Feng Shui is the ancient art of creating your personal space as a place of focused positive energy that allows you to operate with a clear mind. It also release energy that will attract wealth, happiness and wellbeing. These articles investigate the art and science of Feng Shui.
The ancient practice of Feng Shui may provide the secret to unlocking your happiness. In this article we explore the design of an optimized Feng Shui Bedroom and the positive effects it can have on you whole life experience.
If you’re always exhausted and lack libido, you may simply need to rearrange and redecorate your bedroom. The placement of furniture, selection of colors, and other details help or hurt the flow of energy.
People have used the principles of Feng Shui for thousands of years. It relies on the principles of yin and yang, which requires that there is a balance between opposites.
Feng Shui and the proper flow of energy (Chi) through your bedroom may help you sleep better and improve your sex life.
If you want to boost the flow of calming or sensual energy in your bedroom, follow these top ten Feng Shui Bedroom Design tips.
Positioning the bed is the first step in setting up your Feng Shui bedroom. It is the most important item in the room. The bed is the focal point, the largest piece of furniture, and where you sleep and have sex (usually!).
When placing the bed in the room, you need to consider the direction that your feet point. If your feet point toward the west, you may sleep better. Facing east may help you become more ambitious and greet each day with renewed energy.
The southeast is recommended for those that want to improve their communication skills or creativity. Facing to the southwest may help you relax. It is the recommended direction for those that are restless.
What about facing north or south? According to Feng Shui experts, facing to the north can bring sleep disorders while facing the south can increase the risk of heated arguments with your partner.
You should place the bed away from the door. You also want to avoid aligning the bed with the door. Basically, you should be able to lay in bed and see the door without being in the direct path of the door.
If you need help on how to use a Feng Shui Compass (Luo Pan) you can checl these articles here and part 2 here
Besides placing your bed in the right spot, you may want to find the right bed. For optimal energy, your bed should be supportive. Wood and metal are two of the five elements of Feng Shui and great materials for a sturdy bed.
The bed should also provide plenty of room for air to flow underneath. Like air, energy needs to properly circulate around the room. Avoid beds that feature built-in storage underneath or beds that sit directly on the ground.
The rest of your Feng Shui bedroom should flow around the bed. Where you place other furniture and décor impacts the Feng Shui energy.
After the bed, you should move to the next largest pieces of furniture. These items may include dressers, tables, nightstands, vanities, and other large items that may block the flow of energy.
You should also consider placing a nightstand on each side of the bed. Having just one piece of furniture beside the bed messes with the balance.
The two nightstands do not need to be identical. However, they should be roughly the same size. Rounded furniture is also preferred, as it provides less interference to the air circulation.
Mirrors are useful objects. They can help make rooms appear larger and help distribute energy. However, they are not the best option for your bedroom.
Mirrors in the bedroom are believed to disturb sleep and promote infidelity. The energy they help distribute may keep you up at night or cause you to get poor sleep.
While they are not suited for the bedroom, mirrors are beneficial for other areas of your home. You can use them in hallways to help make space seem bigger or in the living room to help balance the energy coming in from the front windows.
The colors you select also affect the energy in the room. With the right colors, you can promote better sleep and sexual health. Common Feng Shui colors for the bedroom include skin colors.
From pale white walls to dark browns, skin tones are considered more sensual and calming compared to other options.
If you do not want skin tone walls, choose light, calming colors. Light pastels may keep you from tossing and turning. They promote peace and calm.
You may also choose colors associated with passion. Fire is one of the five elements of Feng Shui and may bring more romance to your life. Common fire element colors include orange, red, pink, and purple.
White and gray are also suitable Feng Shui options for the bedroom. These colors are associated with the metal element and help bring more clarity to your life.
Carefully positioned décor and Feng Shui ornaments can help make your bedroom more inviting. However, you should use caution to avoid cluttering the room.
Adding too much clutter can have a negative effect on the bedroom. The clutter prevents proper air circulation, keeping the Chi from circulating. You may start to feel trapped, overwhelmed, or unorganized when your room has a lot of clutter.
Go through your bedroom and pick up everything. All items should have a home, including your dirty clothes. In fact, you should find storage for everything, so the only items touching the floor are your bed and furniture.
Bedside photos are common items on the nightstand. While one or two photos may not create clutter, you should avoid adding more than a few photos, especially if they are photos of friends or family
When you have photos of people watching over you, you may start to feel overwhelmed. You may even feel like you are being watched.
Besides clutter on the floor, walls, or on top of your nightstand, you should avoid clutter inside your closets and dressers. Keep all storage areas clean and organized.
An unorganized closet can bring stress to your life. Even when you cannot see the inside of a messy closet, you know what it is inside.
Clean out old clothing and items that you no longer use. You should also keep the drawers closed and close the closet doors. In fact, you should also close the bedroom doors at night.
Closing the doors helps keep unwanted energy from entering the room while you sleep.
Feng Shui decorating ideas typically incorporate painting or wall art. Remember to avoid cluttering the room. Most of the wall should be bare.
If you want to add décor or Feng Shui ornaments, choose one or two items per wall, while ensuring that they do not overpower the wall.
You should also choose happy or calming images for your bedroom art. Images that promote happiness, nourishment, or satisfaction can have a positive impact on your life.
Feng Shui experts advise people to stay away from paintings of water. These paintings may encourage theft or other types of misfortune.
When placing your art on the walls, remember to keep everything balanced for better Chi. For example, if you hang a painting between two windows, it should be evenly spaced between the windows.
You should also use even spacing for the rest of your furniture. Keep objects an equal distance from other objects.
Electronics interfere with the flow of Chi through the room. While you may not eliminate electronics in other areas of your house, you should eliminate them in your bedroom.
Do not keep a TV in your room. It creates a distraction that may keep you from getting adequate sleep or sex.
There is no need to have electronics in your bedroom. These days, most people use their phones for alarm clocks. Other than a wall charger for your device, you should keep other gadgets and electronic items out of the bedroom.
Lighting is an important consideration when planning a Feng Shui bedroom. Natural lighting is the best option. In the evening, you can use candles.
Candles help clear the Chi in the room and help to keep the energy flowing freely. They are also intimate, which may add to the sensuality of the room.
If you need artificial lighting, install dimmer switches. You can adjust the brightness to suit your mood. Dimmers also help you prepare for the nighttime, by gradually lowering the brightness.
Whether you believe in the principles of Feng Shui, keeping your bedroom organized should have a positive impact on your life. Allowing air to flow through the room promotes better health while getting rid of the electronics may improve your sex life.
Remember that objects impact the flow of energy. Avoid placing large pieces of furniture in the corners or directly against the walls.
You should also avoid clutter. If you need help thinking of how to place things in a room, imagine the flow of energy as wind passing through the room. Remove items that may block the air flow.
You can also use many of these tips for your entire Feng Shui home makeover. The selection of colors, furniture, and décor can help improve the balance of yin and yang in your living room, kitchen, or dining area.
We also have articles on how to apply Feng Shui in other areas of your home such as our article on your Feng Shui Living Room.
In 2016, the millennial generation planned to spend an average of $1,500 on redecorating their living rooms. This is often their first experience of interior decoration and they want more than value for money - they want to be sure of introducing a sense of peace and creativity into their homes. Using Feng Shui is a great way to do this but first we need to know about the key Feng Shui meaning and especially the Feng Shui meaning of color.
Interior design is a growing market and the methods used to redecorate a home are many. Feng shui is one design concept that's increasingly being used in the western world to balance out a living space and lend it an intuitive feeling of peace and creativity .
Most of us know how it feels to walk into a room and immediately feel uncomfortable - even when the room appears tidy and the colors not too loud; there's just 'something' about it that makes us feel ill at ease. We can avoid that when we apply feng shui and use the right colors and objects in the right places. To do this with confidence we really must understand the feng shui meaning of colors as a beginning. Rest assured that after thousands of years of learning, the feng shui masters know exactly how to apply colors and their effects on the human mind and spirit.
If you're looking to redecorate with feng shui principles, one of the best places to start is with color. With just a change of paint, you can bring more harmony to a room - that is, if you know what colors to choose. Keep reading to find out more about feng shui and how to bring this design principle into your home.
This ancient art form of feng shui dates back between 2,000 and 5,000 years. The principles are based on elements of physics, philosophy, astrology, and astronomy. The key feng shui meaning refers to "wind" (Feng) and shui translates as "water". These 2 elements represent good health in Chinese culture and, as such, feng shui has come to be associated with good fortune.
Feng Shui is often thought of as the art of placement. It involves placing items in a deliberate way throughout a room. The notion behind this is that where yourself and your objects are in a room affects the energy in your life. Feng shui says that how you arrange a room can bring balance and harmony. It follows that arranging a room without the use of feng shui can bring disharmony and throw your life off-balance.
Feng Shui Compass
Feng shui can be incorporated into any space in which you live. That includes offices, homes, and gardens. To analyze the feng shui of a room, practitioners use 2 tools: the feng shui compass and the bagua.
The compass is otherwise an ordinary magnetic compass. Made of bands of concentric rings that surround a magnetic needle, it's used to tell a feng shui designer deep information about a site or building.
The bagua (bag-wa) is an octagonal grid adorned with Ching symbols. The bagua helps you understand how different spaces in your home relate to the other aspects of your life experience.
More and more, feng shui is influencing the way we design a space. Interior designers, as well as architects, are incorporating feng shui meaning into the layout of homes, offices, and other spaces. While it was originally an eastern concept, it's made its way into the western world where it's been embraced wholeheartedly by the design world. If it didn't work - commercial companies would not do it!
There are 2 basic principles of feng shui: yin and yang as well as the principle of five elements.
Ying and yang are fairly well-known principles. It's the Taoist belief that the feminine (yin) and the masculine (yang) need to be balanced. Only when those energies are balanced can we have a good flow of Chi (Qi), which is what brings us happiness and good fortune.
The second principle of Feng Shui meaning is the principle of the five elements. Another Taoist belief, the five elements refers to wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
Taoists believe that all things contain varying degrees of these elements and that each is represented in different colors. By knowing how to balance and use those colors, we can bring good Chi to a room.
In feng shui color is an important element of design. Colors carry with them vibrational energies.
Chi works through those vibrations and distributes them into a space to bring balance and harmony. The right color can impact your mental and emotional state as well as the energies that come into your life. That's why it's so important to pick the right colors when decorating.
In determining feng shui meaning, we note that colors are related to the principle of the five elements. Every color has an associated element:
You can determine where to place the right colors using the bagua (we have several articles to help you with this).
Let's start with the basics. These are the colors and their basic meaning:
Knowing the feng shui meaning of these colors is a first step, but knowing where and how to use these colors is important as well. We'll detail this more below.
Active rooms should be painted with a fire color. These rooms that are full of life and daytime energy - such as dining rooms and workout rooms - benefit from the energies of oranges, yellows, and reds (to an extent). However, you should never paint an entire room with a fire color. Instead, put them in foyers and hallways or use them as an accent.
In quiet rooms such as bedrooms and living rooms, use calm colors. These include neutrals, blues, as well as greens.
It's true that red is a lucky color that wards off evil. But if you're not a fan of red and you choose it only for those reasons, you'll bring the opposite into your life. Why?
Because if you don't have a personal connection to the color and you use it in your living space, you will create bad feng shui. This is because your underlying feelings of frustration with that color will be picked up. That unhappiness will build every time you're in that room.
Try to avoid using blacks in bedrooms or kitchens. If you must, use it as an accent and counterbalance it with light. That includes using patterns, accent walls, or items with iridescent qualities that bring light back into space.
Feng shui is an ancient practice that has its roots in Taoism but is based on a number of studies including physics and astronomy. This art of placement has made its way into western culture where it influences interior design. The idea behind it is to use color, placement, and arrangement to bring good fortune into your life. The is the key to the meaning of Feng Shui.
Now that you understand fen shui meaning, learn more about bringing balance and energy into your life. Read our blog for more tips and advice.
In Part 1 of this article we introduced the Feng Shui Compass, or Luo Pan. We now continue and will begin with a brief reiteration of how this marvelous invention came about.
It is believed that the first compass was developed by the Chinese people about 4000 years ago, and was used to direct armies. But many philosophers saw it as a link between the unseen and the mundane world, which is how the Luo Pan compass came about. Legend claims that the very first compass was invented by Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor - 25th century BC) Huang-Di was the most ancient of the five legendary Chinese emperors. He was also the patron of Taoism, one of China's main religions and philosophies and are credited with the introduction of wooden houses, carts, boats, the bow and arrow, coined money and writing.
The traditional ancient Chinese compass, the Luo Pan also known as a "lo pan", is a complex tool and as such generally only used by Feng Shui masters and more advanced practitioners
A Luo Pan consists of a magnetic compass in the centre of a metal plate and is surrounded by a series of concentric rings set into the metal plate. The metal plate or "Heaven Dial" has from 3 to 40 and sometimes more rings and each of these rings has a specific meaning, formula and orientation purpose. For instance this is where you will find the 8 trigrams, the 5 elements associate with the directions and also astrological data. This plate typically rests on a wooden base which is normally square in shape and is known as the "Earth Plate"
The Earth Plate of the Luo Pan is square, so it can easily be aligned against structures and buildings. It is generally red in colour to act as a strong protection keeping negative energy away from the Luo Pan compass. The colour red in Feng Shui symbolizes the element of fire and is a symbol of divine energy.
The Luo Pan has two (normally red) strings that cut the plate in 4 sections. They cross the Earth plate and Heaven dial at 90-degrees angles and are called the Heaven Center Cross lines. We use these lines to find direction, and to note position of the 8 trigrams on the rings.
A conventional compass has markings for four or eight directions, while a Luo Pan Feng Shui compass typically contains markings for 24 directions. This translates to 15 degrees per direction. The Sun takes approximately 15.2 days to traverse a solar term, a series of 24 points on the ecliptic. Since there are 360 degrees on the Luo Pan and approximately 365.25 days in a mean solar year, each degree on a Luo Pan approximates a terrestrial day.
Of course your front door should be as welcoming and attractive as possible because this is where you, your family and your visitors enter your home. But to automatically assume that your front door is also your facing direction is a mistake. You need to define the "facing direction" of your home which might or might not be the side that your front door is situated.
Feng Shui House Period is used by the Flying Star School of Feng Shui to define the energies in your home or business. There are 9 periods, each lasting 20 years. Right now we are in period 8. Step 1: Find your period by choosing one of the three below that best applies to you.
Next you need to determine the period of your house. This is to define the movement of various energies in your home. In other words - how does the energies affects you.
When you know the year that applies to you, then look at the chart below and find the period that applies to your date.
Your facing direction would be where the Yang or active energy is: the road, a flowing stream or a river, people and cars going by, or even the widest part of the building. If your house is on a corner then it will be the street that is in your address. So If you live on the corner of Appleby Ave and Morris Street and your address is 3 Morris Street. Your facing direction will be Morris street.
To take a compass reading you must stand at the door/wall facing out away from the home in the direction of where the house faces. It does not matter if you stand inside the house, inside the doorway or just outside the door, as long as you face away from the house. It's best to take several readings with your Luo Pan, as many things can influence a reading. For instance a lot of metal near where you are trying to take a reading can throw it off. You will now know which of the 24 directions your house falls into. This is the prime purpose of the Feng Shui compass.
You will need to practice a bit with your Luo Pan, but Feng Shui does not require immediate perfection and you can practice whenever you like. As with any practice for well-being, the only thing that matters is the result - do you feel better about your home and your life? We suggest that you keep practicing with the compass, but in th meantime get on with applying Feng Shui to your home, starting with the Living Room. Best of luck and see you soon! Don't forget to check back in for more articles on Feng Shui, Yoga and much more!
You will still need some Feng Shui ornamentation in your home! You're in luck - check these out!
Don't forget - we have many more blog articles!
Buddhism and Feng Shui are inextricably entwined, and Feng Shui is very much a tool to help obtain the kind of peace and self-healing that is the goal of Buddhism. It is therefore not surprising that the Dalai Llama has a keen interest in Feng Shui and the Feng Shui Compass. Before we delve into the use of the Feng Shui Compass, we'll say a few words about Feng Shui itself and its role in the world today. We will also discuss the energies we are directing by the use of the Feng Shui Compass.
Feng Shui, which literally translates into ‘wind’ and ‘water,’ is an ancient art combining science and spirituality. It originated in China over 3,000 years ago. The practice of Feng Shui involves understanding and correcting the placement of everything in your environment, usually using a Feng Shui Compass. This means designing your space to optimize balance and harmony between energy in your surroundings and your own energy.
In short, the goal of Feng Shui is the art and practice of living in harmony with your environment to produce tangible results naturally. To achieve this we rely on a Feng Shui compass to interpret the layout and flow of chi (life energy). This means that we have a basis for our positioning of everything else.
Many people who enjoy and appreciate science understand and are thrilled that living beings are not just accidental collections of particles. We are not merely the material creations of accident and evolution. Humans and all living creatures are living, interconnected spiritual creatures. We do not warm ourselves only in the radiance of the Sun. We are bathed in the positive and negative energy projected by every tree and animal and most human beings.
It is also true that some people can drain us of all energy and bury us in the blackest mood just by being present. That's the sort of energy we want to clear out of our space as fast as possible. That's what Feng Shui is really good at - clearing away bad energies and retaining and spreading positive energies
Applying Feng Shui principles in our homes using a Feng Shui Compass, clears the mind in an amazing way. It leaves our thoughts crystal clear. Despair can become hope and unhappiness can become real optimism because we have moved into a world of positive energies.
The practice of Feng Shui is based on two main principles that are necessary to attain balance. The first principle is achieving yin and yang. The second is balancing the elements: wood, fire, water, metal and earth. The ideal is to balance your inner world and desires with your outer environment. Feng Shui represent the energy both positive and negative of you and everything around you..
When both of these sides have equal forces that push and pull, you can experience the balance and peace that comes with it. The Yin and Yang symbol is seen as a black and white swirling circle with dots of the opposite color on each side. This points to the fact that you need a balance of energies to generate peace and clarity. This is one of the great themes in Feng Shui because balance is everything.
Another part of Feng Shui that’s necessary to obtain balance is the principle of the five elements. You’ve probably heard of the elements as being wood, fire, metal, water, and earth. All of these elements must work together and give prosperity to the next in a natural sequence.
For instance, wood feeds fire and warmth - but each is equally capable of giving harm because too much fire burns just as too little starves us. Using a Feng Shui compass guides us in balancing the amount of these forces. It also permits us to balance Yin and Yang, allowing a natural energy flow into a person’s home.
When we use a Feng Shui Compass properly, it makes it much easier and simple to position objects in our home. in turn, this creates a tremendous stream of energy that is balanced and wholesome.
To use a Luo Pan compass (Feng Shui Compass) effectively, we must begin to understand the energies at work when we use Feng Shui. These are very different to the energies of physics because they operate on mind and consciousness and spirit and not on the material world of matter.
In Feng Shui, CHI is the general term for the energy that permeates and radiates from everything around us, both living and non-organic. Thus, in Feng Shui, Chi applies to the energy inside your body, as well the energy inside and and radiated by every rock and building and coin and mountain - by everything that your mind and spirit can perceive
This is exactly why the ancients - and many knowledgeable and wise people today recognize the spirit of the ocean and of the sky, the spirit of the mountain and stream and lake. For millennia, these energies would be named as gods and goddesses, but we now recognize them as aspects of nature and of ourselves.
Every Feng Shui Compass itself interacts directly with Earth Energy - the Earth's magnetic field. When we have used the Feng Shui Compass properly, we can align and balance all the other energies that govern our peace of mind, clarity of thought and happiness.
Mastering Feng Shui theory requires understanding of the five elements as shown in the table below and the graphic above. Here you can see that each element has a basic meaning, a color and a direction. It's the directional aspect that explains the need for a Feng Shui Compass, or Luo Pan. Again, it is the Feng Shui Compass that allows us to align all these energies correctly.
Element | Color | Direction | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
Fire | Red. | South | Benevolence |
Water | Black | North | Propriety |
Earth | Brown | Central | Honesty |
Wood | Green | East | Wisdom |
Metal | White | West | Righteousness |
Feng Shui can be very confusing to the beginner because of the many different methods or styles - also called "schools" of Feng Shui. There are quick and easy ways to do it or you can go the more classical and complex route. But whichever method you choose remember that all the methods still adhere to the key concepts of chi, the five elements and the 8 trigrams.
The three primary schools practised today are: #1. Classical Feng Shui, #2. Black Hat Sect Feng Shui and #3. New Age or Modern Feng Shui. We will go further into the different schools in a later article. Classical Feng Shui has two sub-systems: Compass School and Form School and in this article we will deal with the first one - The Compass School, which is concerned with the use of the Feng Shui Compass.
As the name suggests, the Compass School make use of the Feng Shui or Luo Pan Compass pictured below.
Don't be intimidated by the complexity of the tool - it's quite easy to use for basic Feng Shui, even for a learner. As you grow accustomed to the Feng Shui Compass, your expertise will grow and you will be able to master more complex operations that will optimize your home and office for clear thinking and a peaceful mind.
Like a normal compass, a Luo Pan or Feng Shui Compass indicates direction using the Earth's magnetic field. The key difference is the Feng Shui formulas that are embedded in up to 40 concentric rings on the surface around the magnetic needle element in the middle. This outer surface is a metal or wooden plate called the heaven dial. The Heaven Dial always sits on a wooden base called the earth plate. The heaven dial rotates freely on the earth plate.
Compass School focuses on abstract energies and requires the use of calculations and formula to design a building so that its occupants can benefit from the positive flow of Qi.
(Compass School can be divided into Yin House and Yang House. Yin House represents burial sites and Yang House represents residences or businesses.) A Luo Pan (Feng Shui Compass) is usually marked up for 24 directions.
This translates to 15 degrees per directional segment. This is because our Sun takes just over 15 days to travel through a solar term, which is a series of 24 points on the ecliptic. Since there are 360 degrees on the Luo Pan and approximately 365 days in a year, each degree on the compass is around one day on Earth. It is important to note that Qi has quick and short-term effects, prompting the Feng Shui fortune of a house to continuously change as time passes.
Note that the needle of a Luo Pan (Feng Shui Compass) points to the South and not the North.The Chinese word for the compass translates to needle that points to the South. Of course, it aligns itself in the normal way any compass does, but the coloring on the needle is reversed. Be aware of this at all times! Also be aware, when we talk of 'North' we always mean Magnetic North - not True North!
A red wire or thread that crosses the earth plate and heaven dial at 90-degree angles is the Heaven Center Cross Line, or Red Cross Grid Line. This line is used to find the direction and position on the rings.
Within the Compass Schools there are various methods to implement Feng Shui. One of which is the Bagua. This system uses the 8 trigrams, colour and the attributes of the 5 elements to designate life aspirations or life sections in your home.
Trigram | Meaning | Image in Nature | Animal |
|---|---|---|---|
☰ | Creative Force | the Sky or Heaven | Horse |
☱ | joy and openness. | A lake or a Marsh | Sheep or Goat... |
☲ | Radiance | Fire | Pheasant.. |
☳ | Arousal from sleep, shaking, agitation | Thunder | A Dragon.. |
☴ | Gentle penetration.. | Wind.. | A Fowl |
☵ | A gorge | A moving body of water, a river | A Pig |
☶ | Being still, bound. | A Mountain | A Wolf or a Dog. |
☷. | Receptivity.. | Earth | A Cow |
Looking at the table above, you will realize that there are layers of meaning in each section of the Bagua. We will be writing further analysis of this, but to begin with we suggest that you meditate on each section at a time. It's amazing just how much is revealed by such an exercise as your mind reaches into the collective consciousness and makes new connections. There are many, many 'Eureka!' moments to be enjoyed in this way. Eventually your whole understanding will become entirely intuitive and natural - second nature.
Try this to begin with: Using the meditation Guide on this website, quietly put together in your head the concepts of 'North', 'Water', 'Career', a 'river running through a gorge' and 'a pig'. This will make little sense to you at first and may seem absurd, but this is the way mystics of all persuasions have used for millennia, allowing the mind to create its own connections and revealing glimpses of underlying reality.
Please try to become familiar with the basics of Feng Shui as outlined above before doing your first reading - you'll get much, much more out of it! Having said that, there is no problem whatsoever in taking your first reading straight away. It's just that your readings and interpretations will get much better as you learn more and more of this fabulous mystical science.
There are many questions about how to take a compass reading for Feng Shui. Here are a few of them.
1.Should the reading be done at the front or the back door?
2.Should the door be closed or open?
3.Can you use a regular compass?
4.Should the compass reading be magnetic north and true north?
The front door is the where the energy nourishment, or Chi, enters the home. Therefore, this is the door that should be used. Beware that it should be the main or original entrance door and not necessarily the one you use the most. For instance, if you use the garage side door to enter your house, you should still use the main front door to take your reading from.
For best results you might need to take several readings. Take the first reading inside the home looking out, facing out through the open front door. The next reading you take while standing inside the door, still facing straight out. And the third reading outside the door with your back to the door, in other words still facing the same way.
You then calculate the average reading by adding up all the readings and dividing the total number of readings. For example, if you took three readings (33 degrees, 35 degrees, 37 degrees), the average would be: 33 + 35 + 37 + = 105; 105 divided by 3 = 35 degrees.
The compass reading may be distorted by a strong presence of iron or steel objects close to you, or if you’re wearing a metal watch, belt, or jewelry. In which case it would be best to remove your watch, belt, and jewelry and move away from the front door to ensure accurate results..
In Classical Feng Shui a traditional magnetic compass (the Luo Pan) is used by serious practitioners. But for the purpose of this article it is perfectly fine to use a standard compass that gives you a degree number from 0 to 359. You can also use your smartphone compass app. If you use a smartphone, check your settings to make sure the ”true north” option is turned off.
For feng shui purposes, you only need to know the magnetic north of your front door. There is no need to adjust your reading for the geographic (true) north.
In Part Two of this article we will be explaining how to use the information you have now, to create a true Feng-Shui home and office using a Feng Shui Compass. But first, we need to give you a further outline on what you will need. Yes - Feng Shui is complex, but the effort is richly rewarding! Remember that position is the key to everything - and that's why you have your trusty Feng Shui compass and your first reading. You're ready to go!
Using your Feng Shui Compass (Luo Pan) can help you understand which energy is lacking in your home, whether it’s for wealth or happiness. Using this information to get the level of positive energy just right takes some practice and research (which we are helping you with!) because the position of items is key.
Once your Feng Shui measurements are complete (and we have only done the first one so far), how you place the sacred objects and statues around your home is a very important detail, as this either welcomes or hinders the presence of good energy in that area. There are some recommended places you can keep special items to achieve a perfectly Feng Shui bedroom, Feng Shui Living Room or Feng Shui office for instance.
Understanding and improving the Feng Shui by using a Luo Pan (Feng Shui Compass) takes a lot of time and practice before you see a difference. Many people get frustrated with it if they don’t see immediate results, but Feng Shui isn’t a quick fix. The good news is once you get used to the different ideas, colors, and cures involved, it becomes a lot easier reach the perfect energy and really get the Feng Shui flowing! You can read a more basic explanation of Feng Shui here.
In part 2, we'll go into a lot more detail on how to use the Luo Pan (Feng Shui compass). We hope you enjoyed our article and found it useful. If you did, please share it on Facebook using the gray buttons on the left and/or leave a comment below. THANK YOU for visiting us.
The dragon figure symbolizes strength, fertility, wealth, and power, so it’s definitely a figure that can do a lot for the energy in any room. Placing the dragon and a phoenix in a Feng Shui bedroom can help to recreate a connection and increase love in a marriage. To achieve a Feng Shui office, put your dragon statue behind you so that its effects can help support you, rather than in front of you where its energy becomes an opposing force for you. We will consider which way the Dragon must face in part 2 of this article.
Chinese coins are a must-have for anyone who’s interested in increasing the profit of their business and market value. Keeping these brass or bronze coins in areas of wealth and high business is a good idea to attract energy that can increase this. Some recommended places to keep your coins for positive vibes would be where you stash your valuables, near your safe, or in an area where you receive and handle money, like a cash register. These coins can help purify incoming wealth and add blessings to the existing one.
The laughing Buddha is another vital decoration to include in your Feng Shui Bagua. This piece attracts good luck and fortune to your home, so it’s a good idea to keep it in an area where you usually handle money, like a safe. You can put the laughing Buddha statue anywhere, as long as it’s not in an enclosed room, like a bathroom. To respect the laughing Buddha statue and get the most energy flow, you should keep it in an area that’s above ground, but not over eye-level if possible.
Crystals are one of the most adaptable items to increase the good Feng Shui in your home. They can be used to attract and focus many different kinds of good energy. For example, you can keep a few pieces of hematite in your room to calm yourself if you’re having trouble concentrating or relaxing. Crystals like obsidian and black tourmaline are effective for protection, while clear quartz is known to increase the effects of other crystals in general. These crystals can go pretty much anywhere in your home because of their versatility as long as you cleanse their energy regularly. This helps to keep the crystals light and free of any negative energy they absorb.
Crystal trees are similar to crystals, except that they have a collection of different crystals all working together on one tree. This is a great way to maximize effectiveness while using minimal space and time in decorating. An interesting note here is that it doesn’t necessarily matter how much bling you have on the tree; what matters more is the type of rock you have, not the shine. Even Swarovski crystals don’t do much for energy, despite their dazzling brilliance.
Crystal trees work best when they’re placed in open areas like a living room or open office. To achieve optimum Feng Shui bed placement for more personal areas, crystal trees can be included nearby to supplement that energy and increase its reach.
The bagua of an area is basically what we use to understand the energy in that area. Think of it as an energy map. As the bagua for every room is different, you may have different bagua maps for different parts of your house. The trick with good bagua is to align it with your floor plan based on where the energy levels are flowing the most. For example, you want to place items that increase your wealth in the section of your house that’s lacking that energy to compensate for it.
The Bagua and the Elements illustration shown above are by our Artist Hettie Rowley
The Feng Shui Compass illustration shown above is from PNGTree
Do you want to fill your home with good vibes? It's easy once you understand the basics. Here are 7 tips for designing the perfect Feng Shui Living Room.
Are you looking to create a Feng Shui Living Room in your home? Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese belief system based on using positive energy in the space to bring good fortune. In other words, the placement, purpose, shape, and color of the objects in your home can be a source of either good or bad energy.
Many homeowners rely on the principles of this discipline to attract harmony in their relationships and all areas of life. Even celebrities like Oprah Winfrey are big fans of Feng Shui. Keep reading to discover 7 essential tips on making your Feng Shui living room an oasis of love and good vibes.
Natural daylight and fresh air are the foundations of a Feng Shui living room. Big windows on the exterior walls can make the room more spacious, but also eliminate stale and stagnant energy. You can also invite positivity using bright colors in your decor, furniture, or walls. To attract health and prosperity, add Feng Shui figurines of Buddha, three-legged toad or frogs, elephants, Coins of the Five Chinese Emperors, wind chimes, wealth ships, and yin and yang decorations.
Your living room feng shui layout should consist of two exterior walls. According to Feng Shui, rooms in the middle of the house should not be used as living rooms. The exterior walls allow for the energy to enter the room freely.
If possible, choose a room with windows on both exterior walls to provide as much natural light and fresh air as possible. The closer the room is to the outdoors, the better the energy inside will be. This positioning activates the other Feng Shui elements in the room.
In many homes, living rooms are the place where you spend most of your time with family or guests. A lot of different energies circulate the space so you need to make sure the room is always ventilated and the air is fresh. The type of furniture you use and how you arrange it is crucial in creating free pathways and energy flow.
According to Feng Shui furniture placement, your pieces should not be too close together. Allow for ample space between two items and remove any furniture that blocks the pathways of the room. It's important for the room to be functional, yet minimalist and free of clutter. You can just about feel the energy flowing once you've opened up your space in this way.
Feng Shui is all about freedom, positive energy, and feeling good in your home. If you don't feel this way in your current living room setting, the problem could be in having too much stuff. Clutter isn't always junk you don't need. It can be decorative items, memorabilia, toys, and things you've collected over the years.
If you want your room to feel light and fresh, you need to organize and declutter the space. Throw out what you don't use, and keep things neatly in drawers, cabinets, or beautiful decorative boxes.
Feng Shui is one of the many ways you can invite positive vibes into your home. However, your state of mind, your family relationships, the people that enter your house, and your belief system can also bring positive or negative energy.
You can't expect Feng Shui to solve all of your problems or tensions, but if you change your outlook on life and organize your living space around this positive feeling, it can help attract more happiness. In Feng Shui, it's all about letting the good energy flow freely and the same rule applies to your life. If you have obstacles, unresolved problems, or people that drag you down, use Feng Shui to clear them out as well.
Once you make the right Feng Shui furniture arrangement, you should consider adding plants to your living room. Choose specific plants that purify the air indoors, but make sure they're not toxic for your pets. Fresh, free-flowing air equals positive energy, happiness, and harmony.
Plants also add a live component to an otherwise object-filled room. You can beautify the space by adding fresh flowers in bright colors or smaller pot flowers.
Some Feng Shui approved indoor plants are:
Peace Lily
Always remember never to let the plants wilt, and remove all dying plants from the home as they will accumulate negative energy.
A Feng Shui living room cannot go together with Sha Chi, which is another word for attacking or negative energy. Sha Chi can be caused by sharp edges and objects in the room. Your furniture and decor elements should have rounded corners whenever possible, and if you do have pieces with sharp edges, they shouldn't point to any seating areas.
Keeping dried out and dead plants in the room is another way to attract negative energy into the room. Clutter, visits from negative people, and a lot of arguments in the home are a breeding ground for depressing energy.
To battle the bad chi, keep your room ventilated, clean, and bright. Eliminate complainers from your life and after each argument with a family member, clear out space in the room.
Open the windows to let fresh air in, light up candles and essential oils for aromatherapy. Play calming music, make a cup of tea, meditate, or take a bath. These things will help you balance out your energies and transfer them into the living space.
If you want to create a serene home filled with positive energy, these Feng Shui living room tips will help you get started.Everything you have in the living room can be used to attract joy and inner peace, so use this guide to make your house a happy home.
For more articles and tips on spiritual living, aromatherapy, and ancient healing disciplines, visit our blog. We also have just posted a detailed article on How to Use a Feng Shui Compass. If you have any questions or want to learn more about our products, contact us today.
"The history of Feng Shui covers 3,500+ years, - even before the invention of the magnetic compass. Feng Shui originated in Chinese astronomy. We know this because the magnetic compass was first invented as a device for divination as early as the Chinese Han Dynasty (since about 206 BC). Some current techniques can be traced to Neolithic China, while others were added later (most notably the Han dynasty, the Tang, the Song, and the Ming)."
Thus, we see that the earliest instrument of Feng Shui was the compass, which was used for geomancy (placing objects or buildings auspiciously). This was all long before it was used for navigation! Here's a really old geomantic compass from around 1760:
In Chinese, Feng Shui’s literal meaning is wind (Feng) and water (Shui). 'Water' and 'wind' represent the flow of energy in your environment and the power and fluidity of natural force. The best and most succinct summary of the essence of Feng Shui is: "Feng Shui is an ancient Art of Placement”. This means that Feng Shui is the practice of arranging your environment to enhance the quality of your life. It does this by creating and directing positive energy in and around you. But where does this energy come from? Here's a hint:
"Qi（氣）(pronounced "chee" in English) is a movable positive or negative life force which plays an essential role in feng shui. In feng shui as in Chinese martial arts, it refers to 'energy', in the sense of 'life force'. A traditional explanation of qi as it relates to feng shui would include the orientation of a structure, its age, and its interaction with the surrounding environment." - Wikipedia
Before we delve further into this matter, it's extremely important to understand that Qi energy is not measurable with physical instruments. Qi energy is a function of consciousness - not of physical atoms or quanta of energy. Qi energy is best described by simple examples:
Walking into a room in your home or office - you see clutter. Your first reaction is usually - "I can't live like this". Also, "I can't work or concentrate in this mess". This affects your internal energy and your capacity to draw on the energy of people and things around you - for instance, the love of a child or the beauty of a plant. Feng Shui is an analytical and structured way of understanding this and getting the right result, which is far greater than that from merely 'tidying up'. Once you have organised your living space and work space using Feng Shui principles, you will truly 'feel' the positive energies gathered and channeled, just as you will 'feel' bad energy being washed away. Understand this and you will begin to understand the power of Feng Shui.
Your state of mind at home and at work is enhanced greatly by using Feng Shui practices. This is the basis of attracting wealth and good fortune. The effects are greatly augmented by placing traditional Feng Shui statues and icons in the right places. Why? Because in mysticism in general, we deal with Platonic archetypes that generate real power. They also affect the way we think and work and the more we absorb their ideal forms, the more effective they become in our lives.
There is a strong element of sympathetic magic in Feng Shui. This principle says (simplified) that 'like begets like'. So if you organize your life and space around positive things, then positive things will happen to you. The converse is also true! This warns us about attracting the positive or negative things in life, and Feng Shui helps us to control this.
Be very aware of the negative attitude of people who write-off Feng Shui as some sort of superstition because it doesn't fit the mode of western scientists. These are the same people who deny the power of the mind to achieve anything but constructs of logic. The human mind is much, much more powerful than that, and its interaction with matter, energy and other minds is not at all understood. This amazing fact is beautifully illustrated in physics by the observer effect double slit experiment that clearly shows human observation changing reality.
Applying Feng Shui effectively requires that you develop an 'intuitive feel' for its symbols and also learn to accept that the way you feel you want things to be is right! In your mind, try to visualize yourself swept forward on an irresistible tide of energy - that's how you should feel when you enter your house at the end of a hard day's work. This means being drawn in by the space, the love and the light of your home. But that's only a tiny part of it!
Imagine your home as a magnet for wealth, and that wealth is sucked in by the energy of the dragon and accumulates beneath the gold base of your lucky Feng Shui toad. Do I sound mad? Then ask yourself why so many intelligent and fantastically rich celebrities believe in Feng Shui! From Madonna to Johnny Depp, from Bill Gates to Oprah - they're all benefiting from Feng Shui!
Anyone entering the home will absorb the energy and attitude that meets them when they open the door. Therefore, the entryway should encourage visitors to bring their healthiest and happiest parts into the home. Everyone has their baggage, but fragrant aromas and bright colors will encourage even the grumpiest guest to leave all that negativity at the door. Keep the entry area looking light and airy, and guests will feel more relaxed the moment they walk in.
It is through the main entrance door that your house absorbs Chi. While a strong front door will be able to attract strong energy, you also need good feng shui design in the hallway to be able to ground, as well as guide, this energy further into the home.
NEVER have mirrors facing the entrance door - they will dissipate and prevent all good Qi from entering your home! If this cannot be avoided, then disrupt the effect with a lush plant in front of the mirror. You can also use some stylish art decor stickers on the mirror. The best place to hang mirrors is the dining room - we'll get to that a little later.
Another way to enhance the hallway area is to create a welcoming "landing space" by using a side table with a small lamp. A big round table placed in the center of your hallway with a dragon ornament on top can also help a lot.
The Feng Shui Dragon is a great ornament for the hall because it drives positive Qui into the house and blasts away negative Qui. Don't forget to check out our Feng Shui range when you've decided to improve your home or office!
For hundreds of years, practitioners of Chinese Geomancy have followed a basic rule: no shoes in the home. Shoes bring in dirt, debris, and a lot of other undesirable stuff. They can also bring in the wearer’s emotional problems. As one may imagine, letting other people’s emotional issues settle into the home will negatively affect the space’s positivity and peace. Do everyone a favor and ask guests to leave their shoes (and all their troubles) at the door.
The kitchen is the heart of the home, and it nourishes occupants energetically and literally. Anything with that much value should be protected. It’s best if there isn't a direct line of sight from the kitchen to the front door. Visibility from the front door to the kitchen encourages eating disorders and other food-related health issues.
The bathroom has one purpose: to allow occupants to get rid of what they no longer want or need. However, they can, energetically speaking, have negative effects on the family’s finances as well. By keeping the bathroom door and toilet lid closed, homeowners will keep more of their money where it belongs.
The living room should be arranged in a way that facilitates conversation. After all, it’s where living is supposed to happen! Seating areas should be inviting, cozy, and clutter-free. It’s perfectly okay for the room to look like something from Architectural Digest. Just make sure that it does not feel like a museum.
Electrical current is harmful to the body, but it’s very difficult to avoid. However, homeowners can take a few steps to minimize their exposure. While Grandma’s advice about sitting too close to the TV is spot-on, the most important place to reduce exposure to current is in the bedroom. As much as possible, free the room of electrical items such as alarm clocks, radios, and televisions. If living like a Chinese monk isn’t all that appealing, try unplugging everything before falling asleep. For those who charge their phones at night, sleep with the phone at least four feet from the bottom of the bed.
Shopping for a table is one of the most difficult parts of furnishing a home. Glass tables are quite uncomfortable, and visitors are always afraid of breaking them. That stress detracts from fun and good conversation, which goes against Feng Shui’s principles. When redecorating, exchange the glass for leather, wood, or something else that’s not as fragile.
When looking for a new apartment or home, ensure that window frame tops are higher than the tallest occupant or frequent guest. Short windows give the entire home a cramped, trapped feeling. This can have the bad effect of allowing allowing that cramping energy to creep into a relationship and cause stress..
Every dwelling needs protection, and in Chinese metaphysics, installing a talisman near the entrance is an easy way to provide it. There are different talismans for various cultures. For instance, the Chinese prefer the Bagua. A homeowner of African ancestry may choose the watchful eye of Ra or an ankh. The Japanese favor fu-dogs, while Tibetans typically have porcelain scrolls. Depending on the homeowner’s ancestry and the culture with which they identify, there are numerous choices.
The money frog originates in Chinese folklore. Frogs and toads are associated with water, which is symbolic of wealth. It is common for a money frog to have a coin in its mouth, as an offering for the owner or the household where the frog resides.
Traditionally, the money frog is placed in a home’s feng shui money area or wealth position. This is usually the corner of the home that is diagonally opposite the entry door and is known as the primary wealth position.
The feng shui dragon is a powerful and auspicious traditional feng shui power and a symbol of strong Qi energy. Dragons are very easy to use around the home or office and can strengthen and attract Qi in most situations. As a general rule, always place a dragon in an open space with good Chi flow. Dragons need freedom and room to fly and move about. Be sure your dragon inwards faces in the room (to invoke the Qi of wealth and prosperity) and not looking out through a window or door, which will have the opposite effect.
Feng shui crystal trees, are used in a variety of applications -- from feng shui cures for love to feng shui for wealth, abundance and happiness - it all dpends on the crystals you choose. However, they are ALL beneficial, even if only used for beauty! We'll be adding a whole article on gems, crystals and Feng Shui very soon. Watch out for it!
Feng shui crystal trees, are used in a variety of applications -- from feng shui cures for love to feng shui for wealth, abundance and happiness - it all dpends on the crystals you choose. However, they are ALL beneficial, even if only used for beauty! We'll be adding a whole article on gems, crystals and Feng Shui very soon. Watch out for it!
The home is a place to leave worries and troubles at the door, but when it’s cluttered and uninviting, that’s very difficult to do. With these tips, it’s easier to let the bad energy out and invite the good vibes in. So take your time - think about the blockages to good energy flow in your home and clear the clutter. Once that's done, you'll be amazed what a little Feng Shui power can do for you, your wealth, your family and your happiness.
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