Fountains and Feng Shui
'Feng Shui' is a phrase that is used very often nowadays, but a lot of people don’t even know what it is. Feng Shui (pronounced fung-shway) is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony and promote the flow of positive energy, which is called chi (pronounced ‘chee’). The literal translation of Feng Shui is ‘wind-water’. Although its popularity in Western culture has only recently developed, Feng Shui is an ancient tradition that has been valued for hundreds of years. More and more people are starting to catch on to its benefits and are applying it to their own homes.
There are a multitude of different methods for applying the principles of Feng Shui to your home, office, or place of business. The most common uses the relationship of the five elements – earth, wind, fire, wood, and metal. The basic principles of Feng Shui instruct that in their balanced state, the five elements represent harmony, yet each element can weaken or strengthen the other elements in a variety of beneficial and detrimental ways. If you have too much or not enough of one element, this can lead to negative chi. The five elements each correspond to certain colors and objects: Metal - Related color is white. Metal can be introduced through any sort of metal object whether it is furniture, a metal window frame, a sculpture, or wind chimes.
- Wood - Related color is green. Use any kind of wooden objects such as furniture, wood trim in your home, wood floors.
- Fire - Related color is red. Introduce the element of fire as candles or incense burning.
- Earth - Related color is yellow. Introduce as any kind of clay or ceramic objects – pots, bricks, tiles, figurines.
- Water - Related colors: black, blue. Water can be introduced into your home décor as a fountain, aquarium, or simply a vase of water.