.: Helpful Hints
The most common question I’m asked is, “If I put a water feature in my front entrance, will I get rich?”.
It is pretty difficult to give advice without conducting a proper analysis of the building in person. In fact, I won’t give advice without a proper assessment, because putting a water feature in the incorrect Flying Star space can be catastrophic!
However, there are general Feng Shui recommendations that I am glad to share with you. And spread the information because these tips are also practical and make sense whether you are into Feng Shui or not.
.: Feng Shui tips for the Landscape
There are many factors to consider when looking at the external surrounds of a building but in general the external landscape surrounding your home should support and compliment the energy of the spaces within your home. On a macro level, look at surrounding buildings and ask yourself how they make you feel. Generally, sharp and pointy objects are considered arrows directing harmful energy at your home. A pair of fu dogs at the entrance would help protect your house from these dangers. In classical Form School Feng Shui, it is considered auspicious to have a mountain at the back of your home for support in life– such as a building or hill, where these are absent, you could plant tall trees to shoot up and provide support. This is described as the black turtle. Water or open space should embrace your home at the front. In an urban environment this is the road and referred to as the red phoenix. To bring good fortune and opportunities into the home the energy should be given time to meander along the garden path having time to settle and be enjoyed before entering. To the left of your home is the green dragon – its hills bringing prosperity and to the right is the protection of lower hills of the white tiger offering protection and support. These supporting sides could be hedges along your fence line or the fence itself.
Of course if you get a Flying Star professional to identify which energies are flowing around your home, you will be better able to place landscape water features like water fountains and swimming pools; plants that are hedging, low growing, or tall and thick; sculptures of different materials like metal, ceramic or wood; appropriate shapes of garden beds, materials for paving and so on.
.: Feng Shui tips for the Entrance
Simple, practical advice for the entrance is that it should be free of clutter, well lit and have a place for visitors to stop and be welcomed at the front door. As discussed above, energy needs to meander along the garden path, a direct pathway from the street to the front door will cause energy to rush too quickly into the home. As an example, every Japanese home, has a welcoming area at the entrance called a ‘gen-kan’, a place of transition from the outside to the inside. The entrance usually has a space to sit and remove shoes, a pretty vase of carefully arranged flowers to welcome you and then a step up into the home. Many older western homes have a similar concept – a wet area where gum boots and raincoats can be removed and umbrellas stored without dirtying the inside of the home. These transition areas allow energy to gently enter the home and eventually find its way through to the hearth. In the West, mirrors tend to be popular at the front door and should be used with caution in case unexpected inauspicious energy should pass through the front gate.
.: Feng Shui tips for Bedrooms
The bedroom is for relaxation, sleep, intimacy and passive activities like reading books. As such you don’t want interference from adjacent spaces outside or inside. It is best not to have mirrors in the bedroom, especially not reflecting the bed—if nothing else, it’s a little scary when you wake up to find you’re staring back at yourself in the middle of the night!
To encourage a good night’s rest, the bed-head should be against a solid wall. Place the bed adjacent to the door to avoid active energy entering the room from disturbing your peaceful rest. If your home has exposed beams, avoid placing beds or seats underneath them as it can cause a feeling of restriction.
.: Feng Shui tips for the Study/office
The study is another important space in the home that cannot be underestimated. I have observed clients who have set up their study or office in the pokiest room of the house, or a cornered off section of the garage – often dimly lit or without windows, cramped, cluttered and sometimes damp. Considering this is where we expect small business performance and academic achievement, it is important to understand the energy in this room of your house. Once known, the placement of your desk and chair should support the room’s activity – book keeping, academic concentration and quiet thinking. The office chair and table should have the support of the back against a solid wall with the occupant facing the home’s incoming prosperous energy. The table should also have one side against a solid wall. Open bookshelves should be neatly stacked otherwise doors or a covering can be used to hide the mess.
.: Feng Shui tips for the Kitchen
The kitchen traditionally is a very important room in the house, sustaining everyone who lives in it. With two young children I am always in my kitchen preparing, cooking, cleaning and talking on the phone. It is important to keep the benches and sink clean—basic hygiene, right! Clutter free benches also lead to fewer accidents and incidents, particularly as my children like to touch anything shiny (like knives) and to taste test anything unpalatable (like dish washing liquid). The stove should be supported by placing it against a solid wall with knobs pointing inwards, directing the warm nurturing energy back into the home. The front entrance should not be visible within the kitchen just in case inauspicious energy comes flying through the front door directly to your hearth!
.: Feng Shui tips for Furniture
Each room has a different function and we fill rooms with all sorts of furniture, some fit for the purpose … and some not. Have a look around your home and take an inventory of all the pieces of furniture in your home that do not get used—objects sitting idle and causing energy to slow down or even stagnate.
Common examples of furniture clutter that I have experienced include:
furniture that is disproportionate to the size of the room
heirlooms that have gone moldy, affecting the air quality of the whole room and everything in it
hand-me-downs, accepted from relatives who have lived through the Great Depression, that you tell yourself could be handy … as firewood for the next Great Depression …
left-overs from a divorce or other bad event—the memories and feelings associated with the piece of furniture can create negative energy around it and within you of which you may be unaware until you focus on each piece
unused treasures—some pieces of furniture are beautiful pieces of art, like my piano, but I never play it, I don’t have room to display it and it is in a room with inauspicious wood stars, so I am going to sell it on eBay™!
.:Feng Shui tips for Cemeteries
Cemeteries are Yin in nature – excessively so and because of the function they serve in our community, it is considered a spiritual shar with negative energy.
The influence a cemetery has on a home or office is largely dependent on the energy of the home and the flying stars coming through the front door. In general it is not ideal to purchase a home or conduct business near a cemetery or grave yard. If anything the excessive yin energy saps the good yang energy from the living.
The degree of influence living close to a cemetery can have on your family can be determined by:
a) proximity to your home. Can you see it? Is it across the road or up a little way? Is your home on reclaimed land that used to be grave sites? There are many cases of hauntings or unusual happenings where homes have been built on top of previous grave sites.
b) The size and extent of the land used for burial. Is it acres of land or just a little plot? Does this land surround your home or are you on the fringe?
c) Whether the cemetery is of cremated bodies where the corpse’s body crystals can disintegrate or full burial? There are some that believe leaving the heavy mass of the body to decay in the ground is more negative for the living than where a person’s essence has been exhausted by cremation.
d) Where is the cemetery in relation to your home or office? Is it facing your front door or off to the side? If the cemetery is at the front and the flying star energy entering your home is positive then the effects of the cemetery will not be as profound than if you have negative energy entering your home.
The traditional Chinese remedies for homes or offices near spiritual shars like cemeteries, grave yards, churches, hospitals, police stations and jails for example are a pair of Fu Dogs at the entrance and a Bagua or Pa Kua mirror facing outward.
