An Introduction to Using Color in Feng Shui - Part 2

Last month we talked about how important, and increasingly popular, the use of color psychology is in creating a holistic, sacred space for each of us. By now, you know when it's best to use greens, teals, blues, purples and violets, yellows, oranges and browns. As many colors as that may be, it's just the tip of the color iceberg! 

Let's take a look at a few more colors and what they symbolize in feng shui. 

Whites

Not surprisingly, white symbolizes purity and simplicity. This color is very bright and stark and is the ultimate yang, or active, color.

White can represent an empty slate as well, but it's important in design to view it as just that, since it can be so harsh on the eyes. Imagine looking out at a field of fresh, clean snow. Think of how that bright, empty color puts a strain on your eyes. Who wants to be constantly blinded in their own space?! 

To utilize this color in your space, use white as accents in areas with more color or opt for warmer, off-white tones for wall colors. 

Grays

Gray shades offer the ultimate balance, as a combination of black and white, yin and yang. They can, however, be a bit depressing and cold for some, especially those already dealing with mood issues.

Despite this possibility, grey is a great color to use in your spaces, as it attracts helpful people to your life and helps support the intentions of other colors in a space. 

To use grey in your home or office, consider adding the color to the Benefactors area of your bagua map or combining shades of grey with a complementary color scheme

Deep, Dark Blues

Since there are a plethora of shades of blue, it's necessary to note a difference between the healing, yang energy of brighter blues and the supportive, meditative, more yin energy of dark, deep blues. 

Since very deep, almost black blues are related to the Water element and the Knowledge area of the bagua, they represent a sense of calm and security and can offer a sense of settling and quiet. 

Though blue generally represents the Wood element, these darker shades of blue are perfect for meditation spaces, bedrooms (as long as you don't have a mood disorder) or anywhere you can use a little Water element. Look for artistic accent pieces or accent walls, since you don't want to go too dark with an entire room.

You can also place a piece of Lapis lazuli crystal in the Knowledge or Completion area of your bedroom for support with self-expression and growth.

I hope you're getting a good idea of what colors are best for your space and which ones will nurture you most! Check back in next month for another dose of color 101, where we'll finish up with passionate shades of red, blacks and, on a lighter note, pinks and peaches!

by Anjie Cho


The 5 Talismans You Need to Feel Beautiful

featured this week on MindBodyGreen

In feng shui philosophy, true beauty arises from self-love. When one can be compassionate and loving to themselves, then they can truly connect and love others. This idea of beauty stemming from self-love often gets forgotten.

Luckily, here are five feng shui talismans for your home to bring beauty and self-love into your everyday life. But don’'t forget that when you can love and be compassionate with yourself, that is truly when you are the most beautiful!

Fresh Flowers

Fresh and fragrant flowers bring life energy into your space through nature, color, and scent. In feng shui, fresh flowers can unstick anything that's stuck. And when we're stuck, we don't feel beautiful. We feel stagnant and unhappy. The fragrance as well as the positive life force energy of flowers can transform a space and therefore change your energy. Your space is a reflection of you!

...read full article

by Anjie Cho


Q&A Sunday: Laying a Bagua with Multiple Outside Doors

Thank you for your Holistic Spaces podcast. I’m enjoying it very much. I have a bungalow built in 1919 in South Minneapolis with multiple doorways entering the space. Here is my question: using the floor plan provided, how would you lay the bagua on my home?

Alida, Minneapolis, MN

Door #1: From the sidewalk, a walkway leads up to the deck. If you enter through the steps and deck railings, you are facing east and the front windows.

Door #2: On the deck, you have to turn to face north to actually enter the house. This is the door with a deadbolt.

Once inside that room, you’re in a 3-season porch. Half the year it’s my “sun room” and half the year it’s an unheated “mud room.”

Door #3: To enter the main house, you turn to face east again and walk through another door to enter the living room. I believe this is the original door to the house and that the sunroom was added later. (It has an uncharacteristically large closet and lots of outlets!)

Door #4: a sliding glass door from the kitchen to a back deck.

There is a roof over the porch. I’m attaching a photo of the house and the front door from the yard.

Door #2 leads from the porch into the main house. The porch does not have heating ducts, so it feels separate from the main house. #2 faces the street, albeit through the porch.

 

Hi Alida!

Thanks for all this. All the doors can be (understandably) confusing as to how to layout the bagua. People get stumped by this type of situation frequently. First of all, the qi of the home looks very lush. There is a sense of seclusion. Doors represent the mouth of the inhabitants, therefore the main door is called the “Mouth of Qi.” The mouth of qi determines how qi enters your home. 

Door #2 is indeed the main door, or what we call in feng shui, the Yang door. It’s what the official front door is. So you would lay the bagua as shown here where half of your home is outside the bagua.

Door #1 is a yin door. It’s not really a door, but it is a portal. 

Door #3 is another yin door. I understand you were probably hoping #3 was the yang door.

Door #4 is a back door and can be a yin door if you use this frequently to enter the home (maybe the garage is back there).

In regards to a yin door, you can place a secondary bagua using doors 1 & 2, to glean more insight on your situation.

A practitioner may be able to assist you in how to effectively use the yin bagua layouts to support you further. For instance if you do a bagua adjustment, you can do it on your yang layout, a yin layout, and on your bedroom layout.

With a space that has multiple doors, laying a bagua can be confusing, but it can always be done! My first recommendation of course, for accuracy, is to enlist the help of a feng shui professional. If you would like to make adjustments on your own, I would recommend using the bagua I've laid here or laying the bagua on separate rooms of your home. 

Please do reach out if you decide to lay the bagua on your own and have additional questions!

by Anjie Cho


Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday" (formerly “Question of the Month”).  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers.  Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!