Interesting. I haven't heard much about the changing of the poles for 2012, I'd be curious to hear more concerning the topic.
As far as the orientation of the direction in Marie's feng shui goes, the idea is that we stand with the support of the tortoise behind us and ample space for the phoenix to unfurl its great wings and fly freely forward. The tortoise represents the water and therefore the north and the phoenix represents fire and therefore the south. The support at the back is important and the space to fly forward equally so. With this reasoning Marie orients the directions with the south as in front and the north behind you.
I hope this helps.
All the best,
Kat
