Clear Your Space with Oranges

Guest User September 23, 2020

Space clearing is an important practice in feng shui. Our homes and spaces are made up of energy that impacts us, so it’s important to make sure we are surrounded by supportive, healthy energy as much as possible. Clearing space in your home helps to remove stagnant, stuck, or negative energy that has accumulated to make room for new, positive energy.

Space clearing is especially helpful during times of transition. This could be moving to a new apartment, starting a new chapter in life, or even a change in seasons. The transition from summer to fall that we’re currently experiencing in the northern hemisphere is a great time to clear your space.

One of my favorite ways to clear space is to use oranges. In feng shui, oranges have a lot of yang energy. Yang energy relates to brightness and sunlight. It’s the opposite of night, which is related to yin energy.

Take a moment to close your eyes and visualize peeling an orange, and imagine the experience through all of your senses. Oranges are visually bright and cheerful, like the sun. The color orange is a protecting, uplifting, and vital color. The smell of oranges can also instantly uplift any space. As you are visualizing an orange, or even as you’re peeling a real one, notice the smell, the way it looks, the taste, the way it feels in your hands, and even the sound as you peel it.

A great way to clear your space using feng shui principles is to use a mist with orange essential oil. You can purchase some here or make your own. To clear your space with oranges, open all your windows and doors for at least 15 minutes and allow air to move throughout your home, then spray the orange mist all over your home. If you want to make it more of a ritual, start at your front door and go in a clockwise direction around the perimeter of each room. This makes your space clearing more of a special, sacred experience, and not just an everyday activity.

As you’re clearing your space, set the intention that you’re filling your home with bright orange light or sunlight, along with feelings of joy, contentment, and vitality. This will help set the stage to welcome in positive energy and opportunities.

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: Easing Tension at Family Gatherings

Anjie Cho July 28, 2019

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!

Essential Oils and Aromatherapy

Anjie Cho January 10, 2018

My sister gave me an aromatherapy diffuser from Christmas and I've been obsessed! My recent favorite essential oil combination is frankincense with sweet orange oil. My friend Andrea Giordano specializes in essential oils and aromatherapy, so I interviewed her about them!

AC: What brought you to study essential oils?

AG: I have always had a great love for plants and their healing properties. Essential oils are just one area of study for me. While studying feng shui and my background of study in ornamental horticulture I thought it would be SO great to put the two together. And I have! The aromas and energetics of essential oils are very powerful.

Can you tell us about the powers of essential oils?

The energetics of the plant are present in all forms of plant medicine - flower essences, herbal tinctures, dried herbs, essential oils, etc. Depending on what you are treating - physical vs. emotional, internal or external and the potency you want to use, you have all of these different choices of preparation. The human sense of smell is very powerful. We relate happy, sad, and different periods in our lives with smell. Just think what you could do to change that with different aromas.

What essential oil do you recommend for space clearing, and why?

I find White Sage to be very powerful in clearing all negative forces followed by some Orange to brighten and lighten (uplifting) the area.

What essential oil do you recommend for relaxation and bedrooms, and why?

There are many essential oils to chose from depending on what mood you want to achieve. For relaxation I recommend Lavender mixed with some Sandalwood and a bit of Orange. For a romantic bedroom, try Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Neroli or Rose mixed with some Sandalwood. Sandalwood grounds the spirit.

What essential oil do you recommend for focus, such as at the desk and workspace, and why?

For me, I love Rosemary, Basil (for getting my brain working) Clary Sage (calms the nerves) and a touch of Peppermint (uplifting)

What essential oil do you recommend for entertaining, such as at the living room area, and why?

Once again I love Orange (lifts the sprits) refreshes and relaxes. I call Orange “The happy oil"!

OOh! I can't wait to try these different combinations throughout my home to create a truly holistic space that supports my needs! Thanks Andrea.

Are there any special essential oil combinations you want to share with us?

by Anjie Cho

Aroma - The Scent Thera - The Healing Chi - The Energy

AromatheraChi was created from a lifetime interest in plants combined with a devotion to natural and organic products. These interests led AromatheraChi owner, Andrea Giordano, to pursue a degree in Ornamental Horticulture and begin exploring natural applications for health and beauty. Ten years ago, she began making and selling all-natural soaps. It is important to her to make sure that she always delivers the highest quality products.

While there is much to love about the essential oils themselves, the true passion and focus of AromatheraChi is the science behind the oils. Scientific studies have shown that different scents have positive impacts on well being.

Aromatherachi was born out of the desire to wish for everyone to have access to fantastic essential oils, GC/MS tested, at a fraction of the price typically found elsewhere.

You can read Andrea's AromatheraChi blog here!