Followers of this ancient Chinese art of placement believe that the arrangement of your home can foster good fortune.
What is feng shui
The theory behind Feng Shui is that if you arrange your home in such a way that the rooms and objects inside them are in harmony with nature, then the earth’s powerful lines of energy, called chi, will run smoothly and bring good fortune to the occupants. This is considered to be auspicious.
By contrast, if you position things in the wrong, or inauspicious, place, you risk blocking those energy lines or, worse, sending all the positive energy straight out again.
Feng Shui – it translates literally as wind and water – is a huge subject. But to enhance the energy lines in your home, you could consider the following:
Feng shui around the house
Entrance hall
- Keep it clear. A cluttered home reflects a muddled mind.
- Use a bright light to attract good energy into your home.
- ‘The frog that brings silver or gold’ is a popular Feng Shui symbol. Put a small frog ornament discreetly by the main door to invite wealth into the home.
- Hang cut crystals by an east window to catch the morning sunlight and create family harmony.
- Take care that a mirror doesn’t reflect the door -all your good energy could bounce right out of the house.
Living room
- Encourage good Feng Shui by arranging chairs within a regular hexagonal shape around a coffee table. Bad positioning would be an L shape, with seats in front of tall furniture. If you must have tall furniture, stand plants in front of it.
- No sofas or chairs should have their backs to a door.
- Open doors onto an empty space, not in front of furniture, otherwise the flow of energy into the room will be blocked.
Kitchen
- Remove any clutter. In fact, all you should do in this room is cook; using it for homework or reading the newspaper is distracting.
- It should only have one door, in order to help the cook be more peaceful and relaxed. An ideal kitchen faces southeast.
- The most harmonious place for the cooker is on an island, with limited space behind, to prevent people walking behind the chef.
- Knives send out negative energy, so keep them out of sight to defuse arguments.
Dining room
- Watch where you sit; a dining chair with bars on the back creates the outline of a poison arrow and means bad luck.
- An ideal room needs to be a regular shape, preferably square. If your dining room has protruding corners – for example, a chimney that’s been blocked up – disguise the corners with large plants.
- Hang a large wall mirror. The doubling of food on the table (as shown by the mirror reflection) promises that there will be plenty for everyone in reality, too.
Bedroom
- Point your head south, but don’t let the foot of the bed face the door. The bed should be as far from the door as possible, to permit the free flow of energy into the room.
- Everything in Feng Shui must balance. Bedrooms should have matching bedside tables and lamps, even if you are single.
- Never have computer or exercising equipment in your bedroom. This is a place for regeneration.
- Take the TV and radio out – the energy in the room should be focused on sleep, not connected to activity.
- Curtains are more auspicious than blinds.
- In a child’s room, keep beside the bed a photograph of the child held in the arms of the parents. This will promote a feeling of security.
Workroom
- Choose a northeast-facing room or one towards the front of the house.
- Use a wooden desk – it should be round if your job is creative, or square with rounded corners if you deal with figures. Square corners mean money could slip off the desk
- Keep fresh red flowers to absorb negativity.
- Hang up pictures of your goals, not family photos.
