Issue 3 - February, 2005
Feng Shui tips for Chinese New Year - its significance and how it can help refocus!
Plus, Feng Shui aquariums - how many goldfish to keep and where to place your Feng Shui fish tank to enhance chi.
Feng Shui Tips for Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is based on the lunar (solar) calendar
as opposed to the Western (Gregorian) calendar and starts with the new Moon on the 1st day of the New Year. This means that the date for Chinese New Year varies from the end of January to mid February - this year it's February 9th.
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day tends to be a family affair with the emphasis on getting rid of the old to make way for the new (much like New Year the world over).
However, the Chinese do have some quite unique Feng Shui tips when it comes to house cleaning with rules on when and where to clean.
For example, the entire house should be cleaned before New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve all cleaning equipment and products are removed and kept out of sight. It is considered 'bad luck' to clean on New Year's Day for fear of sweeping positive energy and good fortune away.
It is only after New Year's Day that the floors may be swept. However, the dust will typically be swept into the corners of each room and only removed on the fifth day via the back door only.
Now, we here in the West may or may not want to busy ourselves with Feng Shui tips for Chinese New Year. However, if your New Year's resolutions have already lapsed, now's the time to start afresh.
I always think that Chinese New Year gives us a second shot. If you haven't already embraced 2005 with clear ideas of what you are aiming for, get to work!
Plus, as the Chinese refer to New Year as the Spring Festival it's a good time for 'spring cleaning' even if you are in the darkest depths of gloomy winter!
Another Feng Shui tip for Chinese New Year is to hang vertical scrolls of red paper on or around the front door of your home. The scrolls typically celebrate the new Spring season, praising nature and claiming abundance and good luck for the year ahead.
So, you may want to take this opportunity to work on the area around your front door. This may include Feng Shui tips for Chinese New Year such as:
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washing away any dust or dirt that has accumulated here
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giving it a fresh lick of paint to revitalize chi if it's looking tired and faded
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ensuring that the front door knob is shiny so that it deflects poison arrows that may be pointing at your home and offers protection to the people who live within
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ensuring that all door bells and knockers are in good working so that you don't miss any new opportunities that may literally come knocking at your door
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ensuring your house name and number are clearly visible so that people find you easily and so does vital chi that needs to nourish your home!
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shake out your old door mat (before New Year's Day) or replace it if it's looking dirty and worn. Blue door mats are best as they represent the element water which supports the career area of the ba gua.
Remember, your front door is considered to be the 'mouth of chi' because it's the main way that chi enters your home. Focusing on positive chi here is one of the most important aspects of Feng Shui. It'll also make your transition from one year to the next a smoother
one. Try it!
Chinese New Year is also all about food, food and more food. In fact, more food is eaten during this period than at any other time of the year.
Sticky rice pudding called 'nain gao' is served in the south of China whereas steamed dumplings called 'jiaozi' are served in the north. Food is also symbolically chosen, for example, a whole fish represents unity and long noodles represent longevity.
The Chinese believe that food symbolizes abundance and that the more food you have in your home the more abundant and wealthy you'll become. Having an empty fridge or freezer is a real no-no! So, get your fridge packed with delicious, healthy food.
If this interferes with any post Christmas detox program,
one of the simplest way to represent abundance through food is to place a bowl of fruit in the centre of your dining room table.
Some Feng Shui practitioners recommend placing solely oranges in your fruit bowl but I always go for a mix. If you can place a mirror directly opposite your dining room table to reflect the fruit you'll symbolically double your wealth.
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Final Thoughts!
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Of course, there are dozens more Feng Shui tips for Chinese New Year. But as always with Feng Shui, if you try to implement them all at once, you're going to be scattered and unfocused - and none of the techniques
will work as well as they could!
You'll have more success with these Feng Shui tips for Chinese New Year if you concentrate on just one or two techniques at a time. Then you'll be in a position to move on to additional techniques as you become aware
of what's working for you.
So, if you still need focus for the year ahead and can't seem to get off the starting blocks try implementing some of the above ideas and give New Year a second shot.
I wish you 'Gung Hay Fat Choy' or Happy Chinese New Year in the hope that 2005 is blessed with good health,
opportunities and abundance!
This month's QnA (question and answer section) -
Feng Shui aquariums and fish tanks
+++++ Question +++++
Dear Clare,
I have just bought a feng shui fish tank and have kept 2 goldfish and one black one. Could you tell me if the south east corner is the right position for my feng shui fish tank?
Thanks, Raju.
+++++ Clare's Response +++++
Hi Raju,
Anything that moves including goldfish will activate chi and enhance the energy levels in your home.
Keeping a Feng Shui aquarium or fish tank in the South East corner is a traditional Chinese cure to activate wealth. Some traditional practitioners advise that
nine orange fish be kept together with one black fish. The black fish is symbolically said to absorb any negative chi that may otherwise be directed at you.
However, I've also known practitioners to recommend eight orange fish to one black one. If you can can't fit eight orange fish into your Feng Shui fish tank try three orange to one black (as multiples of three generally
manifest or result in action).
Some practitioners also recommend adding nine coins to your Feng Shui aquarium or fish tank again as a wealth enhancer. But, you'll have to ensure that the metal or the coins don't harm your fish.
I'd say don't worry too much about how many fish in your aquarium. The important thing to remember is that the activity of the fish will help activate the life force of your home.
I would also recommend that you keep the water bubbling by investing in a small pump as this will activate chi further and keep the water from becoming stagnant. If this is not possible, make sure you change the water on a regular basis and keep it squeaky clean to avoid the build up of 'yukky' green algae.
You'll notice that Chinese restaurants generally place Feng Shui fish tanks and aquariums at the entrance, usually in the career (north) area of the ba gua. This is thought to encourage a steady flow of customers into
the restaurant and boost cash flow.
They further enhance chi in this area by shining lights into the fish tank which throw out watery shadows over the walls of the room creating mood and atmosphere - very effective indeed!
Let me know how you go with your Feng Shui fish!
Clare.
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