Q&A Sunday: The Bagua Map and Your Entrance

If we have an outer gate, and another main entrance into the house, which entrance do we use as a reference for the bagua map? My outer gate faces south and the inner one faces West...so I'm a little confused as how to place the map.

Samantha C., Malaysia

Hi Samantha, thanks for your note!

Your question is an important one. It is challenging to overlay the bagua map on a space. Which way is up? What if my house is “L” shaped, etc. But another source of confusion is when you have more than one entrance. Sometimes this question comes up in suburban homes where the inhabitant enters through the side, rear or garage door, while rarely using the official front door. In this case, it’s recommended to open the official front door occasionally. This can be done once every 9 days, or something to that effect. The front door represents the “mouth of qi,” how energy enters your space and your life. If you never open the front door, then energy has trouble moving into your home and your activities.

This leads me to your question. Even though you have an outer gate to your home, and another main entrance to your home, the official front door would be the one attached to the building with a roof that is your home. When we discuss the “mouth of qi” it’s important to remember that we always follow the qi. Where is the qi coming from? 

Since the exterior gate is a doorway that you walk through to get into the home, it would be considered a “yin” door. Yin doors are the more passive, indirect, or secret doors. It’s the secondary door. But the actual front door to the house is what you would use to overlay the feng shui bagua map.

As I discuss in the Holistic Spaces Podcast episode #2, the bagua map is a concept that you can overlay on your home, but also your bedroom, your desk, or even your hand! Although the primary placement of the bagua on your home would be in reference to your front door, you may locate a secondary bagua map based on the yin door. If you work with an advanced feng shui practitioner, they may use both (or more) bagua maps and suggest you do adjustments in both (or more) baguas if appropriate.

For instance, with the Holistic Spaces Citrine for Wealth & Abundance kit, I provide three pieces of tumbled citrine so that you can intensify the effects by placing one stone in two bagua maps. Place the first in the abundance area of your bedroom, the second on the abundance area of your desk, and the third in your wallet or pocket.

Thank you for the kind words, and check out the podcast on the feng shui bagua map! Please let me know what you think and if you have other questions.

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!

5 Ways to Make Over Your Desk So It Inspires Creativity

featured on MindBodyGreen by Emma Loewe

Your outer landscape has a direct impact on your inner one, whether you realize it or not. When it comes to decorating your home or office, there's real power in designing a space that speaks to your goals and intentions.

Plant-based athlete, author, and mbg Collective member Rich Rollsaid it best in a recent Instagram post about his at-home office scene: a converted shipping container filled with books, notepads, a skateboard, and other trinkets he finds inspiring. "The more fertile the space, the more fertile the mind," its caption reads. "Put intention into your personal space. Create the environment to create."

While research has found that some things are beneficial for nearly every work environment (adding a plant to your desk can increase productivity by 15%; sitting near a window while you work can improve sleep and boost energy levels), it's largely personal. So for inspiration, we asked some of the creative, design-oriented people in our world about how they invite productivity and inspiration into their workspaces. Here are some of their favorite strategies you can emulate in your office or home:

…read full article

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui check out the Mindful Design Feng Shui certification program. Laura Morris and I launched our program in September 2018. To get on the list about it, sign up at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com.

Dive deeper into feng shui to transform your life!

Mindful Design is a new way to learn feng shui. Create sacred spaces that support, and nourish.

Visit us at mindfuldesignschool.com

Q&A Sunday: Easing Tension at Family Gatherings

Could you suggest easy-to-implement tips on how to relieve tension at a family summer holiday gathering in a rented place? 

Guiliana G., Lille, France

 

Hi Guiliana,

Thanks always for your thoughtful questions that you send in and your diligent readership :)

Yes, tensions can run high during any family gathering, especially the extended ones, like a summer home, or during the extended end-of-year holidays. I have two suggestions for these challenging times. You can do both!

Clear the space with Oranges

Our Holistic Spaces store launched an apothecary section, carrying room mists. Happy | Orange & Clear Quartz Mist, for uplifting abundance and positivity, would be totally perfect for the summer vacation home or during the holidays, when you have a lot of guests over and family conflicts, to brighten and cheer up your home. or to just lift your spirits :) Oranges are used in feng shui to clear out any negative energy such as family tension. 

Harmonize the Family

Another feng shui adjustment is to activate the three harmonies of family-wood in the entire home, whether that be the rented vacation home or your home where you have many family members visiting you. If you also have family issues in general, activating the three harmonies of family-wood will also be very effective to perform in your bedroom.

The three harmonies of family-wood can be activated by locating three green living plants or 3" round mirrors in each area indicated on the image above. The mirrors can go on the walls, or the plants can go on the floor, wall or on a stand. Green plants are the most effective, because they represent the wood element of kindness, flexibility and open-heartedness. 

These three areas also relate to Chinese zodiac animals: Rabbit, Goat and Pig, which also relate to feng shui bagua map areas: New Beginnings, Relationships and Benefactors. Finally, it all ties back to support the family, because they also represent Family, Mother and Father.

I hope this brings some ease, understanding and joy into the holidays of all of my readers.

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!