Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui & The Color Red

Guest User December 27, 2020

I like to decorate with the color red. What does that mean in feng shui?

We recently talked about the color black, which is a very yin color, related to the water element. Fiery red is the polar opposite. Fire energy is very bright, like the middle of summer. It can be really helpful to include some fiery elements, including red accents, in your home during this cold, dark time of year.

Red is the most auspicious color when it comes to feng shui. It’s dynamic, bold, and stimulating, and it really stands out. If someone walks into a room wearing red, you really notice them.

While red is appropriate for many applications, it’s not the best choice for restful spaces, so be careful not to use too much in places where you want to relax. Keep in mind what the spaces in your home are being used for, and what colors will support those activities.

A little red also goes a long way, so it’s generally best used in moderation. You probably wouldn’t want to wear red lipstick, red earrings, red blush, and a big red hat, for example - it would be too much for most people.

It makes perfect sense that red represents the fire element, which is connected to passion and inspiration, as well as the recognition area of the bagua map, called li. If you need more passion in your relationship, you can add red accents in your bedroom, like red sheets, pillows, or a throw blanket. (Remember, a little goes a long way!) Adding red to your bedroom can also be helpful if you want to find a partner and are having a hard time meeting people.

If you want to bring more recognition and inspiration to your career, try placing red around your desk. One way to do this is through artwork. I paint yantras, which are a beautiful way to bring some meaningful red artwork into your space. You can also create your own red artwork, by making a collage or vision board with a lot of red. If you need more passion and recognition in your life in general, you may want to add red to the li area of your home.

As you can tell, there are many ways you can work with red. That’s where a feng shui expert, like one of my students, would really be able to help and support you. If you’re not ready to work with a consultant, you can also dabble and play around with red, and see how it goes!

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

Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui and Abundance

Guest User October 18, 2020

Can feng shui help me with abundance?

The short answer to your question is yes, feng shui can be a tool to help you feel more abundant, financially and otherwise. However, when someone asks about feng shui and abundance, they are often looking for a quick fix. I don’t approach feng shui in this way. For me, feng shui is mindfulness for your home, and being aware of how our spaces reflect our inner world.

People tend to be very interested in the abundance area. Often, this area may not really be the problem, and there is actually another area of life that needs support. Perhaps you need to work on clarity in your career, or inviting helpful people into your life. Or maybe you need to cultivate your skills and wisdom in order to build more wealth.

If you truly need to work on wealth and abundance, you can look to the wealth area of your home. It’s called Xun in Chinese, and is related to abundance and prosperity, as well as self-worth. It’s also related to feeling abundant in other areas of your life, not just financially. To find the wealth area of your home, stand at the front entrance looking in, and find the far left corner of your house.

Usually, you feel as abundant as your subconscious mind is comfortable with, so that’s something to think about. If you want to bring in more financial abundance, that may also have something to do with how much you value yourself, and how you are able to receive from others.

Take a look at what’s happening in the wealth area of your home. Maybe you put something there three years ago, but what’s happening with it now? Have you updated it? Have you totally forgotten about it? Is it collecting dust? Think about what you’ve noticed, and what that can tell you about how you approach your self-worth and your abundance. Take some time to really contemplate this.

The wealth area is also related to the yin aspect of the wood element. Yin wood is like a big tree, which grows slowly and has deep roots. Similarly, enhancing your abundance is a slow, steady process that requires going deep. It isn’t just about adding an object to your home to make it better —that’s a shortsighted way of solving a bigger issue.

I invite you to go a little deeper. See what’s going on in your abundance area, and see how that reflects on ways that you can invite more prosperity and feelings of self-worth into your life.

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.

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

Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui and Taking a Leap

Guest User October 11, 2020

Hi Anjie! I have been loving your podcast, especially the episode about how you got into feng shui. My question is about starting something new. I have been wanting to make some big changes in my life but I keep getting scared, and then I feel like I stay stuck. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you so much for your question, and I’m so glad you’re enjoying the podcast!

When it comes to taking leaps in your life, whether it’s moving across the country, leaving a stable job, or any other big change, there’s a connection to letting go. Taking a leap is scary. It requires you to be courageous, to give yourself permission to do what you’re scared of doing, and to let go of anything that may be holding you back.

One way that this fear translates to how we live in our homes is being scared to get rid of things. People become terrified of letting go of even simple things like a cup or a sweater, because they worry that they might need it one day. Just by starting to practice letting go of things in our home, we are starting to soften our hearts. This helps us take leaps and let go in other parts of our life.

Decluttering can be challenging for many people, because we can get very attached to our things. There’s a traditional Buddhist practice of generosity that is very simple, and I would suggest giving it a try if you are having a hard time letting go of items in your home: Take an object, and practice moving it from one hand to the other. Begin to notice how it feels to let go of something in one hand, and how it feels to offer it to the other hand.

Once you’ve practiced this exercise, begin to practice letting go of things in your home that no longer serve you. You can start with the low-hanging fruit, like items that are broken. Notice how this begins to open your heart, and helps you become more courageous in letting go of things that no longer serve you in your life. This can apply to people and situations as well.

I think the reason feng shui is so attractive to people is that it can be easier to make changes in your external environment rather than your internal environment. In a way feng shui is sort of a gateway drug, because once you really unpack things and connect to your environment more deeply, you begin to see that you’re really interconnected to everything outside of you. You begin to soften and open up, and you can start to really dig deep within yourself, too.

I hope this helps, and I wish you all the best in the changes that lie ahead! If you’d like more feng shui support in making changes in your life, I encourage you to work with a consultant or join us for an upcoming session of Practical Feng Shui to dive deeper.

by Anjie Cho