cutting edge science has now proven that every cell in the human body is subject to variations in Earth’s magnetic fields. This is due to our planet’s frequencies literally overlapping with our brain waves. So what causes our response to a building (and the choices we make thereafter) actually goes much, much deeper – into our innate, transcendent biological and mathematical connection with our universe.

The Western forefather of transcendent architecture is generally accredited to Pythagoras. A philosopher and mathematician, Pythagoras identified a “divine cosmic code” of proportional principles within musical intervals. These codes were inspired from nature and the pattern of how things grow. Contemporary architects jumped at the chance to use Pythagoras’ unique architectonic guidelines. The results were sublime buildings consciously constructed to resonate deeply within the body and mind of the observer; so much so that the practice of using Pythagorean cosmic principles endured. They have filled our world with visual and tactile symphonies, frozen in form and still so vital and raw as to startle modern senses to attention.

The Eastern forefathers of transcendent architecture are many; the collective works over centuries by the reigning Emperor’s Feng Shui masters. Highly prized and jealously guarded, the Emperor’s “environmental acupuncturists” also identified divine codes within building design, embracing, as Pythagoras had, the undeniable interaction between mathematical proportions, biology and the magnetic fields of Earth and surrounding cosmos. Taking it a step further, the easterners expanded their study to include the landscape surrounding a building – often times for many miles out. This level of Feng Shui is not to be confused with the zeitgeist of the 1990s – a method of decoration attributed to elementary Feng Shui principals advocating mirrors, coins, bamboo stalks, etc.

So, what’s the deal with the Wedding Cake House and two decades worth of “reputation”? Was the house built in bad cosmic proportions? Are the Heavens pissed off? Or has it simply been a confluence of cosmic and geomagnetic influences raining a hell storm down on the building?

My introduction to the Solar Drive house was from the other side of a trampled fence. As an environmental acupuncturist I have been stared down by structural creepiness before but for the life of me this house looked like a 19th century riverboat going over a cliff! 

The building was relatively early on its road to infamy – freshly painted and freshly abandoned; before the No Trespassing signs and chained doors; before the raves, rituals and rumor of burial ground ghosts and Billiard room murder. Black wires pouring from the re-opened ceilings told of the first in a very long line of construction violations and legal delays.

Taking 5 years to complete, this 9,000+ square feet of  “Mediterranean monstrosity” soon became famous for resembling a big pink wedding cake and for apparently bringing bad luck to its owners. In the building’s 20+ years of existence a jagged line of deceit, divorce, fraud, prosecution, litigation, bankruptcy, break ins, illicit parties, vandalism and some seriously impressive financial back flips have been the norm – not the exception. Since its ‘95 completion the house has bounced between no less than eight owners to find a ninth in June of 2015. That’s a new owner roughly every 2.5+ years.

And get this – the 20+ year old home, perched in the fat of the swank of the Hollywood Hills, had never been occupied – ever. Ghosts? No. House built too big and therefore illegal to occupy? Yes.

Due to the home being adjoined to Runyon Canyon, it is subject to local and federal zoning laws preventing excessive soil pressure in an area that is very close to or on an earthquake fault. The size and weight of a building in this ecologically sensitive area can make the difference between a happy house or house(s) at the bottom of the canyon. The parcel is also officially noted to be at high risk for floods, soil liquefaction, landslides, high winds and gas fume venting from the retired oil fields.

In order for the house to ever be legally occupied there simply had to be less of it. One former owner went so far as to apply for a “lot split” to create two separate residences out of the one house – more to the point, two separate lots. This means one big, unoccupied illegal home would’ve become two smaller, occupied, legal homes – with a skosh extra room in the lots. Ingenious but a no go with the city. Further complicating matters was the construction of a 4’ x 30’ fence and an allegedly jerry-built stairwell. This action restricted public access across the property, detouring a very popular Runyon Canyon hiking trail and creating an eyesore for the otherwise posh neighborhood. Reportedly no building permits were taken out resulting in an official ongoing investigation.

But despite it all, the wedding cake house celebrates its’ 20th birthday this year with its very first tenant. A recent conversation with Los Angeles Building and Safety Division revealed the house is now legal to occupy due to the removal of a 450’ plus chunk of the 3rd floor Master Bedroom; reportedly done without permits – adding yet another official investigation to the turbulent history of the Solar Drive home.

If there is such a thing as a “cursed” building, what causes it? According to the discerning works of the Xuan Kong Feng Shui masters, there are indeed buildings that possess an innate propensity to be more troublesome than others. Depending on several factors, including the building’s magnetic orientation, age, proportions and quality of the exterior environment, some houses seem to be built to cause problems. If you have ever owned, lived or worked in one of these buildings you know exactly what is being said here.

Contrary to popular belief, the Chinese did not invent Feng Shui. Its’ roots are found deep within Saudi Arabian and African soils; yet every recorded successful ancient civilization practiced some form of their own “Feng Shui”. What is notable about Chinese Feng Shui is that it remains the only study of its kind that has been uninterrupted and sustained for over 5,000 years. **The Chinese branch of study focused initially on how an ancestral burial environment appeared to have a notable influence as to the direction the descendants lives took. This study naturally evolved into how buildings for the living appeared to have a notable influence on the fate of those that occupied or were strongly associated with the building. Feng Shui has historically been a powerful tool for the success of the Emperors of China, and has at times been distorted to leak false and harmful methods to curtail unauthorized use of the royal art and science. Some of these methods remain in popular use today.

As shown throughout much of human history, China has held the position of having the world’s largest economy. They were inventing the compass, type printing and spaghetti while most of Europe was still wearing animal skins and running after food. Today Xuan Kong, one of the most accurate and prognosticative Feng Shui methods, is illegal in China. Feng Shui continues to be studied, taught and practiced, quietly, under the fitting government approved title of “Environmental Sciences.”

So, is the Wedding Cake house Feng Shui “cursed”? The building’s history undeniably indicates  something has been at work out there. Truth be told, there is a rather stunning and unusual amalgamation of energetic influences, natural and man-made, capable of having exerted some pretty intense cyclical repercussions on the building.

An analysis of the Wedding Cake house using Xuan Kong eyes revealed two key players in the home’s choppy past; the exterior magnetic environment and the building’s interior Qi patterns (aka Chi and Ki). Feng Shui Qi is the same non fluctuating vital energy source understood and used in the Martial Arts, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Transcendental Meditation and body Acupuncture. Feng Shui Qi is captured during a building’s construction period and has a largely predictable influence; this is due to the nature of Qi “echoing” – or naturally producing cyclical, repeating influences. In a nutshell, depending on the year, a confluence of foreseeable Qi cycles joining with the Solar Drive environment could have had a “cursed” type of influence on this home.

As we have learned from the official geological standpoint, the Solar Drive parcel is registered as unpredictable. Indeed, “unpredictable” has been a strong theme in this building’s history. Located on or very close to an earthquake fault the building may be subject to subterranean gas migration and venting. The flora and fauna of the spur certainly reflect subtle gas permeation and an inhospitable environment.

Adding further exterior pressure to the building is its location within the neighborhood block; literally positioned to be the prime focus of fascination and gossip. This house stands alone on the hillside spur, facing Los Angeles, with the rest of the neighborhood elevated behind it, across the street and looking down its front door. The Solar Drive home was built and bound for fame, front and center in the eyes of the territory and historically the focus of much behind-the-back buzz.

The “curse’s” artificial (man made) key players appear to be two nearby high tension electrical towers and the swimming pool. According to the Xuan Kong tradition, ginormous, ugly features (like electrical towers) can exert very specific influences on a building and those associated with it. The nature of the influence all comes down to mathematics – proximity, alignment and the magnetic orientation of the offending feature.

Pinpointed #2 above, the front of the Solar Drive building hosts a near-by electrical tower aligned precisely to the home’s foundation orientation (162.5 south). This is unusual and an uncommon player in the chronicles of any building’s Feng Shui “curse”. Traditionally a precise alignment with the front of this building could indicate incoming obstacles and considerable pressure or problems for the female, akin to her “walking into trouble waiting to happen”.

Strengthening the impact of the south tower is the road leading to it. A sharply declining dirt pathway extends from the building’s front, gathering momentum before splitting into two on its approach to the tower. The divided paths roll off into the canyon, slipping down the pitched ridgeline. Traditionally this scenario offers a strong indication of “run away” finances; it can also indicate personal or professional relationships going their separate ways. Ironically the home’s very first owners, said to be an Argentinean couple, suddenly divorced when the house was nearing completion – leaving the building flat out in the hands of the speculator who could not unload it for almost a decade.

The other troublesome electrical tower occurs to the northeast of the home – pinpointed as #4 above. Another unusually precise alignment, the northeast tower influences how easily and consistently the building generates its’ most auspicious and timely Qi. The tower impacts the seat of power for the building; all focused on the young male, offering him authority and financial opportunities. When the home’s northeast Qi is in a positive cycle it can produce tremendous results for the male. Its weak Qi cycles would’ve been most notable 2006 and into 2007 when co-owners of the home parted ways. The female business partner declared bankruptcy and was under federal and local investigation for fraud. The male partner was forced into a position of assuming full ownership or losing the home. 

The 2007 buy out opportunity wafted towards the City of Los Angeles and the 4th Council District quickly and quietly proposed to “spearhead the acquisition”. This action required immediate funding from the governing board of the Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority – which was not to come. And as promised by the home’s Qi patterns, the male bounced back, buying out his bankrupt ex-partner and assuming sole ownership. Two years later 2010’s Qi patterns indicate another wave of legal troubles exacerbated by both the northeast and south towers. 2010 real estate records show the home selling three times within 12 months – two of those sales were a rare “double escrow” situation, selling to two different buyers on the same day. This usually means the first buyer had a second buyer “in their back pocket”, poised to pay more money than the first buyer.

The final big exterior influence on the home is the south/southwest horizon pool. The pool, now very beautiful, has long been a very big, unfinished cement hole close by the house. From a Xuan Kong view point the proximity and volume of this hole could have welcomed financial and legal hardships, especially for the female and specifically in: 1993 (divorce), 2004 (doomed partnership formed), 2010 (3 sales), 2011 (sold and gated despite public outcry), 2013 (sold) and 2015 (sold).

The pool is especially interesting as it also appears to be the culprit responsible for the home’s famous – or infamous – reputation as Partay Central. Governing the home’s overall “happiness” and focusing once again on the female’s energy, Solar Drive’s southwest Qi generates “wealth, fame, the birth of an intelligent son, endorsements, advancements and glamour.”

There is an energetic twist here however, which reveals a “shadow side” of the aforementioned potentials. The “shadow side” is due to the home’s magnetic orientation and age. This energy may have been upsetting the digestion of the female and drawn folks deep into the belly of the home, specifically energetic or aggressive young males. According to the Xuan Kong classics, this shadow energy suggests inflammatory situations, accidents, stupidity, theft, violence, arguments, legal problems, lies, delinquency, employee betrayals, unsavory males approaching the young female or possibly even a car accident or foot problems. According to the property’s former guard, he tossed out on average 250+ trespassing merrymakers each year. According to Los Angeles senior lead officer Ralph Sanchez, the house has seen a constant stream of illicit activity – “You would not believe it. From gang members to satanic worshipers, you name it. The doors were pried open no matter how many times we nailed them shut”.

Now does it seem the female associated with the Solar Drive “curse” got the short end of the energetic stick, so to speak? Well, yes. The type of influence Qi offers and who it focuses on is completely dependent upon the age and orientation of the structure; it is not at all unusual for the Xuan Kong specialist to offer adjustments geared more towards one person than another, it all depends on the house and whom the troublesome energies appear to be focused on.

This particular house does indeed show favor for the male. He would potentially be a powerful, “famous” public figure associated with the arts, possibly an author or some other kind of artist involved with the scholarly end of the arts. The house offers him great energy for romance, sex and possibly a bit of a reputation as a playboy. The building’s “money Qi” focuses on him, bringing authority and terrific financial opportunity. This support of course would have periodically changed as the male Qi patterns naturally evolved into weaker expressions of energy. Weak male Qi years could possibly have manifested as a loss of reputation or a struggle to retain it. Fast “out of the blue” incidents, sexual scandals, discrepancies in documents, bad romances and financial hardships were also indicated. The male, however, unlike the female, would have had the support of the house to eventually bounce back. Reportedly, the Wedding Cake house’s weak male Qi years yielded: 1993 (divorce), 2005 (fraud scandal), 2006 (partner bankruptcy), 2007 (dissolution of partnership, financial problems, proposed acquisition by City of Los Angeles, construction of privacy fence despite vehement public outcry), 2010 (house sold three times), 2011 (sold), 2013 (sold) and 2014 (sold).

And the female? Due to the age and orientation of the building the female energies indicated are possibly of a volatile, tricksy nature and historically positioned to have worked against her. The potential for trouble would have ripened as the female Qi evolved into its’ weaker phases. The female would have been soft, pretty, glamorous and possibly demanding in nature. She would most likely look younger than her age and enjoy owning many clothes, jewelry and shoes. She may have been a partay gal, laughed a lot and enjoyed alcohol or imbibing recreational drugs or medicines. There are also indications of past secret conversations and agreements, gambling, legal issues and failed financial speculation. Reportedly, weak Qi years for the female yielded: 1993 (divorce), 2005 (alleged fraud & theft investigation), 2006 (sued by lenders, bankruptcy), 2007 (loses Solar Drive home), 2010 (sold three times), 2013 (sold 3 times), 2014 (sold) and 2015 (sold and leased).

So, is this house spoiled for females? Is the partay pool and its shadowy compadres still a threat to the neighborhood? Can the electrical towers be tamed or at the very least wrangled? Remember, the entire point of creating Feng Shui is to tangibly improve one’s destiny by transforming solar, geomagnetic and transcendent Qi fields. There are always options for improvement when using authentic Feng Shui methods. What those specific options are depends entirely upon the building.

For the Solar Drive house, taking into account its open interior layout and the permanence of the towers and pool, there are good opportunities to corral and redirect its’ vexatious Qi, especially for the female energy. What also just might outfox the house’s prodigious historical tendencies would be to work with the building’s troublesome nature as opposed to against it. This would require the perfect occupant; preferably a creative, single male who is a bit of a rounder or involved in the arts or creative scholastic endeavors. He is comfortable walking the edges of the law, enjoys his life large and the resulting public attention with a thick skin. He should be able to take care of himself professionally and physically, he should also be very good at making money. And believe it or not, he just moved in. As of 8/29/2015 Upper Runyon Canyon welcomed to the neighborhood, for at least a year, Sir Michael Straumietis – aka the Marijuana Don.

Knighted in Bulgaria for his philanthropic and political contributions, Michael is one of three people worldwide to have been licensed and funded to grow research marijuana. He has built a multi million dollar business directing the scientific development of an original product line specifically engineered to grow Cannabis. Overseeing a fully staffed PhD research team and donating both his resources (in the millions) and his personal time to charities for war veterans and the gravely ill, Michael is also actively involved in constructing classrooms in Uganda and lending food crop seed money internationally. He has been the technical advisor for award winning TV shows and hit films while his product line – Advanced Nutrients – has been featured on “CSI”, CBS, CNN, TNT, Showtime, Playboy, Forbes and Reuters. 

Michael is a pilot, a self professed ladies man, a scholar in his field and a race car enthusiast. Formerly wanted by the DEA, federal Marshals and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police no less, Michael, at 6’7” employs a bevy of top attorneys, is trained in counter surveillance and has prevailed repeatedly over the humongous and the frightening who naturally came with early production and marketing. He has also survived a massive conflagration and flat lined during surgery. All, all of this makes him a perfect match for the Solar Drive home.

As you can see, the Marijuana Don and Wedding Cake House pairing is delicious! According to the Feng Shui ancients, people are attracted to buildings (and resulting Qi and geomagnetic fields) that reflect their inner life and what they are here to do. The Solar Drive house, with its dodgy history of fame, drama, glamour, high finances, speculation, drugs, parties and femme fatales fit nicely with its new occupant and what this building’s energy historically appears to have been all about.

Science has proven the human brain is a highly sensitive magnetic organ synchronized with the subtle magnetic fields of our planet and sun. These fields have an established, profound affect on human and animal brainwaves, neurohormones, physiology and the cardiovascular and autonomic nervous systems. On an even larger scale the comparison of planetary and solar magnetic field spikes with natural or man-made disasters reveals an unquestionable correlation with terrorist attacks, social unrest, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Forward thinking scientists like those of the internationally recognized HeartMath Institute, are now studying the probabilities of planetary and cosmological magnetic fields transmitting human thought and emotion as an information wave carrier, influencing all living systems, positively or otherwise. Feng Shui sages have been calling carrier wave fields “Qi” for centuries.

Copyright © 2015 Living Space Feng Shui. All rights reserved.

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Author Bio:
Lee Ann has been writing, teaching and practicing Feng Shui since 1996.  She is nationally and internationally awarded for her skills as a public speaker by Princess Caroline of Monaco, Dame Helen Hayes and Robin Williams. She received her Feng Shui training with some of the most powerful specialists in the field including Dr. Larry Sang, Kartar Diamond and Heluo Roel Hill. Lee received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts graduating summa cum laude. She has expanded her holistic view of treating buildings and land to include the studies of para-geology (haunted houses & land), astronomy, physics, Jyotish and earth magnetics – specifically studying their predictable, cyclical influences on the human body, mind, spirit and productivity.
With 19 years of providing full-service professional Feng Shui consultations, Lee is a dynamic part of the growing international movement dedicated to dispelling the many myths and misconceptions about authentic Feng Shui.

Visit her website at LivingSpaceFengShui.com

Sample of published work: www.gaiamtv.com/article/house-hunting-good-feng-shui

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Article Sources:

• The New York Times – 2/15/11
  “A Handyman’s Special With Hot and Cold Running Rumors” by Adam Nagourney –  Ian Lovett contributing reporter
• LAist – 11/12/13 – “The Story Of The Mediterranean Monstrosity Threatening To Block A Popular Runyon Canyon Entrance” by Sarah Parvini
• Curbed Los Angles – 1/28/11 – “What’s Next for the Famous Runyan Canyon Pink House?” by Dakota Smith
• IAMNOTASTALKER.COM – 12/9/11 – “The Infamous Solar Drive Mansion House” by Lindsay
• Daily Mail Online – 2/16/11 – “For Sale: Luxury Mansion in Hollywood Hills, Possibly Haunted, Built on Indian Burial Ground and Home to an Alien Landing site…” by Daily Mail Reporter
• LAist – 10/29/11 – “Got $15 Million? Score A Haunted Hollywood Hills Mansion” by Lauren Lloyd News
• LAist – 11/20/13 – “New Gates Officially Close At Popular Runyon Canyon Access Point” by Sarah Parvini
• Growers Underground.com – 3/2/15 – “What Big Mike Won’t Tell You About Advanced Nutrients” by BigMike and Eljay
• Daily Mail.com – 9/2/15 – “Meet Big Mike, the Multi-Millionaire Legal Marijuana Entrepreneur Who Is Trying to be the New ‘King of Instagram” by Wills Robinson
• TMZ – 9/7/15 – “Haunted Hollywood Mansion Now a Weed Party Palace” by TMZ staff
• Curbed Los Angeles – 9/17/15 – “Runyon Canyon Infamous Pink Mansion has become an Elaborate Marijuana Party Pad” by Jeff Wattenhofer
• Los Angeles City Planning Department – 1/6/15
• Advanced Nutrients – 10/11/15 
• Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority – 5/2/07
• Block Shopper Sales History – 10/11/2015
• Mary Sulzman – Creative Consultant/Web Designer – QualiantMedia.com