Tag: Feng shui

A Romp Through the Palette of Life

A Romp Through the Palette of Life

by Freya Ray

Personally, I love color. I’m not an especially visual person, and yet I am vibrantly aware of the magical properties of color every day. Since theory fails to fascinate me, and inspiration to play around with the possibilities of this luscious world always fascinates me, let’s have a romp through the rainbow, shall we? Here are some bright ideas for expanding the palette of your life, for fun and profit, color by color. And it’s my romp, so we’re not doing equal time — some colors are more fun than others.

Luscious, Bloody, Sexy Red

Red. The root chakra. The primal invitation to life. The blood of birth and death, the red clay of the mother between our toes, that haze that comes over your vision before you do something really really stupid, fire, rage, passion, life. Red is a color that knows it’s alive, that feels the heartbeat of its own jugular, that wants and demands more. More what? More of everything, most especially more life. Red does not ask why it’s here or if these pants make its butt look big. Red is too busy sinking its teeth deep, growling and getting lost in the sensations of the juice running down its throat. By all means, if your life has gotten a bit academic or routine lately, invoke red.

Wear lipstick of that shade fondly called “Fuck-Me Red.” Paint your nails to match, especially your toenails. Dye your hair.

Char a big slab of steak, leaving the center bloody. Cut it into strips, pile them in a bowl with the blood released by your knife, and eat it with your fingers. Drain the bowl, knowing in your mind you’re drinking the blood of the beast as you do it. No, tempeh cannot be substituted. Have dark chocolate for dessert.

Paint your body with tribal designs of your own delirious inspiration. Use red finger paint, or lipstick, or menstrual blood, or catsup. Dance naked, covered in slashes and spirals, to the beat of a drum.

In feng shui, red is the color of the “fame” corner. Red always screams “pay attention to me!” Wear the color and act as though you deserve to be noticed. Call attention to yourself in outrageous ways. Laugh loudly and refuse to be cowed.

Feel your heartbeat. Feel the blood pulsing just below the surface of your flesh, and know you are beast. Know you are life. Know you are passion, awaiting expression. Know your blood, your heartbeat, is the blood and heartbeat of all your ancestors, all the ancestors, all the peoples and creatures of this planet. Know that the pulsation of all life is one, in you.

Juicy, Tasty Orange

The belly chakra. Relationships, sexuality. It’s a great color, I’m sure, but it makes me look like I have hepatitis, so I have a slightly estranged relationship with orange. Nevertheless, I can make a couple recommendations.

Bake cookies with cinnamon in them. Add saffron to your rice. Make juice from fresh oranges — it takes what, five minutes, and what a difference! Better yet, let someone you love wake up to fresh-squeezed juice and your silent smile.

Meditate on a candle flame, letting the shifting play of tones awaken your memories of warmth, family or sexuality. Let the connection of the belly and the flame lead you back through the past, before this life, to the beds of all your wonderful lovers. Let the memories of loving bliss wash over you in waves of time and space. Light all those candles scattered about and make love to someone in a glow of shifting orange reflections.

Want what you can’t have, and then answer the question, “If I could have it, or the feelings that I believe it would evoke, how would I get it?”

Let lust — primal, unreasoning attraction — lead you to a new friend. Let yourself acknowledge the little belly flutters of lust you feel sometimes, in unguarded moments, for a dear friend. Know that all of life is about connection, and that lust and love are allies.

Yellow, the Sun of Shining Self

The light of all life. The shining disk of the solar plexus, the home of the will, of personal power. The gold glitter of success. Yellow evokes happiness, confidence and power.

Get some sun. I know it’s early spring in Seattle, but on those days when Father Sun emerges, go worship him properly. Get out your shades and tip your face up to the sky. Paint your entire body with gold glitter and go dancing. Have a power dinner: warm melty brie and crusty bread, crab legs and dripping yellow butter, champagne…

Meditate on your solar plexus chakra, seeing a shining sun at home there, and feeling the strength of your will, your ability to create the world of your choosing.

Abundant, Grass-Stained Green

The color of money. The wonderful power of our nation’s choice of paper currency. This color is also associated with healing and the heart chakra, but, truth be told, I think first of big wads of cash and second of doing summersaults down an immense hill.

Play with money. Do some fun work with your abundance issues: take $200 out of the bank in one-dollar bills. Scatter them all over your bedroom. Clear wads of them out of your bed so you can sleep at night. Find them everywhere. When they gather in the corners, pick them up in handfuls and toss them into the air. Money is energy crystallized. A truly magical photosynthesis, as the energy of work is stored in flat paper. Nothing more than love in material form.

Engage with life in a basic form — the creatures that photosynthesize so that the rest of us can live. Buy some houseplants, or more of them, and make a luscious jungle inside your home. Plant a garden in a couple of months. Grow wheatgrass and feed it to your cat. Notice the moss in the sidewalk. Find trees and hug them already!

Have a healing circle with some like-minded friends. Allow the healing color of green to travel where it is needed. Meditate on ideas of love and connection, your relationship with all life. Be in love, without concern for a suitable object. “I’m in love” is a sentence without referent, and a beautiful place to be.

I Ain’t Got No Chakra But Boy Do I Rock Pink!

Blushes. Where would we be without pink for blushes? Challenge yourself: find the compliment outrageously true enough to get every one of your associates to blush.

In feng shui as in Valentine’s Day, red, pink and white are the colors of love. Live it up! Decorate the back right corner of your home as a love altar with candles, ribbons, pictures of Hindu goddesses, massage oils, photos of your true love — whatever evokes the concept of loving connection for you.

Pink is your friend. Pink has never had a self-important moment in its entire career as a color on this planet. It is impossible to stand on your dignity or take yourself too seriously when wearing pink. This is good!

Calm, Cool Blue

Blue is a money color in feng shui. Adding an aquarium to your home or business is said to bring prosperity. Create an abundance altar in the back left corner of your home, including the colors of red, blue, and purple, along with candles, plants, lights, stones and pictures that evoke abundance for you.

Meditating on the color will put one in touch with calming influences and the state of mind where creativity can be expressed.

Water — deep, flowing blue water — is one of the most profound healers on the planet. Soak in it, bubble in it, stand under a moving stream of it and ask water to take away that which no longer serves you. Offer yourself naked to the ocean. I guarantee a rebirth as you emerge.

There are some very groovy blue stones, including sodalite and lapis lazuli.

Royalty Loves Purple

If red says, “Notice me,” purple says, “Respect me.” Perhaps even, “Obey me.” Purple is a power color, and wearing it is guaranteed to help you feel on top of your game.

Violet light is a strong tool for cleansing in visualization. Amethyst is known as the “sobriety stone” and has a remarkable ability to puncture denial.

Violet is the color of the third eye, of psychic awareness. Put some lavender oil in the bath, light a bunch of purple candles and see where your insight takes you. See that violet flame between your eyes, and let the images of your deeper mind flow into your awareness.

Basic Black

Black has been the color of choice for clergy in many traditions. It gives the sense that the person wearing it has access to mystical information, mysterious secrets. I could tell you more, but as my own wardrobe is mostly composed of black clothing, I’m going to leave this color as an exercise for the reader.

Champagne

I’m mentioning this vital color for two reasons. One: I look like crap in white and so ivory, champagne, whatever, is my best option for trying to look innocent. Not like anyone buys it anyway. Two: it’s the color of vanilla-scented candles, which are on the short list of reasons why this is a cool planet to live on. Put a vanilla bean in your sugar bowl.

Oh, and girls! Buy some pearls. Your grandmother knew about pearls, even if many of us have forgotten, and have caught the delusion that somehow diamonds are more important. It’s crap. Diamonds are the junkyard of stones, collecting every stray bit of energy that comes through their life and they can’t be cleared. But pearls, well, get enough strands of them so that you can feel their weight (cheapest method: gem show, buy a hank, string them yourself). Drape them on yourself, and you will know you are woman. Guys, by all means do this when you’re wanting to access your feminine side. But beware, they will bring up fonts of estrogen you didn’t know you had!

White

They say white contains all the colors together. Visualizing white light is a tree-hugging crystal freak cliché, but you know, it works. For healing, protection, and clarity, see that clear, bright, almost bluish light of a halogen bulb or clear sunlight on a brilliant day.

It’s also a reflection of the truth that all of life is a hologram, every part contains the whole, every individual is connected to all of the cosmos. The Akashic records are always available, and in every moment it is possible for you to know everything you need to. Practice believing that there is no separation. Even if you only pull it off for a moment. We are all one, the light of each soul shines brightly if we only choose to see.

Bathe yourself in moonlight. Put a jug of water outside at the full moon, and drink the essence of lunar wisdom. Know that everything happens in its own rhythm and in its own time. Know that the only guarantee is that all life is learning love, and that we will all find that loving union in time.

White is your canvas. Draw on it what you will, and harm none.

Dragon’s Breath in the Earth

Dragon’s Breath in the Earth

 
 
Many of the old legends speak of killing the dragon. Sometimes, the real meaning of this term is clarified when one is told that the dragon continued to live. Of course, if you are reading Christianized stories of dragons, the dragon is always killed by a faithful saint or hero; this is a less than subtle reference to Christianity “killing” Paganism. But a great many of the legends were in existence long before Christians came along; therefore the term “killing” must mean something far different than destroying your religious rivals.
 
If you look at ancient Egyptian paintings of Horus and his Sun Boat sailing over Apep, sometimes called Apophis, serpent of the Underworld and the dead or winter season, and read the ancient stories of these daily and seasonal voyages, you become aware that the word “killing” has another meaning. The picture show the God Set “staking” or guiding Apep by a series of rods driven into the ground. A similar practice is still used to control or change the Earth’s energy in certain areas of the world in the belief that out-of-control dragon energy adversely affects humans, crops, animals and the land in general.
 
The Chinese emphasized the importance of controlling the “dragon’s breath” in architecture and landscape. This is still a respected belief in Hong Kong and other places having Chinese communities. There are professionals adept at finding imbalances of the dragon’s breath, and they are in demand, not only by home owners, but by businessmen. If a series of unexplained illnesses or misfortunes strike a business, for instance, the owner will go though the ordinary procedure to discover the cause. If there is nothing found, or nothing appears to alleviate the problem, he will send for a person skilled in detecting a disruption of dragon’s breath; this person is called a Feng-shui diviner.
 
A visit to the premises is made. This Feng-shui diviner sometimes uses a special magnetic compass that has as many as 38 concentric rings around the needle. Each ring is divided into special traditional measurements of space and time. The diviner takes sightings along what are called the vains of the dragon. These veins are raised features of the landscape, such as trees, rocks, watercourses, valleys, etc. Within buildings, the diviner considers such things as doorways, halls, the directions of corners, and so on. Any recommendation made by the diviner are implemented with great seriousness. If possible a small garden, aligned in certain ways, is made outside for the dragons of the region. Inside a shine is placed in a particular corner or area to accommodate the reigning draconic being. Dragon images are placed in both the garden and the shrine to honor the dragon, and also to remind it of its good fortune to be recognized and given respect by the human residnets.

10 Tips for Creating a Zero Waste Home

10 Tips for Creating a Zero Waste Home

  • Erica Sofrina

By Erica Sofrina, Author of Small Changes Dynamic Results! Feng Shui for the Western World

I do my part to recycle and bring my own bags for purchases, but I am far from producing zero waste. While lugging multiple recycling bins to the curbside every week it has occurred me that I have a lot of recycling for only one person. I never totally connected the dots that the goal should be to have a system where all of the wrappers, junk mail, jars and cans don’t enter my home to begin with!

I was recently inspired by a television show where Bea and Scott Johnson of Mill Valley, California talked about their Zero waste lifestyle. They produce the equivalent of a quart jar of waste per month for their entire family of four. Now that is pretty close to Zero Waste and a goal I am going to aspire to!

In a recent article about them in Sunset Magazine. I was inspired by their commitment as a family to leave a lighter foot print. Their children are just as committed to the cause, and wrap their lunches in large cloths which they roll up and carry to school and reuse the next day. They have simplified their lives so completely that they are able to pack up on a dime and spend extended periods of time traveling and doing things they love.They pay for the trips by the 40% less they are spending on living expenses! They also rent their home while they are gone and use it as a teaching tool with detailed instructions for the renters on how they can create a zero waste lifestyle.

I yearned for the freedom from encumbrances that they have achieved, and the good feeling that comes from knowing my lifestyle is completely in alignment with my ethics about sustainability for the planet. I am inspired by their example to do more!

In Bea’s recent article in Yes Magazine, she outlines ten tips to help the average person get on board and move closer towards Zero waste. Here are some of her great suggestions:

  • Refuse what you do not need.
  • Reduce what you do need.
  • Reuse by using reusables.
  • Recycle what you cannot refuse, reduce, or reuse.
  • Rot (compost) the rest.

 

Refuse

1. Fight junk mail. It’s not just a waste of resources, but also of time. Register to receive less at dmachoice.org, optoutprescreen.com and catalogchoice.org.

2. Turn down freebies from conferences, fairs, and parties. Every time you take one, you create a demand to make more. Do you really need another “free” pen?

 

Reduce

3. Declutter your home, and donate to your local thrift shop. You’ll lighten your load and make precious resources available to those looking to buy secondhand. Yes, I couldn’t agree more!

4. Reduce your shopping trips and keep a shopping list. The less you bring home, the less waste you’ll have to deal with.

Reuse

5. Swap disposables for reusables (start using handkerchiefs, refillable bottles, shopping totes, cloth napkins, rags, etc.). You might find that you don’t miss your paper towels, but rather enjoy the savings. – Noted!

6. Avoid grocery shopping waste: Bring reusable totes, cloth bags (for bulk aisles), and jars (for wet items like cheese and deli foods) to the store and farmers market. (I always keep reusable totes in my car.)

Recycle

7. Know your city’s recycling policies and locations—but think of recycling as a last resort. Have you refused, reduced, or reused first? Question the need and life-cycle of your purchases. Shopping is voting.

8. Buy primarily in bulk or secondhand, but if you must buy new, choose glass, metal, or cardboard. Avoid plastic: Much of it gets shipped across the world for recycling and often ends up in the landfill (or worse yet, the ocean).

Rot

9. Find a compost system that works for your home and get to know what it will digest (dryer lint, hair, and nails are all compostable).

10. Turn your home kitchen trash can into one large compost receptacle. The bigger the compost the more people will use it. (I will add you want to have a bin that has a lid and is an attractive receptacle.)

I hope you will join me in working toward these Zero waste goals in your own household. I am going to start today with stopping the junk mail, which has been a goal of mine for ages and I am ashamed that I haven’t gotten around to….Done!

Your Home is Attracting Your Future!

Your Home is Attracting Your Future!

  • Erica Sofrina

A missing component from the popular book The Secret is the important role our environment plays in manifesting the life we desire.

According to the laws of attraction, every thought radiates a signal and attracts a matching signal. Every object in our homes is a physically manifested thought-form of our conscious and unconscious belief system about what we believe we deserve to be, do and have in life. The single woman who desires a relationship but surrounds herself with single objects and pictures of single women is vibrationally anchoring into her home unconscious affirmations of the opposite future she desires.

Feng Shui is powerful because it teaches us to become conscious of the hidden messages in our physical surroundings that may not be serving us, giving us valuable insights as to why our lives may be headed in the directions they are! It provides valuable tools for getting our lives back on track and teaches that we can literally shift our future by shifting the vibration of our physical environments. As we arrange our space to reflect what we truly want, our lives follow suit. It is simply the law of attraction: like attracts like.

Feng Shui addresses the subtle things in our environment that wear on us over time and bring our chi (energy) down. Examples might be clutter piles, the sharp-edged furniture that can injure, plants dying or limping along, objects from past relationships that bring us down, dis empowering or disturbing art, heavy objects like beams or ceiling fans overhead create a feeling of being unsafe. Beds and key pieces of furniture placed with our backs to the door will also create a feeling of dis empowerment. Highly manufactured products like plastics and synthetics not only pose health issues because of the out-gassing, but will also carry a denser vibration.

Once we clear our space of the things that are depleting our chi or energy we bring in objects that enhance it. Pictures and fabrics depicting nature and especially live plants and trees, will always raise the energy. Bring in objects you love such as shells from favorite beaches, palms and orchids that remind you of Hawaii, inspiring nature photos that uplift. The more passionately you feel about these environmental affirmations the more chi they will generate for you.

In western Feng Shui we recommend clients use symbols and objects from their own culture rather than Chinese cultures, unless of course, the client is Chinese. Things that resonate personally for you will carry a much higher vibration that those superimposed from another culture.

Strategically placing these objects in your home in accordance with the Bagua map will give it even greater energy. An example might be placing an inspiring picture of Tuscany in your Wealth area with the intention of going there every year. This strategically placed object, infused with your passion and intention, is sending a vibration into the universe that is attracting a similar vibration, literally drawing this future to you.

Feng Shui is neither about magic nor superstition. Neither is it about hanging crystals and wind chimes in strategic places that mysteriously bring us good fortune. It is a powerful teaching about how to focus and direct energy in our physical environments to produce the maximum benefit in our lives.

By creating a beautiful, organized and safe living space that is infused with the higher vibration objects from the natural world, and then strategically placing objects that reflect our deepest desires, we create a powerful energy vortex in our homes.We can become conscious co-creators of our own lives by creating homes that broadcast messages to the universe that attract our intended futures to us!

9 Feng Shui Ways to Enhance Your Wealth

9 Feng Shui Ways to Enhance Your Wealth

  • Erica Sofrina

By Erica Sofrina, Author of the book Small Changes, Dynamic Results! Feng Shui for the Western World.

Welcome to my series on how to locate and enhance the nine key Feng Shui energy centers of your home. In this article I will show you how to identify and activate the area that corresponds to your wealth and prosperity.

Feng Shui has many practical applications that are logical, simple and even obvious, of which I have written many articles about. The more mysterious and esoteric part of Feng Shui is the study of the Bagua. This wisdom comes from the I Ching, or The Book of Changes.

The ancient Feng Shui masters felt there were certain parts of the home that corresponded to key areas of the lives of its occupants. By working with these energy centers you could A- identify what was going on in that area of your life, and B- enhance it by putting objects there that would encourage the chi (energy) to become activated.

The I Ching is a profound and esoteric study in its self, and has been used over the centuries as a method of divining right action. It incorporates both yin and yang expressions and is used to study and contemplate the process of change and inner development.

The portion that relates to Feng Shui has to do with charting the nine energy centers of your home by using what is called the Bagua Map.

By learning how to work with and identify these energy centers in our homes, we can become conscious co-creators of our lives.

Bagua translated means eight trigrams. These trigrams refer to important areas of our lives such as wealth, health, love, career, self-cultivation, fame, creativity, helpful people, etc. In this article I will talk about how to locate and activate and enhance the wealth area of the Bagua.

Wealth and Prosperity Defined

The trigram connected to wealth and prosperity in the I Ching is called SUN. It is about the deep roots of financial stability and calm security in terms of one’s personal wealth. A key component is gratefulness; being grateful before as well as after the money comes. It is not about fast money but the slow, steady, honest accumulation of wealth, along with the things we truly value in life. It is not about making the monthly bills (this is connected to the Health and Family area) but the abundance of prosperity, such as luxury items, vacations, those seminars you have been dying to take, and anything that is a want rather than a necessity.

 

Nine Suggestions to Enhance Your Wealth Area

Once you locate the wealth area of your home (directions below), take a look at what is happening there. Is this where there is a lot of clutter, or where the junk closet resides? Perhaps it is in a dingy bathroom or missing all together from the Bagua of your home? (this is addressed in the Bagua lay-out section)

Feng Shui teaches that the outer environment will always reflect our inner environment. By cleaning it up, clearing it out, making it beautiful and adding the enhancers, you activate this area of the Bagua and thus the extra money area of your life is activated as well.

Environmental affirmations are objects we put into our space that either reflects something we want to bring into our lives, or keep there. Use these environmental affirmations to vitalize the wealth area of your home once you have taken care of the ‘splinters’ such as clutter, broken things, missing areas, etc.

Here are nine suggestions of objects you can add to your wealth area that will activate the chi:

  • Items that call in the Chi (energy)
  • Inspiring Art and other items that depict the things we want to bring into our lives in terms of wealth. An example might be a favorite picture of Tuscany if you wants to travel there, the tropical paradise picture for a much-desired Hawaiian vacation.
  • Quotes and affirmations pertaining to wealth written in present tense, as if it is true now!
  • Fountains, waterfalls and water features or pictures of flowing water. (Flowing water represents money in Feng Shui)
  • Articles you love that you might have paid a lot of money for, i.e., a favorite vase, coin collection, jewelry or artwork. (Or items that look like you paid a lot for them!)
  • Healthy plants with shiny, round coin-shaped leaves such as jade plants.
  • Personal wealth symbols reflective of your own taste and culture. (If you are not Chinese, symbols from your own culture may have a deeper meaning rather than Chinese coins, gold fish or ‘lucky bamboo’)
  • Objects in purples, reds and greens symbolizing wealth and money. Purple Amethysts and crystals are wonderful wealth chi enhancers. Add purple accessories, colors and fabrics to this area, provided you like the color purple* (Purple includes plum, lavender, lapis blues, etc.)
  • Create vision boards and collages depicting the objects you want to bring into your life in terms of wealth. * Note: never put anything into your space that you do not love just because a Feng Shui book or article told you to do so! The goal of Feng Shui is to create a living space that feeds your soul and uplifts your spirits. Objects you don’t love will have the opposite effect. The more personal the objects are to you, the more chi they will generate.

How to Put the Bagua Map onto your Home and Identify your Wealth Area

Here are step-by-step instructions for how to put the Bagua Map onto the floor plan of you home and locate your personal wealth energy center:

1. Draw a sketch of the floor plan of your space. This should be the birds-eye view as if you are looking down on it. Include all built-on decks, stairways and attached garages.

2. Draw a square or rectangle over the floor plan in the shape of the Bagua map. All of the areas of the home need to be within the square or rectangle. If your home is an irregular shape, still draw the rectangle or square around it.

3. Stand at the front door with the map perpendicular to the floor with the Entrance Quadrant touching your stomach. This will tell you the direction to overlay the Bagua map onto the floor plan of your home.

4. Now divide your home with the Bagua map overlaid on it in nine equal sections. This will identify for you where all of the key nine areas are of your home are. The wealth area will always be the far left quadrant of the home and the Love and Marriage the far right section, etc.

5. If your home is not a rectangle or square, you may be missing areas of the Bagua. If this is the case, you can do a mini-Bagua for each room of your home and enhance the wealth corner of each room. Treat the main entrance to the room like you would the front door of the home and lay the Bagua accordingly.This energetically brings back into the space the missing area.

6. If you have more than one floor of your home, what ever is below is above. You do not turn the Bagua differently for each floor. In which case you may have more than one wealth area, the same rules of enhancement apply to all areas!

Applying the Feng Shui Five Elements to Your Home

Applying the Feng Shui Five Elements to Your Home

  • Erica Sofrina

By Erica Sofrina- Author of Small Changes, Dynamic Results! Feng Shui for the Western World.

Bringing nature into our homes is a key component of the teachings of Feng Shui. The goal is to have all of the five elements of fire, earth, metal, water and wood balanced in every room of of our living space. By studying the Feng Shui Five Elements theory we can gain valuable insights as to why our lives are out of balance by looking at the elemental imbalances in our homes.

I have worked with many clients to improve their young children’s sleeping habits along with teens who were suddenly out of control. The culprit is often found in the elemental imbalances in their bedrooms. By bringing these into balance the child or teen comes back into balance as well. Clients think I have worked magic but I am merely applying these ancient, tried and true principles (also used in Chinese medicine) to physical environments.

The five elements can also be used in a powerful way to heal health issues, and to assist in personal growth. If we find we are staying ‘too small’ in our lives, our environment will often reflect too little of the wood element. We would want to both wear and bring into our living space objects and colors that reflect this element as shown in the chart below.

Please see the list on the next page of what the elements mean and what we experience when we have too much or too little of them in our lives and take advantage of my free offer to send you information about working with the elements at the end of this article.

If you are feeling over expanded and overwhelmed, you are experiencing too much of the wood element. In this instance you would benefit by bringing into your living space objects and colors that represent the element that cuts wood, which is metal. An example of too much of the wood element might be found in an all-green bedroom with floral prints and wooden furniture. What you thought would be soothing actually feels overwhelming.

The metal element is represented by white and cream colors, pastels, circular shapes, rocks and stones and metal. By changing the floral bedspread to a pastel or cream color and accessorizing with whites and pastels, you will begin to bring the room back into elemental balance.

Below is a Five Elements Map that will show you how they work together to balance each other.

The elements when closest to their natural state will contain the most vibrant ‘chi’ or energy. However, there are colors, objects and shapes that represent these elements as well. Some are subtle and some more obvious. A tall cylindrical shape (reminding us of a tree) represents the wood element, along with medium blues and greens, anything made of wood, plants and trees and pictures of them.

Here is a short summary of what we experience when the elements are out of balance:

Wood is about growth as reflected in trees and plants. We want the right amount in our environment, not too much or too little. Too much wood = over-expansion and overwhelm. Too little=staying too small. Bring in objects, shapes textures and colors of the metal element to cut the wood, or those of the water element to increase it if there is too little. See the controlling and nurturing cycles of the chart.

Fire is about passion. Too much, however will result in aggression and overly impulsive behavior. Too little will reflect as lack of enthusiasm, motivation and warmth. Add water to douse the fire when there is too much and wood to increase the fire when there is too little.

Earth is about staying grounded and being present. Too much= overly discipline and conservative. Too little= spacey, ungrounded as well as infertility issues. Add fire to increase it when there is too little and wood to decrease it when there is too much.

Metal is about mental clarity and determination. Too much= rigidity and inability to compromise. Too little=lack of back bone and indecisiveness. Add earth to increase it and fire to melt it when there is too much. There is a reason those who live in all- white houses tend to also be rigid… bring in fire and warm it up!

Water is about connection to spirit and synchronicity in our lives. Too much= not enough structure and being ‘wishy-washy’. Too little =the need to dominate, lack of flow and connection to spirit. Add metal to increase it and earth to dam it up when there is too much.

Please note that you can also just take away items in a particular element to decrease the amount of it in a space, or add it when you need more, you do not necessarily have to use the elements that either control it or nurture it.

I encourage you to learn more about these powerful concepts and utilize this powerful knowledge if you or your loved ones are experiences any of the imbalances as described above. I have seen profound shifts in my own life and those of my clients when applying these tried and true, age-tested principles that come out of the ancient practice of Chinese medicine and Feng Shui.

Feng Shui to Alleviate Anxiety

Feng Shui to Alleviate Anxiety

  • Jana, selected from Natural Solutions magazine

Anxiety escalates around the holidays as life’s frantic pace shifts into overdrive. Too much to do in too little time leaves you more susceptible to the telltale signs of anxiety such as headaches, muscle tension, insomnia, irritability, and even panic attacks. Looking for relief? You could follow the typical Western path, or you could try an option with considerably fewer side effects: The metaphor-rich design system called feng shui (pronounced fung shway).

Based on influencing the flow of qi (chi) or energy through your home and other aspects of your environment, feng shui principles align energy patterns with healing forces of nature. The result is a harmonious home that lays the foundation for emotional, spiritual, and physical health, says Brooklyn-based chakracologist (a term she’s coined) and feng shui expert Nancy SantoPietro.

“The feng shui of your home mirrors your life and health back to you in an objective, tangible way,” says SantoPietro, author of Feng Shui and Health: The Anatomy of a Home (Three Rivers Press, 2002). Survey your abode. Do clutter and chaos reign supreme? If so, your home’s feng shui may reflect the emotional, spiritual, and physical issues contributing to anxiety. But according to SantoPietro, by correcting the energy flow in your intimate living space, you can dismantle anxiety supported by unhealthy energy patterns and design layouts.

Use these feng shui tips to make your home an anxiety-free zone.

Repair all electrical systems. “Electricity runs through the wires of your home much like qi runs through the meridians of your body. When your home’s electrical system breaks down, it interferes with your energy flow and ability to stay focused, clear, and calm,” SantoPietro explains. Avoid energy clogs or leaks by repairing or replacing worn wires, blown light bulbs, and faulty outlets.

Clear away clutter. Clutter stagnates energy, both in your environment and in you. Entranceways are particularly important, SantoPietro notes, as they set the tone for the feng shui throughout your home. Keep them clear and unrestricted.

Reduce bedroom energy. “Remove electrical sources such as TVs, computers, and LED clock radios from your bedroom because they leak radiation, depress immunity, and interfere with sleep,” urges SantoPietro. The bedroom is meant for rejuvenation, renewal, and intimacy.

Just add color. “White decor deflects life force and thus neutralizes feelings,” SantoPietro says, “but decorate with color and you’ll invoke it. Any time I evaluate a home with all white decor, I know that someone in that house is not dealing with something.” And avoiding feelings often leads to anxiety.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for Jan. 13th

Today I want to marry two different energies in the hopes of achieving one single and loving result. It’s both ‘Rubber Ducky Day’ and ‘Make A Dream Come True Day’ and if your dream is to find the perfect partner, then a ducky or two can actually do exactly that. According to Feng Shui, Mandarin ducks have long been traditional symbols of love, specifically signifying romance, fidelity, and loyalty. These ducks mate for life and are always seen as loving and loyal pairs. Therefore, the symbols of ducks are often used to help single folks find partners and marital bliss. Positioned near their owners, these ducks are said to emit such a strong love Shi that the owner will then become more attractive, especially to potential partners. To activate more romance luck by using Mandarin ducks you should display a pair in the Romance area of the main floor or bedroom, or even put a pair in that same space in the living or dining room areas. Birds of a feather might stick together, but two ducks will bring a life-long partner to help you feather your own nest!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Daily Feng Shui Tip for January 12th

I’ve discovered that today’s energies celebrate the ‘Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day.’ Now, in the case that you’re a single gal and not experiencing your own feast of fabulously wild men, it’s time to take matters into your own hands so that one of them will soon be holding yours. First, some Feng Shui basics. Paint the walls of your bedroom a shade of pink, coral or salmon. For single women looking to partner up, using these colors in the bedroom is believed to quickly reel in those fabulous men. Wearing two rose quartz bracelets on the left arm will do the same thing. Lastly, put an image of two pink peonies immediately outside and to the left your bedroom door (as you’re looking into the room) in order to plant strong intentions for love to bring a bloom to your cheeks. Any one of these fast Feng Shui cures can shift energies over to the engaging side, but doing all of them will have them rolling in the aisles, or at very least, watching you walking down one!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Your Feng Shui Consultant in Nature

Your Feng Shui Consultant in Nature

  • Annie B. Bond

To some, the concept that everything is alive and has intelligence may be foreign, but I have learned that the wisdom of Nature itself can guide people through every aspect of aligning their homes and office spaces with the purpose of the property.

We can access our own feng shui consultant in Nature Herself. She can guide us very specifically as to how to best align with Her for harmony and balance. Read more:

Feng shui means “wind and water” — aligning with the forces of nature. Instead of trying to dominate and control Nature, we learn to come into contact with Her as a co-creative partner, and elicit and respect Her wisdom.

Feng shui has long held to the notion of what has been referred to as the “Spirit of Place.” That spirit of place is a consciousness and as such is accessible and able to lend its wisdom to help us to live in harmony with the earth at that specific location. If asked, Nature will give us instructions that are specific and tailored to each situation about how best to live in harmony with Her. Through a direct connection and communication with the spirit of Nature itself, we have access to the original “author” of the various feng shui texts. Sometimes we forget that feng shui, and the Indian counterpart, Vastu are an art of divination. If not from Nature, then from whom do they divine?

This co-creative potential with nature has been demonstrated by many such as MacHaelle Small Wright in the gardens of Perelandra who, working with the spirit of nature of the gardens, demonstrated miraculous events such as insects who left crops alone and stayed instead only in the areas designated for them. There is also the now famous example of the magical gardens of Findhorn, where 40 pound cabbages grown in the sandy soil of Scotland defied conventional wisdom; by contacting the intelligence and consciousness of Nature itself, the gardeners gained a direct wisdom of how to proceed. Similarly, we hear stories of Luther Burbank teaching cacti and roses to grow without thorns simply by communicating with the consciousness of the plants themselves.

In the larger context of the Re-emergence of the Feminine principle upon the planet, we are really talking about re-uniting with an aspect of ourselves as Creators, with the aspect of ourselves reflected in Nature. We have thought of Nature as separated from ourselves for so long that many will find it difficult to think of it as anything other than foreign. However, it is the Shakti to our divine Shiva nature. When working together, as co-creative partners, magic happens! We interact with nature spirits in everything we do all day long, known or unknown. The difference between the magician, the alchemist, the Shaman, is that they do it consciously. So, let the magic begin.

Where is the Energy in Your Home?

Where is the Energy in Your Home?

By Erica Sofrina, Author of the book Small Changes, Dynamic Results! Feng Shui for the Western World

The Bagua

According to the Ancient Chinese Feng Shui masters, there are certain sections of a person’s home that energetically correspond to the key areas of their lives. By balancing and enhancing a particular section, it correspondingly brings into balance this part of the person’s life. The teaching is called the nine energy centers of the Bagua. The Bagua is a may that you lay over the floor plan of your home which determines where the key energy centers reside.

In this article, I will show you how to find these energetic sections of your own home and give you some tips for enhancing them. In so doing, don’t be surprised as powerful changes begin to unfold in your life!

The term Bagua is the Chinese term for eight trigrams. A trigram is a three-lined reading made up of broken (yin) and unbroken (yang) lines.

The wisdom of the Bagua comes from the ancient Chinese book of wisdom and divination, the I Ching. Scholars have been studying the I Ching for centuries. It is one of the great books of wisdom that charts all of the mysterious cycles of life.

Each trigram of the Bagua relates to a key part of our life experience. The nine sections cover Health and Family, Wealth, Fame, Creativity, Helpful People, Career, Knowledge and Self-Cultivation and Center

The Bauga is one of the more esoteric parts of Feng Shui and requires a bit of a stretch for westerners who tend to come from a more logical, left-brained place. In my own experience of many years as a consultant, I have found there is an uncanny connection between what is going on in my clients lives, and what I find in the corresponding section of their home Bagua. In case after case, balancing this area of their physical surroundings brought about positive shifts in that area of their lives as well.

The Story of Sandra

Sandra was a lovely young woman who called me because she and her husband had been trying to get pregnant after tragically losing her first child who had been still born. It had been a year and they had tried everything to no avail.

She had been reading about Feng Shui and hoped that I might be able to find some blockage in her home that might be contributing to her inability to conceive.

I put the Bagu map onto the floor plan of her home ( how to do this later), which identified the nine key sections or gua’s of her home.

I talked to Sandra about how we can often glean important clues to what is going on in our lives by reading the signs in our physical surrounding. If there are blockages they will often show up in the area of the Bagua that corresponds to it.

In Sandra’s case I found a key blockage in the Dining room, which, interestingly enough, happened to be in her Health and Family area. There hanging from a string from wall to wall were about 50 condolences cards that still remained up from when she had lost her baby girl a year prior.

Her environment told me that her grief was still filling both her internal and external spaces, and, as a result there was no room for a new little person to come in.

As I gently pointed this out to her she burst out sobbing. My heart broke for this lovely young woman who had so bravely tried to cope with the tragic loss of her first child.

 

My Recommendations for Sandra

I recommended Sandra find a beautiful box with an angel on it to put the cards in. This would become her ‘helpful angel’ box. Her affirmation was that her angel who had passed would now prepare the way for the new little one.

I also recommended that she bring in affirmations throughout her home that represented a family of three, such as two larger objects that looked like they belonged together with a smaller one nestled between them.

I found one more Feng Shui splinter in the property behind the home. They had purchased the adjoining lot with the intention of fully landscaping it but had run out of money. There sat a barren lot, perfectly tilled, without any weeds, but none the less barren of all life. This is was the visual picture from the back of the home, energetically reinforcing something that was not serving her.

I knew they had no money to landscape but asked her to do two things: to sprinkle wild flower seeds throughout the field and to buy three trees – two larger ones and one smaller one- and plant them in the Health and Family section of the empty lot. Every time she looked out of her window she would now see a field of vibrant wild flowers and an affirmation of their little “tree” family of three.

Sandra’s Happy Results

A month later I received a letter from Sandra. She had done all of my recommendations and was elated to announce that the weekend they planted the trees they got pregnant. Eight months later they sent me a picture of their darling new little boy Nathan.

I am blessed to have been able to assist many clients in removing blockages from their physical environments and in so doing see their lives dramatically change.

 

The Bagua Map

Here are step-by-step instructions for how to put the Bagua Map onto the floor plan of your own space.

1. Draw a sketch of the floor plan of your space. This should be the birds-eye view as if you are looking down on it.

2. Draw a square or rectangle over the floor plan in the shape of the Bagua map. Your floor plan may not be a rectangle or square and may be missing some areas, draw the shape as if you are looking down on the house. This applies to apartments and condos or if you live in one room, draw the shape as if you are looking down on it.

3. Stand at the front door with the map perpendicular to the floor with the Entrance Quadrant touching your stomach. This will tell you the direction to overlay the Bagua map onto the floor plan of your home.

4. Now divide your home with the Bagua map overlaid on it in nine equal sections. This will identify for you where all of the key nine areas are of your home are. The wealth area will always be the far left quadrant of the home and the Love and Marriage the far right section.

Now walk around your home and look at each section of the Bagua observing exactly what is there. Do you find the junk closet in the wealth area? Perhaps the Love and Marriage area is missing all together from your floor plan? Do you have a dead or dying plant in the health area?

If you are missing areas of the Bagua, you can do a mini-bagua for each room that you can, taking the shape of the room and orienting the Bagua from the main entrance. Enhance the section of the room that pertains to the missing area of the Bagua in as many rooms as possible which will energetically bring this back into your space.

If you have a multi-level home, do this fore each level using the main floor to orient to Bagua map. You may find you have two or three of the same areas of the Bagua, what ever is above will be below. Enhance these areas accordingly. Please note, you do not change the direction of the Bagua for each floor. Once you determine the way the Bagua map is to go according to the front door, this same direction will apply to all floors.

If you use another door other than the actual front door of the home, you will still orient the Bagua map according to the true front door, even if you primarily use another entrance.

Put on your new Feng Shui eyes and see what kinds of ah’ha’s show up for you as you look at your home in this new way. Now work on clutter clearing and enhancing these areas with objects that represent what it is you do want to bring into your life.

Don’t be surprised at how quickly these things start to show up for you. Your environment is a powerful ally, which can both serve or hinder your progress. Learning about this powerful art and science will give you invaluable tools to set the course of your life in the direction of your highest aspirations!

Your comments are always welcome.

Click her for your own free Color Bagua Map from my book.(PDF Format)

For those who are interested in an in-depth course on the Bagua, or about how you too can become and Environmental Healer as a Certified Feng Shui Consultant, I invite you to visit my web site at www.ericasofrina.com

Enjoy!

 

Daily Feng Shui Tip for January 10th

Today is ‘Houseplant Appreciation Day,’ a good time to show you how to plant a little luck in your living space that will result in family fortune. First locate the Family/Friends/Ancestors area on the main floor of your living space, found in the middle left-hand of your home or office. This area relates to your family, both past and present, including siblings and great-grandparents. According to Feng Shui, we are energetically linked to our blood relatives, and as goes one, so go all. Theoretically, this also implies that whenever anything happens to any member of the family, all those sharing the same bloodline will feel the reverberation in some way or another. This Ancestors arena also governs the health of the liver, blood, teeth and addictions, as well as our relationships with people in authority or those who hold any sort of power over us. It also relates to new thoughts, inspirations and ideas. So you can see why it’s important to bring balance to such a potent space. Wood is the element most associated with this area, so houseplants are the perfect remedy to activate energies of blessing and balance. In fact, because the number three is also a secret activator for this Ancestors space, it is said that placing three green plants here will nurture and nourish all agendas. Loving, watering and keeping these plants healthy will have that same reciprocal result on all the members of your family. Plant these intentions today and watch as familial blessings bloom and grow!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Daily Feng Shui Tip for Jan. 9th

On ‘Play God Day’ I thought we’d take a look at the deity that the month of January is named after. January is actually derived from the ancient name of the Roman god Janus, who is touted to have presided over the dawning of every new year. He was often revered as the ‘God of Gateways’ or ‘God of Doorways.’ He is also known as the ‘Lord of Beginnings.’ The image of Janus is often symbolized by a face that looks both backwards and forward at the same time, perhaps a reminder that this is a good time to reflect on events of the previous year. And you don’t have to be reminded that any past reflection should only be in addition to recognizing the clean slate of opportunity that waits immediately ahead. So this would be a great day to make some lucky little upgrades to your front doorway. Remember that the front door calls in the subtle energies that enter your house and therefore has an impact on your opportunities and income. So be sure that this particular door is in good condition! If possible, paint the front door red to auger in fortune and luck, or green to grow health, happiness and prosperity. If you can’t do that, at least give it a good cleaning. No need for the God of Doorways to come knocking when a little elbow grease and a fresh coat of paint will bring you a year of blessings!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

6 Feng Shui “Don’ts”

  • Erica Sofrina

By the author of Small Changes, Dynamic Results! Feng Shui for the Western World

Creating a harmonious and safe home that lifts your spirits, supports your highest aspirations and inspires will set the stage for you to go out into the world and soar! Take action on these six Feng Shui recommendations, and you will be well on your way to creating a HOME run in your life!

1. Don’t have a plain and/or unattractive entrance to your home.

The entryway is considered the important mouth of chi where all of our opportunities come to us. So fix it up, make it inviting and the opportunities will start finding their way to you as well!

2. Don’t have unfriendly furniture and objects in your home.

Feng Shui deals with the subtle and obvious. Our primitive instincts warn us to be on alert when something unsafe is in the room. Weapons should be locked up and kept out of sight. Kitchen knives should be hidden from view and sharp, Knife-edged furniture should be replaced with those with rounded edges.

3. Don’t sit, sleep or work for any period of time in the disempowered position.

Arrange your bed, office desk and your favorite pieces of furniture to sit on in such a way that you can see the doorway but are not in direct alignment with it. This alone can have a powerful affect on your feeling of coming from a place of strength in your life.

4. Don’t have a lot of clutter.

Feng Shui teaches that everything is alive and filled with chi or life-source energy and that we are energetically connected to everything we own. Having a lot of things that we are unaware of, such as those stuffed in boxes in the garage, drawers and closets, translates to stuck energy in our lives. Feng Shui also teaches that our homes having specific energy centers that are connected to all of the key areas of our lives. Eliminating the clutter translates to freeing up these important corresponding energy centers such as those related to wealth, health, career, family and our love lives. Ask yourself: do I love it, is it useful, does it reflect who I am now in my life? If it does not pass the test, deep-six it, and see how things start to flow in each of these corresponding areas of your life!

5. Don’t have negative or disempowering artwork in your home.

Replace it with art that uplifts and inspires. This is taking up powerful real estate on your walls that is moving your life in that direction.

6. Don’t live without Nature in your home.

Everything from the natural world, including our wonderful four legged friends, is filled with vibrant chi that will invigorate and enliven your home. Surround yourself with objects from the natural world from live plants to the fabrics, objects, textures, colors and art that represents it. Ultra modern decor often has sharp-edged furniture made of highly manufactured materials such as plastics and glass along with art that is often abstract. Make sure you add natural elements, fabrics and photography from nature if this is the style you have in your home.

Take care of these six things in your living space and you will be well on your way to a healthy, harmonious and ‘Feng Shui’d’ home!

Feng Shui to Alleviate Anxiety

  • Jana, selected from Natural Solutions magazine

Anxiety escalates around the holidays as life’s frantic pace shifts into overdrive. Too much to do in too little time leaves you more susceptible to the telltale signs of anxiety such as headaches, muscle tension, insomnia, irritability, and even panic attacks. Looking for relief? You could follow the typical Western path, or you could try an option with considerably fewer side effects: The metaphor-rich design system called feng shui (pronounced fung shway).

Based on influencing the flow of qi (chi) or energy through your home and other aspects of your environment, feng shui principles align energy patterns with healing forces of nature. The result is a harmonious home that lays the foundation for emotional, spiritual, and physical health, says Brooklyn-based chakracologist (a term she’s coined) and feng shui expert Nancy SantoPietro.

“The feng shui of your home mirrors your life and health back to you in an objective, tangible way,” says SantoPietro, author of Feng Shui and Health: The Anatomy of a Home (Three Rivers Press, 2002). Survey your abode. Do clutter and chaos reign supreme? If so, your home’s feng shui may reflect the emotional, spiritual, and physical issues contributing to anxiety. But according to SantoPietro, by correcting the energy flow in your intimate living space, you can dismantle anxiety supported by unhealthy energy patterns and design layouts.

Use these feng shui tips to make your home an anxiety-free zone.

Repair all electrical systems. “Electricity runs through the wires of your home much like qi runs through the meridians of your body. When your home’s electrical system breaks down, it interferes with your energy flow and ability to stay focused, clear, and calm,” SantoPietro explains. Avoid energy clogs or leaks by repairing or replacing worn wires, blown light bulbs, and faulty outlets.

Clear away clutter. Clutter stagnates energy, both in your environment and in you. Entranceways are particularly important, SantoPietro notes, as they set the tone for the feng shui throughout your home. Keep them clear and unrestricted.

Reduce bedroom energy. “Remove electrical sources such as TVs, computers, and LED clock radios from your bedroom because they leak radiation, depress immunity, and interfere with sleep,” urges SantoPietro. The bedroom is meant for rejuvenation, renewal, and intimacy.

Just add color. “White decor deflects life force and thus neutralizes feelings,” SantoPietro says, “but decorate with color and you’ll invoke it. Any time I evaluate a home with all white decor, I know that someone in that house is not dealing with something.” And avoiding feelings often leads to anxiety.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for Jan. 8th

Let your worries and your woes go down the drain on this ‘Bubble Bath Day.’ In fact, today I think I’ll get off my soapbox and offer you a soothing soak that will have your energies awash in peace, good fortune and luck. Take seven stems of seven different but fragrant flowers, making sure that they are free of thorns or sharp protrusions. Let them soak and infuse their energy into your bath for at least twenty minutes before you get in. Refresh the water to the temperature that you like best and add a handful of marigolds or rose petals. Bathe in the normal way with the sure knowledge that this bath is drawing into your life the blessings and benefits that these blooms hold. Take this bouquet of a bath whenever you need peace, purity, grace and glory! Anything annoying or irritating will, as previously mentioned, circle down the drain!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Daily Feng Shui Tip for January 7th

It certainly seems apropos on ‘Old Rock Day’ to take a look at the mystical properties associated with this month’s precious gem of a birthstone, the beautiful and blood red garnet. In fact, there are countless cultural beliefs regarding the blessings and benefits the wearer of the garnet will reap. In medieval times the symbolism of color played an integral part in recommending the use of specific stones for special ailments and diseases. In the case of these red stones, garnets were thought to be the remedy for hemorrhages and inflammatory diseases. This stone was also worn to promote or enhance strength, endurance and vigor. It was said the garnet grants men a healthy reproductive system and promotes hormonal balance for women while also addressing diseases of the blood. It has also long been held that wearing a garnet will ward off evil spirits and nightmares. It inspires truthfulness and fosters friendships and can also attract success to the wearer. Any size crisis is turned into a much smaller challenge under the garnet’s influence, as it also dispels depression, melancholy and detrimental mood swings. Old or new, it appears this mystical ‘rock’ can certainly bring blessings and boons whenever it’s worn!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Feng Shui Lucky Animals

Feng Shui Lucky Animals

  • Annie B. Bond

The ancient Chinese system of feng shui often uses small statues or images of certain lucky animals as a quick fix for energies that are out of balance in a home or office. One animal, for example, is often placed next to a cash register to increase the cash flowing in!

Find out which animals are the traditional powerful helpers to make our personal and career lives more fulfilling and successful, here:

First, find out which places in your home correspond to each of the major “guas”–like career, relationships, or wealth, for example–so you know where the lucky animal should go.

Dragon: Dragons confer power and good fortune in any gua, particularly Family/Health, unless you were born in a Dog year (since Dogs are opposite Dragons in Chinese astrology).

Three-Legged Frog: An odd-looking but charming creature, this frog is usually shown sitting on a pile of gold coins. It is especially helpful in a Wealth gua, or placed next to a cash register!

Fu Dogs: These dogs resemble stylized lions and they symbolize prestige and power. They usually come in pairs, one stationed on either side of doorways for protection.

Bat: The Chinese consider bats to be harbingers of happiness and good fortune. A pair of bats bring double happiness. (Imagine giving a pair of bats as a wedding gift!)

Crane: Cranes are symbolic of long life and wisdom.

Fish: Carp swim upstream, so they represent success and perseverance, but all fish are considered lucky for abundance and money.

Phoenix: This magical, mythical creature who rises from the ashes symbolizes peace and blessings. If you were born in a Phoenix year, it is especially lucky.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for January 5

Let’s look at some fast Feng Shui facts about the lasting blessings that birds can bring on this ‘National Bird Day.’ According to Feng Shui, all birds actually represent the celestial phoenix; a bird that can crash and burn and then transform itself so it can tell the story again. The ability of the phoenix to rise from the ashes makes this bird a universal symbol of hope, optimism, and possibility. Placing images of any bird (especially the phoenix) into the Fame area of your home will open doors of opportunity that helpful people, places and things will fly right through. And if you’re looking for love, using birds in the bedroom will give that effort wings as well. Birds are excellent love energizers since they are believed to be the magical messengers sent from the ‘God of Marriage’ who lives in the moon. In this case, the phoenix is also the best bird image to use for all romantic pursuits. This philosophy maintains that pairing an image of the phoenix with the all-powerful dragon and positioning it in the Romance/Relationship area of your bedroom will activate one of the most powerful marriage symbols in the entire Feng Shui pantheon. Pairs of lovebirds, mandarin ducks, geese and magpies placed inside this same space can make your heart (and a special someone else’s) take flight. So if you’re ready for your love life to soar, feather your love nest with a pair of partridges and the next carol you’ll be singing will have you and your partner sitting in a real ‘pair’ tree!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Daily Feng Shui Tip for January 2nd

The energies of today’s ‘Run It Up the Flagpole And See if Anyone Salutes Day’ invite you to create your own Feng Shui flags that will both increase the flow of abundance in your life, and dispel chronic or temporary life problems. That’s something to raise the flag about, don’t you think? These ‘Six True Color’ flags are a powerful yet secret cure that purportedly draws its power from the potent Om Mani Padme Hum Buddhist mantra. Each of the words of that mantra relates to a specific color, the same white, red, yellow, green, blue and black that you will use when you construct your flags. Your flags can be any size but should all strive to be the same size. You can use fabric or colored paper, and your flagpoles can also be made from anything, from bamboo to popsicle sticks. Attach one color per pole and arrange the flags in the specific color sequence mentioned above. Repeat or recite the mantra aloud and over the flags to bless and activate them before arranging them on your desk (in a cupholder perhaps?) or in the Wealth area of your home or office. If you decide to use this rarely disclosed Feng Shui cure, then in keeping with the energies of the day, I salute you!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com