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!

How to make the most of a spacious Greenwich Village apartment with windows on only one side

featured on Brick Underground

Architect and Feng Shui expert Anjie Cho loves the high ceilings in this Greenwich Village fixer-upper, 808 Broadway, #4H, which, she says, make the already spacious apartment look even larger than it is. Other pros include its location and the fact that it was designed by architect James Renwick, Jr., who also designed nearby Grace Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Her beef with the unit, which is listed for $875,000, is that there are windows only at one end of the apartment, meaning that despite having “quite a bit of square footage, you can only have one legal bedroom in the space,” she says.

In this week’s Reno Ready, Cho explains what she’d do to update this apartment, including leveling the floors, gutting the bathroom, and integrating the kitchen into the living space.

Level the flooring in the living room

Floor: Cho can’t exactly tell what’s going on with the flooring from the photos, but she assumes it’s in bad shape like the rest of the unit. She’d replace it with herringbone- or chevron-patterned floors in a light-colored white oak, which will make the unit appear brighter.

…read full article

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Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui for a Sloping Property

I just found your website, and I looked over the beautiful images. I love the way you explain Feng Shui and talk about why it is helpful to us.

I bought a lot in Maine last year that is quite small, about 1/3 of an acre. It has a huge American elm tree in the front, and a small asphalt pad where there was previously a modular home (which I got hauled off). Then the lot drops off at a downward angle into a wetland kind of area with lots of pretty wetland growth. I have read that a sloping back yard (according to Feng Shui) is really bad...that all your prosperity goes out of your house. 

Can you suggest anything that I can do about the drastic slope? Would stone steps, or stone terracing behind the house going down to a cleared area in the back be helpful? I have read such negative things about a sloping back yard, I am a little dismayed. 

Sarah G., Maine

Hi Sarah,

Thank you for your email and your kind words! I love Maine! It’s so beautiful there!

Yes, a property that slopes down in the back indicates that prosperity and qi also fall down and away. In your case, you also have a wet area. If it’s at all river-like, it may also be a little more severe, as the qi continues to flow away from you. 

But, please don’t be dismayed! There is hope! The simplest feng shui solution is to install flag poles or tall lighting at the back corners of the lot to lift the qi. Note, in a full consultation with a practitioner, you may find there’s a more ideal adjustment that’s tailored to you. 

Also, the elm tree in front of the lot is great, but be sure it’s in good health. A dying tree in the front of a property can affect the well-being of the inhabitants. And, unless you are retired and seek to “hide” from the work, be sure it’s not blocking your doorway or the entry to the lot.

But I do love the symbology of the Elm tree:

One website says "The Elm tree is the Tree of Intuition. It gives you strength in listening to your own inner voice and trusting your intuition. It serves as a catalyst to sending, feeling and possibly seeing that which is not always visible. The Elm is a favorite tree of wood elves and dryads. If you sleep beneath an Elm, they will appear in your dreams. Elms are connected to each other unlike any other trees species. They sense the death of a fellow Elm and will mourn it, often becoming sick themselves. A staff or wand made from an Elm branch assists in meditation and magic. The Elm tree lends strength to whoever comes near it, and will help in overcoming exhaustion. It helps you access universal energy rather than depleting your own.”

I hope this helps! Thanks for this question. Let us know how it turns out and send along some photos!

by Anjie Cho

Mindful Design is a new way to learn feng shui. Our a unique training program takes an holistic approach to learning the art of feng shui design. Mindful design is about becoming aware, and attentive, to the energy around you: both inner and outer qi. It is about promoting a better way of living and creating sacred spaces that support, and nourish. Visit us at mindfuldesignschool.com.

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