Intelligent application of the yearly feng shui updates in your home or office
The annual feng shui updates info is very popular with most feng shui practitioners and enthusiasts. These updates are based on a Classical feng shui school called the Flying Stars school that tracks the movement of specific energies called stars, in time. There are 9 feng shui stars, 5 positive and 4 negative; they move each year according to a specific pattern and “visit” various areas of your home. When a bagua area is visited by an auspicious feng shui star, one will focus on strengthening and nourishing the specific energy of the star so as to benefit from its potential. And when you have a negative star in any bagua area, you will do your best to negate or at least considerably weaken the negative energy brought by it. Many specific annual feng shui cures are recommended for specific stars in specific bagua areas; most cures are based on the play of the five feng shui elements.
Sounds quite simple, but it tends to get complicated! What do you do if your bedroom or your front door is in a bagua area affected by a negative star? How about “heavier” areas of one’s home, such as closets or laundry rooms, is it good or is it bad when they are visited by a negative star? And how do you welcome a visiting star when it requires a feng shui decor that is very different from what the bagua area usually needs? What are the priorities and how do you keep it all balanced? Is it really important to apply the annual feng shui updates? Let me answer these questions one by one.
Q: My bedroom is in one of the worst feng shui stars this year and I read online that I should not sleep there. Is this true? I do not want to move to another room.
A: The only thing that is true in this statement is that a negative feng shui star is in a bagua area where your bedroom is located. This is the only true statement here. I rarely, if ever, suggest such radical movements, and I never suggested it because of a negative annual star. A truly valid reason for moving your bedroom is having a bedroom in a very high EMF area, which can be very dangerous to your health, or when there are strong earth energies in the area of your bedroom that can challenge one’s health and well-being in the long term (such as the presence of strong currents of underground water, for example). If you have a spare bedroom and do not mind making it your bedroom for a while, you can sure do that. Otherwise, my best suggestion is to focus on creating a healthy, beautiful, and nourishing bedroom with the best feng shui energy.
Q: My front door is in a very unlucky feng shui star that brings illness, is there anything I can do other than use the door as little as possible?
A: If you can use the front door as little as possible this will certainly help in keeping the energy of this star undisturbed, so to speak. One of the main recommendations with all negative feng shui stars is to keep the areas they visit undisturbed, so this is a wise step to take. The next recommendation is to understand how the feng shui element of the negative star interacts with the element of the bagua area where your front door is located — and use the best feng shui cures and decor elements to weaken the element of the negative star. Read the current yearly updates with specific suggestions for each negative star and do your best to understand how the five elements interact. Once you understand the basics of the five elements interaction, you will gain more confidence (and peace of mind!) in dealing with the negative annual feng shui stars.
Q: The busiest closet in my home is where there is an awesome feng shui star this year. Is this good or bad for me?
A: It is usually considered good when a negative star is in an area that is “heavy” such as a closet, or a garage. The reason for it is the belief that the heaviness of the area (closet, laundry room, garage) will suppress the negativity of the star. However, when a beneficial star is visiting a heavy area of your home, it is wise to clear it well and bring fresh and clean energy to it. Of course, you do not have to wait for a beneficial star to visit the area where your closet is located. Do your best to have clear and beautiful energy in your closets at any time, and with any star, be it a positive or a negative feng shui star.
Q: I do not understand how by decorating with a feng shui element that is bad for a bagua area I am creating good energy there. Can you explain?
A: Yes, I know, this can feel confusing. The first thing I always recommend is to apply the yearly feng shui updates only after you have been working with the bagua of your home for a while. This means the bagua of your house is well-balanced and the feng shui elements are nurtured and supported in their respective bagua areas. Only after you have a good energetic foundation in place, it makes sense to apply the annual updates, this is just an additional layer. It is a temporary adjustment that one might wish to apply in their home, and it is always best done wisely and by trusting your own intuition. This can happen only when you know your home well and are sure that its bagua needs are well-supported. In some years, you will need to bring a feng shui element that will weaken, or put down the main element needed in a specific bagua area. However, as mentioned before, you do this as an additional temporary layer on what you already have, rather than by changing the area completely. Working with the annual updates is a subtle, even tricky process, it is easy to get carried away by the fear often present online on this topic. My stance on all things feng shui — and especially on the annual feng shui updates — is to stay empowered and trust your intuition. Nobody knows your home as well as you do. With the exception of a really good and wise feng shui consultant, if you are working with one. I highly encourage you to apply the annual changes only when they feel right, and make sense.
Q: What are the priorities in applying the annual feng shui updates?
A: As strange as this might sound, the priority in applying the annual feng shui updates is to go back to basics and really sense and see what is happening in your home. This means you might have a strong motivation to clear your clutter , as well as check how each room and area in your home are doing. How nourishing and sensual is your bedroom? How happy is your kitchen? How do you feel in your bathroom? So you look at your home with fresh eyes, and you check the health of each bagua area. Only when this process is well done, you can look at the annual feng shui updates and see what new adjustments you can make in your home and still keep it all balanced.
I often compare the annual visiting stars of a negative nature to visiting guests that you cannot refuse in your home (for whatever reason that might be). Knowing their negative traits, you tolerate them for a while, at the same time making sure that everyone in your family still stays happy and important things are taken care of, till the day these negative visitors are set to leave. Basically, when you have someone staying with you for a while — let’s say a relative you really, really do not like — you make wise adjustments in your home rather than do a complete overhaul in order to accommodate them, right? The same exact process applies to the annual feng shui updates — apply wise and necessary steps to keep the overall energy in your home balanced, and keep an eye on the bagua areas that have negative feng shui stars as yearly visitors.
Q: Is it really important to apply the annual feng shui updates?
A: The answer depends on where you are in your feng shui work and how balanced is the energy in your home. If you have mastered the bagua of your home, and are comfortable with the five feng shui elements decorating, then this can be important if you actually energetically feel as the right step to take. However, if you have just started working with feng shui and are still applying the basics, the annual feng shui updates can create chaotic energy and confusion. It is a bit more advanced work, and much depends on how it is applied in one’s home as every home is unique and there are many details to consider.
The decision to apply (or not) the annual feng shui updates has to come from your own inner knowing, as well as from a well-established relationship with the energy of your house; a relationship based on respect and trust. Your house has its own voice and its own needs, so you can always ask and then listen. I encourage you to never apply the updates out of fear, or because you think it is important, but rather from simple knowing that this is the right step to take for you and your home this year.
