I'm a bona fida sucker for mid-century chairs. Honestly I can spot one at 40 paces. Not many things make me green with envy but the want monster comes out when I see a great armchair that fulfills both aesthetic and feng shui criteria.
Read moreSlow Mother's Day and Flowers
Happy Mother’s Day, to all the lovely Mums out there. Mothering Sunday falls on the second Sunday of May (8 May 2022) each year in Australia/NZ/U.S. But if like me, you’re an expat this is our second opportunity to celebrate Mother’s Day. A few weeks ago the 4th Sunday in Lent (27 Mar. 2022) Mum’s in Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Nigeria and the United Kingdom celebrated. Who doesn’t love a double celebration?!
Read moreWater Element
Through the lens of Feng Shui forefathers, Water represents your fortune in Taoist Feng Shui. It's one of the five elements that lends its name to the definition of Feng Shui; ‘Shui’ meaning Water. A nod to the significance of Waters powerful use and effects, when applied correctly by a Feng Shui consultant. Regrettably generic advise by less scholarly folk, albeit well intended, to place Water in non specific areas of a building can bode negatively for some. . . . .
Read moreFeng Shui in action
Demystifying feng shui can be very literal sometimes. With October marking FIRE PREVENTION MONTH I’m reminded of a very pertinent Feng Shui lesson. But before I delve into that story. Did you know that Feng Shui can highlight areas in a property where a fire risk is greater? Even a property’s architectural features can intensify a potential fire hazards?
Read moreFENG SHUI MYTHS AND MISNOMERS
Fuelled by the quest to speak truth to the true power of Feng Shui and correct a plethora of inaccuracy’s that every practicing consultant encounters, I’ve decided to right a few wrongs and demystify some Feng Shui misnomers.
So if you’re confused on how to incorporate Feng Shui principles into your life, home or place of business. Read on you might be surprised to learn how easy it is to incorporate Feng Shui into your life.
Read moreFENG SHUI FOR BATHROOMS
Are you in the market for a new bathroom?
If so, before you spend thousands on a bathroom design or remodel - hit the pause button. Check out our Feng Shui for Bathrooms guide, packed with Tips for creating a well designed, stylish suite incorporating some healthy building focused options.
Sublime image by Prue Ruscoe
Read moreSlow Mother's Day and Flowers
Happy Mother’s Day, to all the lovely Mums out there. Mothering Sunday falls on second Sunday of May (9th May 2021) each year in Australia/NZ/U.S. But if like me, you’re an expat we get a second opportunity to celebrate, as Mother’s Day on the 4th Sunday in Lent (14th Mar. 2021) in Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
Read moreApril Decorating Month & Feng Shui
April is a both National Gardening and National decorating month. So there’s no excuse to get stuck into some physical grafting this month. Whether it’s repainting, wallpaper, replacing the furniture or introducing some new soft furnishings, they are sure to influence the energy in a given space. Working in some Feng Shui principles into the process can greatly improve the results. But what is the link between Feng Shui and decorating?
Read moreElemental Water
WATER, WATER Everywhere
Through the lens of Feng Shui forefathers, Water represents your fortune in Taoist Feng Shui. Water is one of the five elements that lends its name to the definition of Feng Shui; ‘Feng’ meaning Wind and ‘Shui’ meaning Water. A nod to the significance of Waters powerful use and effects, when applied correctly by a Feng Shui consultant. Regrettably generic advise by less scholarly folk, albeit well intended, to place Water in non specific areas of a building can bode negatively for some.
In essence, the 'quality' of water is significant and when it's partnered with Wind; the results are highly effective. Consequently, the element of Water to a Feng Shui consultant is used in a very measured fashion.
WATER AFFINITIES
Water is one of five energy forces, applied throughout Feng Shui - Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal complete the set. These are more commonly referred to as the Five elements. As Feng Shui is one of eight branches of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the other modalities of meditation, exercise, diet, cosmology, bodywork, herbal medicine and acupuncture also deploy the use of the five elements in each discipline.
The virtues of the Water element have many affinities and relationships. On the Pa-K’ua there are eight trigrams - which are glyphs formed by three parallel lines, solid and unbroken. The trigrams describe the rhythms and cycles of nature, like the four seasons or the cardinal and inter-cardinal directions among other things. K'an is the trigram assigned to Water, two yin broken lines flank a solid yang line. It's associated with the direction of North, winter, darkness, the number one, the kidneys, bladder, ears and bones, and your emotions. It’s also linked to the taste of salty foods, the planet Mercury and the digit six. A colour is also assigned to each trigram and K’an is Black. Many wrongly assume the colours associated with the Water element are aqua blues, sea-foam greys and turquoises. But in Feng Shui the elemental colours are deep dark hues of inky navy blues, dark stormy greys and black.
A little knowing smile crosses my face when I recommend Water element remedies, as most client discloses that they are drawn to watery, beach colours. But whites, greys and pale hues are more Metal element colours and blues are the Wood element. Feng Shui wise, ubiquitous ‘beachy themed homes’ are classified as more in keeping with the Metal element, than Water.
Prosperous Water
All five elements intermingle with each other throughout a home. Some harmoniously and others less so. In the main Water represents your fortune in Taoist Feng Shui. To a consultant the element of Water will be introduced as remediation or removed if exacerbating a malefic influence. Following a consult on your business or home, a consultant may advise that a sector of the building internally (or externally) could benefit from the use of an actual Water element. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area with a significant body of water in the correct sector, this could activate your prosperity and abundance. Water can be added through the use of various means, via colour, shapes etc. but the use of the actual element such as a fountain, lake, pond or pool has the most targeted influence.
In warmer climates the omnipresent swimming pool - generally located in the rear of the property - can also be used to activate auspicious sectors in the home. However, if the pool is located in an inauspicious location feng shui wise, the opposite results can occur and you could find you’re literally drained of resources. When adding any permanent and significant water additions to your property it's wise to consult if the chosen location is positioned to benefit or hinder your prosperity.
Manmade water features v's natural water
A manmade feature is generally in your control - simply flick a switch to engage a fountain, add some fish to move the water in a pond or frequently use a swimming pool. Initially in the design stages the manmade water feature location can be selected according to the prosperous sector of your home. Small structures of course are also potentially moveable. However, the ebb and flow of oceans, rivers, streams or waterfall near your property can be destructive or benevolent. Fast flowing rivers that crash and flow erratically are destructive, equally so is a stagnant pond or swamp - the quality of water is all important. Yet the gentle lap of water on a shoreline is beneficial as is gentle babbling brook. Living in a secluded bay also collects the fecund energies from the combined water and wind dispersal - that said, your homes positioning on the bay is also significant.
Further consideration
Another point to consider is the landfall of your site. During torrential rain fall on an area of your property may become waterlogged for extended periods of time. More advanced formulas also exist for the actual plumbing and drainage flow within the home - correctly applied feng shui formulas, can also enhance an occupants prosperity and abundance.
In summary, the water element can be your friend or your enemy. A recently added swimming pool, large pond or water fountain could be contributing to a reversal of your good fortune. Falling on hard times, is emotionally harrowing, aside from the actual installation hit, it's hard for clients to believe their new water feature may be a hindering factor. It’s always prudent to get the landscape plans looked at pre installation and the good news is this can be done via a remote consultation.
So, if you’re feeling things are going backwards and your affluent water addition is hindering gains then a feng shui audit could highlight solutions to harmonise the situation. For more information check out our Residential or Business consults and our Remote consults are ideal if you just need assistance with identifying a suitable position for the water feature. Don’t forget to check out our Pinterest boards to assist in decorating with the water element if you’ve been advised to do introduce the element of water into a certain sector of the home.
It's #WaterQualityMonth in August. We all know Water is vital to sustaining life. The United Nations emphasize the importance of the actual Quality of Water over the past decade every August.
“Living eye to eye with environmental wisdom ”
— FENG SHUi iSM
WELCOME to FENG SHUi iSM
Failte.
Yeah we are LIVE! Earlier this morning I hit the publish button and established this little websites place on the internet. The warmest of welcomes to FENG SHUi-iSM. Home to - living eye to eye with environmental wisdom. The ISM stands for - Interior Style Mastery - its Feng Shui for Interior Styling and one of our bespoke offering which we hope will become a hallmark signature of FENG SHUi-iSM. It's designed as a companion consult to standard Feng Shui consults.
There have been many attempts to get this site launched and it has always slipped to the bottom of the to-do list - not anymore. I've chosen to launch this new website when Mercury is not longer Retrograde and of course it's a personally Auspicious date of me. Today, five of the seven visible planets are also in their dignity or the sign of their exhalation - a rare and wonderful thing. If you follow this blog you will see that I take a healthy interest in the celestial cosmos.
I aim to write weekly in Our Blog and promise to keep content interesting. we will also be posting shorter content on our FB page. If you are keen to hear more about Feng Shui then pop over to our contact page and subscribe to our newsletters and start following us on FB. Keep checking back as we are still working behind the scenes and will add new pages over the coming week.
I'll bid you adieu and look forward to engaging with you in the future posts. P.s. Do let me know if I have any broken links!
Slan
Wendy