Looking for Love
If you are looking for love and romance, consider these do’s and don’t based on feng shui formulas. Using the Eight Aspirations formula, the Southwest is the sector that symbolizes love and romance. So if you are down on love, consider sleeping in the Southwest corner of your bedroom. You also need to enhance the SW corner with love energizers. At the same time, do not forget your sleeping directions according to Eight Mansions. Orientate the bed headboard to your Nien Yen or Personal Relationship direction based on your date of birth.Then enhance the Southwest with the key ingredient of yang energy derived from auscpicious lighting. How? Introduce an integrated lighting design. The use of warm downlights will improve the yang atmosphere, creating an environment conducive for love. Enhance further using decorative lampshades, preferably red textured shades that throw subtle red hues into the overall environment. Creating a ‘red’ ambiance in the bedroom sets the tone for an improved love life. This is because the energies of the Southwest come alive with the help of some fire energy. The earth element of the SW gets powerfully recharged this way.
Love symbols such as the double happiness character will also help generate the right launch pad to attract romance into your life. This can take the form of paintings or figurines. For those looking not just for love but also marriage luck, the dragon and phoenix image can also be used. Colours in the bedroomThe balance of colours in the bedroom also needs consideration. In a Southwest earth corner bedroom, use beige coloured walls to create subtle earth tones in the room. Use a solid base flooring with textured earth tone carpets to balance the ambiance. This also creates the base with which to hold together other intricate yang colours in the room.
Taboos
A significant bedroom taboo is never to have mirrors inside the bedroom as this is said to attract third parties into the relationship. But for singles, perhaps it is a good idea to use this taboo to your advantage to jump-start that non-existent love luck!
Flying Stars
Under Flying Star feng shui, houses that face Southwest 2/3 in Period 8 will enjoy an additional love sector. This comes in the form of the 4,1 mountain and water star, the ideal combination for romance luck. The key enhancer for this star combination is wood energy, but since it is never good to display live plants in the bedroom, you can enhance with shades of green or use wood furniture instead.
A wood-based bedroom allows us to play with a multitude of material and lighting choices. Using a wooden headboard for the bed opens up the possibility of multiple wood veneer choices. Other elements of wood can be wood flooring or a solid timber base as the bed frame.
In this scenario, it is important to balance the colours. The introduction of natural wood features creates an overall brown-based expression in the room, which is why the use of light natural tones are required to offset this light-absorbing material. Light toned bed sheets enable us to offer a complimentary mix to the overall setting.
Materials & Lighting
The use of materials and lighting fixtures can also affect the mood you are trying to achieve. Too much of one thing is never good. Avoid overdoing the lighting or over contrasting the colours and furniture pieces, as this will exaggerate the yang aspect of the bedroom. The use of white walls with a vibrant coloured bedspread might create unsettled energy in the bedroom.
Material and furniture selection plays an important role in setting the mood. The use of extreme yin and yang colours, such as dark-based sofa sets with white stark flooring tiles can create conflict. Yang environments tend to create extreme ‘hardness’ in the room and require a balance of softer tones, either through soft furnishings such as carpets, or an off-tone wall to absorb the stark aspects of the room.
Mixing up the lighting with downlights, ceiling washers and chandeliers is another taboo when it comes to designing feng shui for a bedroom. Too many different lights in the room are sure to be overpowering for anyone sleeping there.
Similarly, the use of light absorbing materials and inadequate lighting levels can lead to an excessively yin bedroom. Halogen lights tend to create scattered bright spotting across the room, leaving key areas too bright or too dark. Wall and bedside lamps can lift the energy of a room considerably but can only offer so much in setting the colour tone. They cannot create an overall ambiance.
The choice of dark toned bedspreads and carpets further absorbs whatever life energy you bring into the room. Even the use of design features to help promote love luck is totally negated by the lack of yang energy. As a result, the room becomes excessively yin.
When you design your bedroom, always take note of the principle factor, which is creating an overall ambience that suits you. It is important that yin and yang are balanced. You can use occasional light fixtures to extract specific colour tones required to soften the feel of the room. But balance the overall expression by selecting light-toned wall colours or natural wood panelled walls. This will absorb or reflect excessive ambient light.
Bed Styles
Select bed styles by balancing the colours used for the bed spread. Avoid colours of the same band such as black on browns, or white on red instead, select colour themes that compliment each other. The use of natural colours offers the widest spectrum of colour choices. The secret to good bedroom design is the ability to balance colours and lighting to achieve a settled environment, whether you want to enhance for love, health or harmony.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
FS Fine Points
Watching the Da Vinci Code reminds me of the importance of symbolic representations in the practice of feng shui. This ancient practice very definitely leans heavily on the hidden meanings of trigrams, elements, celestial creatures and a whole range of lucky objects, mystical and mythical creatures in their many applications. It recognizes auspicious figures, pays respect to patriarchal energy as signified by victorious generals and powerful emperors as well as the trigram Chien; and likewise honours the matriarchal energy, which is symbolized by the mother figure and the trigram Kun. When you dig deeper into the practice of symbolic feng shui, you will discover that many symbols have more than one meaning – indeed the symbolism of the Patriarch – the precious king, and of the Matriarch – the precious queen, brings many direct benefits to family feng shui. To safeguard the happiness of the family and togetherness lifestyle, it is important to ensure not only that the NW and SW corners of your home are not missing; you also need to examine the best ways of activating these corners in an appropriate fashion. NW and SW Sectors Must Not Be MissingThe NW affects the luck of the patriarch as traditional breadwinner of the family. When this corner is missing, the man of the family tends to travel a lot. He frequently stays out and is seldom home. A missing NW will also affect the luck of the patriarch, causing him to have problems and obstacles in his working life. If this is your problem, you must remedy it as soon as possible by building the NW and incorporating it into your home. If you cannot do this, use a wall mirror to simulate its presence. The SW affects the luck of the mother – and generally, her wellbeing ensures harmony, peace and calm in the home. When the SW corner of the home is missing, it suggests that the mother and any other older women staying in the home are either missing altogether, or they like going out a lot. The women of the household, especially the mother herself, could stay away frequently, causing problems and strains in the marriage. Children will lack the mother’s care.Activating with Figurines When the Patriarch (Northwest) and Matriarch (Southwest) corners are well activated with the presence of a symbolically powerful leader and mother figure, they bring enormous benefits to the household. To start with, when these two corners are not missing, if they are made to look visually attractive with the presence of father and mother type figures, and they are clean and not blocked, these corners will ensure the family stays united and together. It ensures that the home is blessed with the presence of both the man and woman of the house. In modern practice, both corners should be equally activated so neither the mother nor father becomes overly dominant. When these two corners – the NW and SW - are properly energized, they also help ensure that the next generation can easily find suitable husbands or wives.
The Chien Trigram
The symbolism of the father figure is encrypted in the Chien trigram – three solid lines that demonstrate the strength of the breadwinner, This itself is a powerful symbol of the Patriarch or the husband. Thus in homes that have many daughters of marriageable age, the best way to ensure they get good husbands is to ensure the NW is painted white, is brightly lit and has a strong male figure placed there. You can also use the three solid lines symbol liberally.Depending on what kind of hero catches your fancy, this is the corner for having the male figure. If you like football, by all means display the image of your favourite football player or coach. If spirituality is your thing, then put the picture of your guru there. If movie stars are what turns you on, then hang a picture of Harrison Ford or anyone else you fancy. My advice though is not to hang fragile, feeble men like Brad Pitt who easily fall prey to the aggressively sexual female!Personally, my favourite for the NW corner is a Buddha figure, because to me he is the ultimate patriarch. But you can also consider Kuan Kung, the formidable God of Wealth and general. Those who want success in the scholarly field or women who want husbands in academia can have a figure of Confucius or Einstein in that corner. You can change or rearrange the objects you have in the NW any time. There are no taboos on this.
The SW Corner
The SW corner, not only benefits the mother of the house, it is also effective for attracting suitable wives for the young bachelors of the family. In fact, when the SW is missing, is blocked or is a storeroom, you will find that the young men of the family will experience a hard time finding a suitable spouse. They will tend to feel unloved and will feel that their mother (if she is around) does not give enough nurturing care.
The Auspiciousness of Figurines
The Chinese have always liked displaying figurines of men and women of prominence – each having special meanings and attributes and whose presence in the home attracts mighty good chi. Each figurine is usually associated with some specific kind of luck or personify some auspicious meaning. Lawyers usually go for Judge Pao who they consider to be the God of Justice. But probably the most popular figurines found in every Chinese home are the Three Star Gods Fuk, Luk Sau.These should be placed either in the dining room or in the living room area. It is also helpful having one in the office. But placed directly behind you, thus supporting you. Fuk Luk Sau is a “must have” in your home if you believe in feng shui. But they should be placed correctly. When these figurines are placed incorrectly, they can cause misfortunes. Thus Fuk Luk Sau should never be placed on the floor. They must be placed on a sideboard at least 30 inches high. They should never face the toilet. They should face the dining table or if they are in the living room, they should not, face a staircase or a toilet.The most popular woman figurine, the universal favourite of many Chinese households, is the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin. Her presence in the house is believed to bring peace, security and harmony. Take note that Kuan Yin is no ordinary figure as she is regarded as the Compassionate Buddha. She should be placed high with offerings of water, flowers, food or incense placed in front of her. She should not be regarded as a feng shui feature or a decorative object. Kuan Yin can be placed in any corner of the house, although in the SW, her matriarchal attributes will be dominant.The other very auspicious lady figurine to have in the house is the Lady of the Nine Heavens. It is believed that her mere presence in the home will ensure that the home enjoys good feng shui and this is because she is widely acknowledged as the divine lady who brought the feng shui compass to the Yellow Emperor, thereby introducing compass formula feng shui to Earth. Some say it is with the help of this compass and what the lady taught him which enabled the Yellow Emperor to unite the warring states, thereby bringing peace to a turbulent era.
The Chien Trigram
The symbolism of the father figure is encrypted in the Chien trigram – three solid lines that demonstrate the strength of the breadwinner, This itself is a powerful symbol of the Patriarch or the husband. Thus in homes that have many daughters of marriageable age, the best way to ensure they get good husbands is to ensure the NW is painted white, is brightly lit and has a strong male figure placed there. You can also use the three solid lines symbol liberally.Depending on what kind of hero catches your fancy, this is the corner for having the male figure. If you like football, by all means display the image of your favourite football player or coach. If spirituality is your thing, then put the picture of your guru there. If movie stars are what turns you on, then hang a picture of Harrison Ford or anyone else you fancy. My advice though is not to hang fragile, feeble men like Brad Pitt who easily fall prey to the aggressively sexual female!Personally, my favourite for the NW corner is a Buddha figure, because to me he is the ultimate patriarch. But you can also consider Kuan Kung, the formidable God of Wealth and general. Those who want success in the scholarly field or women who want husbands in academia can have a figure of Confucius or Einstein in that corner. You can change or rearrange the objects you have in the NW any time. There are no taboos on this.
The SW Corner
The SW corner, not only benefits the mother of the house, it is also effective for attracting suitable wives for the young bachelors of the family. In fact, when the SW is missing, is blocked or is a storeroom, you will find that the young men of the family will experience a hard time finding a suitable spouse. They will tend to feel unloved and will feel that their mother (if she is around) does not give enough nurturing care.
The Auspiciousness of Figurines
The Chinese have always liked displaying figurines of men and women of prominence – each having special meanings and attributes and whose presence in the home attracts mighty good chi. Each figurine is usually associated with some specific kind of luck or personify some auspicious meaning. Lawyers usually go for Judge Pao who they consider to be the God of Justice. But probably the most popular figurines found in every Chinese home are the Three Star Gods Fuk, Luk Sau.These should be placed either in the dining room or in the living room area. It is also helpful having one in the office. But placed directly behind you, thus supporting you. Fuk Luk Sau is a “must have” in your home if you believe in feng shui. But they should be placed correctly. When these figurines are placed incorrectly, they can cause misfortunes. Thus Fuk Luk Sau should never be placed on the floor. They must be placed on a sideboard at least 30 inches high. They should never face the toilet. They should face the dining table or if they are in the living room, they should not, face a staircase or a toilet.The most popular woman figurine, the universal favourite of many Chinese households, is the Goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin. Her presence in the house is believed to bring peace, security and harmony. Take note that Kuan Yin is no ordinary figure as she is regarded as the Compassionate Buddha. She should be placed high with offerings of water, flowers, food or incense placed in front of her. She should not be regarded as a feng shui feature or a decorative object. Kuan Yin can be placed in any corner of the house, although in the SW, her matriarchal attributes will be dominant.The other very auspicious lady figurine to have in the house is the Lady of the Nine Heavens. It is believed that her mere presence in the home will ensure that the home enjoys good feng shui and this is because she is widely acknowledged as the divine lady who brought the feng shui compass to the Yellow Emperor, thereby introducing compass formula feng shui to Earth. Some say it is with the help of this compass and what the lady taught him which enabled the Yellow Emperor to unite the warring states, thereby bringing peace to a turbulent era.
Landscape Feng Shui
Watch for Cramped Spaces and Narrow Corridors
The 2 important things to look out for in interior feng shui are dark corners and cramped spaces in the home. This is where stagnant chi can accumulate, creating stale energy that can cause illness, exhaustion, low energy and general lack of interest. Cramped spaces suggest life does not flow smoothly.
How to Determine Cramped Spaces
- Installing a mirror flanking a long & tight staircase will improve its feng shui.
- If the ceiling is too low.
- Long and straight corridors.
- Foyers that are small and dark.
- Small rooms that feel claustrophobic benefit from light-coloured soft furnishings.
Cures for cramped spaces and narrow corridors
- If a corner feels stale, revitalize with sounds and incense to make the chi come alive again.
- Paint walls a white or light colour to expand a narrow space.
- Installing a soft warm light will further improve the flow of energy. Keep lights on as much as possible.
- Hang pretty pictures and wall mirrors to improve and expand the space visually. This applies to narrow staircases as well. Just make sure you don’t hand wall mirrors directly facing the door.
- Make sure cramped spaces are clean and free of clutter at all times
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