LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Feng Shui


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Fall seems like a logical time for adding layers, and what better place than our front entrances to receive additional adornment during the fall and winter holiday season with gourds, heirloom pumpkins and colorful mums. The harvest theme this time of year generally lingers through Thanksgiving, adding not only curb appeal but a festive energy that can help differentiate your home from others on your street.

While it is considered excellent Feng Shui to celebrate seasonal cheer, don't overdo the décor; work hard to avoid clutter and consider the effectiveness of a few well placed design details for creating a home in tune with the seasons. Feng Shui is integrally aligned with our intention so we must be mindful, practice reverence, and make careful adjustments, moving things around to create subtle shifts in the improvement of Qi flow in the home. With perhaps more family in the home than usual right now, trust your intuition and lean in to create a home that works for you and invite a connection with the elements in nature.

Many of those who are inspired by the beauty of Feng Shui celebrate the harvest symbolism of fall and the prosperity of a strong harvest. Soy candles take off the chill in the air, a toasty fire frames family movie time, and warmer foods, beverages and baking enhanced with herbs like cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and cardamom set the tone. Make it your weekly challenge to try a new dish to get your creative juices going and beat the menu doldrums. Fall may also nudge you toward a more tidy home, cleaning out closets or the garage on cooler days, and trading out light summer linens, throws and blankets for fuzzier, warmer varieties.

Color can also amp up the warmth as fall turns colder if you choose ginger, reds, tangerines, and neutral browns. Seasonal symbolism aligns your home to receiving the benefits of a good harvest with, for example, a whimsical pumpkin throw like the one used in a teenager's room of a Lafayette client. These adjustments bring strength and comfort into a space.

To locate the Bagua area associated with Fall/Metal, stand in the front entrance door looking into the home and note the middle right area, aptly named the "Children, Completion & Joy" Bagua area. The front entrance door is the most significant portal to your home and the first of the Three Pillars or "power" areas of the home (the second pillar is the master bed, and the third is the stove). Extra attention, mindfulness, attention to curb appeal, and revisiting or tidying up is always recommended around the front door. If you sweep near the front door be sure to use mindful intention that you are making room for new possibilities (versus sweeping good luck away). The Water element sits along the front door wall, in the middle area location of Career/Life Journey. The single most powerful adjustment for the first pillar is a Feng Shui water feature (fountain), specifically, with the fountain water flow bubbling upward. This lifts and buoys the Qi for the entire home and provides the necessary flow of nourishment for all Bagua areas throughout the home, and water forcefully activates Careers for the household. You can also attract vibrant Qi toward the front entrance or front yard with seasonal layers like pumpkins and gourds on a front-facing mailbox.

If your front entrance door sits below the road or if your front door faces a steep uphill climb such as a mountain, the Feng Shui of placing a weathervane on the home's roof lifts the house Qi and counters some of the difficult Qi. This is especially important if the front door is below the road and also the backyard is steep, downhill, and falling away from the home. The weathervane we choose can also correspond to igniting Feng Shui in a Bagua yard area, like the example of a fire Red Cardinal in the wisdom area (door wall to the left).

Homes above the road have a higher vibration, improved natural light, and in general, are preferred. Placing flags in the front yard will further raise the home Qi and colorful greenery framing but not overwhelming the front yard and door entrance, and splendid outdoor lighting also add practical Feng Shui layers.

The path to the front door should be a meandering one, versus a straight path with rushing Qi. Always try to make sure to clear away vegetation so that the front door is prominent and visible from the street and that lighting is overhead or flanking the front door, as well as path lighting that lights the way to the door. If the front door is not visible from the street, include a well-placed `welcome' sign or directional arrows signs to direct Qi, foot traffic and opportunities through gates toward the front door.

In each of the Three Pillars there is a dominant Yin or Yang characteristic, and the first pillar at the front door is a decidedly Yang Qi area, with lots of movement to generate enough Qi flow to feed the entire home. Hanging a gentle Woodstock metal windchime from the eaves of the house, or a red hummingbird feeder in a nearby tree, all `activate" the Front Door Yang Qi. If you enter home through a side or garage door try to at least use the front door as often as possible.

Listen to your home. Move, update, adjust, create, add layers, find joy, peace, repeat. Warm up your heart up at home and this fall, and make memories to last a lifetime.