Feng Shui: Not Just Rearranging Furniture

As part of the popular culture phenomenon the last few decades, the term “feng shui” has been used loosely as an interior design tactic in order to get consumers to spend thousands of dollars to rearrange their lives according to which way their bed faces, where to put a mirror, and how many bamboo plants can survive in the home. In fact, this Western myth has been fueling feng shui—pronounced fuhng shway—in a negative way, causing actual practicing followers to frown in discontent at the way the United States has embraced the yin and yang basics of the art form. However the practice has been interpreted by the west, there are deeper facets to feng shui than meets the eye.
Developed thousands of years ago in China, feng shui is a combination of art and science, a culmination of the energy of the earth and the spiritual pull of the heavens. Literally translated feng shui means “wind water” symbolizing good harvest and good health in the ancient Chinese culture where clean water and a gentle wind are the keys to a prosperous fortune and lucky life. With a diverse wealth of knowledge, this combination of science and art holds the properties to balance any given space. The energy balance that takes place is the information that was most likely pulled to give the west the idea that feng shui is merely a way to arrange your life according to harmonizing colors and calming doorways.
Offering an assurance of positive fortune and long-standing good health for anyone living in feng shui, the opposite would mean that having bad feng shui would mean a harder life with many misfortunes. According to Taoism—the name for a Chinese tent over spirituality and philosophy yet not an exact religion, often characterized by the Taijitu or “yin and yang” symbol—the land is filled with an energy known as Chi. The land’s Chi controls the fate of those inhabiting it, hence, balance is necessary to keep man and the land in direct cooperation with each other.
There are five major elements (usually shown in a clockwise diagram) to feng shui that are addressed throughout the practice: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each of these main aspects need to nurture each other in order to maintain a healthy circular system. As a result, if one of these is not nurtured, it weakens and prevents the circle from being completed.
Wood is usually wrongly associated with wood furniture, but according to the theory of balance depending on these elements, wood is actually symbolized by living plants and carried throughout spaces as the color green. Fire is associated with heat, but as many spaces don’t offer many options for burning candles or the availability of a fireplace, the color red is often used in place of an actual “hot” item. Earth has different capabilities as objects. Earth tones can be used but are not nearly as effective as earthen statues made of clay, terracotta planters or pots, and dirt in general. Metal is the most abundant way to bring your place together in peace. Metal can be shown through any type of metal and is best if it is not sharp and pointed but shiny and round and could be used more as a decorative piece than functional. Water is a symbol of power and is life-giving. Elements of water are best if used in conjunction with metal objects (not earthen ones because earth does not flow into water directly in the chart) like in fountains, fish ponds, or small flowing spouts.
The commonly used form of feng shui is helped by using the elemental tangible objects bringing the connection between people and earth closer together. Some people rely on strategically placed crystals, others induce the calming effect of an aquarium, the design aspect of feng shui works primarily with colors, clocks and water elements in the home or business.
Beyond the elements, there are tools to address analysis, each school of feng shui—there are 8 large branches—uses a different one. Most of these tools are along the same lines as a compass, using levels of magnetism to connect the land to man’s “space.”
As with most natural health practices that draw from spirituality in order to harmonize the mind and body, like yoga and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) among others, feng shui must be taken seriously in order for it to work. Buying a plant for your entryway, a table fountain for your dining room, painting your kitchen red, and keeping a lucky penny on your mantle won’t help to bring you forture or good health unless you invite the Chi into your life through the teachings as well as the actions of feng shui.