Feng Shui, the ancient art of placement, can change your life. Using this ancient art one can, especially with intent, make changes in their living and work environments that can affect an outcome. The idea is that the simple movement of an object from a place of vagueness to a place of precision makes the energy in the space shift.
Many homeowners and apartment dwellers live in places that have inauspicious surroundings. These surroundings, as outlined in Feng Shui, require “cures” to shift their detrimental placement. Often a Feng Shui practitioner will take note of colors, symbols, and shapes of objects when making recommendations for a particular home.
Symbols are often universally used, although a person’s particular interpretation of a symbol due to a lifelong connection or as a result of a profession or belief system may alter its use within their home, across the board. Symbols for Longevity, Wealth and Prosperity, Protection, Love and Relationship are similar in most sects of Feng Shui.
Western versions of Feng Shui allow for the use of personal symbols in addition to or to replace more traditional objects. For instance, angels are not generally part of a traditional Feng Shui practice. Western spiritual beliefs would put them in the protection and guidance category and should be used that way if you are so inclined.
Popular Symbols and their Meaning
1.The Money or Fortune Frog
The Money Frog or Fortune Frog, called "Chan Chu" in Chinese, is particularly conducive to good fortune and prosperity. The Money Frog (actually a three-legged toad), is the traditional pet of the immortal "Liu Hai", who is the Chinese God of Wealth. The frog often holds a coin in its mouth and has a string of coins around his feet. He should be placed facing a main entrance, or in the Northern, Career area or the Southeastern, Wealth area, to activate prosperity in your life. This also represents the flow of wealth, money and luck. In a store, it should be near the cash register, facing the direction of the door. A family of frogs living in your garden are said to bring good luck to your home and it's occupants.
2.The Ox
The Ox symbolizes success, abundance and the accumulation of wealth. Oxen are steady, honest, gentle and reliable. Patience and hard work bring success to the Ox. The Ox brings good luck in investments, business, the stock market, career, or in any financial situation. The Ox is considered a sacred animal in many parts of Asia; and has been known to grant wishes. As an emblem of spring, the Ox represents a bountiful harvest, happiness, joyful news and signs of a good year ahead. Display the Ox in the Southeast corner of your house, to activate Wealth Energy and to generate prosperity for the whole family. The Ox makes a perfect gift for newlyweds, co-workers and entrepreneurs.
3.The Fish (Carp or Koi)
The Fish represents wealth and prosperity, and the actual word in Chinese for fish translates into "abundance". The Carp is particularly auspicious. It is noted for its strength and bravery because it swims upstream and against the current, and lives for over 100 years. In feng shui, the Carp are related to goldfish; thus placing three gold fish in a bowl brings prosperity. It is also believed that statues or pictures of Koi Carp will bring good fortune to your home or business.
4.The Dragon
The Dragon symbolizes power, benevolence, intelligence, goodwill, mystery, yang energy, strength and goodness.
The Legendary Chinese Dragon is a miraculous being with scales of the fish, antlers of the deer, mane of the horse and the claws of the eagle. It represents the very spirit of change, and can transform itself, merge with itself, and become visible or invisible in the blink of an eye.
Chinese feng-shui beliefs:
- By placing a Dragon on our desk, we can bring the "Dragon's Luck" to us as well as protect us from harmful energy.
- The Eastern region is traditionally associated with the Dragon. Hence, displaying the Dragon image on a table or in a cabinet on the Eastern side of our office or study represents excellent feng shui.
- The Dragon, however, should not be placed inside the bedroom, it is too yang a creature, to be in what should be maintained as a peaceful, restful place.
5.The Bamboo Tree
Considered to be very auspicious in Chinese Astrology; Bamboo represents growth in relationships, life, careers or money. It is believed that the Bamboo Tree helps improve positive chi and removes negativity from any space. There are some who place a Bamboo Tree, or a painting of one, in their office, to enhance positive energy and bring growth and good luck to their workspace and career.
6.The Double Eight Symbol
This symbol signifies endless or continuous prosperity. It is closely associated with Chinese beliefs where the sound of 8 is "fatt", which means Prosperity and Abundance. Also, the figure 8 is known as the symbol of Infinity. Therefore, putting these two together, we have the symbolic meaning of "Endless / Forever Prosperity". Double Happiness can also symbolize a happy relationship. It can attract romance or enhance an existing relationship. According to Feng Shui principles, if you hang this charm in the Bedroom it will bring romance and love into your life.
7. The Laughing Buddha
The Buddha Has A Protective Supernatural Power. The Buddha Is the God Of Luck, Happiness, Laughter, and Contentment. The Laughing Buddha is regarded as one of the gods of wealth, as it brings prosperity, success and financial gains to the occupants in the house, shop or restaurant. Chinese feng-shui beliefs: The placement of the Laughing Buddha is very important. It has to sit at a height of approximately 30 inches, and should be facing directly at the main door. Hence, a visitors "energy" entering from the main door is greeted by the Laughing Buddha and the energy is activated to become more auspicious. Alternatively, the next best place to keep the Laughing Buddha is on a side table, or a corner table, which is diagonally opposite to front door and facing the door. Experts believe that when you buy an image of the Laughing Buddha, three criteria should come into your selection -
1. his smile,
2. his big tummy and
3. the bag he carries; if you like these three symbols, you should not hesitate to buy it.
8. Ancient Chinese Coins
Ancient Chinese Coins are tied together with red string or ribbons to activate the essence of good fortune. Chinese feng-shui beliefs: The Coins should be hung on the inside of the doors, so as to be deemed already inside a house. Always use three, six, seven or eight coins coins, rather than four or five, as these numbers are considered very auspicious and lucky. In business, three coins tied with ribbon or string, are use to activate, or bring in, the flow of money or luck. They should be placed in a red envelope and taped under the computer at work, or taped onto the cash register or stuck on the front cover of your account ledger. The coins can also be placed in the cash box. When placing these coins on account book covers or on the inside of doors, always stick them with the yang side up; the side which has the 4 Chinese characters written on it, should be above and visible and the other side, with the two characters, should be below. When we use coins personally, it is to symbolize a never ending source of income, we can place the three coins, tied with a ribbon or string in our handbag, wallet or purse. Hanging coins on the main door handle is an excellent way to bring money luck into our home to benefit all the members of the household. The coins should be hung on the inside of the door and not outside.
Coins as Auspicious Gifts: Ancient Chinese Coins tied with a ribbon or string are very auspicious gifts, since the act of giving, in itself is most auspicious, we double our own luck each time we give some away. Add the Coins to the presents and gifts that we give to celebrate weddings and birthdays of our loved family members and good friends.
9. The Phoenix
The Phoenix is one of four ancient Chinese sacred animals (among The Turtle, The Dragon, and The Unicorn) A universal symbol of the sun, rebirth, resurrection and immortality, this legendary red "fire bird" was believed to die in its own flames, periodically (each hundred years, according to some sources) then rise again out of its own ashes. It symbolizes the luck of wish fulfillment and brings opportunities, fame and recognition. Chinese feng-shui beliefs: The luck in the Southern corner of our home or office, can be activated by placing the Phoenix there. The image of the Phoenix at a distance, also symbolizes farsightedness, which is essential for any intelligent businessman.
10. The Fu (Foo) Dogs
Foo dogs or "Shi" in Chinese, are mythic guardian creatures; part lion and part dragon. Traditionally in China, Fu Dogs are protective symbols. Their job is to sense the intentions of those who approach them and allow only those with good will and kind thoughts to be able to function within their territory. Chinese feng-shui beliefs: By positioning a pair of these dogs outside our office or home they stand guard to protect us. They protect from negative energies and ward off evil or people with bad intentions from entering.The Fu Dogs are placed outside the main door and at a high position.
11.Crystal Lotus Flower
The lotus flower represents peace and purity and symbolizes, that whenever trouble comes up, no matter how dark the waters may get, you can rise above and let the beautiful flower inside your heart bloom. Surround yourself with these beautiful crystal lotus flowers, put them close to a window and they will reflect sunlight and peaceful energy in your environment.
Said to be one of the most powerful enhancers for good luck and romance and if you place it in the Southwest it provides auspicious luck for home and business. You can also place it in the centre of your home or business to enhance wealth and overall good luck.
The lotus crystal flower is the best form of feng shui symbol to emit good chi for a more peaceful and clear mind for those intending to set important goals and achieving them. A good lotus flower is usually shown to have blossomed and have many beautiful petals around it. Crystal makes the lotus symbol even more powerful in emitting good chi and dissolving the bad ones.
12.Wealth Vase
Wealth vases are traditional Chinese items used to attract and maintain prosperity into the house. You can find wealth vases in many stores, but according to the tradition they must be created by its owner in order to attract as many benefits as possible. In the next paragraphs, we will guide you on how to create your own and how to keep it.
First of all you should pay attention to the material the wealth vase is made of, since according to feng shui, it should be in balance with the elements of the area where it will be placed. For example, if your vase will be in the southwest or northeast area of the place it should be made of crystal, or if it will be placed in the west or northwest it should be a metal one.
Once you have chosen the right vase, then you should fill it with objects which symbolize wealth or have a special meaning for you. Among the kind of items you should place in your wealth vase are Chinese coins or any coins that are special for you, gold ingots, crystals, jewelry, semi precious or precious stones, and any other personal object which symbolizes wealth to you.
It is also recommended that you cover your wealth vase with color clothes. These clothes should be placed in a specific color order: blue, green, red, yellow and white. The white one should be covering all the others and tied to the vase. Once this is done, you should never open your wealth vase again. This is a very important rule which you should follow, since if you do open your vase, it would loose its magic.
The ideal places for wealth vases to be are hidden spots such as closed shelves, cupboards or any other closed space or corner where people wouldn't be able to see it. You should take it out of its hidden place once a year at the Chinese New Year’s Day, but you should be careful that it is never opened again.
13. A Pair of Mandarin Ducks
A pair of Mandarin Ducks symbolize happiness in love and suggestive of romance, devotion, affection, conjugal fidelity, togetherness and enduring love. Mandarin ducks live in couples and mourn the loss of their mates, which is why the bird has long been regarded as the most traditional and the most potent symbol of love and married bliss in Feng Shui practice.
When placed in pair nearby their owners, Mandarin Ducks becomes a powerful cure to attract or enhance love and relationships. For singles, the pair of Mandarin Ducks will enhance your chances of finding love partners; for lovers, it will bring you marriage opportunities; and for married couples, a pair of Mandarin Ducks will hold out the promise of a marriage being gloriously happy with no separation between the spouses.
14. Wealth Ship
The wealth ship is a very popular feng shui enhancer in business premises and homes of chinese tycoons in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia. It is a secret of business success and wealth creation revealed by many wealthy businessmen. It would bring you extra income luck in the long term, boost sales and a successful leapfrogging career.
You may also have more than one wealth ship to signify not just one, but creating "multiple sources of income". It must be laden with lots of gold ingots and coins (auspicious Chien Lung coin is recommended to make it is more potent because during his era, China's foreign trade was at its peak). Similarly, you may also fill it up with jewels and semi precious stones.
Wealth ship is essential for business/career success when carefully placed in important areas. It not only create abundance in wealth, but also protect your existing wealth from being loss:
1. Display the wealth ship sailing into your homes from the maindoor (never face the ship out) to bring in wealth and multiply fortune luck into your homes at chi entry points.
2. Display the wealth ship in your living or family rooms, business premises and offices, especially in southeast corner (wealth corner) to activate and enhance your wealth luck.
3. Display the wealth ship in your office and shops to ring in more sales and achieve more monetary gains and successes.
4. Display the wealth ship filled with gold ingots (signify metal element) in the Northwest sector to activate your financial support luck for money finding opportunities.
5. The wealth ship is a must for Tycoons and for those doing any kind of business seeking for success. The symbols sends vibes to our minds to remind us of money seeking opportunities.
6. Place a wealth ship at your sheng chi sector, sailing "from" your sheng chi direction.
Note: Do not place the wealth ship in toilets and kitchen.
15. The Red Bat
Symbolically, the sound of tinkling bells dancing in the wind announces the coming of prosperity and good news. The bronze bell windchime will help to bring you an abundance of wealth luck and prosperity in your life. The bells are tied with red thread to energize the essence of their symbolic meanings.
The Red Bat is a Yang symbol of happiness and good fortune. The image of Red Bat portray that there will be always happiness and good fortune around when the bell rings.
The metal element corners of the home are the West and the Northwest corners, and these are places within the home that benefit most from the hanging of metal bell – bronze, brass, copper, aluminum and steel, which are especially potent when there are also feng shui defects to be corrected.
16. The Crane
After the Phoenix, the crane is the most favoured of all the birds as a symbol of good fortune. The crane is considered as the patriarch of all feathered creatures and is called the bird of immortality. It is symbolic of a long and smooth life and brings happiness and harmony into the home.
According to Chinese mythology, there are four types of cranes i.e. black, white, yellow and blue. The black crane is said to live the longest i.e. for 600 years.
The flying crane signifies achieving great honours and the crane gazing upwards signifies wisdom. If you display a white crane, it ensures harmonious relationship between the family members. Displaying a pair of Cranes in house is symbolic of the unity of the patriarch and the matriarch and the continuation of the family.
The best location to place the crane is in the South which could bring you lot of opportunities and fame. If placed in the Northwest, it is favourable for the patriarch of the family. If displayed in the West Sector, it benefits the children of the family. It is not advisable to place the crane in the toilet or the kitchen.
17. Pine Tree
The evergreen pine tree appears to be fresh and bright, even when very old. It is the most popular tree in Chinese art.
Because it survives even the coldest winter and never sheds its needles, it is a perfect symbol of eternal friendship, durability, and long life. A pine tree depicted together with a crane symbolizes the last years of a long life.
This makes the pine tree a favorite to plant at a grave site.
Decorating the house with a pine branch and green plants during the cold and harsh days of winter is an ancient Chinese tradition, which is not unlike the symbolism of the evergreen tree at Christmas in the West.
Feng shui favors pine trees' being planted at the entrance to the house or the garden. However, they should not grow too tall when mature, and should blend harmoniously with the total design.
18. The Peaches
Peaches are known as the fruit of heaven because of its properties of immortality.This pair of peaches promises wealth, abundance and longevity. This auspicious fruit resembles a long healthy life with great fortune for many generations. This special version of peach is made from the famous Shiwan ceramics and is suitable as auspicious gifts for birthdays and for elderly people. The pair of peaches sits majestically on a stand and could beautifully decorate our spaces, be it in the dining, bedroom or living rooms.
According to chinese texts, the fruit is served in the heaven during birthdays of deities. It is the main ingredient for making pills of longevity to grant good health, long lives and immortality. According to chinese legend "Journey to the West", the Monkey God stole peaches of immortality from the garden of the Goddess of the West, Hsi Wang Mu, and attained immortality. This is indeed a really powerful symbol.
Peaches can be placed in your living rooms to exert healthy chi and longevity chi. They can be placed anywhere especially in east sector of your homes (health/family sector). You can also place them in your dining and in bedroom to ensure you get nourishing and enough rest you need for good health. Consider this as a good gift to your friends, relatives, parents and grandparents on their birthdays. Feng Shui Bestbuy offers only fine quality peaches that are specially selected to look elegant as gifts.
19. The Deer
Deer are graceful, lovely creatures that are thought of as symbols of longevity in Chinese culture. In feng shui, many people think of deer as appropriate symbols for the east sector or the east part of the garden where they enhance the health-related properties of the east.
However, deer are also known as wealth enhancers, too. Better still, the beautiful deer represent long-lived wealth and long-term prosperity. Deer displayed in a business signify a company that will grow and prosper for many years. Place figurines of deer in the home for a beneficial, prosperous, and comfortable life for the family.
20. The Peony
One of the most sensual flowers with a delicious scent, the peony has long been used in feng shui as a cure for love & romance. This especially applies to a couple of pink peonies. The symbol of peony is often considered a metaphor for female beauty. Some feng shui masters do not recommend having the image of a flowering peony in an older couple's bedroom in order to prevent affairs with younger women.
According to a recent study, people who look at flowers the first thing in the morning feel more cheerful and energetic throughout the rest of the day. But Feng Shui adds the caveat that because the pink peony represents a young woman, it should not be placed n the bedroom of an older married couple, lest the husband have an affair with a younger woman. On the positive side of love, according to Feng Shui, if you write on a piece of white paper, with a red pen, the list of qualities you seek in a soul mate, and then put the list, along with two red peonies, in a small silver box for 49 days, you will meet the person of your dreams. The box must be in the corner of your bedroom, on the wall furthest from the doorway, in the right corner. The peony also symbolizes happy marriage, bashfulness, romance, and good fortune; it’s the flower for a 12th anniversary, and also the state flower of Indiana.
21. Dragon Turtle with a Baby Tortoise
Dragon Turtle sitting on bed of coins and ingots is a symbol of good luck, longevity, protection, harmony and money in Feng Shui. Dragon Turtle is a Chinese legendary symbol with the head of dragon and the body of turtle and thereby is a combination of the 2 out of 4 celestial animals of Chinese mythology .It has a coin in its mouth and a baby tortoise on its back. The Dragon Headed Turtle with a baby of its back while standing on a pile of coins represents a new business venture with prospects. The symbolic meanings of the animals are dragon (luck); tortoise (long life), baby tortoise (new beginnings, fertility or excellent descendants luck) and the Coins represent the Money that can be made. The dragon is said to be blowing good breathe to people and carrying Ru Yi which signifies power, high rank and doing everything well.
The ideal placement of the Dragon Turtle Feng Shui Symbol would be in the North or East sector of the house. Placing this dragon at home is said to bring the occupants of a home good luck, wealth and feeling of security. The Dragon Headed Turtle also protects a home from negative energies. Do not put the symbol in the North or East if it is directly in front of you while putting it at Office or Business place. Instead it would be best to position the symbol parallel to where you sit or right behind the seat looking sideways which signifies support. Keeping a dragon turtle will attract prosperity to your business and improves your relationships with those around you. To improve the general relationship luck keeping a piece of red ribbon in his mouth works wonders. To improve wealth a piece of golden ribbon can be kept in its mouth. If you are having Health problems place a piece of blue ribbon in his mouth. Do not place this symbol in the kitchen or bath room. Apart from being a decorative article and symbol of good luck, longevity, protection, harmony and money it is also a wonderful Gift to give someone who is starting a new Business, Career or a new Job.