Feng Shui Friday – What is “good Feng Shui”?

I get this question all the time… “Is this/that good Feng Shui”? And of course it’s counter part: “I’ve heard that this/that is really bad Feng Shui?”

There are of course some “ground rules” (or general principles) for what constitutes good Feng Shui. For example, sitting with your back to a solid wall, facing into the room and being able to see the door from where you sit is great Feng Shui for your work desk.

Having your bed head up against a solid wall (that is not shared with a bathroom), being able to see the door to your bedroom while lying in bed is also good Feng Shui.

To have a live water feature in your current wealth sector is great for your finances and general abundance.

And there are many, many more examples like this where general Feng Shui principles apply. They apply to everyone in every situation and they are guidelines that I certainly use in my work and inform my clients about in a consultation.

Then there are the other things that people ask me, like “I’ve heard it’s really bad Feng Shui to have a picture of XYZ in the living room.” Or “You can’t have a XYZ ornament in the kitchen, can you?” And “My friend said that I need to place a green plant in XYZ place to attract abundance”.

When it comes to things like this, there is a lot of superstition and misinformation out there on what is “good” and “bad” Feng Shui. Most people really don’t know and most things that I hear don’t apply at all in the world of Feng Shui. So take people’s well meant advice with a grain of salt.

Regarding decorating your home, I’m a firm believer in individuality. If you love that picture in your living room, then keep it there! What does it matter if someone else doesn’t like it? What does it matter even if I as your Feng Shui consultant don’t like it? You like it, you keep it! It is after all your home and only you can decide what a picture means to you, what feelings you get when looking at it and what it represents in your world. That is not up to anyone else to decide or even have an opinion on.

Are there general meanings and representations in pictures and photos? Yes, there are. And still, in my opinion, how you feel and what a photo or piece of art represents to you as a person is much more important than any general representation according to Feng Shui principles.

So if you want to attract abundance, put a photo/picture/ornament that represents abundance to you in a place where you see if often and where it “feels right” to you. (It is always good to place pictures of what you want to attract into your life inside your front door.) If you want to know for sure that you place pictures and ornaments in the most supportive spot, then you might want to use a professional Feng Shui consultant to do the complete energetic map (Flying Star Chart) of your home to tell you exactly where you are best off placing them.

Other than that, go with what feels good to you and what makes you happy! Most people get a lot of it “right” by intuitively doing what feel best anyway. Trust your gut and decorate your home so that it makes your heart sing!

Happy Feng Shui Friday!
Sara