Feng Shui offers a variety of tips and tools to improve your life when decorating your home or office. Feng Shui is an ancient art developed over 3,000 years ago in China. It is a way of balancing the energies of the environment to assure health, wealth and good fortune for people living or working in that particular space.
"Feng" [pronounced Fung] means "wind" and "shui" [pronounced shway] means "water". In Chinese culture gentle breeze and clear water have always been associated with good harvest and good health, thus "good feng shui" came to mean a good luck, prosperity and fortune, while "bad feng shui" came to mean hardship and misfortune and bad luck.
Feng Shui is based on the on the idea that the land is alive and filled with energy. The theories of yin and yang [light and dark, good and bad], as well as the five elements; which are some of the basic aspects of a feng shui analysis, come from Taoism.
The main tools used in a feng shui analysis are the Compass and the Ba-Gua. The Ba-Gua is an octagonal map or grid containing the symbols of the I Ching, the ancient oracle on which Feng Shui is based. It is one of the easiest methods used to ascertain the Feng Shui of any given environment. The feng shui compass is used to access deeper information about the site or the building. It consists of bands of concentric rings arranged around the magnetic needle.
Getting started with feng shui can be easy when you start with the feng shui basics and gradually move on to the more complex feng shui levels. To help you get started, here are some helpful feng shui steps for beginners for which you don't need to know how to use the Feng shui compass:
1. Clear Out your Clutter, get rid of everything you do not use or love. Clutter clearing is a time and energy consuming process that will feel like therapy, but it will help you "lighten up the load", so to speak. Do not skip this step, as it is an essential one in creating a harmonious, clear energy in your space. Don't do the whole house in one go it will be far too daunting. Tackle it a drawer or a shelf at a time if you need to. Start at the top of the house and work downwards in a methodical manner.
2. Have Good Quality Air and Good Quality Light in your space - these two crucial elements are very important for good Chi, or energy. Open the windows to let fresh air in. Clean the windows inside and out to let more light in, introduce air-purifying plants or use an air-purifier. Allow as much natural light as possible into your space, and consider using full-spectrum lights.
3. Always be mindful of the state of your home and how the energy in your home influences your well-being. Make a habit of paying close attention to the so-called "triangle" that is deeply connected to your health - your bedroom, your bathroom and your kitchen. Keep these tidy at all times. Close the door to the bathroom when not in use. Make sure the toilet seat is down too. This stops good chi escaping.
After you have mastered these basic steps, you can explore the deeper levels of feng shui.In Feng Shui, Colour is used according to the Five Elements of Feng Shui colour is one of the easiest ways to shift the energy in your space with Feng Shui.
Each colour is an expression of one of the Five Feng Shui Elements: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood. The elements are used in specific areas according to the feng shui energy map of your space,
This Feng Shui colour guide will help you choose the best colours to create a harmonious Feng Shui home. Choose the Feng Shui colours according to the energy you need and bring them into your space with the wall colour, art, photography, or various decor items.
FIRE - PASSION AND HIGH ENERGY
a balanced Feng Shui Fire element in your space will bring a supporting energy in all your career efforts and will help you achieve recognition. Fire is the Feng Shui element of South. Fire energy is also recommended in the Northeast and Southwest feng shui areas of your space.
Feng Shui Fire Colours are:
Red - The Feng Shui energy of colour red is the energy of arousal. It is hot, passionate, rich and celebratory. It is the Chinese colour of luck and happiness, the marriage colour in India, and the symbolic colour of love and romance, courage and passion in the West. In feng shui colour decorating Red always signifies richness and luxury. If used too much, though, it can bring restlessness, burst of anger and over stimulation. Better use it with caution, always easier to bring Red with details and accessories, rather than with furnishings or wall colour use with most moderation in children's rooms, freely in the living room, dining and kitchen.
Orange - When feng shui use of the colour Red is too intense for your space, go for Orange and Yellow colours instead. Orange is often called the "social" colour, as it creates the feng shui energy to promote lively conversations and good times in your home. In the winter especially it reminds us of summertime dreams, as well as resembles the cheerful flickering of deep and vibrant orange in log fires. Orange represents the Fire element and it is best in the following feng shui areas: South (Fame & Reputation) and Southwest (Love & Marriage). Avoid a predominant Orange-theme in the feng shui areas of West and Northwest, as they are governed by the Metal element, and Fire melts the Metal in the feng shui cycle of five elements. The other two feng shui areas to avoid a strong presence of Orange colour are East and Southeast, as both are governed by the element of Wood, and Fire burns the Wood in the interplay of five elements The vibrant and happy Orange colour is an excellent feng shui choice for the living room, dining/kitchen, children's play area or anywhere in your space where you want to have a playful, lively and pulsating energy. Usually, it is easier to bring it with feng shui decor accessories or one feature wall, rather than a full room colour.
The softness and warmth of Orange makes it a feng shui colour easy to live with. At sunsets the light in Orange-themed rooms becomes beautifully golden and a nurturing feeling to remember.
Purple - In your feng shui colour applications, Colour Purple should be used with moderation. It is a very strong, high vibration colour, the colour of connection to the spiritual realms (7th chakra) it is not recommended as a wall colour. Many feng shui masters believe that colour Purple on the wall (or an overwhelming amount of it in any feng shui decor applications) may trigger blood disease. True or not, Purple is a very high vibration colour and the feng shui advice is to use it sparingly. The only feng shui spaces purple colour can be used freely are a healing room or a meditation space. Use in moderation throughout your home or go for much lighter colour tones, like lavender. Limit it in the feng shui areas of East and South east areas, as well as the West. An excellent way to bring the royal Purple in your environment is with Amethyst, one of the most powerful feng shui crystals.
Pink - The right Feng Shui colour use can bring a strong shift of energy into your environment. Pink colour is the universal colour of Love, which makes it a perfect feng shui colour to soothe the energy. Its gentle and delicate feng shui vibrations have a proven soothing effect on one's behavior. You could almost say that, as a feng shui colour, Pink literally soothes the heart and fills it with love! The widest use of Pink colour in feng shui is in the Southwest area of one's space, as it is connected to Love & Marriage. The feng shui element of Southwest is Earth, so Fire colour is perfect as it creates Earth in the productive cycle of the feng shui five elements. You can bring the Fire energy with the wall colour or furniture and decor accessories. The most common Pink used in feng shui decorating is a gentle Pink.
Although the "hot version" of it, the Magenta Pink, is used more and more often, as it brings very fiery energy, especially when coupled with Orange, also a Fire element colour. Pink colour can be a beautiful feng shui addition to the powder room, a little girl's bedroom, a creative office, etc. One of the most common Pink colour combinations (besides the mentioned Pink & Orange one) is the Pink and Green and the Pink and Black. Pink and Green is an active, vibrant feng shui colour combination that brings the energy of Fire (Pink) and Wood (Green), thus strengthening the soothing, loving vibrations of Pink. Pink and Black, a very elegant and beautiful "retro" combination brings the feng shui energies of Fire (Pink) and Water (Black). Because of the nature of this relationship, the feng shui colour use of this
combination creates an interesting tension in the room, as well a constant dialogue and subtle movement. When used too much in an indoor environment, pink can create a floating effect, and its inhabitants may tend to live in an illusory world. A beautiful feng shui way to bring pink colour into one's space be it personal or business is with a bowl of rose quartz crystals, as these rock crystals carry strong natural and healing love vibrations expressed in a gentle, soothing pink.
Strong Yellow - Yellow colour wakes up the room like the rising sun. The feng shui colour of sunlight, cheerful and uplifting Yellow always lightens and brightens any space, as well as creates a cozy, welcoming feng shui feeling. From hot sunflower Yellow to pale buttery tones - there are many feng shui options to choose from. Yellow colour is an excellent feng shui choice for the children's rooms, as well as the family room. Any dull, dark room with little sunlight will greatly benefit from a Yellow based feng shui scheme to compensate for the lack of light and bring the gentle warmth of the sun. Yellow brings the feng shui energy of Fire in a gentler way than Red; it is the most enchanting of all colours, as well as easier to "live with" in bigger/larger quantities. Colour researchers believe colour Yellow to increase self-esteem and strengthen the overall well-being. Feng Shui-wise, use hot Yellow in moderation in the feng shui areas of East and South East areas of your home.