Where does it come from?
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art of arranging buildings, objects, and space to achieve harmony and balance. It stems from the general belief in chi, also known as a life force, that inhabits everything. Chi is made up from yin and yang elements, opposing yet complimentary forces that cannot be separated. By balancing yin and yang elements, you can create the best energy in a single space, room, or home.
Very little is known about the origins of Feng Shui, but there is evidence that Chinese architects have been using it to design homes, towns, and cities for thousands of years. They thought that arranging things to create that balance would ensure good health, improve interpersonal relationships, and even bring luck and prosperity.
What are the principles?
The Commanding Position
The first principle of Feng Shui is the commanding position. This is the spot in a room that is furthest from the door, but still visible from the doorway. Since this is the spot where you will spend the most time, you want to have a clear view to the door, but still have space away from it. To determine the commanding position, stand in different places of your room with and without furniture: if your furniture is blocking or hindering this line of sight, it may be time to rearrange your room.
Bagua Map and Elements
A bagua is an energy map of the floorplan of your home and offers a systematic way to evaluate the energy in any given space. The bagua tells you which living area is correlated to what aspect of your life. A bagua map includes eight different aspects, with health at the center:
Each area is represented by a different color on the bagua map, and represented by the five different elements of Feng Shui. The five elements are: fire, water, wood, metal, and earth. These colors and elements work best in different rooms, depending on the life aspect you are wanting to emphasize: earth for bed or dining room, metal for kitchen or office, water for living room or office, wood for dining or living room, and fire for bedroom or outside spaces. While each of these can be applied to a single room, you can also incorporate multiple aspects into multiple rooms.
To Review
Feng Shui is the art of arrangement to achieve harmony and balance. Every home layout is unique, and Feng Shui allows you to bring out the best features in your style, your home, and your life. Let’s get balanced!
