Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of balancing qi, or life energy, through arranging one’s home or environment in order to increase well-being and harmony. Basic Feng Shui revolves around the practice of decluttering spaces and balancing elements in a set area. At its most rudimentary level, Feng Shui is based on organizing a space in order to let positive energy flow through. Space is a valuable asset, and unnecessary things scattered all over take away this limited, yet significant, part of a room. Another aspect of Feng Shui, slightly less fundamental than simply decluttering, is the implementation of elements of wood, fire, Earth, water, and metal. These elements all have unique properties that are manifested in objects that appear seemingly unrelated. For example, objects possessing the element of water are colored black with a wavy shape, similar to that of how water moves. Finding a balance of these elements, along with decluttering, is necessary for the proper flow of qi in a space.

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A space can possess an elevated degree of Feng Shui when additional concepts are utilized, such as Bagua and the commanding position. Bagua is the term used to refer to the eight areas of a room, each relating to a specific aspect of life. Bagua maps along with a compass can be used to locate each of these areas of energy: the area designated to career is in the north, knowledge in the northeast, family in the east, wealth in the southeast, fame in the south, love in the southwest, children in the west, helpful people in the northwest, and health in the center. Feng Shui teaches that working on increasing the qi of specific Bagua areas or rooms in one’s home will have the same effect on that aspect of one’s life. However, working on multiple areas at once is not recommended, as this undoubtedly can overwhelm the person doing so. Another concept of Feng Shui that can further increase the qi of an area is implementing a commanding position. A space’s commanding position generally is the place where most time is spent, like a bed in a room, or a desk in an office. Feng Shui provides multiple constraints for where the location of this position should be, such as placing it at the farthest point from the door, while still within its line of sight, while also avoiding being directly in line with it.

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