Q&A Sunday: Space Clearing in Feng Shui

Guest User December 5, 2021

I’ve heard so much about sage. Is there a special way to sage a space?

Sage is traditionally used in cultures that are indigenous to the Americas, and is not traditional in Asia where feng shui is from. However, you can burn sage or other botanicals to clear a space. Burning plant material is a way to transmute the energies in a space and clear things out, and many herbs have antimicrobial properties that help to purify the space on a physical level as well.

A more traditional way to clear space in feng shui is with fresh oranges. Because you don’t have to burn anything, it’s much better for air quality. It’s also more travel-friendly, since you might not be able to burn things when you’re staying somewhere other than your own home.

Oranges represent yang energy in Asian culture, and they bring a lot of vitality. They’re also connected to the energy of abundance, because they are round like coins and are similar in color to gold. One great way to harness the clearing energy of oranges is to keep a bowl of them in your kitchen. It’s okay to eat them, too — the act of peeling each one will really uplift the energy of your space!

If you don’t want to use fresh oranges, or if you’re looking for something that’s even easier to travel with, you can use a mist with orange essential oil.

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: How to Lay the Bagua in BTB Feng Shui

Guest User November 28, 2021

Does your method of feng shui use the main door to lay the bagua?

First, I want to clarify that the feng shui that I practice is not my method. Feng shui is an ancient practice, and no practitioner living now has created it. It is lineage-based, and it’s been passed down for generations. It is true that there are many schools of feng shui, and I study and teach BTB or Black Sect feng shui.

In BTB feng shui, we lay the bagua according to the main entrance to the home. We align the bottom of the bagua map with the front door, so your front door will fall in the blue, black, or grey area of the bagua map. The red area, often called Fame, will be on the wall opposite to the front door. If you’re working with a different school of feng shui, this may be different, but that is how we lay the bagua in the BTB school of feng shui.

I also want to note that all schools of feng shui recognize the importance of the front door in how they look at the energetics of a room, and how they place things in the home. Even though they might not place the bagua according to the front door, it is still an important feature to pay attention to.

If you are wondering how to lay the bagua on your home, I would definitely encourage you to work with a skilled practitioner. It might seem simple, but unless you have a very rectangular floor plan it can actually be quite complicated. You can also get on the Mindful Design mailing list to be notified when we do floor plan bootcamps or other workshops where you may have the opportunity to see us lay the bagua on your space.

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: BTB and Flying Star Bagua Layouts

Anjie Cho November 21, 2021

Is it possible to feng shui my home using the bagua as well as flying stars? For example, my living room’s bagua Wealth corner is in the SE, but for 2016 flying stars says the Wealth is in the SW. Is it correct to use the feng shui wealth cures in two directions?

Fahriye S., Nilüfer, Bursa,Turkey

Hi Fahriye,

Thanks for writing in about how to use the feng shui bagua map on your home. To clarify, I believe you are asking if you can use the BTB school bagua layout with a Flying Star school bagua layout.

There are dozens of schools of feng shui, such as BTB, Flying Star, Compass, Form, etc. There are similarities and differences in each school, all varied. This is one of the most important reasons why it’s best to use a consultant rather than try to practice feng shui on your own - because the average person will get very confused and often mix up the schools, which may conflict. And it sounds like this is what’s happened to you!

Another clarification, I practice BTB feng shui and am not a Flying Star practitioner. However, I do work with flying stars a bit in my personal feng shui (not with clients) and use their activations with success. So for myself, I may work on a wealth cure using the BTB bagua layout but also use a wealth activation in my home based on the Flying Star school. And there are practitioners who practice from both schools with their clients. But in Flying Star it can be very dangerous if you activate the wrong sector. For instance, maybe it’s really in the south and you activate something very negative. Therefore I highly discourage you from trying anything on your own.

BTB and Flying Star use a similar feng shui bagua map. BTB locates the bagua map based on the “mouth of qi,” which is generally the formal entrance (front door) to a space. The Flying Star school locates the bagua map based on the compass direction among other things. With both schools, but especially Flying Star, there is skillfulness required to locate bagua areas in a space.

Finally, my BTB teachers have always, always, always taught that all schools of feng shui are valid. You can find success with whatever school you resonate with, or whichever school(s) your consultant practices. However, I would again caution against attempting to use Flying Star on your own. It may produce something undesirable. And also I believe it’s best to do something simply with the correct intention, and do it well, rather than spread yourself thin and do too much. Things can get muddled and confused, and therefore ineffective.

If you decide to go with the BTB bagua layout, you will find plenty of guidance in this free guide or you can schedule a call with me for help! If you're certain you want to opt for the Flying Star school, I would strongly urge you to find a consultant to guide your adjustments for positive results. Please let us know how it goes and if you have specific questions regarding BTB bagua adjustments!

by Anjie Cho