Feng shui: what it is and 9 principles to decorate your home

Feng shui is a Taoist philosophy of Chinese origin, which teaches us how distribute spaces harmoniously so that the energy flows in them and, therefore, the spaces in which we live have a positive influence on us.

In this article we tell you what it is, what are the principles of it and how to decorate your house according to feng shui. Learn all about feng shui and fill your house with harmony.

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What is feng shui

The spaces we inhabit on a daily basis greatly influence our mood, our state of mind and the attitude that we put to our day to day and to the situations that arise. It happens that we get used to them so quickly that we do not even realize if we are living in chaos or if our house, for example, is filling us with positive energy. This is what feng shui exists for.

Feng shui is another of the ancient Eastern philosophies that have changed our lives in a positive way. Feng shui originates from the Chinese tao and is

a philosophy that teaches us to occupy the spaces consciously, so that everything that is in it is in harmony, the energy flows through them and, as a consequence, the spaces also influence us in a positive way.

The 3 principles to understand feng shui

The word feng shui means "wind and water" literally and gathers in them the keys of feng shui, which are the observation of the elements of nature in terms of their forms, their orientation and their forces to conserve the Qi (chi), which is how the vital energy.

The keep Qi in balance and harmony It is the main objective of feng shui, so the arrangement of objects in our spaces is a way to channel the Qi (chi) to flow through them, just as it happens with rivers.

1. The Qi or chi

In the words of the master Guo Pu in the book "Zangshu" (one of the oldest there is on feng shui), the art of conserving vital energy and channeling it is feng shui: "Qi travels and disperses with the wind but is retained in the presence of Water".

Now, we already know that Qi (chi) is the vital energy that maintains the universe, but there is another key to feng shui that we must learn, and that is that there is a "good" and a "bad" Qi.

The good Qi is called Sheng Qi and it is what we find in those spaces that are in harmony and vital energy flows through them, so they have good feng shui. On the contrary, the Sha Qi or "bad" is one that we find in unfavorable places for vital energy to flow, so its influence is negative.

2. Yin yang

Another of the principles of feng shui is yin yang as two totally opposite but complementary energies. You have probably ever seen the yin yang symbol, which is a circle that is divided by the Half by a wavy line, leaving a black or dark part, the Yin, and a white or light part, the Yang.

When this wavy line increases or decreases, the amount of Yin or Yang also increases or decreases, demonstrating the perfect balance that there is always between the two. This symbol is the best way to explain what yin yang is.

According to feng shui, this interaction and complementarity of yin and yang must also be present in our spaces, to achieve the balance of these and the harmony that allows the Qi or vital energy flows through our home.

3. The elements of nature

The third principle of feng shui is the use of the elements of nature as a means of channeling Qi and balancing yin and yang. These elements are earth, fire, water, metal and wood, in addition to the wind, which is where the Qi flows and moves.

How to decorate the house according to feng shui

You can begin to incorporate the philosophy of feng shui when it comes to consciously think about your spaces and organize them according to their principles, so that your home positively influences you; Well, in the end, our house is the temple in which we rest, eat, clean ourselves and, therefore, where we recharge all our energies.

Here we tell you how to decorate the house according to feng shui, so that you can take better advantage of the energies and have a house in harmony.

1. The hall: the entrance of the house

According to feng shui, the hall is the most important room of the house of all, because it is the entrance to our house and through there the Qi or vital energy enters. It is true that some of us have floors of a few meters, but the larger your hall can be, the better, well energy will be able to spread and flow better through your home.

You must ensure that this area has enough elements and that it is not overloaded with things, because the more objects the Qi is at their entrance, it is more likely that it stagnates between them and cannot flow throughout your home.

2. No mirrors in front of the door

The principle of golden feng shui is that there should be no mirrors in front of the doors, especially in the hall, because when the Qi or vital energy enters, it bounces off the mirror and immediately leaves your house.

But this does not mean that you cannot have mirrors. In fact, if your apartment is very small, they can be very good to expand, but you must know how to locate them. You can put the mirrors on the side walls so that they are not facing the door.

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3. The light

The more natural light enters your home, the better, because light is synonymous with energy. Try to avoid closed and very dark places, and keep blinds and curtains open as long as possible.

If there are areas of the floor that are inevitably very dark, then help yourself with warm artificial light and candles, because according to feng shui, candles are fire element and therefore they are excellent for harmonizing energy.

4. Order and cleanliness

Another of the principles of feng shui is that of empty, sort and clean. According to this philosophy, it is essential that we empty everything we have in our home and throw everything away what we accumulate, let's find appropriate places for things and keep clean so that the Qi flows best.

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5. Flowing geometries

When choosing the furniture that we are going to include in our living room, try to balance the geometries of these. That is, if you have a rectangular sofa, combine it with a round table, since the circular, oval or continuous geometries without angles, allow energy to flow much better than angles and lines. According to feng shui, a round dining room, for example, improves and helps communication flow between people.

6. Feng shui in the bedroom

Feng shui principles advise you to locate the bed leaning against the wall farthest from the door and that the headboard is not supported under a window. He also advises us that if we have small rooms with storage problems, we should not fill with shelves. the head of the bed, but preferably we look for other options, for example on the side walls.

In addition, feng shui invites us to leave all kinds of electronic devices outside the room, because they do not allow us to rest well. We must also choose neutral and unstimulating colors. As with any other room, we must keep it in order and not cluttered with elements.

7. The halls

If your home has hallways, feng shui recommends that you put few items in them. Sure you can hang pictures and pictures on the walls, but don't fill it with large elements that obstruct the flow of Qi through them.

8. Feng shui in the kitchen

Feng shui has several specifications about how our kitchen should be, but the truth is that if you are not building your house from scratch, you have to work with what is there. But it is important that you know that from feng shui, the kitchen is the heart of the houseWell, there is the fire and there is the food, representing our nutrition and survival. Your kitchen should be a place that invites you to share, that brings together the people of your home and your visitors.

Generally speaking, feng shui recommends that don't place cooking fires as the centerpiece of your kitchen, because it can steal energy. Like the kitchen in general, it should not be visible from the front door and, if possible, the kitchen and dining room should be in separate rooms.

Now, in addition to the location of essential furniture, the kitchen is ruled by the fire element and you must complete it with the other elements, so look for accessories and utensils made of wood, metal and land. What's more, according to feng shui you must place fire with fire and water with water. So try to keep your oven, microwave, and stove in one place in the house, and the dishwasher and washing machine in another. If that is not possible, then put wooden dividers between them.

9. Feng shui in the bathroom

The bathroom, due to the amount of water and drains it has, is a place of energy loss according to feng shui. The truth is that many of the floors in the West are not built according to feng shui and it is almost impossible to change them. But yes we can balance the energy of our bathrooms so that we don't lose all our energy over there.

Start by decorating your bathroom with accessories made of wood and use only earth tones, instead of blue or gray that are so common. Feng shui also indicates that we must keep the bathroom door and the toilet lid always closed, so that the energy does not mix or get lost there.

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