Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui for Your Ex

Guest User November 1, 2020

Is there anything feng shui-wise that can help me cut ties with my toxic ex?

If you have a toxic relationship that you need to let go of, be aware that feng shui does affect your energy, so it can definitely make a difference. Here are a few suggestions from a feng shui perspective that may help you cut ties with your ex:

First, make sure you don’t have anything in your home that’s connected to your ex energetically, for instance any of their clothing or mementos. It’s especially important to move these things out of your bedroom, since this is your most intimate room that’s most closely connected to you. If you must hold onto anything connected to your ex (for example, if you are going through a divorce and have to keep the divorce papers), find another place in your home to store them.

Second, space clear your bedroom. Your ex’s energetic presence actually takes up space in your home. Space clearing, especially in your bedroom, will remove your ex’s energy. This helps create space for you to work on your own self care and eventually invite in a new partnership. There are many different ways to space clear - here are a few of my favorite methods to get you started.

Something else to keep in mind when you’re working through a toxic relationship or finding your way out of one is that it’s a good idea to take time to heal yourself. An adjustment I often give for inviting a relationship is to put two pieces of rose quartz in your relationship area, to represent you and a future partner. However, in this case it might be more helpful to just have one for the time being. It’s important to heal yourself and your own heart first before rushing into a new relationship.

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday". If you have personal questions, we encourage you to check out Practical Feng Shui or hire one of Anjie's Grads.

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

Feng Shui for Creativity

Guest User October 28, 2020

You may have noticed versions of the feng shui bagua map that have an area called “creativity”. In the BTB tradition that I practice, we call it “completion” or “children” rather than “creativity”. The Chinese word for this area is dui. Dui is associated with output and offspring, but I believe creativity is more than just what you put out into the world. Creativity can be found in all areas of the bagua map. Zhen, for example, which is related to new beginnings, may be the most relevant area to focus on if you’re starting a new creative project.

One way to work with your creativity and the feng shui bagua is to work with the bagua colors, not just in your home, but also in your creative practice. Each of the areas, or guas, as well as the center of the bagua, is related to a different color. You can either start with an area of life you’d like to work on, or start with a color that you’re drawn to.

If there’s a specific area of the bagua you want to work on—maybe you’re ready to invite in a partner and want to work on your relationship area—notice the color of that area and start to play with it. I’ve been working with watercolors to explore different colors and areas of the bagua. For example, I played around with oranges and reds here, which are related to the recognition area of the bagua:

Here I went with blues and greens, which are connected to family and new beginnings:

Working with the color of a certain bagua area helps to activate that energy in your life, and it also activates creativity. You can use watercolors like I did, or you can use colored pencils, markers, or any other medium you’d like!

You can also go the other way, and start playing with whichever colors you’re drawn to. This might give you a clue as to what area of life you may want to pay attention to. If you’re drawn to dark blue, for example, you may need to work on your knowledge, skills, and self-cultivation, since dark blue is related to this area of the bagua.

As you’re playing, remember to have fun! You don’t need to have a purpose or an end goal—your art isn’t going in a museum. You can even let it go, like a sand mandala, and give it away when you’re done.

If you’re interested in learning more about how creativity relates to feng shui, be sure to check our podcast episode on feng shui & creativity!

by Anjie Cho

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

Q&A Sunday: Dried Flowers and Feng Shui

Guest User October 25, 2020

Are dried flowers really bad feng shui? What about silk flowers?

Thanks for your question! This has been a hot topic with my Mindful Design students as well.

In general, dried flowers are not good feng shui. They’re dead and past their prime, so they don’t have any life energy, and are not recommended as a feng shui adjustment. They are a source of yin qi, which is related to death, and not something you want to have too much of.

That said, don’t freak out if you have dried flowers in your home, especially if you love them! Maybe you have a dried bouquet that’s meaningful to you, like your wedding bouquet. This doesn’t mean that you’ll have bad luck or bad feng shui for the rest of your life.

Not everything in your home needs to be a feng shui adjustment. People often want everything in their home to be perfect, but this shouldn’t really be the goal. As we know by looking at the cycles of nature, including seasons and moon cycles, everything waxes and wanes. Life changes, so you can’t have a perfect feng shui home, nor would you want one.

Rather than worrying about whether everything in your home is “good feng shui”, keep things in your home that you love and have meaning to you, and make sure you take care of them. Even if an item in your home isn’t ideal from a feng shui perspective, you know what’s best for yourself, and no one’s going to stop you from putting something in your home that you love and think is beautiful. This is especially true if it’s just for decoration.

If someone advises you to bring flowers into your home as a feng shui adjustment, however, that’s a time you wouldn’t want to use dried flowers. For instance, if you want to bring in more fire energy, you can do so with fresh red flowers, not dried red flowers. Dried flowers don’t have the same life energy as fresh flowers, and wouldn’t have the same impact on your home’s qi.

Artificial flowers are a bit different because they were never living or dead. If you have a preference for artificial flowers or plants, think about why. Are you choosing artificial plants out of laziness, or out of necessity—having absolutely no light, for example?

If you use something for a feng shui adjustment, it’s always better to use the real thing with living qi, because feng shui is about energy. If you take the easy way out by choosing dried or artificial flowers just because they don’t require the same care and attention as fresh ones, then that decision will be mirrored in the energetic effects that you see in your life as well.

by Anjie Cho