Come On Inside
An English philosopher, Stephen Gardiner, wrote, “The interior of the house personifies the private world; the exterior of it is part of the outside world”. That about sums it up. When considering the outside garden, the road and surrounding area, there are more complex Feng Shui points to consider and I recommend checking out Clear Englebert’s books for a range of information on roads and the outside area, particularly if you are buying a house with a garden.
The key focus of this blog is about balancing the interior but what is happening outside is also important to consider. Check out what businesses are nearby and the general surroundings. Places have been rejected if near restaurants, bars and busy roads even if the apartment were lovely. We have also passed on isolated residential areas wanting to have easy access to cafes, shops and life. It is all about what you resonate with. Ask yourself, if there are gardens, are they well kept and loved? Is the area around looked after? See, a lot of this is common sense.
Location, Location, Location
Look at the location and see if the place is at the end of a T-junction. Feng Shui practice views this as all of the energy driving down and going directly into the house or building at the end of the road. More practically, think of a car driving towards the end of the junction, often car lights beam straight into the house and the driver has to turn quickly around the corner. Another practical tip.
Another tip is to visit the home late at night and preferably on the weekend to see what happens. The only time we didn’t visit at night for a noise check, we ended up renting a Malaysian apartment to find out that on a nearby roundabout really noisy car racing occurred into the night and bets were being taken by local garages! Lesson learnt.
If there is a shop nearby, don’t be afraid to ask what the area is like. There was a beautiful apartment at a good price in one city and we asked the local shop about the street. The shop owner said that there were lots of noisy AirBnBs and there was one very big family always arguing late at night! We walked away.
Find out about what building repairs have been done, or need to be started for the whole building or house. You may need to pay for a report but it could be worthwhile. This homework will tell you about the general energy of the place especially if it is an apartment in a block. Also ask why it is being sold. At one apartment we were told that the family was up-scaling and we wondered as there was no sign of any children or students in the furniture and decor. Having let the real estate agent know that we were just starting to look, he quietly let us know that the whole building was being renovated and the building rates would double. That alone would have been a no. So ask that question, why are the owners selling and look around to use your own judgement. Just don’t take the answer as the correct one, ask further questions and use your common sense.
Good Neighbours
Enquire about businesses and the general neighbours around the building, if possible. We bought a place in Berlin which we both thought might be isolated but there wasn’t much on the market. We were right. In the end, we were so lonely as it was very quiet and depressing with a small basic supermarket and no other services. Eighteen months later we were lucky to sell to our neighbour and happily moved closer to the city to an apartment we revitalised and loved.
Become friends with the selling agent and ask for a floor plan or at least ask if you can take photos. If this isn’t possible, take a pen and paper and draw a rough plan within a square include the size of each room and use the Bagua map to see and note what areas are missing. These are called ‘missing sectors’ but don’t panic, just note where they are.
The Front Door
Jeannette Winterson said, “Our own front door can be a wonderful thing, or a sight we dread; rarely is it only a door”. The front door is considered to be the ‘mouth’ of the home and the windows are seen as the ‘eyes’. Just stand back outside the front door and ask yourself or ask a friend to look at it and see what it says to them. Is it welcoming, obvious or hidden and what happens when you open the door? Sometimes your front door instantly faces a staircase or steps. This often appears in European houses or in large houses with big staircases. If the stairs are opposite the main entrance and very close to the main door, the Chi will want to race straight upstairs and you will need to slow the energy down. It will feel like an abrupt stop and that you should run up the stairs missing out on the energy of other rooms. There are some simple remedies including putting small lamps on the steps and pictures going up the wall for people to view and to slow down the pace.
There may be enough space between the door and stairs and the natural Chi energy doesn’t feel like rushing upwards and therefore; it isn’t an issue. Use your own energy to test this out. We had a townhouse with a short space between the door and very steep stairs straight up. We placed small lanterns on each second step with battery-operated candles for safety and bright artwork was hung on the wall to catch people’s attention and to let the Chi move slowly and naturally up the stairs. There are specific posts on this and it is important to manage.
The Corridor Effect
Other remedies have included using a bookcase or a dividing screen to section off the entrance as if there were a small portico. A friend who is renting has used an IKEA bookcase as a wall so that when people enter they see attractive books and ornaments on shelves and then walk into the living room. It is elegant, inexpensive and also full of interesting vintage pieces. Then the next step for the Chi is to turn in to the kitchen rather than going straight down the corridor to the back door.
Another Feng Shui tip is one that is often used. Hang a small crystal ball suspended from the ceiling via a screw eye hook and with fishing line. This attracts the Chi attention. State out loud that this will ‘keep all positive energy in the room’. Pendant crystal light fittings can create a similar effect. There are lots of tips on crystal ball remedies in other chapters but this is important and they need to be of clear crystal and similar to a small disco ball to catch the light and attention.
Entrance Tips and Tricks
Get rid of clutter, rubbish and clutter in every sector as you are clearing out old and often dead energy. I can’t count how many times I have tripped over shoes, bags and pulled back coats just in the front entrance to even get inside. Just tidy it up or store it away. This is also allowing new energy in and gives the entrance a chance to open up into the rest of the home.
Keep the Bagua map close by and observe that the basic cycle has the Fire element creating the Earth, the Earth element polishing Metal, Metal then cleans the Water element and Water feeds the Wood element. Avoiding the opposing elements will also be highlighted in that Fire absorbs the Water element, Metal chops down Wood, and the Water element muddies Earth. There are many other rules to consider as you will discover in other posts and there are remedies as well.
Don’t forget that it is important to have worked out where each sector is placed and if any area is missing. A note, if you use another door as the main door such as a back door or the garage door, you may want to rethink going back to using the original front door instead or re-orientate your map to that door. The message you are sending using an alternative door is stating that this is the entrance to the energy of your place.
Final Thoughts
As always, Feng Shui is also practical, fix the broken lock, the squeaky window, any broken external stairs and clean up any clutter. This is the first area that the Chi energy is entering and if it isn’t welcoming, clean and working, you may want to ask yourself, why.
