Whether you realize it or not, your home environment is constantly either supporting, or sapping your life energy. Making a few simple changes within your home can have an immediate and powerful effect on your personal energy levels, as well as the physical and material aspects of your life. I call it empowerment through environment!
To correctly tap into this support system you need one of Feng Shui’s most powerful tools.
Feng Shui Tool for Environmental Enhancement - The Bagua
One of the most powerful and important tools in Feng Shui is the Bagua (Ba-gua) Map, represented as a grid of nine sectors. The Bagua comes from the Chinese Book of Changes, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams.” These trigrams form the basic building blocks, or treasures that hold the most significance in our lives: Career, Knowledge/Self Cultivation, Family/Health, Wealth/Prosperity, Fame, Love/Marriage, Children/Creativity, and Helpful People/Travel. Each of these building blocks is represented in the Bagua map, and is formed around a ninth sector which is the overall center, or grounding element of your life.
Using the Bagua:
This grid, illustrating the nine sectors of your life is intended to be superimposed over the floor plan of your home. The home’s main entrance is always located at the bottom of the grid, (in the Knowledge, Career or Helpful People sector). Once you have identified where your entrance falls in relation to the map, you can identify where the remaining areas of your environment fall. Now your home can begin to tell the story, and shed some light on issues you may be facing in your life.
If your life is working perfectly then you’re probably already intuitively practicing Feng Shui, and you have balance and positive energy flowing through your home. However, if any of the sectors or building block areas are not supporting you, and causing you stress then personal enhancements using the Bagua Map are the way to go. The key is to activate and keep the Ch’i (vital energy) flowing through your home.
What is Your Home Telling You?
Is your garage cluttered? (If it’s connected to the house, then your garage is part of the Bagua as well.) Is your bedroom piled up with clothes that need cleaning and a bed that is not made? Is your guest room used for storage or unfinished projects? Are any of your key areas missing from your home's Bagua? Think about where these rooms are in relation to the Bagua Map. Is the story unfolding? When looking at homes through Feng Shui eyes you can usually identify trouble spots fairly quickly.
Giving Your Enhancements and Extra Boost:
The first thing you always want to do in Feng Shui is apply the Bagua to your whole house, BUT for an EXTRA boost you then look at the Bagua of each room and place a small representation of that area in the location in the room. This is especially important if you have a missing area. Recently I had two clients looking for love - I helped each of them enhance the Love Area (back right corner) of their homes with the recommendations below, then we added a small representation in the back right corner of each room (a heart, small red vase, two flowers, small romantic picture etc..) with their affirmations. This is a wonderful way to spread your intentions throughout your home, giving them an extra boost. Think about what areas are missing from your life, choose from the list below and enjoy creating meaningful enhancements in each room.
Positive Personal Enhancement Suggestions for Bagua Areas:
Career Area - Front Center- Enhance this area if you are looking to make any changes in your career.
Enhance with:
* Colors: black or very dark colors
* Shapes: asymmetrical shapes
* Items: items in glass or crystal, mirrors, career images and symbols
* Art: depicting water scenes art depicting flowing water such as rivers, waterfalls, oceans
Knowledge and Self Cultivation Area - Left Front Corner – Enhance this area if you are a student, in counseling, or want to develop a more peaceful mind or lifestyle.
Enhance with:
* Colors: colors of blues, greens, or black
* Shapes: stripes or columns
* Items: items in wood, healthy plants with rounded soft leaves, images and symbols of knowledge such as books, representation of deities or inspiring people
* Art: depicting forests, nature scenes, mountains, peaceful places
Friends/Family/Health Area - Left Center - Enhance this area if your health needs a boost or if you're recovering from surgery. Also enhance it if you would like your social life or your relations with your family to improve.
Enhance with:
* Colors: colors of blues, greens,
* Shapes: stripes or columns
* Items: healthy floral arrangements, items in wood, photos of family, friends in perfect health
* Art: depicting vibrant flowers
Wealth Area - Back Left Corner – Enhance this area if you need to generate more cash flow in your life, or if you want to be more aware of the flow of abundance in your life in general.
Enhance with:
* Colors: purple, blue or red
* Shapes: cones, triangles
* Items: items that “call the Chi” such as flags, wind chimes, whirligigs, flowing water features, (fountains, waterfalls or aquariums), opulent items in the purple color spectrum, round leaf plants
* Art: depicting wealth or items you wish to purchase
Fame Area– Back Center – Enhance this area if you would like more recognition at home or at work.
Enhance with:
* Colors: reds
* Shapes: cones, triangles
* Items: diplomas, awards and acknowledgements, up lighting, inspirational sayings
* Art: depicting animals, people fire and the sun, personal images and symbols of fame
Love and Marriage Area– Right Back Corner – Enhance this area if you want to attract or improve a love relationship.
Enhance with:
* Colors: reds, pinks, white
* Shapes: cones, triangles
* Items: pairs of items (candles, love birds, vases)
* Art: art or photos depicting your significant other or romance, colors of reds, pinks and white
* Children and Creativity Area– Right Center – Enhance this area if you are trying to get pregnant, want to improve your relationship with children, or would like to explore your inner child and creativity.
Enhance with:
* Colors: white and pastels
* Shapes: curves, circles
* Items: creative images and symbols, whimsical items, toys, stuffed animals, art supplies, photos of children, items in metal
* Art: whimsical art, or art made by children
Helpful People and Travel Area– Right Front Corner – Enhance this area if you want more mentors, clients, customers, or other helpful people in your life, or if you would like to travel.
Enhance with:
* Colors: white, black or grey
* Shapes: curves, circles
* Items: symbols of travel or spiritual guides, items in metal, natural rocks, stone
* Art: pertaining to spiritual guides, mentors, helpful people or desired travel locations, pictures of
mountains
Center Area– The center of the Bagua is considered neutral; a place of grounding of all the other areas – a place of balance and peace. This area is associated with the element of Earth and is related to the color yellow, as well as earth tones. It is also symbolized by items in the shape of squares and rectangles and items made of ceramics.
Enjoy the extra boost of energy and opportunities you get when you enhance the areas most missing from your life.
