The Quick Guide to Feng Shui Basics

Looking for more balance in your home’s interior? Feng shui can help you create a comfortable, composed, and cohesive space that you truly love. As we’ll cover in this quick guide to feng shui basics, the principles behind this ancient Chinese practice are more about body and spirit than simple interior design. These feng shui basics can make a big difference in how you feel about—and feel in—your home.

What is feng shui?

Feng shui, which has its roots in Chinese astronomy, is the practice of arranging your living spaces to manipulate the balance of energy (chi) throughout your home’s interior.

Sometimes referred to as Chinese geomancy, the goal of feng shui is to purposefully affect the naturally occurring energy forces throughout your home to make them work for you instead of against you.

One of the primary ideas behind feng shui is that an imbalance in energy can cause emotional and spiritual harm, blocking positivity and standing in the way of our own health and prosperity. By organizing your space for optimal energy flow, you can reset the balance and create a space that truly works for you.

When did feng shui originate?

Feng shui has been around since at least 960 B.C., which is when we have the first documented recording. It achieved mass prominence during Zhou’s rulership in China, lasting from 770 B.C. to 475 B.C.

Over the years, feng shui has evolved to incorporate new tools. The magnetic compass invented about 3,500 years after feng shui itself is one of those tools. Today, feng shui practitioners use a magnetic compass to situate structures and items throughout a room, usually from the vantage point of the front door. (Though for this basic guide to feng shui, we’re focusing on things that anyone can do to bring more balance to their space—no magnetic compass required.)

Guide to feng shui: the 5 basic elements

There are five elements at the heart of feng shui:

On their own and together, these elements of feng shui serve to affect how we interact with our space directly—and how our space interacts with us.

Wood

The use of wood elements in our homes helps promote creativity, strength, and intuition. Blend clean lines with more organic shapes, ample use of plants, wood furniture, and natural fabrics like linen and cotton.

Fire

Fire represents leadership and can help us feel bolder and empowered at home. There are a variety of ways to bring more of it into your space. Use the enhancement of natural light. Use mirrors near or across from windows if you don’t get enough natural light. You can also use candles, animal prints, and fire colors like red, yellow, and orange.

Earth

Bring the outside in to feel more grounded and balanced. The use of earth tones—think brown, green, sand, and sage—as well as landscape imagery are both simple ways to achieve this.

Water

Water is the element of spirituality and encompasses our emotions, insight, and inherent wisdom. Mirrors and glass can add more of this element to your space, as can water features and décor in wavy, asymmetrical shapes.

Metal

The last element of feng shui is metal, representing clarity and focus. This can be added to your space with metal objects (gold, brass, silver, etc.), as well as items in metallic shades, round or oval-shaped objects, and rocks and stones.

In all aspects of feng shui, balance is key. Too much of any feng shui element can serve as a spiritual stop-gap, working against the energy flow instead of with it.

Some signs that you need to scale back with one or more elements include feeling overwhelmed, stagnant, or stressed in your space or if your room feels chaotic or out of focus. If you notice any of these signs, look for what you can remove instead of what you might need to add.

What are the benefits of feng shui?

Does all of this talk of balance and energy flows sound a little too out there? One of the great things about feng shui is that, when it’s done right, it can provide benefits that you can feel, beyond just broad, difficult to pin down concepts or ideas.

Of course, feng shui is no magic cure-all. And any time you’re dealing in the metaphysical, your results may not be incredibly obvious—at least not right away. With that in mind, here are some of the major purported benefits of feng shui that make the practice worth exploring for the everyday homeowner or renter.

• • Protection: It’s thought that proper alignment in your space can clear negative energy that may cause you harm.
  • Relationships: Our space can impact how we relate to others. Feng shui focuses not just on general balance but on balance between beings, which can help both you and your partner (or roommate, family member, and so on) feel more at peace alone and with each other.
  • Creativity: When we block the flow of energy, we also block the flow of creativity. If you feel uninspired in your home, feng shui may be able to help break through that creative wall.
  • Success: Ultimately, we’re all responsible for creating our success, but feng shui can help you reach your highest potential in terms of productivity and prosperity, with specific principles guided toward doing just that.
  • Luck: Certain feng shui tips can put you on the fast track to better luck, such as the use of the color red, black colored crystals (like tourmaline), or certain plants, such as the snake plant.

  What are the basic rules of feng shui?

  No guide to feng shui would be complete without proactive tips that you can use right now to better your home. Ranging from simple fixes to more involved re-decorating projects, these tips and tricks are things anyone can do to incorporate feng shui principles into their space—yes, even beginners!