I’ve just rewritten my Time of Year Enhancement posts. They tell you the optimum times of year to get the best result from improving the related areas of the Bagua. So for instance your get a better result if you improve the Heaven/Helpful People on or around May 1st.
All the posts that I’ve written so far can be read here. There are more on the way later in the year.
Throughout the year there are particular days or periods of time when enhancing the related area of the Bagua will give you a better outcome. Around October 7 the area in your home is Mountain/Knowledge. If you don’t know where this area is in your home you can read about it here.
This area is symbolized by a cave within a mountain, and relates to different forms of knowledge, such as teaching, study and introspection. It is also about the inner knowledge we use to base our judgements and decisions upon. When this area is missing from a building, the occupants are often superficial in their behavior.
This area should always be the quietest in any home, and is suited to large box like objects such as wardrobes and cupboards, and is ideal as an area for storage. During these months it is especially good to place single ornaments there, or create storage space.
I’ve recently started using the camera on my iphone, so from time to time you can expect to see some pix of good and bad Feng Shui on this blog.
Here’s a great example of a newly decorated room in the Mountain/Knowledge area of a home I visit a lot.
If you don’t know where this area is in your home you can read about it here.
Your bedroom is of supreme concern to your Feng Shui Consultant because most people spend at least one third to a quarter of their lives there. Whatever there is in this room will influence how well you rejuvenate while asleep, so the ideal bedroom will have as little as possible in it apart from the bed. There should also be nothing under it – I once found someone’s Grannies ashes under their bed!
For a good night sleep Chi must flow easily around your bed, so it should be on legs, (no water beds!), and be heated. You’d be amazed at the number of cold clinical box rooms I’ve seen.
You should definitely avoid an en-suite bathroom, except where there is a walk in wardrobe separating the en-suite from the bedroom. Otherwise you should keep the door to it shut and put a reflective ‘bathroom’ nameplate on the outside of the door.
Avoid having electrical equipment in the room, but if you really must have a TV in there you should unplug it at night and cover the screen. And if you need to have a mirror in the bedroom have only one. How many of you reading this have a mirror wardrobe? Cover it up now! Not only does it raise the Chi in the room, the split mirror affect will negativity impact on your self image. Remember that in Feng Shui, what you see is what you get.
Bearing this in mind there should be personal images of you and your lover by the bed, and pairs of ornaments such as candles or soft toys. Have indirect lighting and plenty of soft furnishings. Ideal colours are muted and light, such as lilac, pink and mauve, although it also possible for your Consultant to calculate the ideal colours for yourself and lover.
However, not every item in your bedroom need be perfect, as the Japanese art of Wabi-Sabi can introduce an element of the unexpected. This can range from a rough piece of hewn wood, to an chipped ornament or a simple naive image. Something that will surprise your Chi and create an interest in the other possibilities a bedroom can present.
Throughout the year there are particular days or periods of time when enhancing the related area of the Bagua will give you a better outcome, and throughout May, June and July it is the Fire/Fame area. If you don’t know where this area is in your home you can read about it here.
This area represents the energy of fire which can manifest as fame, illumination and enlightenment. When this area is activated you become recognised for what you are good at, but when this area is not working, the occupants can be egocentric, self centred, cold and isolated.
During these months it is especially good to place there inspiring objects and images, the colour green supports it, as does images of stars, flight, rockets, as well as playing inspirational music.
Throughout the year there are particular days or periods of time when enhancing the related area of the Bagua will give you a better outcome. Around May 1st that area is Heaven/Helpful People. If you don’t know where this area is in your home you can read about it here.
This area represents the support you receive from Heaven, in the sense that you receive from Heaven whatever it is you have given out. So for example, if you are generous of your time, people will be helpful back.
Heaven is a Metal Element area and is supported by metal objects such as filing cabinets, statues, gold, silver, and images of people who help you and those you help such as charities. Although you don’t want this area to be too yang, so some soft furnishings are also recommended.
It is also related to those in your life who have died. It is good to have images of the deceased here or even a shrine where you can place images of the deceased or their ashes.
When looking at locations for a new home or a site where you might want to build, you first want to ask yourself what is the condition of the neighborhood. What kind of impression do you get, do you feel safe when walking around, is the area well maintained, is the plant life healthy, the hedges trim and there birds in the trees?
The shape of the site should be regular (although a triangular shape is out of the question) with the land being either flat or slope gently upward from the street. The ideal placement of buildings around the site is for there to be either raised land such as a hill or buildings behind the site, while the site itself should not be on a street corner, but in between other sites so that as you look at the site from the street there is a building to the right. If possible there should also be one to the left as well (rather than an empty plot), but this building must not be higher than the right hand building. Likewise any building across the street should be lower or of the same height as the left hand building.
Throughout the year there are particular days or periods of time when enhancing the related area of the Bagua will give you a better outcome. Right now the area in your home is Thunder and this period of influence takes place over February, March and April. If you don’t know where this area is you can read about it here.
Thunder represents your relationship to those in authority such as older members of your family, ancestors and spiritual figures. Not to mention the bank manager, the boss at work etc. You know if this area is out of balance when the relationship with any of these figures break down, or when you are experiencing chaos, too much noise in your environment or anger.
These are the best months of the year to rebalance Thunder by introducing the Wood element into this area in the form of young tall plants and the colour green, and it is enhanced by water features and the colour blue.
As this blog discusses Feng Shui many of the upcoming posts will be about aspects of the Bagua, which is a map used to assign symbolic values to the floor plan of a building. It looks like this:
To align this map with the floor plan of your home, room or office you align the bottom edge of the Bagua with the wall the door is in. The door or entryway will always be in 8, 1 or 6. As you stand in the doorway facing into the space, 4 is always at the far left; 2 is always to the far right, and 9 is always at the center of the wall opposite you. If there is more than one way to enter a space, align the Bagua to the entrance you use 98% of the time, even if this is the back door.
The Bagua actually looks more like the next image, it’s just that using a square makes it easier for orientation purposes. Notice the differences in angle between the areas, you can stretch this map to fit the shape of the floor plan so that rooms fit more neatly into it.
At the beginning of each Chinese New Year the Shar Chi for the year moves to a new direction. The direction for each year is based on where the number 5 is to found in the Luo Shu. You can read about the Luo Shu here
If the Shar Chi in your home is activated you can be sure that 2009 will be a year to forget about, so what you have to do is locate in your home or office where the direction north is. The best way to do this is to take a compass and stand in the middle of the building. Take the reading for north, then go to that area and remove any mirrors, crystals or anything that is coloured red.
You can also reduce the Shar Chi by placing in that area a wind chime with six chimes, or a pile of six coins.
Good luck, and a happy new year!