Ch’i enhancers are the basic Feng Shui tools used for treating, stabilizing, and balancing the energy in your environment. The ten Ch’i enhancers taught by the Western School of Feng Shui™ are:
1. Art: paintings, sculptures, collages, collections, and textiles
2. Colors: the hues represented by the Bagua areas
3. Crystals: round and faceted to circulate Ch’i
4. Lighting: electrical, candles, oil, natural light
5. Living things: plants, flowers, animals
6. Mirrors: the bigger the better except for in bedrooms and dining rooms*
7. Objects of nature: rocks, shells, seeds, natural crystals
8. Sound makers: wind chimes, bells, musical instruments
9. Whirligigs: mobiles, flags
10. Water features: fountains, ponds, birdbaths, aquariums
*Mirrors create active energy which is too much for both bedrooms and dining rooms where the energy needs to be peaceful and calm.
Each of these Ch’i enhancers serve a purpose:
Round glass crystals circulate Ch’i, block energy, and help anchor missing areas.
Lighting brings the Fire element to any area.
Mirrors are called “the aspirin of Feng Shui” because the activate a space, block negative energy, help anchor missing areas, and, since they represent the Water element, they help prosperity flow.
Water features help activate the flow of career and prosperity.
Sound makers and whirligigs work to call in the Ch’i.
But of all the Ch’i enhancers, I find that working with colors and art gives you almost instant gratification. Art is the soul of a room; it gives it energy and life, and it is easy to identify how it enhances the Feng Shui of a space. To enhance the Ch’i in your home, choose art that elicits positive feelings and makes your heart sing. Remember that in Feng Shui everything is alive and is constantly talking to you. What you surround yourself with can nourish or drain you. Therefore, ensure that every art piece in your home is one that you love and that portrays a serene or inspirational subject matter. Art depicting violence, death, distortion, or negativity is not recommended. They say that “A picture is worth a thousand words.” What is your art telling you?
To get the most benefit from art and colors, match them with the function of each room. Choose romantic and sensual for the bedroom, lively, colorful art for the living room, and powerful and motivational for the home office. Use the Bagua map to help you choose the appropriate art and colors that correlate with the goals in your life. Each of the nine areas of the Bagua is associated with colors and art representations. For example, if you want romance, and your Love and Marriage area is in the dining room, choose art that is romantic and appropriate for your dining area. If you wish to improve your health, and your Health and Family area is in the bathroom, display art that evokes radiant health and vitality.
Career Area:
* Art - paintings, photos pertaining to moving water (oceans, rivers, etc.), asymmetrical shapes, and black frames
* Colors – black or dark colors
Knowledge and Self Cultivation Area:
* Art -paintings, photos representing calm nature scenes (forests, ferns, vineyards, etc.), columnar shapes, and wooden frames
* Colors – blue and green
Friends, Family, Health Area:
* Art - paintings, photos representing fresh, healthy vibrant flowers, family, friends and/or you in a healthy state, columnar shapes, and wooden frames
* Colors – blue, green, and anything floral
Wealth and Prosperity Area:
* Art - paintings, photos or sculptures representing opulence and wealth, tall round leaf plants, bubbling fountains, triangular, cone shapes, and wooden frames
* Colors – purples, blues, and reds
Fame Area:
* Art - paintings, photos or sculptures representing celebration, animals, birds, stars suns, fire, upward movement, inspirational quotes, triangular, cone shapes, and wooden frames
* Colors – Red
Love and Marriage Area:
* Art - paintings, photos or sculptures representing romance, pairs of items, pictures of you and your significant other, pictures of couples, triangular, cone shapes, and wooden frames
* Colors – reds and pinks
Children and Creativity Area:
* Art - paintings, photos or sculptures representing creativity and whimsy, pictures of children or child art, round shapes, and metal frames
* Colors – whites and pastels
* Colors – white and grey
Center Area:
* Art - paintings, photos or sculptures representing earth scenes, deserts, wheat fields, yellow flowers or trees, rectangular shapes
* Colors – yellows and earth tones
Look at the art you have in your home. Jackson Pollock said, “A painting has a life of its own.” What is each piece “saying” to you? No matter how positive and creative you may be in your inner world, if your home or work surroundings are contradictory or present energetic barriers, you are likely to find it difficult to manifest all that you desire. By paying attention to the flow of energy around you, beginning with the art and colors that surround you, you can align your inner intentions with your outer realities to make your life a conscious act of creation.
