What Is Feng Shui in 2021?

Feng Shui has become an increasingly popular interior design phenomenon in recent years, especially with the rise of biophilic interior design. It’s a lifestyle philosophy that comes to us from traditional Chinese practices. Its name means “wind-water”, and comes from an ancient Chinese poem that talks of life being in harmony with the natural world. 

This is exactly what Feng Shui tries to achieve in interior design: a natural balance that tries to harness the energy and harmony of the natural world. It is believed that achieving this balance can lead to greater success in all aspects of life. To implement this balance, we need to understand and embody the essential principles of Feng Shui: the commanding position, the Bagua, and the five elements. But to be able to apply these principles today, we must first understand what Feng Shui means today.  

Feng Shui 2021

According to the Chinese calendar, 2021 is the year of the metal ox. Feng Shui indicates that it is a time when hard work and intelligence will reap the most rewards. So this means that 2021 is a year you should work to build a solid foundation for the future. It is a time for you to strive for a long-term commitment, discipline, and dedication. To ensure success, Feng Shui interior design must therefore reflect your commitment to these principles with spaces that are designed to encourage productivity and wealth. Fortunately, these goals are attainable through the roadmap that is the Bagua. 

The Year of the Ox and How It Can Affect Your Interior Design

This year favors leaders, such as managers, bosses, and directors in all fields. This is the year for leaders to attain great success and effectuate meaningful change. 

Bagua

The Bagua is an energy map meant to guide the Feng Shui traveler towards the goals they seek. The word translates to “eight areas”, which gives you a hint of where this energy map will take you. The Bagua map is usually in the form of a 3 by 3 square, though it can sometimes also be an octagon. Although a Bagua map can come in all sizes, we’re going to imagine it covering your home. It can be as big as an entire city, or as small as your face. Clearly, it isn’t a conventional map but rather a grid that delineates the flow of energy. Its eight circles correspond to eight different areas of life, each of which has its color, season, number, shape, and element. They are:

Wealth

Wealth is meant to embody abundance and prosperity. The color of wealth is purple, its shape is rectangular, its season is spring, its number is five, and its main element is Yin Wood.  

Fame

Fame represents reputation, visibility, and passion. Its color is red, its shape is the triangle, its season is summer, its number is nine, and its element is fire. 

Partnership

Partnership stands for marriage and self-care. Its color is pink, and its shape is the square. Its season changes with each year, its number is two, and its element is Yin earth.   

Tai Chi

Also spelled as Tai Qi, this area represents health and wellness. It has several colors, including brown, orange, and yellow. Its shape is also the square, and much like partnership, it also transitions between the seasons. Its number is five, and its element is earth. 

Knowledge

This area embodies self-cultivation and the improvement of skill. Its color is dark blue, and its shape is a square. Its season changes between the seasons, its number is eight, and its element is Yang earth. 

Career

This area encompasses your path in life, and its color is black. It is embodied in curvy shapes, and its season is the winter. Its number is one, and water is its element. 

Helpful People

Also known as Qian, this area represents travel, good samaritans, and benefactors. Its color is metallic gray, and its shape is spherical and circular shapes. Its season is autumn, its number is six, and its element is Yang metal.    

Children

According to Feng Shui, children symbolize completion and joy. The color of this area is metallic white, and its shape is circular. Its season is autumn, its number is seven, and its element is Yin Metal.

What Is a Bagua and How to Use It to Improve Your Life

According to the Bagua, you are the ninth component and are encircled by the eight areas which are the pillars of your life; each of which requires your attention. This might seem overwhelming, but a key thing to keep in mind is that you don’t need to work on all of these areas at once. Instead, you can choose at least three areas you want to focus on, and strengthen your home’s energy by adding shapes, elements, colors, and numbers that correspond to those areas. 

In fact, focusing on all of these areas at once would most likely be a fashion faux pas since it would put an exhausting level of variation in your interior design. That will dilute your positive Feng Shui energy, and therefore be counterproductive. 

The Map to Feng Shui

To apply the Bagua to your abode, you must make use of an accurately scaled floor plan of your future Feng Shui home. This plan should be rotated so that the front door is at the bottom, and then a three-by-three grid should be overlaid so the bottom of the grid is aligned with the front door. This three-by-three grid represents the eight areas and the self and is how you identify which Bague area to apply to which room. If you have trouble doing this on your own, a Feng Shui expert can assist you with laying out your Bagua areas. 

This can be especially helpful if your home does not perfectly line up with the three-by-three grid. You may even have some missing areas because you don’t have enough space for all the Bagua areas identified, and this is a situation that Feng Shui experts are great at overcoming. A landscape contractor can help you to bring the tenets of Feng Shui to your backyard as well.  

It's Never Too Late to Make Your Home Serve Your Best Interests

The Commanding Position

Once your Bagua areas have been laid out, all that is left is to activate the ones of your choice. This can be achieved with interior decoration changes such as adding green Feng Shui plants, adding the colors of the particular area, or even reconfiguring furniture so that there is a commanding position in the room. 

A commanding position is another one of the main tenets of feng shui. It is the point in a room that is furthest from the doorway but not on the direct pathline from the door. According to Feng Shui, this is where you should spend the most time when you are in the room in question. To replicate this model in your home, your Feng Shui bedroom should have the bed in a diagonal alignment at the commanding position. Ideally, you want to have a clear line of sight between the commanding position and the doorway. 

How to Achieve the Commanding Position In Feng Shui

Spending the most time in the commanding position of a room is an important aspect of the promotion of different areas of your life. For example, occupying the commanding position in your home study will promote your career success.   

The Five Elements 

How the Five Elements Play Into Feng Shui Design

Lastly, we have the five elements: earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. As with the eight areas, the goal in practicing Feng Shui is to balance these five elements in your home. These elements can be associated with the eight areas of the Bagua. So, if you find that the energy of your home office should embody the career area, this ties in with the water element and the color black. You should try to find ways to incorporate water into your home office’s interior design, as well as integrate the color black. This can be achieved with a small fish tank or even a miniature waterfall that has black rocks in it. By bringing in the respective elements of that life area, you welcome positive energy and change into the room. This in turn enriches your life and your home by bringing a balance between your life and the natural world.