Have a happy feng shui holiday

Feng shui is the ancient science of placement and living in harmony and balance with your environment through the use of color, space planning and accessorizing.

by DeAnna Radaj — 

Getting tired of the same old red and green decorations? Would you like to add more meaning to some of your holiday rituals? How about adding some feng shui principles to your holiday gift giving and decorations?

Feng shui is the ancient science of placement and living in harmony and balance with your environment through the use of color, space planning and accessorizing. The Chinese developed these principles more than 5,000 years ago and applied them to such things as choosing auspicious gravesites. It was believed that the better your gravesite, the better the fortunes of your descendants would be.

Now how do you apply feng shui to your holidays to usher in positive energy, new opportunities and abundance for you and your family? Let us start with the focal point of most homes for the holidays … the Christmas tree.

Follow these guidelines to enjoy a beautifully transformed home:

• Use plenty of green. The holidays can be stressful, so it goes without saying that using green, the most relaxing color, can have a calming, cooling effect on you and your home. In feng shui terms, green also helps absorb all the fire (action) energy of the lights, activity and red décor that is abundant at this time.
• Angels and cherubs are lucky symbols. These items help fill the room with goodwill and peace.
• Start a tradition. Ask every family member and guest who enters your home to place something on the tree to put their mark/energy into the gathering and increase the sense of family and community.
• Remember the Chinese phrase “five colors blind” — which means that too much color, sound and activity can create a numbing and exhausting effect. After awhile, you will become desensitized and stop noticing things. Do not put up decorations or play holiday music too early. How often have you tuned out “Jingle Bells” in all its versions by December 5?

Shake up your holiday color schemes from the traditional red and green by incorporating some of these colors:

• Gold and silver can strengthen your intuition and represent ostentation, money and fame. Use them if you want more recognition in the community, work and/or family.
• Red is one of the most auspicious colors and represents energy, passion and action. Word of warning, though — too much red can increase tension, anger and anxiety.
• Blue represents spiritualism, thoughtfulness, consideration, faith and aids in communication. Use it to encourage more open conversation with family and friends. A very calming and cooling color, blue is great for helping you unwind after a crazy day.
• Purple is considered the most auspicious color, as it is associated with high ideals, loyalty, royalty, truth and love. This color indicates power, riches and fortune and adds a great touch of luxury and abundance to your home.
• White is the color of mourning and loss in the Chinese culture. Although our society views this color as representing purity, innocence and naiveté, feng shui principles suggest that you not use this color.
• Pink is a healing color and is associated with love and romance. It is a soothing color that represents joy and happiness and lends a warm glow to the room.
• Multi-colors represent a union of all colors. Make sure to use them on a green tree for balance and to bring about order and harmony to all the other colors. If you are unsure about which colors to mix, look to Mother Nature where green is a neutral. If you see the color combination outside, it will work on your tree inside.

Let us also examine tips for the rest of the house, and gifts to help bring about an auspicious season and New Year. Make sure your entryway is warm and inviting. Remember that less is more here. Stand in the doorway and look at the room from your guests’ perspective upon entering. Do they see a festive room with lights and Santa or a jumble of wrapping paper and boxes? Keep this area neat, spacious and nicely scented with a natural candle or incense (pine, cinnamon or vanilla is sure to set the proper mood). Your guests will feel welcome and ready to feel glad tidings.

Adding some crystals, clear quartz or any other light-refracting objects to your room will help add positive energy and light to the space. Hanging crystals from ceiling fans and lights is a great way to ensure that this energy is spread throughout; the rainbows and prisms created by the refracted light will always bring a smile to your guests’ faces.

Pictures can also help enhance the holiday atmosphere in your space. Strategic placement of photos with family and friends that evoke happy memories is a great feng shui practice that can help nurture harmony and goodwill. Avoid decorating with artworks and pictures of sad events, violence or anything negative, as this will create bad, undesirable energy.

The following are some gifting items to avoid:

• Sharp objects — Swords, knives, scissors and letter openers are not feng shui friendly gifts, since you can inadvertently send negative intentions, or “cutting” energy, toward the recipient with a sharp-edged gift.
• Empty wallets and purses — If you wish to gift one of these items, remember to slip something inside of it, such as coins, a few dollars and/or a photograph. This will help bestow auspicious wealth energy to the recipient.
• Roses — These flowers actually promote bad feng shui, as they denote “thorny” love prospects. Better to stick with other sweet-smelling or romance-related flowers without thorny stems. Examples are peonies, jasmine, chrysanthemums, narcissus and lilies.
• Timepieces — Watches, clocks or other timepieces are never a good idea, as they represent a limited life span and always remind us of “watching time go by.”

Wishing you and your family a happy and safe holiday season!

DeAnna Radaj, Allied ASID, is an interior designer in Milwaukee, Wisc., who specializes in residential and retail design that incorporates healthy home design principles and feng shui. She is a national speaker the author of Designing the Life of Your Dreams From the Outside In. 414-403-8174, Deanna.Radaj@whin.net or www.bantedesign.com.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 25, Number 6, December 2006/January 2007.