Feng Shui Tip of the Month: January 2010

Wow, is it really the 28th of January? How did that happen!



I was hoping to come up with an inspiring New Year's post, but somehow, between still not finding my Feng Shui text book (which I sometimes refer to for inspiration) and this month sneaking by me so quickly, it just hasn't happened.


Instead, I thought I'd get practical, and show you one of the things I've done to support better energy in my own home. So here's the tip of the month:


If you have a staircase that faces an exterior door, you need to slow down that fast moving Chi.


Energy, or Chi, enters our buildings through the doors and windows, and more strongly through doors. Ideally, the energy enters the building and meanders slowly, neither stopping, nor moving too quickly. But if you have exterior door that faces a staircase, the energy rushes quickly in that direction. The photo below is the staircase to our second floor, which directly faces an exterior door.



The correction or "cure" for this is very simple. Hang a faceted crystal (30mm is about perfect) over the staircase, near the wall, to slow down that energy.




Generally, clear crystals are recommended, but if you know which elements are good to emphasize in that area, you can choose a color in that category. These here are great, and quite reasonable.

Happy January...see again in just a few days!

Feng Shui Tip of the Month: December 2009

Have you ever noticed that hotels often have pineapples as part of the decor, often built in the the structure of lamps or other decorative items?

Did you know that the pineapple is a univeral symbol of welcome and hospitality? I just learned that last week while traveling.

We've talked about symbolism a lot over the last few months, and I was thinking that ending the year on that note would work well.

Placing a pineapple, real or decorative, where it can be seen when guest arrive is a warm symbols of welcome, particularly during this busy holiday season. Bowls of peaches symbolize health and longveity and bowls of oranges bring prosperity. Both of these can be placed on the dining room table.

All cultures have symbolism that is significant and can be incorporated into the decor of your home. If there is something meaningful to you, use it. If you're interested in learning more about specific placement of a symbolic item, leave me a comment and I'm happy to help.

Wishing you a safe, warm, loving, healthy and prosperous season.

November Freebie!

Yes, you read it right. It's time for a freebie!

November, the month of Thanksgiving, is the month to be thankful for all the gifts of abundance in our lives. Well, really, I try always to be grateful for these things, but now is a good time to remember if I've gotten of course.

I have many gifts to be thankful for, and one of them is that I have enough, of some things, at least, to share.

So this month's sharing will be for a 3-coin prosperity energizer. Read more about them in my June Tip of the Month post.

Leave a comment between now and November 30th. I'll draw the winner December 1st. December is a good month to start carrying one of these around in your wallet...since most of us part with a lot of cash then, not a bad idea to start drawing some back in, eh?

Tell you friends!

Feng Shui Tip of the Month: November 2009

I've been thinking a lot about the theory of Feng Shui vs the reality of working with a home or workspace.

There's what's recommended, and there's what works. Sometimes they're the same, sometimes, they're really NOT.


So my tip of the month for November, to keep it simple since the holidays are approaching and my life is overfull at the moment, is just this.....



Keep it Real



And by that I mean, despite what is recommended, it still has to work for you, your space, your life, the intricate little things that make you, well YOU, and influence how you interact with your space.

In my April Tip Post, I talked about how to handle the bathroom in your home, and one of the key things with the bathroom is to keep the door shut.

When I first began using Feng Shui, keeping the bathroom door shut was a bit of an adjustment, but something that was fairly easy to do, and it's become enough of a habit that I tend to do it wherever I go now and have for about 6 years.

Enter, Luna Flowers....my daughter's Christmas kitten from 2008.

Luna will only drink fresh water. Period. Water sitting in a bowl for even a short period of time just won't do. In order to break her of the habit of jumping onto the counters to help herself to the sink, we comprimised. Luna drinks from the tub.

As a result of this, we no longer keep the bathroom door closed at all times. We fill the tub a bit and Luna drinks for several minutes. So we leave her in the bathroom, with the door open, to finish her refreshment.

I was so used to shutting the bathroom door behind me that I locked her in a number of times before readjusting my routine and leaving it open, at least when she's around. Her loud meowing to be freed, sometimes in the middle of the night, quickly broke me again of the habit of shutting the door.

This is NOT good Feng Shui, and I could tell you all the reasons why it's not. But it works for our family, so we don't sweat it.

That's the way I believe Feng Shui needs to be approached. You do the best you can to apply what you can, and you'll get good results. Where it doesn't work, skip it and move on to the things you can work with.

Have a Happy November, and a very Happy Thanksgiving. I have many blessings to be grateful for this year, and I hope you do as well.

Follow Up to the Mandarin Ducks Post with a Sweet Twist

If you read October's tip of the month, here is a photo of our Rose Quartz Mandarin Ducks. If you look closely, you'll see that there are 3 in this photo. I originally purchased the set of two larger ducks (they're about 3.5" long) on the lily pad for my husband and I. Later on, in anticipation of my February Feng Shui and Love Class, I order several sets. They were quite small, only about an inch and a half long, but so cute. I sold a few and had a few left over.

A short while later Helena, our little one, wanted to know where her duck was. I immediately thought of the extra ducks, and here is Helena's, nesting on mommy and daddy duck's backs. Not traditional, but very much our family!

It's worth mentioning, since I didn't before, that the male duck is the duck with the raised wings, and the female duck has the folded wings. For same sex couples, of course, you would want to get a set of 2 male or 2 female ducks.

Also important to mention, is that to super charge these ducks, you can activate them by tying a piece of red string around each one. Be sure not to tie them together, as our paths in life can be parallel, but are ultimately still our own. Also, be sure to tie the around the waist, and never around the neck, as love can leave us feel rather breathless :-) but should never be strangling or suffocating. Another option is to place glue small red bows onto them.

Feng Shui Artwork for sale

I have some symbolic pieces and other items leftover from a trade show I worked a year ago. As I pack to move, it seems a pity to move them with me-I really don't want to!


I don't think I'll have time in the next few weeks to photograph and describe what I have, but here's one piece which hangs in my own home that I already have photos of:


Chinese "Love" Character Wall Hanging:







This is a good sized piece, measuring 20.5" wide x 41" long, not including hanging ribbon. It's a parchment style roll with a thin layer of cloth over the paper. Colors are metallic gold and taupe, and are great where Earth and Metal elements are beneficial.


The meaning of this is lovely, as it symbolizes Love of family, marital partner, and friends.

The character's upper strokes represent marriage and the family. The center of the character symbolizes the heart. The lower strokes represent friends. Love of family and friends, along with a romantic heart, are combined into a single character.This wall hanging can enhance any part of your home and can be used in the bedroom or Southwest segment of the home to enhance romance.


I have 6-7 of these, and would love to discount them to $14.99 (USA shipping included). If you know anyone who may be interested, email me and I can invoice you through paypal.

Happy Weekend! First snowfall here!

Feng Shui Tip of the Month: October 2009

To get back a bit to the topic of Symbolism, here's one for relationships.

To attract a new relationship, or enhance an existing one:

Place a pair of mandarin ducks on a small table or alter in your bedroom. Ideally, place them in the southwest corner of the bedroom. If this is impractical, at least place them on the southwest corner of the table. Have their tails pointing toward your Nien Yen direction. Rose Quartz ducks are my favorite. The stone carries a very pure energy. It is said to resonate with the heart chakra, and to clear negative energy.

You may ask, what the heck is a Nien Yen direction, and how do I know what mine is? The Nien Yen direction is that which is associated with good fortune in Love, Marriage and Family relationships. This and other positive and directions to be avoided for an individual are associated with the year of your birth. Google "Kua Number Calculator" and you can easily find sites where you can enter your birthdate and sex and they will determine your personal Kua number and the directions considered most positive for you.

Mandarin ducks mate for life, hence their use as a relationship symbol. There is lovely Japanese folktale about the mandarin ducks that is fun to read. Katherine Paterson has written a lovely version which we were able to get at our local library.