It’s that time of the year again in Feng Shui, when seasons and stars shift as Yin season ends and Yang season starts in the solar calendar, in the late evening of February 3, 2021.

Hopefully, your spring cleaning, clutter elimination, organizing and repairing any malfunctioning parts of your space have been accomplished by now! And you are ready to welcome fresh energy and changes into your building and therefore into your life.

Good Feng Shui in a building has a balanced flow of chi or life force, which creates harmony, well-being and prosperity for its occupants. In Feng Shui, there are five elements – Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal – which affect the healthy flow of chi. The elements can be enhanced if there is not enough of a particular energy present or diminished if there is too much of that energy.

Lo-Shu is a grid divided into nine squares, one in the center and others to represent cardinal compass directions. Each direction and number is correlated to one of the five elements mentioned above.

The Flying Stars method is used to follow the movement of stars, and for energies for positive and negative, as they change locations each year.

A nine-equal-section grid (Bagua) can be imposed on a floor plan. Part of a room or door may lie in two sections or even more as the grid is juxtaposed with the floor plan. The grid helps to divide the space according to the elemental energies and star locations in a space. The bottom of the grid faces North.

In buildings this year, the beneficial star locations are center (6), West (8) and South (1), so it’s good to spend time in those locations and enhance the beneficial energies in there (if needed).

Part of my office is in the West location (associated with the Metal element, Lo-Shu). Fortunately, the beneficial prosperity and good luck 8 yin earth star is visiting my office this year.

The 8 earth star can be enhanced and supported by adding the element Fire (red) or Earth. I changed the settee pillow covers to a red animal print and added more red pillows, a red throw and light, as seen in the before and after photos.

There are more enhancements or balancing options for all elements in Feng Shui, and sometimes no action is required.

As per stars this year, the locations not to be disturbed and activated and the energies diminished are Southeast (visiting star yellow 5), North (visiting star black 2), and possibly Southwest and Northwest (depending on the person). Ideally, spend the least possible amounts of time in Southeast and North. This can be a challenge if your bedroom, office or other area where you spend a lot of time is located in one of  these sectors and relocating to another area for twelve months is not possible. Again, there are methods in Feng Shui that can be used to counteract the effects of the stars in these locations.

One counteracting element to absorb or diminish the negative energy of Number 5 and Number 2 earth stars is the Metal element that is after the Earth element in the creative cycle. A heavy metal statue is a good example of an object that will help absorb the negativity. However, there are additional cures and methods that are used by Feng Shui practitioners as well.

The ancient wisdom and knowledge of Feng Shui is not religion or superstition, but it can be a great asset for those who wish to apply Feng Shui to better their lives. An expert can blend great design with Feng Shui principles to help you with peace of mind and success.

— Riitta Ylonen, Certified Feng Shui Consultant

Would you like to learn more about how Feng Shui can enhance your home and your life? Visit our Feng Shui page to learn more about how Certified Feng Shui Consultant Riitta Ylonen can help.