Celebrate the Autumnal Equinox with Feng Shui

featured this month on Over the Moon

The Autumnal Equinox is on September 23rd and marks the end of summer. If you’re familiar with the feng shui “bagua” map, there is an area called “Completion” that’s related to the color white, the season of autumn, the element of yin metal, the number seven and the element of joy.

In the feng shui and five-element philosophy, this time of year is related to the after-harvest. In agricultural times, the harvest was the culmination of the hard work of tending to your crops. The harvest was also a difficult task, but afterward, the farmers could finally rest and relax. It’s a time of celebration and joy.

As we're moving into the Autumn, I wanted to share three ways to bring joy into your home using feng shui.

Bring in Fresh Flowers

Fragrant, fresh flowers attract joy and transformation into the home. My feng shui teachers taught me that the scent of fresh flowers can lift the energy in a home and alleviate depression. The vibrant colors bring beauty into the home and the harmonic, fractal patterns in nature, particularly flowers, soothe and comfort. Place fresh flowers in the entry, living room and bedroom areas of your home for joy. Be sure to change the water frequently and toss any dead material.

Clear Space with the Sound of Metal

In five element theory, metal is related to joy. I love using brass bells or tingsha (Tibetans metal cymbals) to activate clarity and joy into a space. You can also use a metal wind chime. Be sure the sound produced is pleasing to you. The easiest way to use the metal sound is to circumambulate the space, meaning walk around the perimeter. I start at the front door and walk clockwise through the entire space. That metal sound can cut through confusion and darkness and invite joy.

Nine Fresh Oranges

Oranges are used in many feng shui adjustments to bring happiness and joy into an environment. The color orange is related to the earth element which feeds and creates metal, and metal is related to joy. The scent of oranges also invokes feelings of wellbeing and joy. The life-affirming bright scent just makes you happy! The shape of oranges are round, which is also related to the metal element and symbolize completeness. The circle has no end and no beginning but is continuous and complete. Even the number nine is the auspicious number of completion in feng shui. Placing nine fresh oranges in a bowl in the center of a room in your home can inspire joy.

I hope these three feng shui adjustments will help bring more joy into your home and life. 

by Anjie Cho

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currently reading (again!) #healingspaces by Esther Sternberg MD "Implicit in an understanding of the mind-body connection is an assumption that physical places that set the mind at ease can contribute to well-being, and those that trouble the emotions might foster illness"

Why You Should Give Yourself the Best You Deserve

For those of you who read my newsletter, I promised that I’d write a blog post about Deepak Chopra’s Creating Affluence. And if you’re not signed up for the newsletter, sign up HERE! I write about things there that I only share on my newsletters!

If you receive my newsletter, you may have already read the first part of what I wrote on knowledge and prosperity. The second part that I wanted to share is the idea that we always deserve the “better and best." Deepak writes: “People with wealth consciousness settle only for the best. This is also called the principle of highest first. Go first class all the way and the universe will respond by giving you the best.”

I sometimes forget that I deserve the best. The best doesn’t necessarily mean the most expensive, but I see it as meaning the best that you need at that time. What it doesn’t mean is settling for something that’s mediocre. I see how I used to do this with clothing, for example. I would fill my closet with many inexpensive items that weren’t the best. The quality and styles were not ideal, and it showed! The items would either never get worn, or not complement my look. Now I try to buy one thing that I love, rather than a handful of pieces that are mediocre. We can apply this to food, too! Perhaps eating a modest amount of something delicious is preferred to eating a lot of something that’s average. With books, even though I want to get everything, I’m trying to be patient and first finish the book I’m reading before I purchase another :)

If we translate this into our homes, we are able to create more SPACE! We have less clutter and, as Deepak says, the universe will respond by giving us the best. It’s true! If you make some space in your life (and your home!) you will attract even more of the best. And we all deserve the best. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that. We deserve the best within our means. More isn’t always better!

Is there something you can let go of to create some space in you home? Can you remember to settle for only the best?

by Anjie Cho

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com