Hi 4space,
annual stars are triggered by activity and usage of the space. Moving water will therefore activate the violence star whereas still water or the color blue weakens it.
Regarding the water dragon: I understand that Marie uses water features near the front door to symbolically activate the correct water flow. (The formula Marie uses is based on the 12 growth phases of water and indicates the water flow for each facing direction.) I really do hope the water feature works for you - from my own experience I can only tell that the landscape is very powerful and that the natural gradient may override the effect of an artificial water feature. And water next to your front door will also activate the conflict star (wood is enhanced by water).
If more than one third of the sector is still there, then the energy is also there. I agree with you - a conflict star and a violence star are indeed a very negative combination. The conflict star is wood energy and the violence star is metal energy. Metal attacts wood and creates additional tension in the sector. The best way to mitigate the effects in 2018 would be still water or the color blue.
First of all, it's a good thing that the 20-year disaster star is not inside the house. However, I would be careful with water features. In my home the south sector is completely missing, together with its abundance star. However, the energy is still there and I try to tap into it with an outside feature (I have a door there and I can take the energy with me into my home).
I have just looked at the chart of a house facing E2/E3 in period 8. If you could tilt the door to E1 you'd get the abundance star in the East... and the potential buyer of your home, too - maybe it will be easier to sell; and the water dragon feature would activate the abundance star (best done before February, now you still have the yearly abundance star in that area and you don't want to trigger a violence star with construction measures) If the facing direction of your house is rather close to E1 you can try a hexagram from Marie's hexagram course or ask Learning Strategies if they can help.
Feng shui is like a cake with different layers. From my experience the good and bad directions are highly important. And even though Marie recommends water in the North (in level 1) I would not place water there if you have a 20-year disaster star in this area. Of course, intention is important but energies interact and you may thwart the positive effects of water in the north by activating a 20-year disaster star.
Good on ya' :-)
Astrid
