Feng Shui, those new to the art would be forgiven for thinking it simply entails moving a few pieces of furniture about your home for a new lease of energy; yet this ancient Chinese system is far more complex. Feng Shui practitioners believe that everything has an energy (‘chi’) and how we place objects can affect our entire lives.
Feng Shui (pronounced ‘Fung Schway’) translates to ‘wind water’, and reflect the way energy moves to and around a building. The art of Feng Shui strives to strike a balance between environments and the people who live or work there. It’s about making a space ‘feel right’ and enhancing the quality of life by reducing the negative influence unbalanced energy flow can have.
Feng Shui is something we practise daily without even realising it. This can be seen by how we pick a table in a restaurant or get a sense of ease or discomfort when we walk into a property for the first time.
Each of the elements has unique energetic qualities that can be expressed through specific colours, textures, shapes, sounds, and even flavours.
The foundation of Feng Shui they came to discover, is that in order for an indoor environment to reflect the potency of Universal energy (promoting maximum health, wealth, and vitality) specific elements must be present.
These elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water.
Each of the elements has unique energetic qualities that can be expressed through specific colours, textures, shapes, sounds, and even flavours.
green tones, images of trees, upright plants, and tall, thin shapes suggesting growth, rising energy and optimism
bright red/orange tones, images of the sun, candles, and stars or triangular shapes, suggesting illumination, activity, fulfilment and recognition
earthy tones, images of mountains, rocks, crystals and low rectangular shapes suggesting stillness, gathering, support and nurturing.
white and metallic shades, images
blue and black shades, images of moving water, water features, wavy patterns, suggesting movement, flow and progress
The five elements have complex ways of interacting with each other. But ultimately they can be described by looking at two cycles – the Productive Cycle and the Destructive Cycle.
The Productive Cycle is the way in which certain elements work together to support each other. Think of it like this; if you want fire, you need wood. If you want a healthy plant, you need water.
The Destructive Cycle is the way in which certain elements work against each other.
Every home has its own energy map, called a ‘bagua’. On a basic level, this map functions to show where you are at the present moment and how to get where you want to be – just like any other map, but energetically.‘Bagua’ translates as ‘8 areas’. These 8 major life areas cover everything important to happiness and well-being;
When a Feng Shui bagua area of your home is arranged effectively, the corresponding life area is improved.
There are two approaches to defining the bagua of your home – the Classical approach or the BTB (Western bagua) approach. Both practices have their merits, but you’ll need to think about which is right for you.
Classical bagua (or traditional Feng Shui school bagua) is always defined by taking a compass reading at your front door.
Western bagua (or BTB bagua) is defined without the need for a compass, simply overlaying a floor plan onto a bagua grid.
You can achieve dramatic Feng Shui results through both approaches. Many beginners choose the Western style, for its simplicity.
It’s not recommended to mix both approaches, which can lead to much confusion and weak results.
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Northeast bagua area (compass reading from 22.5 to 67.5)
Life Area: Spiritual Growth & Self-Cultivation
East bagua area (compass reading from 67.5 to 112.5)
Life Area: Health & Family
Southeast bagua area (compass reading from 112.5 to 157.5)
Life Area: Wealth & Prosperity
South bagua area (compass reading from 157.5 to 202.5)
Life Area: Fame & Reputation
Southwest bagua area (compass reading from 202.5 to 247.5)
Life Area: Love & Marriage
West bagua area (compass reading from 247.5 to 292.5)
Life Area: Creativity & Children
Northwest bagua area (compass reading from 292.5 to 337.5)
Life Area: Helpful People, Blessings & Travel
North bagua area (compass reading from 337.5 to 22.5)
Life Area: Career & Path in Life
The steps to mapping with western bagua are:
Use tracing paper to create a grid with 9 squares over a floor plan of your home. Western bagua has 9 areas, with the addition of the ‘centre’ area.
Align the bottom row of your grid with the wall of your front door.
Assign each of the 9 squares to the following Feng Shui areas:
More often than not you will have some missing areas, but it is possible to balance these out by using Feng Shui cures on the walls and spaces nearest to missing areas.
As well as the bagua of your entire home, you can consider the bagua of a single room using the same mapping techniques. You will find that certain rooms always have more influence on corresponding areas of your life, wherever they are positioned in your home.
For example, the bedroom is always strongly linked to love and relationships, while your front door has connections with career and business prospects.
Keep an eye out for the above icons in the following sections.
The kitchen is arguably the hardest room to Feng Shui without bespoke guidance from Feng Shui masters. Many homeowners and tenants move into a property with a kitchen already fitted, and perfect Feng Shui often needs a whole redesign. Tips to make the most of your existing kitchen include:
Feng Shui has the power to positively impact every area of our lives. Here’s a look at exactly how you can use this ancient system to achieve the following:
How you approach Feng Shui for your health has a massive impact on the effectiveness of your home’s Feng Shui as a whole, and the many other areas of your life it can influence. Here are the areas to focus on:
Bathrooms can be hard to add a Feng Shui approach but once they are clean and clutter free, you can add art and scents to arouse the senses and create a spa-like energy for relaxation and improved health. Choose candles, diffusers, ornaments, and anything else which unwinds you.
Natural light and vibrant colour helps nourish our energy. Invest in full spectrum lighting so when you are at home you can renew yourself this way.
Make sure your bedroom is set-up for a good night’s sleep to ensure good health.
Air quality is a huge Feng Shui priority when it comes to good health. In fact, with poor air quality, all other elements of Feng Shui will struggle. Air purifying plants are the easiest and most natural avenue for improving air quality in your home. These include Peace Lilies, Dracaena Jenny Craig, and Boston Fern.
For a better night’s sleep, sleep with your head pointing to the north. This aligns your body’s polarity with the Earth’s polarity. It’s well-known that cows do this instinctively.
Feng Shui experts and psychologists suggest getting out of the left side of the bed is best for your health and prosperity. The left is associated with all we hold dear – health, family, money and power.
If you feel claustrophobic it makes sleep harder. Visual disorganisation causes distraction and anxiety, meaning you can’t focus on the task at hand – relaxation.
Even hidden junk has an impact on our quality of sleep. We can sense mess beneath us, plus it’s not good for air circulation.
As children, we like our beds up against the wall to protect us on one side, as adults we often move our beds away so another adult can join us. But a sense of protection means better sleep, so embrace the Feng Shui principle ‘the power position’ which is a safe spot which allows your brain to turn off the fight or flight area. This means placing your bed head against a wall (not a window) and in a far corner (not in the doorway path or at the front of the room). Think of it as where the Godfather would sit in a restaurant – able to assess danger but out of the path of attack.
Mirrors are very activity on our energy and it’s hard to sleep if you can catch a glimpse of yourself. Cover up mirrors with a scarf or a curtain, or avoid having them in the bedroom at all.
Negative ions are often referred to as vitamins of the air. They boost creativity and help with depression. They exist in nature where oceans fall on rocks, or where the wind passes trees… but we have to replicate their existence if we want the benefits inside.
You can do this with:
There is two main focus for improving your love life, the Love & Marriage gua of your home and your bedroom.
One way to improve your love life is to create an area in this space where you have:
Your bedroom has it’s own gua for Love & Marriage too. Located in the top right-hand corner from the door. Here’s how to make the most of this zone:
In Feng Shui, the entrance to your home is associated with your career. By boosting the Career gua, you can help yourself move up the promotion line, earn more, gain respect and recognition, and put your business plans on fast track. Here’s how to improve this area:
Choose a colour that will energise you as you walk in, or opt for the colour associated with prosperity for the current year.
A well-presented doormat will help build your self-esteem and energise you as you approach your house. You may like to place something meaningful underneath too; in many cultures, people bury coins as offerings to spirits outside (ideally 8 coins).
Stick a photo or painting that will stimulate your career upon your door. Images and metaphors which work with the career zone symbolise movement and new positive energy (like rivers). Don’t pick something too stagnant or too turbulent (like a dramatic waterfall).
Sound is an effective way to moderate the flow of ‘chi’ in any environment. Depending on what you wish to achieve, use the five elements to choose an appropriate wind-chime to hang outside your home:
The flow of money is represented by the flow of money in Feng Shui. If you want to boost your career and income, it’s a good idea to have moving water in your Career gua and home office. This can be literal (with an ornamental water feature) or figurative (using pictures and patterns).
Avoid objects which are flat or square in shape and objects made of earth, wood and fire elements – big crystals, rocks, earthy colours, and images of wood & fire. You should also avoid plants which have pointy edges or thorns, like cacti or rose bushes.
Prosperity can be encouraged through many Feng Shui techniques, including the use of the Wealth & Prosperity gua:
One way to improve your prosperity is to create an area in this space where you have:
Wind chimes can be placed in various spaces in the home to promote wealth, including: outside the front door, in the Wealth & Prosperity gua, and in the left upper hand corner of your main living area.
The flow of money is represented by the flow of money in Feng Shui. If you want to boost your career and income, it’s a good idea to have moving water in your Career gua. This can be literal (with an ornamental water feature) or figurative (using pictures and patterns).
In Feng Shui, corners are known to retain energy. A strong corner will actively draw incoming Chi towards it. It is especially important to pay attention to the corner closest to the main door (and diagonally from it) and apply Feng Shui here to express and welcome abundance.
Your lucky Feng Shui direction is based on your Kua number – a number based on your date of birth and gender. Once you have calculated your Kua number and found your lucky direction, you should try to direct yourself this way when based in your home, and put a meaningful object which represents wealth and abundance in that direction also.
The year begins on February 4th. For birthdays before Feb 4th, subtract '1' from the year of birth to use the chart.
Your lucky Feng Shui direction is based on your Kua number – a number based on your date of birth and gender. Once you have calculated your Kua number and found your lucky direction, you should try to direct yourself this way when based in your home, and put a meaningful object which represents wealth and abundance in that direction also.
If you’re wishing for improved family relations and a more harmonious home in general, try focussing on Feng Shui for the family. Here’s how:
Use the following in your family area as mapped in your home Bagua map:
Energy attracts like energy, so for a joyous family home, you need to promote harmonious energies wherever you can. De-clutter and organise your house as best is possible, and express love and care through your home décor.
Along with the dedicated family Gua, make sure you are looking after the heart of your home (the yin-yang point). Create a vibrant yet peaceful energy there with images and ornaments which speak of joy.
Changing your bed position will disturb the nervous system and help get your creative juices flowing, shaking up stuck thought patterns. Just make sure your bed is in an empowered position, where you can see the door for a sense of protection.
Add the following into your home office, studio, or other spaces where you’d like to feel inspired:
Use your space to create an energy that reflects the creative process. You need a balance between quiet energy for dreaming and high energy for manifestation.
Check what’s going on in the Gua for creativity in your home. Is there mess or lack of life which reflects the experience you are having with getting inspired? Clean it up and make it a place that reflects creativity energy.
The Metal Element is dominant in this Gua so include items such as: