I Had a "Feng Shui Color Reading" — Here's What It Taught Me About How I Should Decorate My Home
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Who would have known that color could have such an impact within the home? Color has a way of creating flow and rhythm in a space — and well, for many, Feng Shui does the same. The practice helps people find peace and draw good energy into everyday things, whether that's home decor, plant styling or clothing. For writers and holistic experts, Anjie Cho and Laura Morris, Feng Shui is a form of guidance to a more restful life.
In their book, Mindful living: A Guide to the Everyday Magic of Feng Shui — released this year — the consultants offer meditative reflections on how to work this traditional practice in a modern way. The book explores how colors can affect your energy and emotions, as well as how it should be used throughout your home. When I heard the authors were available to do a color reading, I jumped at the opportunity. I had no idea what a color reading entailed, but it piqued my curiosity. So, how can certain colors be used to decorate my home? And do Feng Shui colors really make an impact?
From Feng Shui living room colors to the rest of the home that is near and dear to us all — I sat down with Feng Shui experts Anjie and Laura, and this is what they had to say about my color reading.
Feng Shui colors
Mindful Living: A guide to the everyday magic of Feng Shui
Price: $19.99
Type: Paperback
Anjie and Laura now share their perspective on Feng Shui through their book Mindful Living: A Guide to the Everyday Magic of Feng Shui.
My color reading
I'll be honest, I had no clue what a color reading was until I spoke to Anjie and Laura. Essentially, a color reading helps you navigate which colors may bring good energy into a space and how it can be used to decorate your home. Adding certain colors into your home which reflect your personality, can in turn spark passion and brighten your home, according to the experts.
Anjie and Laura joined me on a zoom call to share their insight into my colors and how it can can be incorporated within the home. It was quite fascinating to learn about how certain colors can shift the energy of a room and how it can also bring a sense of balance in interior design — it is what Feng Shui is all about after all.
If you're wondering how a color reading works, well, Laura tells me: "The colors that we got were from the Nine Star Ki. And the Nine Star Ki is essentially, the astrological companion to Feng Shui". I had provided Laura and Anjie with my birthday, which is how they found my nine stars. Laura continues: "And we're going to focus on the principal star, which represents your fundamental nature".
Laura tells me I am a three Yang Wood — therefore, I carry a lot of energy. "Wood is about growth, wood is about creating lots of ideas and entrepreneurial spirit. Ideas come easily to you, there's a real creative force that goes through you," she adds.
Out of this, Laura highlights that I have two color profiles and these colors were split into two categories. They were symbolic colors (my main colors) and supportive colors. Laura explains that green/blue is my symbolic color, while black or charcoal are my supportive colors. For me, the color green represents creativity and expansion — "shades of blue and green embody the wonder of observing bird as they flit from grasses and trees," Anjie and Laura note. As for the color black, this represents "pure yin energy, like the cold, watery depths of a deep ocean or an empty, starless midnight sky".
How does Feng Shui connect you to your home?
So, now that I know my colors, how exactly can I utilize them in my home? Laura tells me: "You can do really small things. One thing we encourage, and sort of the ways that you can use these is you can get a really small item, like a vase".
She continues: "For you what might be fun to do is get a black or a charcoal colored vase. Material doesn't matter, just something like that — put some water in it and place some greenery or some flowers in it. And that is that that's that wood energy being held by that water, that black, and then place it somewhere in your home".
Laura emphasises on the placement of home decor and how it can impact the home. "You can place it in the center of your home or somewhere that you want," she says. "It could be by your front door, it could be it could be in your bedroom if you wanted. And that can be a way for you to connect with it. Everything with Feng Shui is intention".
Anjie says another way I can utilize my color is by wearing it around my wrist. She shows me a black piece of hemp string and a black stone. "In Buddhist tradition, it's a way to kind of receive blessings that have been imparted to you and also in Feng Shui, once it becomes a bracelet — it becomes a circle," Anjie adds. "And in Feng Shui, the circle represents a continuity, because there's no hard edges, there's no beginning and no end. So it represents ease and continuity".
The Feng Shui expert explains that wearing this bracelet will give me a sense of support, she adds: "It also supports your wisdom, and it also actually supports your connection with the world".
The Bagua Mandala
In their book, Mindful living, Anjie and Laura describe how Feng Shui as well as color can be utilized throughout the home. And one part of the book which stood out to me most was when they discussed The bagua mandala (as seen above). The Feng Shui map is often used to enhance the energy around the home, office, bedroom as well as any other same. It originates from Chinese traditions and has been used for centuries.
Looking at this map in the book, Laura and Anjie explore the bedroom and how it can be laid out in accordance to the bagua mandala. To effectively use this mapping method, "begin by identifying the main doorway to your bedroom: You'll find that the door will be located in one or more of these areas: Insight, Wisdom, or Alignment. The key to applying the bagua mandala of your bedroom is to remember that the orientation of the bagua mandala is based on the main door to your bedroom. The bottom of the mandala aligns with the entry wall of the room.
"The next step is to divide the bedroom into a three-by-three grid, corresponding to the nine areas of the bagua mandala. One option is to create a simple drawing of your bedroom like our diagrams (as seen above). Another option is to stand in the doorway of your bedroom, looking in. The far-right corner will be Nurture, far-left corner Abundance, and so on".
My Final Thoughts
The best Feng Shui tips I've ever come across is to utilize color to bring in an abundance of happiness and good energy into a space.
For me, the color reading was quite inspiring, as it taught me how to use color in the best way possible — which in turn will open up my home and bring brightness to it.
I learnt that using colors such as green and blue as a dominant color around the home will provide a spark of creativity, while black or charcoal can be used as accessories around the home.
Here's how i'd use colors to decorate my space
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Feng Shui Modern Hardcover by Cliff Tan
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