Q&A Sunday: Blocked Doors

I just looked at a rental house, and the back screen door could only open about 40 - 45 degrees out, as the landlord had built an awning to create a porch and wanted to keep it lower to prevent wasps making nests. I know that is a feng shui problem; I am not sure what it would signify. My guess is it would limit my motion, my career prospects and more? Especially if it is used as the most common entry. What do you think? 

Harley P., Queens, NY

Hi Harley, 

Thanks for sending in your question! I applaud you on your intuition in realizing that this might be a problem. It's ideal for a door to open at least 90 degrees. 45 degrees is only half of that - not very much at all, really - and it does signify a feng shui issue.

Doors are a portal for your energy to come into your home and space. Typically we do want energy coming into our lives, with some exceptions, such as a retired couple or private vacation home, where it might not be as important for energy to enter. In general though, any door, whether it be the outside door, bedroom door, closet door, etc., should open at least 90 degrees. It is a feng shui issue when energy can't come in, and it also affects your path every day in life when you have to squeeze through a door. 

In this case, we're talking about a back screen door, and whether that limited motion will limit your career prospects and more. It really depends on the person, the situation and where the door is located on the feng shui bagua map. Since this is a rear door, let's assume it's in the back of the bagua map. Generally this would signify a limitation in opportunities, energy and positive qi coming to you. This could refer to relationships, wealth, job prospects and more. This would be a much bigger deal if it were the front door, but it does limit your physical, spiritual and energetic movement. 

You might want to take a look at this similar Q&A to get a little better grasp on what a blocked entrance or door can mean, feng shui-wise. Again, I applaud you for realizing this might be a feng shui issue before even choosing the space!

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 or Green Design questions!

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Check Out A Feng Shui Designer's Blissed-Out NYC Apartment

featured on MindBodyGreen by Emma Loewe

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Today on Holistic Home Tours, we’re checking out the New York City home of interior architect and feng shui designer Anjie Cho. 

Perched in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, Anjie Cho's space feels worlds away. The interior architect has used her knowledge of feng shui to deck out her new apartment—which she shares with her husband, Jeremiah, and their two Chihuahuas, Javier and Pearl—like only a pro could. She's letting us in on how she used feng shui to create an oasis in the middle of the city, and you're going to want to take notes.

What are three words that describe your design philosophy at home?

Simple, bright, calm.

What was the first room you tackled when you moved in?

Definitely the bedroom. We needed a place to sleep, and in feng shui the bedroom is thought to be the most important room in the house since it represents who you are. Since I have a home office, we split the bedroom up with some white fabric panels to create separate spaces. My husband loves how soft and tent-like these feel.

...read full article

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Q&A Sunday: A Kickstart for My Kickstarter

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How can I expand the mouth of qi for my Kickstarter? Anything, actually, to make it more successful!

Christy P., West Tisbury, MA

Hi Christy,

Thank you for your question about how to make your Kickstarter more successful. Kudos to you for using some feng shui terminology! The mouth of qi is the front door, or a portal, to a space and is an entry for energy to come into your life or home, or in this case, your Kickstarter. So really, this is a question of how to get more energy for your Kickstarter and make it more successful. 

In feng shui, we use the bagua map, and there are three different areas that can help create a more successful Kickstarter project. Kickstarter is a place for you to attract Benefactors, so this would be one area for you to work on and improve: your Benefactors area. Next is the Recognition area, so that people know the Kickstarter even exists. And if you look at the bagua map above, we can create a triad (a triangle) including the areas of Benefactors, Recognition and Knowledge. These are the three ideal bagua areas for you to focus on. We actually refer to this as the Three Harmonies of Fire, and it can create a lot of recognition and fire for support. 

In order to get helpful people to support this project, you, of course, need to attract more people, but to do this, you need to be seen, which is where Recognition, Fame and fire come in. The last area is Knowledge, which includes skills and self-cultivation. Here, I encourage you to consider if you've done enough research and looked into ways to get your Kickstarter noticed. There is a lot of help available through feng shui, but my teachers have always said that the mundane solution is more important than the transcendental solution. So the magic will work, but you also need to do some heavy lifting yourself. 

Start with researching how to improve your Kickstarter (which you may have already done! But do it thoroughly). That, in correlation with the feng shui adjustments, can create success for you. Feng shui-wise, you can create more recognition by activating the three harmonies of fire in your office and/or on your desk. It can be as simple as, in the whole office space, adding a green plant. A living green plant can add fuel to the fire. If you're working with your desk and there isn't room for plants, you can use instead one nine-inch red ribbon in each of the three areas to activate them. The desk and/or office are spaces that connect to your career and business. 

Your product, electronic cases that protect us from EMFs, seems to be really interesting, and I hope that making these adjustments draws more attention to your campaign so that we can see these come to fruition!

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 or Green Design questions!

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