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Feng Shui Fall
There’s something about autumn we all love. Even before the hot days are over and the calendar tells us we are now in fall, we seem to crave the brilliant colors and harvest that autumn brings. According to retailers and interior designers, fall decorating is second only to Christmas and is not far behind! This decorating can be the artificial flowers and leaves or the fresh mums, pumpkins and gourds from the garden. It is beautiful, inspiring, happy making and joyful – but is it Feng Shui?
Certainly the beautiful decorations impact your emotions and psychological well-being and this can play a role in your mental outlook. When something makes us smile, makes us happy the impact can be quite transforming and boosts our inner spirit. And people who understand the power of attraction and intention can use this feeling to jump start their day and moods. This can be quite powerful – but it is not Feng Shui. Rather I would call it part of environmental (or interior design) psychology.
Feng Shui is the balancing of the energies that are inherent in your house based on the orientation of the sitting and facing directions and the year the house was built. Qi flow from the inside and outside environment is also a factor in determining the energy balance and the needed remedies. Holiday and seasonal decorating does not have the power to change the essential Feng Shui of your house. Despite this fact seasonal decorating plays a large role in much of the western Feng Shui practices.
I myself love to decorate for fall – I am a sucker for the Indian corn, the gourds, fall leaves and Halloween ghosts and witches. I love it all – and it makes me happy, brightens all the grey days and gets me pumped up before winter. But I know it does not change the inherent Feng Shui of my house. And, I also know that the “rules” given for fall decorating by some Western Feng Shui schools can be ignored. Let’s explore and destroy some of these myths so you can decorate without fear of bad Feng Shui.
Myth 1 : To enhance family relationships fall decorations should be placed in the east.
Truth is, it does not matter where you put your decorations. In some Western schools, the bagua is broken into 9 life aspects; the east being the family relationship. In the classic, traditional Feng Shui schools we do not look at the sectors (guas) this simply. Each one has an energy determined by the permanent stars so every one of the nine sectors affects the family, wealth, health etc. Every house has its own specific Feng Shui – it is not generic enough that we would say east is the family. Just think about it – if the laundry room was in the east would you only place your beautiful decorations there?
Myth 2: All reds and orange decorations should be placed in the south.
True, in all schools the south is represented by the color red. But this does not mean that red objects should only be placed in the south. In fact, this could be quite explosive when the fire element is over represented in this area – or in any area that does not call for fire. How do you know? By finding the permanent energy codes in your house through a classic Feng Shui reading.
However, do not fear placing your red and orange leaves in the southern part of your home if that is where you desire it. I have never seen a home with so much red in their fall decorations that it would negatively affect the fire element. (Christmas red is another story.)
Myth 3: Dried corn stalks and flowers represent death and should not be used.
Most Western Feng Shui schools perpetuate this myth while classical Feng Shui has no taboo against this. I see it as a personal preference. Dried flower arrangements, hay bales and dried leaves can be beautifully arranged and do not bring in the specter of death and decay. After all, we use dried herbs in our cooking and this is pretty life sustaining.
So, please enjoy the fall without worrying about your Feng Shui decorating. I wish you long walks in the falling leaves and crisp mornings to start your day.
Mirror, mirror, Feng Shui mirror…
I probably get more questions about the use of mirrors as Feng Shui cures than anything else. Are they taboo in the bedroom, can they multiply the wealth area, will they fill in missing pieces and will a Bagua mirror ward off evil or destructive influences? And the answer may be as complex as the question depending on the Feng Shui school that rings true to you.
I remember the first time I asked a Classical Feng Shui master where he felt the best place to put a mirror was – he looked at me as if I was asking a trick question – and answered, “the bathroom?”
For him mirrors held no more power or purpose than the purpose a looking glass has to reflect an image. True, in historic times, a mirror was considered to be of the metal element and thus a potentially powerful remedy. But historically mirrors were polished metal. Once they started to be made of more reflective material as we know them today mirrors were no longer used as metal cures.
Both Classical and Western Feng Shui practitioners agree on the restriction of mirrors in the bedroom. Mirrors are considered too yang for this space; they reflect movement and light which detracts from deep sleep. Chinese folklore says that mirrors attract ghosts; certainly it was not difficult to believe that when one awoke from a deep sleet and saw an image, a movement reflected in the mirror, that a ghost was lurking. But folklore is not Feng Shui so we emphasize quality of sleep as opposed to quantity of ghosts.
Also, both Classic and Western Feng Shui practitioners will advise that the mirror should reflect something beautiful, something that is pleasing to the eye. We are strongly affected by the visual and that which is not visually pleasing does create inner stress. It’s kind of a no brainer – just take a look in your mirrors and see what is being reflected back to you. If it is not pleasing, move the mirror. Now, you have just practiced good Feng Shui.
Although many people who read the generic Feng Shui books and follow the Western tradition tend to give power to the Bagua mirror a Classic practitioner sees things differently. We do not believe that it is a cure all, it will not reflect, balance or deflect bad energy and it cannot absorb energy.
But the use of the Bagua mirror does reveal quite a bit to the Classical Feng Shui practitioner. It tells us that the homeowner feels there are lots of problems in the house and the use of a Bagua mirror on the outside door is just advertising to all that trouble lives here!
Thank you for reading my blog.