LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Feng Shui


Plant red fruit or flowers near the front door. Photos Michele Duffy

The front door entry area to one's home remains, especially during a pandemic, the "Mouth of Qi" and one of the most powerful places to thoughtfully ignite healthy Feng Shui.

The front door is often called the `Mouth of Qi' so when the energy here is positive and activated, it will help nourish the entire home, much like when we take food into our mouths our whole body benefits. The front entrance sets the tone for the entire home and should be welcoming, well it, and tidy.

Very active or yang front door colors include red, yellow, orange and black, all excellent choices. It's also good to grow red fruit or flowers in the front yard, and especially along the pathway toward the home. This nod to fruitful abundance at the "Mouth of Qi" will transfer to the home especially if the Bagua is also applied to the entire home and property.

The front entrance door should be sparkling clean, in good working condition, function without squeaking or loose hardware, be constructed solidly with minimal glass for stability and safety, and must be visible from the street. If there is foliage overhanging the front path, everything should receive a tidy trimming so the path to the front door is unobstructed. The front path, if meandering and curvy, would be a positive bonus. If the front pathways are straight and direct, consider planting annuals in pots along the path to slow the rushing Qi down.

Leading up to the home one should be aware of the land forms surrounding the home, including streets in front (and maybe also behind the home). For health and longevity, prosperity and harmonious lives, it's best to avoid homes close to power lines, eyesores, waste, refuse or recycling centers, noisy fire or police stations, homes below the road, on dead-end streets, or with steep drop-offs or water behind the home.

General home Feng Shui guidelines include:

1) Gently moving water in front, support/mountain in back of home;

2) Home has sufficient natural light;

3) Home is above the road;

4) Road toward home is gently active; and

5) Even shaped land for secure home.

If your home is challenged with any of these you can address them with the following universal Feng Shui antidotes:

1) Lacking moving water in front, place an upward flow fountain near the front door; and if the backyard is not higher than front door or at least level, create a boundary in back with potted plants, a retaining wall, or hanging lights to stop the Qi from rolling away from house;

2) Adjust a dark house with abundant lighting solutions including recessed ceiling lights and adding high wattage but energy-friendly lamps;

3) Home below the road needs a fountain in front, add metal wind chimes from eaves of the house to lift Qi, or place a weathervane on the roof, or add flags to lift Qi (traditional and Tibetan prayer flags);

4) Narrow roads choke Qi to the house and need a water fountain and bird feeders in front so good news always travels toward your door;

5) Adjust uneven land placing lights, grounding/heavy objects/sculpture, or plant flowers, or place conversationally arranged outdoor seating vignettes.

To ensure our front entrance is doing its job of welcoming positive Qi into our homes, remember the front entrance door is the first of "The Three Pillars" or power areas of the home. (The second pillar is the master bedroom/bed placement and the third is the kitchen/stove placement.)

A few must-do front entrance Feng Shui tips:

Ensure the house numbers are displayed horizontally versus vertically, and are visible, above eye level, easy to spot, and placed before the driveway so Qi flows to the front door versus rushing past the home;

Paint the front entrance door a lively, eye-catching, Qi-attracting color like red, yellow or tangerine;

If you see garage doors instead of the front entrance, the Feng Shui adjustments might include landscaping lighting that points toward the front door, an artistic welcome sign, or thoughtfully placed directional arrows that point toward the front door;

Place healthy eye-catching and Qi-attracting activating flowers or red fruit trees so they flank the door or are at least in the front yard near the front door;

Front entrance doors should ideally be solid construction materials, any glass is best along the top of the door for security reasons, maintain a proportionate sized door to the size of the home, so definitely no double front doors on smaller homes;

Actively enter your home using the front door and even if you enter your home via a secondary door make sure to ask guests to use the front door;

Front entrance welcome mats should be colorful and fit the door frame size so not smaller than the dimension of the door frame;

Landscaping and house lights are a must at the front entrance area;

If possible a meandering path is best, versus straight paths to the door;

And placing a soothing water feature fountain and one tinkling metal chime in front, it would nearly be complete!

If we've learned anything in COVID it is all about impermanence and change. Embracing this can help you make small changes and then perhaps tweaking and adjusting and adding Feng Shui over time. Notice what shifts. Create mindful changes and work at your own pace, listen quietly and then intuit what comes next for you in your space. If the vibe at home suits you then you will have accomplished the single most important Feng Shui aspiration!

If you have before and after pics of your front entrance I would be honored to review your good Feng Shui efforts so please email me at spaceharmony@gmail.com.

Happy Summer to all!