Feng Shui - The Basics

The concept of Feng shui has been around for thousands of years. It's a tribute to good health and means wind and water in Chinese. It's a systematic arrangement of your surroundings and environment so that they are in harmony and balance with the natural world and energy that's surrounding you.

Three Power Principles of Feng shui

Chi is universal energy. It imbues everything that is around us. Chi may accumulate in objects around you. At home, chi flows through your door and out through your windows. The goal of Feng shui is to keep the chi flowing in a gentle way throughout your environment instead of running straight through it.

Five Elements: Wood, Earth, Metal, Fire & Water. They are the basic elements of life and the different phases of Chi. In the ancient practice of Feng Shui, we understand these elements to be more than actual flames, or dirt, or pieces of wood. These elements are universal energetic essences, each with their own flavor of chi. The most effective way to both activate and intensify a type of energy is to bring the element in to your space. You can use candles to bring the chi of the Fire element into your space, or have plants and cut flowers for the vital, youthful, creative energy of the Wood element. Being aware of the color of a particular element is another powerful way to bring an element into your space.

The Bagua Map. You can use the Bagua mapping chart to assess and improve different parts of your home and how they affect specific areas of your life like love, health and wealth. You can then position furniture or objects in the right places to create a positive space that complements your energy.

To use the Bagua map, orient yourself to the main entrance of your house or a room to the correct side of the Bagua map, and then you can identify the different areas on the map in relation to your house or map. You don't always have to use bigger furniture and objects- for a place defined as the wisdom area, you can place books.

Small things you can do to start creating Feng shui in your home:

• Clearing your clutter- get rid of things you don't use. If it doesn't bring you joy, get rid of it, peacefully. I recommend watching Netflix's Marie Kondo

• Good-quality air & light- I have 20 foot tall ceilings and really tall windows to match. You can open windows, get lighter curtains, use air-purifying plants like the spider plant or an air purifier

• Define the Bagua Map in relation to your room or house.

• Find out your birth element and use it to create space in your home to nourish and support your energy

Find your year of birth in one of the 5 columns below representing a specific Feng shui element; be sure to check the day, too. Your date and month of birth have to be after, not before the day the Chinese New Year started in that year. The format used in the chart is day/month/year.

If you were born on February 5, 1950 (05.02.1950), your year of birth, for Feng shui purposes, is considered 1949, not 1950. Why? Because according to the Chinese calendar, the year 1950 started on February 17, 1950 (17.02.1950). So, your personal Feng shui birth element is Earth (for 1949) not Metal (for 1950), as you can see in the chart below.

Another example: my birthday is 1 May 1992. In the Water element column you will see 4 February 1992. My birthday is *after* that date, not before, so I would use the 23 January 1993. Both are in the Water column, but if they weren't, it would be essential to do this just to make sure.

• Find your Kua number and then you can find your lucky direction. It's really easy- right down the details so you can have them on hand! For example: I was born in 1992, so my lucky number is 7; therefore, my lucky directions are: Northwest (Money and Success), Southwest (Health and Vitality), Northeast (Love and Marriage) and West (Personal Growth)

• Be mindful of the energy in your home in every room and their conditions and effects

Feng shui is so dynamic and there are so many different aspects of the practice. These are just some of the basics to get you started! Whether it's just for fun or if you do want to start taking Feng shui seriously to reap the benefits, it's always an interesting journey to see what's best for your energy. I was never interested in learning about energy, feng shui, meditation or anything outside of my realm of knowledge, but energy is everywhere and I'm learning to be more mindful of that. In return, I am being given the benefits and positivity that are life-changing.