Q&A Sunday: Unique Bagua Map Layout

I just listened to your podcasts about the feng shui bagua map, and I'm wondering, looking at my living room bagua, do you divide the room into 9 spaces equally by measurement, or is there a different way of determining where, for example, Benefactors becomes Completion?

Also, since my entrance faces into the living room but away from the rest of the apartment, I get a little confused as to creating a bagua for the whole apartment (or - I suppose this is a third question? Do you count the entrance way on the bagua as the one of the whole building?)

Sacha J., New York, NY

Thanks for your question, Sacha. This brings up a few interesting issues that people encounter when laying out the bagua map on their homes. 

For your first question, looking at just your living room, yes. You can divide the room equally into a 3x3 grid by measurement. 

Now onto the second question. Your main entrance does face into the living room, with most of the apartment outside of the bagua map. We would not include the public hall, what’s outside of your apartment door, onto your bagua. However, if you wanted to do a bagua of the building, you would use the main entrance of the building (that faces the street).

The simplest way to apply the bagua to your home is to apply the bagua map to each room. This doesn’t mean that you need to put an adjustment in each room, but where it’s relevant for your needs. For instance, if you want more prosperity, perhaps energizing the abundance area of your bedroom area and kitchen area would help. So, you’d find that area in each of those rooms. 

But there are two issues to point out here. It may be problematic that your kitchen and bedroom are outside of the bagua. It may mean that your wealth and love is found outside the home. There are ways to bring back the areas that are outside of the bagua map using mirrors to visually and energetically reflect the rooms back into the bagua. For instance, a mirror on wall of the living room that can reflect through the hallway. It will bring back in the image of the rest of the apartment. 

Second, there’s a blocked secondary door. Doors represent the voices of the inhabitants of the home. You can open it periodically to give that voice a chance to share, or there are more specific feng shui adjustments that a consultant can share with you that will open up the energy.

I hope this clears up some of your confusion! Thanks so much for writing in, and please let us know how any adjustments you make turn out! 

by Anjie Cho


Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers.  Click here to submit any Feng Shui questions!


Q&A Sunday: Room with Two Doors

room with 2 doors bagua.jpg

How do I orient the feng shui bagua map on a bedroom with two doors? and what is the best bed position for this room? 

Kristina W., Pismo Beach, CA

Hi Kristina,

Thank you for your question! In general, for any space, you always orient the bagua map with the Kan line aligned with the wall where your primary door is located. The Kan line is the side of the bagua with the guas Gen (self-cultivation/knowledge), Kan (career/path in life), and Qian (travel/helpful people). If you have two doors, you want to locate the bagua based on the formal door, or the door that is most like a formal door.

In this case, we’re looking at a bedroom with two doors. I can see from looking at this floor plan that the room was originally a dining room, and more of a pass-through space. It’s not an ideal spot for anyone to be sleeping, but since this is what you’ve been given, we’re going to work with it.

First, we have to figure out which door is the primary door. I would suggest using the door facing the hallway, because you probably want to enter your room through the hallway and not through the kitchen. Ideally, you want your bedroom to be in a more private area of the home, separated from more public spaces like the kitchen. I’ve drawn the feng shui bagua map on your bedroom using Door #1 as you’ve indicated.

Regarding the bed position, I’ve drawn up what I feel is the best bed location based on the information that I have. If you use Door #1, you’d be in command of the room with the bed positioned as shown. You also wouldn’t have a stove or toilet directly behind you when you’re in bed, both of which present some feng shui challenges. You do have a door partially behind you; I would suggest locking that door, and not blocking it. In feng shui, doors represent the mouths of the inhabitants, so locking or closing a door might mean that part of your voice is closed off. It’s not ideal, but this is what you have and we can work with it.

You also mentioned to me that you are getting a bed frame--that’s definitely the most important thing. You also told me that this is a more temporary living situation. This makes sense, because physically the room is a transition space. It’s not the best location for a bedroom, but do the best you can. 

Good luck, and thanks again for submitting your question!

by Anjie Cho


Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui questions!


How To Use Mirrors To Create Good Feng Shui

featured on The Spruce

Activate the Mouth of Qi

Mirrors are used in many feng shui applications. It’s often described as the "aspirin" of feng shui. "Put up two mirrors, and call me in the morning!"

The feng shui practice of adding a small object, like a mirror, to shift and improve the qi of a space is called the "method of minor additions" or Xie Zi Fa in Chinese. One of the key factors of the method of minor additions is that you also use your intention with the addition of an object to overcome the obstacle. Whenever you use a mirror, or anything to adjust the qi of your home, be sure to do so with a clear intention. This is key.

Mirrors themselves embody the element of water. The water element cultivates wisdom and introspection. The feeling of water is cooling. Water is formless and takes the shape of whatever container it’s in. Because of this yielding quality, mirrors are used in feng shui, for they can reflect without judgment or obscurations. They can expand your view as well as focus energies.

Mirrors can invite energy into a space. A strategically placed mirror can reflect the view of an element that is seen through a window into a room. For example, place a mirror so that you can see the reflection of a river (water element) and trees (wood element) into your office. This invites more water for wealth and wood for expansion into your career and work life. And again, mirrors are placed with intention, which makes them more effective feng shui adjustments.

…read full article


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