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.

Feng Shui Tip: September 2009

Fall is just 2 days away. I can't believe how quickly this year is speeding by.

The approach of Autumn seems a good time to revisit de-cluttering your space. How have you done with that task?

For me, it's still a work in progress. I have pared things down a bit, more can be done on that front. We'll be moving in a few weeks, so that will give me another opportunity to re-evaluate my possessions and determine what still fits, and what needs to go.

This can be a very sensitive subject. The stuff of our lives carry memories. I had a recent conversation with an acquaintance about something he was selling, something that no longer fit, but had sat around for quite awhile before he was ready to part with it. One of the comments he made, which was really poignant for me, was that he was concerned that the memories associated with the item would go with it. That the visual stimulus of seeing it triggered those memories, and without it, the memories might fade.

In my March 2009 Part A post, I touched on the idea of letting the things in your space be those the evoke positive feelings. I'd like to talk a little more about that this month.

Several years ago we received a gift from some friends, some artwork. It didn't resonate with me. There was nothing especially wrong with it, I just didn't like looking at it. I even had it framed and hung it for awhile, but it bothered me when I saw it. I finally got around to asking my husband how he felt, and as he was indifferent, we agreed to let it go. I'm happier when I walk into the room now (our home office) and the artwork I see is pleasing to me.

As we move into the fall season, and for some of us, that means a lot more indoor time, I invite you to talk a slow walk through your house and notice how you feel about the things you see. Do it when you have some time to relax and look with fresher eyes upon the things that you see every day. Are they pleasing, do you like the arrangement, the contrast? Is there anything that causes you any distress when you see it?

Sentimental items, though emotionally valuable, can sometimes carry heavy emotional energy with them. If you encounter anything like this on your journey through your home space, take some time to consider whether you could let it go. Or perhaps, just pack it away, so that you can take it out occasionally when you're feeling strong and need to revisit that time, place or person. Be gentle with yourself as you think about the memories and feelings that an item may evoke, and consider carefully what would feel best.

The goal of Feng Shui is to optimize the lives of the occupants of the home or other space. This is a very simple, but powerful thing that you can do to create better energy in your dwelling. I want my home to be a place to rest, to play, to be inspired, to join with friends and family, to create. I want to same for you.

Happy Autumn 2009.

Feng Shui Tip: August 2009, Back to School!

Doesn't the feel of back to school time affect you, even if it doesn't actually impact you directly? It certainly does me. I'm not in school, and will be homeschooling our daughter this year, which does include a certain back to school energy even if the time frame isn't as strict for us. But it's all around me anyway. Living near a big college town, I'm aware of the return of the students from their summer away. The roads are fuller, the grocery store shelves are emptier as everyone restocks. Signs of "Welcome back Students" are all around. Back to school supplies are everywhere.

Some are already back to school, others are about to be. So, in honor of all of that energy, I thought I'd talk about some specific symbolism for educational success.

In classical Feng Shui, the North East direction is associated with knowledge, education, and learning new skills. Placing specific symbolic items in the North East segments of your home can support these learning endeavors.

Here are some items that can be used to support learning:

The Tribute Horse

The Tribute Horse is associated with the rapid achievement of goals. It can also be used to promote career success and legal success. The Tribute Horse carries strong yang energy, bringing with it strength, authority, energy, movement and perseverance.

Running Horses Statue

The Running Horses Statue is also associated with the rapid achievement of goals. You'll see various numbers of horses together in statues like these. I happen to have an examples with 3 Horses (which belongs to my daughter). If aiming specifically for educational success, I would choose a statue with 8 horses, as 8 is the number associated with the North East and with Education.

To use the either the Tribute Horse or the Running Horses statue for educational success, place it in the North East portion of the room. If you can, place the desk or other seating arrangement in the North East segment of the room. If this is impractical, don't worry about it. Just place the horse statue on your desk or other area used for studying. Place the statue on North East portion of your desk or table. You can also set up a small table in the room used to study, and place the statue on the North East portion of that table, or place it on a shelf.

Here's the key detail: Make sure to position the statue so that the horse appears to be entering the room. This is the critical piece. Once you've located the horse on the table, desk or shelf, the tail of the horse should be pointing toward the door, so that the horse is entering the room, not leaving it.

Other symbols which can be used for this purpose include the Cicada, an Abacus (specifically for studies in math or computing), Carp on Waves statue, Books, Globes, Diplomas, pictures of the school or university, and anything else related to the field of study.

Here's to a successful 2009-2010 school year for us all!

Feng Shui Tip of the Month: July 2009

Use Symbolism for Health

After last month's introduction to the topic of Feng Shui Symbolism, I thought Health was a great place to further expand the discussion. Many of us dream of increased prosperity, of finding the right partner to share our lives with, but without health, we can't properly enjoy anything else.


In general, the bedroom is where we focus our attention when looking at enhancing health with symbols. The bedroom is where we rest, recharge our batteries and generally spend the largest amount of time in one single place (hopefully we're all getting our 8ish hours in each night).

One of the more popular symbols for Health is the Chinese Bottle Gourd, or Wu Lu.


This can be set on your nightstand, or hung on the wall near the side of the bed where you sleep.

The peach tree or the peach is also a symbol of health and longevity. A photo or painting of a peach tree could be hung on the bedroom wall to bring in this energy. Place a bowl full of peaches on the dining room table to signify health for the family.

East is the direction associated with health and longevity. Locating your health symbols either in the east section of a room or of the house can increase their potency.

Until next month (only days away!), to your health!

Feng Shui Tip of the Month: June 2009

A recent conversation inspired this month's topic, but more about that later....

Use Symbolism to Bring Specific Kinds of Energy and Luck into your Life

Symbolism works on multiple levels. Symbolic items carry energy or chi, which can charge your environment with the type of energy you want to bring into your life. Placing symbolic items in your environment can also work on the subconscious level, helping you subtly focus on that which you desire.

For these reasons the strategic placement of symbolic items are an important part of the practice of Feng Shui. This is a simple, and at times very powerful way to bring about changes in your life.

A very popular symbol is the 3 Coin Prosperity Energizer.

These are used to attract money, and can be placed in many locations. Carry them in your wallet or checkbook, attach them to your cash register, computer, phone, fax machine, or to anything associated with how you generate income.

The coins used here are old style Chinese reproduction coins and the color red signifies life giving energy.

They can be found in Chinatowns and through many online sources. The wonderful instructor I trained with has them in his online shop.

I'll get more into symbolism for the home over the next few months, but until then, enjoy the last few days of June!