Feng Shui is more than moving furniture for good luck. Feng Shui is a science!
Feng Shui (pronounced as “fung shway”) is an ancient Chinese practice believed to utilize the Laws of both Heaven, (astronomy), and Earth, (geography), to help one improve life by receiving positive energy, Qi, pronounced “chee”.
Feng Shui is the art of placement and design and helps to create and organize our environments in such a way to bring about a more harmonious lifestyle by making minor adjustments that enhance the flow of Qi. The word ‘Feng Shui’ literally translates as “wind-water” in English, which is a cultural shorthand taken from the following passage of the Zhangshu (Book of Burial) by Guo Pu of the Jin Dynasty.
Qi rides the wind and scatters, but is retained when encountering water.
Feng Shui is part of the ancient Chinese philosophy of nature. Feng Shui is often identified as a form of geomancy, divination by geographic features, but it is mainly concerned with understanding the relationship between nature and ourselves so that we might live in harmony within our environment. The goal of Feng Shui as practiced today is to situate the human-built environment on spots with good Qi. The “perfect spot” is a location and an axis in time. Some areas are not suitable for human settlement and should be left in their natural state. Because the life force, called chi, is the bearer of all blessings, we must invite it into our homes and workplaces and give it a smooth course to travel inside. If we make the way for good circulation of chi, our lives will become healthier in every way. We now know scientifically what has always been known spiritually, that everything is connected, and any part of creation affects every other part of the whole. Chi, though invisible to the naked eye, can be recognized by the material results manifest in our homes, bodies, and lives.
Alleged masters of Feng Shui, those who understand the five elements (water, fire, wood, metal, and earth, and the external environment) and the two energies such as chi and sha (hard energy, the opposite of chi), are supposed to be able to detect metaphysical energies and give directions for their optimal flow. Feng Shui has become a kind of architectural acupuncture: wizards and magic insert themselves into buildings or landscapes and use their metaphysical sensors to detect the flow of good and bad “energy.” These masters for hire declare where bathrooms should go, which way doorways should face, where mirrors should hang, which room needs green plants and which one needs red flowers, which direction the head of the bed should face, etc… They decide these things on the basis of their feelings for the flow of chi, electromagnetic fields, or whatever other forms of energy the client will worry about. (If you and your lover are having trouble in the bedroom, call a Feng Shui master. You probably need to move a few things around to get the bedroom chi flowing properly. Only a person with special metaphysical sensors, however, can tell what really needs to be done.)
If you believe Feng Shui to be superstition, it can still work for you, if done correctly your whole life can become prosperous and beautiful.
When To Use Feng Shui?
According to the website of the Way Geomancy Pte. LTD, a Singapore consulting firm, a Feng Shui master should be consulted whenever you:
- Plan to move to a new home
- Experience something unexpected
- Face job instability
- Have health problems
- Quarrel with your spouse more than is usual
- Have an accident at home
- Fail to sleep well
- Have a child doing poorly in school
- Realize a family member does not feel comfortable at home
- Have a negative premonition
- Lose control of your temper frequently
The Five Elements Of Feng Shui
There are five elements in Feng Shui, and we need a balanced presence of all five in order to create a harmonious home environment. These elements; Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water are the foundation theory for Feng Shui balance. These elements are used in specific areas according to the Feng Shui energy map of your space, or Bagua. These Feng Shui elements interact between themselves in certain ways, generally defined as the Productive and Destructive cycles.
The Elements are governed by the Productive Cycle and the Destructive Cycle. In the Productive Cycles, the Element Water produces Wood, which in turn produces Fire, which then produces Earth, which produces Metal, which produces Water. The cycle is continuous, just as all cycles in nature are- they all benefit each other and flow in harmony with each other.
The Destructive Cycle is just as important as the Productive Cycle, as the process of decay makes room for growth. In the Destructive Cycle Wood breaks up Earth, which absorbs water, which eliminates Fire, which melts Metal, which can chop Wood.
Each Feng Shui element is represented by a specific color, and the color is the easiest way to use the five elements principle to bring more harmony into your space with Feng Shui.
The Yin-Yang
This symbol is one of the most readily recognizable of Chinese culture. The black and white swooshes are connected, with a dot of the opposite color in each. The concept behind the yin and yang is that they are opposite states of chi (energy). One cannot exist without the other. Yin (black) is associated with femininity, matter, nighttime, coldness, passivity and softness, and yang (white) is about masculinity, spirit, daytime, warmth, activity and hardness. If you didn’t have night, you couldn’t understand what day is, so neither can exist on its own. In the world of Feng Shui, the yin and yang must be balanced. While chi, and thus yin and yang, are constantly in motion, the symbol is traditionally displayed with the yang on top, under the assumption that heat rises.
Each Feng Shui element is represented by a specific color, and the color is the easiest way to use the five elements principle to bring more harmony into your space with Feng Shui.
Significance Of Colors In Feng Shui
Have you ever wondered why you have certain feelings do you have when you look at the bright red rose in the garden? Imagine if the garden didn’t have colorful flowers but only the green foliage? How would you feel then?
Early in the morning when you see a newly opened flower in your garden, your heart is filled with joy and happiness. A white lily touches your soul for its serenity. A red rose, with its vibrant energy, elicits a feeling of love and passion. Why are these feelings evoked? Because each flower reflects a different color, causing it to have a unique hue that affects you in different ways. Feng Shui uses this natural magic of colors to transform your life.
A rose is red because it reflects red color. Feng Shui makes use of this reflected energy to create a balance between your yin and yang energies to suit your personality or your environment.
Think of yin energy as like a plant growing from the earth. It comes from the soil, raising itself upward and moving toward the sky. As yin energy moves up to the sky it becomes more diffused and dissipated. Yin energy is the passive energy. Yin energies have an element of dreaminess about them. Colors like blue, white, green, and purple according to Feng Shui are believed to have yin energies. If your home office is full of creative and dream-inducing objects or colors, Feng Shui may call for you to get rid of them (at least some of them) and use more vibrant colors in their place. Yang Feng Shui colors will help you get in the right spirit to do some work and be enthusiastic.
Every association you have with a color contributes in some way to how you are. That is why colors play a meaningful role within the practice of Feng Shui. It is very essential for you to understand why toning down or playing up certain Feng Shui colors in your home will help you to achieve the goals you have set for yourself in your life.