Back To School, Back To The Office with Feng Shui

It seems too soon (!) but here we are: it’s time for the back-to-school, back-to-work routines of the “other” three-quarters of the year after the glories of summer.

How can Feng Shui help you ease back into the hustle and bustle of fall?

With Feng Shui’s calendar we can harness the power of the Five Elements: summer’s incandescent Fire becomes weaker as it feeds the Earth element of late summer, followed closely by the Metal element of fall.

Earth & Metal for Fall – The Season Of Joy
In Feng Shui, fall is the season of Joyful emotions, when we reconnect with friends, co-workers and clients.   Earth provides the energy for re-establishing these relationships, while Metal provides the stability and focus you need to make the most of them.

To get every part of your life ready for the season of activity ahead, here are Feng Shui tips for your home and office to help you harness the energies of the elements to your best advantage.

Fall Feng Shui At Home
1.  As the Fire-y brilliance of summer fades, keep the light alive and nourish your Earth element by bringing warm earth tones into your environment.

2. Re-connect with Earth by attending to indoor plants: fertilize them after the draining energy of summer, trim off dead material, and repot them or loosen up the dirt to give them some breathing room.

3. Support the Earth element by clearing clutter from horizontal surfaces like dining tables, guest beds and kitchen counters. Earth nourishes Metal, the element of maturity that helps you focus and bring closure to important projects.

4. Metal represents Children in Feng Shui’s Bagua.  If you have kids, this is the moment to help them fine-tune their bedrooms and study spaces as they return to school.

Fall Feng Shui For Your Office or Business
1.  Improve your ability to focus by adding Metal to your environment:  a metal objet d’art on your desk, a metal sign with your business name for your office door, a round box for office supplies…  (learn more about Feng Shui’s Metal element here.)

2.  In Feng Shui, fall is about the harvest and completion of projects.  Be proud of your business achievements so far this year: write them down, place the list on your bulletin board, and let your successes inspire your future growth.

3. As the quality and duration of daylight decreases, stay in contact with the Fire element by keeping your office well-lit.  Full-spectrum light bulbs are great for offices and will help you maintain your energy during the increasingly long days ahead.

4. A typical business Feng Shui challenge is that of too much Metal in the office: white walls and furnishings, metal filing cabinets and desks, shiny metallic accessories.

If this is the situation in your office, balance Metal by introducing healthy plants and/or red accessories.  Balance is always the key to good Feng Shui!

Don’t hesitate to call if you need a hand bringing these tips to life.  I’m available for Feng Shui consultations in New York City and via phone and email as well.

Q. of the Week: Red Walls for a Teenager’s Bedroom?

Here’s a question I received in my email recently:

“My teenager wants to paint her bedroom walls Red. Is this a mistake?”

The answer, of course, is — “It depends.”

In Feng Shui Red is the color for the Fire element, representing warmth and expansiveness. The emotions associated with Fire range from friendliness and enthusiasm all the way to high passion and drama.

So if your daughter feels she’s missing out on some of these things, Red might be just the ticket for her right now, boosting her confidence and bringing her into full bloom.

But the flip side is that Red can exaggerate dramatic tendencies that already exist. In that case I’d suggest trying out a few Red accessories and complementing them with items drawn from the Earth element to create a sense of groundedness.

The key is to let her experiment. Paint is one of the easiest things to change if it turns out not to be a good fit, and learning about yourself in these ways is one of Feng Shui’s most valuable roles.

Let me know what happens!

Five Ways Feng Shui Helps You Achieve Your Goals

One of Feng Shui’s most important roles is helping you achieve your most cherished goals.

Here’s how the Feng Shui’s Five Elements can help you keep you your New Year’s Resolutions:

If you’ve resolved that this is the year for growth and new beginnings, bring the Wood element into your environment. Use symbolic items like the color green, live or silk plants, or things with verticality like columns and vertical stripes.

Would you like to realize your passion or get in better touch with your emotions this year? If so add the Fire element to your space with red items, candles, lighting and pointed or triangular things.

Perhaps you’ve resolved to become more grounded and stable or create a more nurturing environment for yourself. The Earth element anchors this intention with square items — especially earthenware tiles — and earthy colors like sand, brown or yellow.

If this is the year for focus and the completion of projects use the Metal element: rounded objects, the color white or light pastels, and anything actually made of metal. To anchor my own intentions this year I’ve brought out a beautiful metal heart-shaped box and placed my resolutions inside.

This might be the year in which you want to feel more connected, either with new people in your life or by making spiritual connections within yourself. The element to turn to is Water, which you can bring into your space with the color black, or with sinuous objects.

Do you have a balance of the Five Elements in your home and office?

Fireplaces: Bad (& Good!) Feng Shui

Here are examples of design-magazine fireplaces — a few “Do’s and Don’ts” from a Feng Shui perspective.

First up, a giant painting of a cow:

Pictures of animals symbolize the Fire element — and of course, so does the fire in the hearth. This arrangement is “too hot.”

Here’s another idea that doesn’t quite work from a Feng Shui perspective:

In Feng Shui’s cycle of the Five Elements, Wood creates Fire, so this chair (ideal for kindling!) is a case of compounding what’s already a very hot message.

Why are mirrors so great over fireplaces? Because they represent the cooling element of Water, calming down the heat of any fireplace whether there’s a fire going or not.

Here’s a nice example:

With its circular art (Metal) and earthenware jug (Earth), and backed up by the Water-y mirror, this mantelpiece beautifully balances the Fire element.

What do you think? If you have a fireplace you’d like me to look at from a Feng Shui perspective, send it on in!

The Earth Element: Stability and Nourishment

The Earth element is all about feeling grounded and stable no matter what’s swirling around you. Here are a few nice ways to bring it into your space.

Yellow, the color of sand and the earth in much of China, represents the Earth element and is one of the easiest ways to bring it into your space.

Ancient beliefs about the “flat earth” come into play with the shapes that symbolize Earth: square, flat & horizontal. This photo is a perfect illustration of how the Earth element can make you feel grounded even when the ever-moving ocean is at your feet

Tiles, brick and other materials made of Earth will also give a space a sense of groundedness.

If you’re feeling “spacy” it may be time to ground yourself with Earth. Do you have other ideas for anchoring this element?