Feng Shui: How to Obtain Positive Qi

As we enter a new year, the tradition of Lunar New Year (LNY) is celebrated worldwide by billions of people. The exact timing of this event changes every year based on the cycles of the moon. The Year of Water Tiger 2022 is from February 1st, 2022, through January 21st, 2023, in the Western calendar. During LNY, families decorate their house to welcome prosperity and good flow of energy. This is a time for family members gather to feast, fulfill household duties, and honor their ancestors. Lunar/Chinese New Year marks the start of spring and a fresh start.

As a component of Chinese tradition during Lunar New Year, Feng Shui plays a major role in ringing in the new year. Feng shui changes every year as the stars shifts and change our energy. The word Feng Shui literally means “wind and water”. It is thought to improve our overall lifestyle by balancing the harmony and happiness through design. Through changing layout, color, and material, Feng Shui is believed to enhance your lifestyle by bringing prosperity, fortune, and health to you and your family.

There are a lot of rules when it comes to Feng Shui. In Feng Shui, the Eight Trigrams (Bagua) is a compass to determine which layout works best to suit the flow of Qi. Qi is a natural energy to help inhabitants obtain a stronger life force. Eight Trigrams contain nine areas with eight sides, with yin yang being in the center, that correlate with different life situations such as your love life, career, health, knowledge, etc. Yin Yang means interconnecting two opposite energies and also the visible and invisible elements. To find the placement of each element, simply lay this compass over your floor plan or a map to configure the placement of each element.

When designing a floor plan, it is important to think of what is in the center. The center relates highly to your health as it resembles the Eight Trigrams where it connects to the eight areas. You can also utilize the Eight Trigrams to determine the use of color. Color affects our moods and how relaxing we feel. The most important is to learn how to balance to bring harmony to your space. Here are some examples of the color.

– Green brings out the calmness and regeneration.
– White represents new beginnings and creativity.
– Orange associates with joy and urges interaction.
– Yellow is enthusiasm and wisdom.
– Red is a powerful color that can be very stimulating but also overpowering.

Shapes and lines affect your Feng shui too. Symmetry helps create balance and maximizes the functionality of the space. The notion of a free-flowing Qi is important, so avoid dead ends. Curvature features obtain the positive Qi and produce a higher energy for people. This is shown in arches, bridges, and rivers. Try avoiding sharp edges that stick out, this is referred as Poison Arrow (Sha Chi) in Feng shui. As it is intruding your personal space, it impacts your Qi and affects your health. Try placing a plant to reduce the effects of this Sha Chi.

There are some architectural components that need to be carefully used in Feng shui. Beams are not recommended as it is an extruding object that is above your head. It seems like it is oppressing the people in the round that makes it hard to have a good flow of Qi. Mirrors should always have frames as they will help contain the Qi of our reflection. Always keep them clean and replace right away if broken. Do not have mirrors facing each other or opposite of the bed or doors. Staircases helps bring the flow of Qi throughout the building. Staircases and rear patio doors shouldn’t be facing straight to the front door as it will carry out your energy. Plants or furniture should be placed if this cannot be avoided. Following the Bagua, there are optimal locations for wealth, wisdom, children, etc. that will help plan the floor plan. Some famous buildings designed with Feng Shui in mind are the HSBC building in Hong Kong, the Apple store in London, the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Feng shui is a principle or a guideline to follow but be sure to follow your intuition for any placement or changes in your space. There are many designers and planners that follow this practice to bring harmony to the architecture world.