The state of your garage matters, and here’s why
After basements and bathrooms, garages are next in their bad feng shui reputation. These places do present considerable energetic challenges for your home, this is true, but not if you learn to work with their energy.
In the Western world, garages are even more of a challenge because they tend to take a lot of energetic and physical space, both in the inner and the outer feng shui of a house. When you look at a typical Western house, most of the time you will see the garage having a prominent and much stronger presence than the front door, taking into itself the flow that is supposed to go towards the front door of the house.
Energetically, this speaks of our consumerist culture and the insatiable hunger for material things. The vital “mouth of Chi” that is meant to attract the joy, health, and abundance we need and deserve, is shut and overpowered by the delusional pressure of superficial things.
One of the most frequent questions I receive about garages is about their inclusion in the bagua of one’s home. Do I include it in my bagua? Can I leave it out of the bagua? Well, leave it out where? I know there are feng shui consultants who will tell you not to include the garage, but this is like a doctor telling you not to include you clogged liver in your health check because it is too problematic. If it is part of your house, shares the same external walls and roof, then it is part of the “territory” that you are connected to and responsible for. Unless you have a detached garage, it is included in the bagua of your home. This presents additional challenges, for sure, as well as most probably quite a bit of effort to bring it to a state of order and balance.
To help you out, here are the main steps to take when you are ready to neutralize the potentially negative energy of your garage. Before we start, let me say that I also have seen meticulously taken care of garages, healthy and bright, so I know this is possible. It is my duty to tell you that you need to take care of this energy because it is part of your house and it influences its energy. Turning your back to the state if your garage doesn’t make it disappear or magically make it better. Magical thinking has no place in intelligent feng shui, meaning feng shui that actually works long term.
There are 3 steps you need to go through in order to assure the energy in your garage is not ruining the overall good energy in your home.
Step 1: Return the voice and the energetic power where it rightfully belongs — to your front door.
Go outside and honestly assess the energetic presence of your garage. Do you have a “bossy” garage that completely silences your front door? Does it compete with the front door? Does it create visual confusion as to where the energy should flow? You need to return the power to your front door so as to return the proper balance to the right flow in your home and in your life. Remember that when you work on the feng shui of your home you are actually working on your own life in its many expressions and areas, from health to love to to money and spiritual growth. This is subtle energy work and the change rarely happens overnight. Nevertheless, it is powerful and need not be neglected. You need to visually strengthen your front door with color, proper object placements, a stronger pathway to the front door, and weaken the energy flow to the garage door.
Step 2: Lighten up and clear your garage.
Most garages present health challenges on both subtle and concrete levels. On a subtle level, they are often cluttered and let’s be honest, just plain ugly. Given the fact that many people use the garage entry to come into their home, this in time creates a depressive and negative quality of energy that influences those who live in the house, even if the home itself is beautiful and well taken care of. I encourage you to pay attention to your garage and create order and beauty there. It is part of your home, part of your everyday experience and it deserves to be treated respectfully and beautifully.
On a concrete level, garages present health challenges because of the potentially toxic fumes spreading into the house, so wise feng shui would be to avoid having a bedroom or a living room above the garage. You will also be wise not to have a kitchen or dining close to the garage door so as to prevent toxic air to accumulate in areas where you focus on nurturing yours and your family’s health. Having a kitchen or dining close to the garage door is considered bad feng shui for very practical reasons.
It is best to park the car head first so that the exhaust fumes are close to the outside door versus the door where you enter your home. There are many details that can be covered here, all depending on your specific floor plan, but I trust I have given you enough info to make you aware of the importance of your garage space within the overall energy of the house, to make you want to start implementing change.
Step 3: Enhance or neutralize its bagua area influence.
Either you like it or not, your garage is part of your bagua (unless it is detached from your house), so at some point when you start doing honest feng shui work you will have to accept that one of your life areas, as defined by the bagua, is in the garage. It is best to do this step after you have fully implemented the first two steps. What can you do when an important life area is connected to the bagua area your garage is in? After thoroughly cleaning and organizing it, as well as bringing a sense of beauty, you can apply these basic tips for a garage in specific bagua areas.
Love area – bring the Earth feng shui element decor, find a way to represent togetherness (meaning emphasize number two in any of the prominent decor items there).
Creativity/Children Area — emphasize the Metal feng shui element (easy in the garage with all the typical metal shelving) and find a way to bring some color and creativity (art supplies, maybe frame your children’s art, etc).
Helpful People/Blessings Area — same about the Metal feng shui element (easy to achieve in the garage with all the typical metal shelving), also find a way to express gratitude for all you have in your life.
Career Area — Metal feng shui element is good here too, as well as the Water feng shui element. An image of water (waterfall or ocean is excellent, or a mirror, kept clean). Feng shui-wise, a garage in the North area is considered challenging, you need to be sure to emphasize the Water feng shui element here, as well as keep it clean and tidy.
Personal Growth and Self-Cultivation — also considered challenging to have a garage in this bagua area of your home. Emphasize the Earth feng shui element (crystals and rocks, colors, shapes), and focus on expressing the energy of personal growth.
Health and Family — bring the Wood feng shui element (wood shelving is an easy way), and quite a bit of the Water feng shui element with images, colors or mirrors. For example, painting your garage walls in blue color can help the health energy needed here.
Wealth and Money — also a challenging bagua area to have the garage in. Follow the same advice as for the Health & Family bagua area and add a representation of wealth. It is very important to keep it organized and clear.
Fame and Reputation — Wood and Fire feng shui elements are good here, as well as keeping it clean and bright. Paying attention to the quality of light in your garage, intentionally, can help the energy of this bagua area.
These are very general recommendations, and of course, always best implemented in a way that makes practical and visual sense. My main focus here is to create more awareness of how important it is to take care of the challenging areas in your home instead of ignoring them or pretend that they are not part of your house. The purpose is to take care of their energy because the good feng shui of your home depends on good energy in each part of your house, just like the good health of your body depends on each organ and part of your body functioning to its best capacity.
