Today, we are talking feng shui and its perplexing rulebook of metaphysical measurements, methods, and machinations. Is feng shui just a fancy Chinese system used by western hipsters to make you feel dumb? No, but you would be forgiven for thinking that. Based on western tendencies to commodify objects, practices, and philosophies from other cultures and misuse or misrepresent their purpose, we’re all pretty misinformed about what feng shui actually is. The internet, with its DIYs and clickbait, spins this ancient Chinese practice as either magic or superstition, which it is not, or a kind of interior design, which it also is not. In this episode, Bronwen dives into what feng shui actually means, how to maximize your access to beneficial chi and disperse negative chi in your home, and the basics of some of the various traditional schools of feng shui and how the western world has appropriated and bastardized elements of this ancient spiritual practice.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Feng shui, meaning ‘wind’ and ‘water’, conveys a sense of invisible, flowing energy.
• How feng shui has been used in architecture for thousands of years in China.
• Learn about good chi and bad chi using the well-known yin yang symbol.
• Some of the things that can cause negative chi in your home, including geopathic stress.
• How to maximize your access to beneficial chi and disperse negative chi using feng shui.
• The basics of some of the various schools of feng shui, starting with the compass school.
• Find out how Donald Trump, of all people, first brought feng shui to the US.
• How the western interior design world appropriated and bastardized feng shui practice.
• Why decluttering and feng shui are not synonymous.
• Modern interpretations, like “wallet feng shui” or “fashion feng shui”, that have nothing to do with the traditional practice of feng shui.
• Bronwen shares a tip: be wary of useless commercial feng shui items.
• The five natural elements that feng shui relies on; fire, earth, metal, water, and wood.
• How the bagua energy map helps you enhance favorable flows of chi in your home.
• The symbolic significance of the bedroom, office, and kitchen in your home.
• How furniture with rounded edges can help with the flow of chi in your home. 
• The importance of keeping areas of work and rest separate, being intentional about color palette, and keeping your windows uncovered.
• Feng shui rules for your kitchen, which is said to represent health, wealth, and abundance.
• How a wrongly positioned toilet can cause infertility and other feng shui rules for bathrooms.
• Why your front door and your back door should never be aligned.
• Learn about auspicious directions according to what is know as your kua number.
• How to deflect bad chi using mirrors, sound, and the presence of living things.
• Find out how feng shui consultant Kartar Diamond uses feng shui to predict crime.
• The surprising fact that feng shui has been outlawed in China since the mid-20th century.
• At its core, feng shui is simply a lens through which to reflect on yourself and your home.
• Why feng shui might be more beneficial than ever during the pandemic, when the concept of ‘home’ has faced a crisis of identity.

Links:

Feng Shui Nexus

Traditional Feng Shui Solutions by Kartar Diamond

Them’s the Rules on Twitter

Show Website