Do you believe in Feng Shui to attract money? The most pragmatic approach to becoming wealthy and successful is no doubt, work hard and earn. You're not getting anything tangible or happiness by purely relying on luck or someone else's work. But the idea of Feng Shui is supposed to help you with having a prosperous life and inviting wealth into your life. At least there's no harm in learning about it a little bit, right? If you don't know much about it, let's see how trustworthy and actually useful it is.
What Is Feng Shui?
Feng Shui developed in China some 4,000 years ago, initially to protect homes from natural disasters, then it was interpreted philosophically and spiritually. The complicated practice has been simplified again, to adopt the idea into our modern, Western lifestyle. It's about bringing positive energy into our homes because a home is what's happening inside us.
'Bagua'
Chinese 'ba gua' simply means '8 points (elements, or areas)'. Feng Shui Bagua is a map that's based on 8 x nature elements, attached to 8 x life elements and 8 x cardinal directions. So it's like this;
- North [Water] - Career/Life Path
- NW [Heaven] - Helpful People/Travel
- West [Metal] - Children/Creativity
- SW [Earth] - Relationships
- South [Fire] - Fame/Reputation
- SE [Wind] - Wealth/Abundance
- East [Wood] - Ancestors/Family
- NE [Mountains] - Wisdom
The map defines areas that each energy is flowing. So the idea is that you reference this map against your floor plan, and for example South-East corner of your house is where wealth-energy should be flowing. Therefore you place ornaments that symbolize wealth in that area to attract energy accordingly. You need a compass to make sure the direction is right.
Western Feng Shui Bagua
Whereas Western Feng Shui Bagua is adopted slightly differently. Ignore the cardinal directions but instead, place this map as you stand outside the front door, facing the house. So wherever your front door is, your "wealth area" should be situated at the top-left corner (the furthest corner). Also the center of the house is often considered [Earth] - Health.
Which One Should I Go With?
Now you may have already come up with a few questions at this point, such as...
Chinese or Western, which Bagua should I go for?
Most Feng Shui experts say "whichever you feel comfortable with because either of them is trustworthy in its own right." The south-east corner of your house can be your bottom-right corner, which is totally the opposite. And either of them can be your wealth-corner, it's up to you to decide. Really, is this answer credible?
I don't live in a "square house" though?
L-shaped house, U-shaped house, T-shaped, Z-shaped... In fact apartments in a block are hardly ever square-shaped but often have the bathroom and balcony sticking out in different directions. It's called that the place has a "missing area in the Bagua", and the solution to that can be to;
- Hang a mirror on the wall to "expand" the area.
- Place a crystal to "enlighten" the area.
- Place a potted plant to "liven up" the area.
- Hang a wind chime to "activate" the area.
These are some of the ways to create an extra "Gua". Sounds like something we can do!
How about 2 storey houses?
Again I find two different pieces of advice for those who live in a house with 2 or more floors. One is to "use the main floor" - does that mean to ignore the smaller floor? Another one is to locate a Bagua map on each level, so you'll have 2 (or more) sets of Feng Shui Bagua in your house.
So basically, you can interpret the 8/or 9 Feng Shui areas in any way you want!
Related Post: How Can I Be Successful In Life?
Have Your Front Door Attract Money
The front door of your house determines the energy that will flow into your home. You need to get the energy in, so before you consider sorting out the wealth/prosperity area and other Bagua areas, you need to make sure that the front area of your house is always clean and clear of clutter. So that the energy can flow straight through the door and into the rest of your house.
A dirty front door is not something you want to have either, so you should give both sides a good wipe periodically. It should open fully (no shoe racks or coat hangers directly behind it), and it should not squeak. There should be a nice and fresh welcome mat at the doorstep.
There are some other suggestions to 'improve' the front door area such as;
- The door should be sturdy and durable. (Not exactly an easy DIY to replace the main door!)
- It should be proportionately the right size against the size of your house. If your house is big so should the door be. (Might as well move!)
More Decluttering!
A clean entrance may be able to let good Feng Shui energy come in, but if the whole house is crowded with household goods throughout, they can prevent the energy to flow through. It's basically best to try decluttering any areas in the house. Dead plants, cans, bags or any unnecessary, unused items should be thrown away. Especially items that remind you of places, people or things that are not pleasant to remember should be gotten rid of. Dusting and vacuuming are needed periodically.
Now your 'Wealth/Abundance' corner - whichever way you decide to believe in (South-East corner or Top-Left corner of your house) - should be taken care of carefully. The first aim is to clear out anything that can have a negative influence on wealth energy, e.g., unpaid bills and reminders. If you have a cabinet or a drawer full of stuff, you can empty it, be brave and throw away anything that you do use.
Display Symbols of Wealth
Displaying Feng Shui symbols of wealth in your 'Wealth/Abundance' area is another one of the main ideas to attract prosperity. There are numerous suggestions such as;
- Have a glass jar of all your change. Regularly add more to it, and it will symbolize that the foundation of your wealth is there to continuously grow.
- A 'wealth ship' that brings abundance (by winds and water). Place a ship ornament with some precious stones and coins in it.
- And several gemstones symbolize wealth, including Green Jade, Citrine, Green Aventurine, Green Moss Agate, Emerald, Quartz.
Add Flowing Water Elements
A water fountain symbolizes a 'wealth cure' in the Feng Shui practice, so it's a good idea to have a small fountain in your wealth corner. A fish tank is also a good idea, as fish symbolizes good fortune. But whichever you have - as you may have guessed by now - your water fountain or fish tank needs to be cleaned regularly, as they can get easily mucky. Better not having one at all than having one with dirty water in it. And if a fish in the tank has died, remove it immediately.
A dragon near a water element is also said to attract prosperity and wealth so you can consider placing a dragon figurine near your fountain/fish tank.
Alternatively, you can hang a picture of water such as waterfalls or a river, but not a picture of 'disturbed' water such as a storm.
Use Plants To Attract Wealth
Having potted plants in your house, particularly in your wealth corner is another idea to attract prosperity. Plants purify air to start with, so have some plants that are particularly meant to clean the air, such as Boston Fern, Peace Lily, and Bamboo Palm.
Bamboo is great. You can tie a coin to it, and it'll be even better if your bamboo has 8 stalks because 8 is considered as the most powerful number in Feng Shui.
Plants with round leaves will represent coins. Some of these are jade, dieffenbachia and silver dollar plants. Plants that have purple or red flowers add more benefit. You should avoid any plants that have thorns and stiff leaves. No cacti, no dying plants!
Feng Shui To Attract Money - Do I Believe It?
Do I believe in Feng Shui? I do like the fact that the practice is about bringing positive energy into a home. But I do find a lot of discrepancies among the suggestions made by many different Feng Shui experts. For example, a lot of English Feng Shui sites say purple is the best color to attract wealth/abundance. So your 'wealth corner' walls can be painted in purple, but if you don't like purple, "blue or green will be fine." However I haven't found a single Japanese Feng Shui site that says purple is the color of wealth and abundance, but they all suggest yellow and gold instead. Some suggest 'wind' is a wealth element while others suggest 'wood'. (Are you sure it's wood? Not a typo? Or both wind and wood?)
I don't like the idea of having a hideous golden animal ornament lying around my desk either. That would bother me.
I guess it's all about how you interpret it. One thing for sure is to keep your place clean and free from clutter. Whether you believe in Feng Shui or not, clean surroundings will definitely improve your productivity.
