Tag Archives: Feng Shui rituals

Chinese New Year Rituals. Attune To Prosperity.

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“Rituals are the formulas by which harmony is restored.”
– Terry Tempest Williams

You know the feelings when you’ve spruced up the house. You feel refreshed, revitalized, rejuvenated and your home beams with cleanliness. Well it’s that time again when the Chinese New Year offers the opportunity to clear last year’s dust and opens the doors to radiance and good fortune. With that spirit of inviting positive Ch’i and abundance into our homes before the year gets underway, here is your comprehensive guide to 18 Chinese New Year rituals you can easily perform on Chinese New Year eve and day (February 1) to attune to prosperity and joy in 2022.

Sweep away the old. The Chinese have long held the belief that a fresh start is essential to a successful year. The 20th day of the 12th lunar month is set aside for the annual housecleaning. January 22, 2022 brooms will come out of the closet, every corner is thoroughly cleaned and misfortune is sent flying. As you sweep imagine illness, obstacles, bad luck, negative attitudes and emotions are swept away. The meditative rhythm of sweeping draws in possibilities of a auspicious new year.

Place something at your entry that is red. Red in Feng Shui symbolism means: happiness, courtesy, respect, power and strength. Two of the front door’s attributes are your career and reputation. With that in mind visualize the red object activating Fame Ch’i.

Display a bowl of oranges in your home and money will come easily. The word for orange (Chengzi) sounds like gold (Jin) in the Chinese language.

Place a platter of tangerines on your dining room table for the saying, “Da ju da li” translates as “May you enjoy an abundance of fortune and profits.” In Asian countries it’s auspicious to place two tangerine trees at the entrance of a home or business but adding the tangerines to your dining room table stimulates your income for the table is the secondary source of your income.

Surround yourself with colorful fruit so that you will have a fruitful year is one of the well known Chinese New Year rituals. Pomelos are large pear-shaped grapefruits which mean “to have”. Pineapple sounds like wealth but its real strength is fame, promotion and excellent fortune. You can display the fruit at the front entry, the dining room, even the kitchen.

Brighten your home and your luck with narcissus (daffodils). The Chinese affirm that daffodil and Narcissus bulbs when in bloom during the New Year, bring good fortune and luck to a home. They enliven our Ch’i through the sense of smell. This adjustment calms the nervous system. With a clear mind we gain clear access to our decision making center (intuition).

Prepare a reunion dinner on Chinese Lunar New Year’s eve. This is one of the most joyful (besides setting off firecrackers) Chinese New Year rituals. The image of the circle is used in food dishes like fish balls. The circle is associated with family. This creates unity, support and continuity. This sense of family unity is called Yuan and underlies all festivals. Yuan means roundness and it suggests the attainment of the Five Fold Happiness (good luck, prosperity, happiness, wealth and longevity). Veggies embody the freshness of “evergreen” and store good fortune in their roots. Support your vitality in the Year of the Water Tiger when you include them in your first meal of the new year. Make a feast and have left overs because left overs symbolize that you’ll have money rolling into the next year. Add a little laughter! Shrimp in the Chinese language sounds like Ha, Ha, Ha and translates as merriment and well being. Joyfulness brings a future of limitless possibility. Cook a whole fish and leave some. Serve longevity noodles and eat them in one long strand (try not to break one or it will shorten your life). Add lettuce for it translates as “growing wealth”. Dumplings, jiao zi look like golden ingots. They promise wealth and prosperity. Serve nian giao, a sticky rice pudding cake which is symbolic of helping people “advance toward higher positions and prosperity step by step”. Make the evening uplifting and happy; include music and play games with your children, tell jokes and laugh.

Serve an even number of dishes (eight) to bestow “double happiness” on the family.

“Avoid cutting the luck of the year” by putting your knives and scissors away February 1. Schedule a hair trim or mani/pedi before Chinese New Year’s Eve. This admonishment is one of the most often overlooked of the Chinese New Year rituals. 

Refrain from cursing on New Year’s Day because letting your tongue fly will affect your luck for the entire year. One day of restraint could mean you’ve mastered your impulses and that can bring more opportunities than you might realize. However if you do inadvertently curse say “Tong yen woo chi!” to reverse the affect.

Slumber not before midnight on Chinese Lunar New Year’s eve to ensure good luck will cross your threshold. The sound of sleepiness in Chinese is similar to trouble. Sleepless means no trouble in the coming year.

Keep the Goddess of Poverty away “Fu” means “good fortune” or “happiness” and is represented both as a Chinese ideograph and its homophone, a bat. Placing the image of a bat (Lan Su Garden in Portland, Oregon was constructed with five bats roof tiles) or the image of “Fu” at your front entry clearly sets the intention to invite good fortune into your life.

Bring one new item such as furniture, décor or art into your home and business to stimulate prosperity Ch’i and to compound your sheng Ch’i (beneficial energy). In addition give away one item or more. This leaves both physical and symbolic space for good fortune.

Throw away china, crockery or glassware that are broken, chipped or have hairline cracks, these augur bad luck.

Break a cup or plate (or anything) during New Year say “Fall to the floor and burst into bloom!”

Dress in “up-beat” clothing or new clothes. Wearing red underwear creates a favorable beginning.

Make amends with anyone with whom you’ve had a row or falling-out.

Carry the Water Tiger’s secret friend (talisman) the Pig. “When the Tiger and Pig come together, the joy of this encounter is enough to offset any evil that the moment may harbor.” (This is one of the most important of the Chinese New Year rituals.) –HH Grandmaster Lin Yun
The exception is if your Chinese animal protector is a Snake then carry Horse and Dog as a pair.

After you have played games and eaten foods that attract fame and fortune, perform BSTB ceremonies to invite bountiful blessings. How to receive these ceremonies of the “Three Lucky Feng Shui Secret Traditions Packet” is below.

After you have played games and eaten foods that attract fame and fortune, perform BSTB ceremonies to invite bountiful blessings. How to receive these ceremonies of the “Three Lucky Feng Shui Secret Traditions Packet” is below.

Enjoy A Year of Good Fortune!
The “Three Lucky Feng Shui Secret Traditions Packet” is back! $27 + nine red envelopes. Email me at bette@shenmenfengshui.com for payment options. Nine red envelopes must be received by mail on or before January 23, 2022 to ensure your mailing will arrive in time. Revel in “Welcoming the Wealth Gods” into your home. Delight in peeling away bad luck during “the Golden Cicada” ceremony and jump up for joy when you throw the orange peel as the clock strikes 12:00 during “Changing the Ch’i….

Allow me to help you arrange your home where you feel fully supported. I am available for a full consultation Service or for an hour telephone conversation. Details are at this link Feng Shui A La Carte. Think of it as a fairy godmother for your house.

What I have discovered about our homes is that creating a heart healthy space leads to peace and contentment. The bedroom is where it begins. Start with my complimentary pdf: 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind. Design your space to your best advantage. Subscribe to my blog and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.

My apologies, due to a proliferation of spam posts, comments cannot be made.

Winter Solstice 2020. Dreaming In A New Era.

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“If you can see yourself as an artist, and you can see that your life is your own creation, then why not create the most beautiful story for yourself?” 
― Don Miguel Ruiz

Winter Solstice 2020 heralds the return to light but this year is exceptional. We will experience an astrological phenomenon of a grand design. Saturn and Jupiter in a rare, dynamic rendezvous will ascend upon the horizon just after dusk. Their massive, celestial bodies will appear like starry lovers embracing on a dance floor. Look to the west-southwest and you will see the coupled planets shining through the twilight.

What does this mean for humanity? Compared to the Christmas star that guided the wise men, the Great Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter means old, tyrannical ways will be released. Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius will help us dream in a new era where humans will experience an expansion of consciousness, compassion and concern for the well being of the eight billion people on this planet. We will become global citizens. We will see more humanitarian policies set in place. Climate change will be addressed in more aggressive measures. Technological advancement will seem beyond miraculous, so buckle up.

What it means for you personally? There will be a greater impetus to realize your purpose. If you want to write a book, change your career or begin a project, this conjunction is fresh with innovative ideas. It’s the best time to tune in. Meditate and the small, still voice will whisper with clarity. Hold your thoughts in sincerity and devotion and you will be set on a trajectory to create something new and meaningful. Give it your full expression and heart, and it will receive the support it needs.

This conjunction is considered the beginning of the Age of Aquarius. We will use empathy to change the world. “Everyone will feel encouraged to embody the highest vibration in the form of social and progressive social activism.” Gandhi’s quote will be more relevant than ever, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. 

Consider the following if you want to align with the momentum of the Winter Solstice 2020 and the new energies of Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius. Plan time to meditate and perform rituals. Engaging your senses with your psyche you will nourish your body and spirit. These practices will help you hold your life’s vision while you “write the most beautiful story of yourself”.

Straighten your house. Begin with the front entry. Remove clutter, especially shoes (or organize them). When they are in disarray (in the Chinese language it means chaos or evil reside here)  the mouth of Ch’i becomes unruly. Bad luck follows.

Wash with orange peel. Cut nine circles from the skin of the orange. You will only want to use the zest (one of the reason oranges are used is their roundness means is not only as a symbol of gold but also completeness). Break down the peels to release their essence. While you are breaking the peels into smaller pieces, visualize the light of 10,000 Buddhas is emitted into the peels. Or visualize a deity of your choice. Chant Om Mani Padme Hum nine times or say a prayer. Draw a warm bath and drop the peels into the water. Let it sit a few minutes to infuse the water. Step in and wash your body. Do not forget to wash your hair. Feel the purification. Feel your Ch’i revived and refreshed.

Purify your space. Purchase nine oranges. The night before the Winter Solstice, this year, Sunday, December 20 at 11:00 p.m. open all the windows in your home. Cut (as you do with the orange peel bath) nine circles out of each orange for a total of 81 circles of orange peel. Break down the peels to release their essence. Nuance: talk to the oranges. Tell them they are being used in the best way possible. While you are breaking the peels into smaller pieces, visualize the light of 10,000 Buddhas is emitted into the peels. Or visualize a deity of your choice. Chant Om Mani Padme Hum continuously (at least 108 times) until the last circle is broken down. Begin at the front door. Quiet your body, mind and spirit. Walk around the house either clockwise or counter clockwise. Take a very small handful and scatter the peels out, as if you are feeding chickens. This mudra feeds “the hungry ghosts”.  At the same place take another very small handful of the orange peels, cast them straight down. You are ”planting auspicious seeds”. Stay in the same place and take another small handful and throw up into the air, chant Om Mani Padme Hum in excitement. You are sending blessings to heaven. Move throughout the house, upstairs and downstairs until you have covered the house. As you are scattering the peels visualize that tens of thousands of Buddhas’s light are filling every corner of your house. Stand at one open window, take a deep, deep breath and exhale while chanting Om Mani Padme Hum nine times in short puffs (use only one breath – do your best). See the mantras cleansing the room of any negative ch’i such as illness, bankruptcy, death, etc. See the room filled with positive ch’i and good fortune. You and the room receive the blessings of Heaven and Earth. Close the windows and end the ceremony at the front door with the Calming Heart Mudra and chant Om Mani Padme Hum nine times. You are complete. If you are experiencing digestive issues do this adjustment. It will remove old patterns, resentments and vendettas.

Meditate to focus. Find a comfortable sitting position. Hold the ‘gyan’ mudra, (The Mudra of Knowledge). It will improve your mental and physical health – increasing your memory power, pituitary gland production and improves the nervous system. Touch the tip of your index finger to your thumb. Hold the other three fingers straight and stretched. Be sure they are parallel to each other. Do the mudra with both hands. Rest your hands onto your knees. Close your eyes. If you can open them slightly and focus on your nose bridge if that is comfortable. Breathe in for the count of five and exhale for the count of five. Keep your spine straight during the mediation pose. Let your mind become empty just watching your breathe (in and out). If you choose you can chant Om or Om Mani Padme Hum at least 108 times to 216 to 324 times. Hold this for at least 15 minutes if not 30 minutes. The posture will promote the flow of prana; improves focus; enhances memory and promotes of sense of balance.

Journal after meditating. The flow of Ch’i will be enhanced and your mind will be open to channel ideas and insights not available to your rational mind. Write whatever comes into your consciousness. Do not censor. Appreciate the stream coming to you and the ideas for your new project, new career or new book will flow.

If you are looking to build a new home, remodel, plan a wedding, purchase a home or sell one, when you begin has tremendous influence on the outcome of your event. Beginning on the right foot with an auspicious date and time will bring success to your endeavor. Contact me, bette@shenmenfengshui.com for details of how I can assist you with getting started.

Allow me to help you arrange your home where you feel fully supported. I am available for a full consultation service or for an hour telephone conversation. Details are at this link Feng Shui A La Carte. Think of it as a fairy godmother for your house.

What I have discovered about our homes is that creating a heart healthy space leads to peace and contentment. The bedroom is where it begins. Start with my complimentary pdf: 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind. Design your space to your best advantage. Subscribe to my blog and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.

Photo credit: Daily Express

Her House Not Only Talked, Her Feng Shui Got The Last Word.

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“A house is very much like a portrait, it gives an indication of the character at the heart of it.”
–Anonymous

“Your House Is Talking!” is an metaphor I use to explain the impact architectural details have on our health, family, career, happiness and degree of success. It never occurred to me that I might have the pleasure of hearing that a client’s house actually talked, let alone getting the last word. Dee called me last November and explained her home was a Feng Shui nightmare. She said, “Don’t get me wrong. I love my house. It sits on a quiet street, has a lot of light and the yard is a bird sanctuary but I cannot make out the Feng Shui. I need help!” I came over and saw straight from the curb the issues she was facing. Missing street numbers, missing front door from the street and the master bedroom three feet from the front door entry to the house. She admitted she was feeling vulnerable with this last arrangement and was losing sleep.“Could we make it work?” She really detested the idea of moving her bedroom upstairs. She also confided that she didn’t feel welcomed in the neighborhood. I could see in her eyes this was her dream home and the relationship wasn’t off to a good start. She had found my Chinese New Year segment on KATU AMNW and felt confident I could guide her out of her Feng Shui mess. She believed in Feng Shui and knew she needed my assistance but also yearned for reassurance that Feng Shui would be the answer. I assured her the changes would be reasonable, efficient and help her feel at peace. She nodded, took notes and as we moved through each room became more and more confident how Feng Shui would help her. When we finished she was beaming.

Whether it was her excitement to see the magic of Feng Shui work or the consultation inspired her to be her most creative, or both, Dee was zealous. She was proud of her accomplishments. She shared stories that were funny and amazing like after painting the bedroom and bathroom (her wealth gua) she received a lucrative contract for her business.

Dee worked tirelessly too, to make her home “Feng Shui” ready for the holidays. In celebration she invited her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren over for a little party. During the festivities, Matt, a big, husky guy, was standing in the kitchen and noticed the wind chime over her stove. As she told it, he screwed up his face, mimicking a comic he had seen on T.V. and said, “Oh, Feng Shui is stupid!” As quickly as he said it, a thunderous clap shook the entire house. He ducked, looked about frantically as if the walls would come down over him and said, “I promise, I won’t say that again.” Dee is a petite, demure woman with a wry sense of humor. And though she knew the house sent a message to Matt, she added with a shake of her finger, “Don’t you go saying bad about my Feng Shui.” 

Since this episode and my January follow up, Dee’s neighbors have cleaned up the jungle in their back yard and she became treasurer of the neighborhood association. She planned to refinance her house to a lower rate which meant having her home appraised. She completed all the rituals at 11 p.m. which corresponded to Chinese New Year ceremonies as well. As she described it, “Orange peels were everywhere. I was given a target and hit it out of the ball park which I owe much to you, so thank you again!” Her next agenda item is to triplicate the success and I will consult for her on her new office which is the realization of her goal to work in the city in which she lives. Dee’s story is anyone’s story and a great story: she moved into a home with Feng Shui design challenges but with perseverance, enthusiasm, TLC and Feng Shui cures, she’s feeling happy and right at home.

Epilogue:
H. H. Lin Yun would teach that every object, utensil, appliance, every furnishing in our homes are animate. “Every thing in the house and every part of the house has its own spirituality. This is true of every piece of furniture, and every system in the house.” So here is a ritual to perform in your home. “Touch the stove and visualize that the God of the Stove has become aware of you and raises its head to look at you. The God is “energized.” Then request the God of the Stove to bestow blessings upon your family, that everything you require will be made available and your resources will be abundant. You can do the same for the God of the Desk and ask for blessings for your career and that your dedication to your work will yield fruitful results. Go to the God of the Bed, touch it and visualize it listens to your request. You can ask for more restful nights or good health. If you have clutter, you can tell the object you are sending it on and thank it for serving you well. This precept gives you access to communicating with the Gods wherever you may travel, albeit your home town or a far away land. When you energize these Gods, in turn they will offer you abundant good energy.

If you feel you have benefitted from this teaching, please support the tradition of receiving transcendental cures with a red envelope. Email me bette@shenmenfengshui.com for details.

What I have discovered about our homes is that creating a heart healthy space leads to peace and contentment. The bedroom is where it begins. Start with my complimentary pdf: 27 Bedroom Concepts To Maximize Your Health, Happiness and Peace of Mind. Design your space to your best advantage. Subscribe to my blog and special offers. You’ll receive this valuable Feng Shui Guide as a thank you gift.