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On the lunar calendar, we welcome the 2016 Fire Monkey year on Monday, February 8th. This is also referred to as Chinese New Year. In feng shui, we celebrate Chinese New Year with much joy, as it represents the shift in energies and marks the start of spring on the lunar calendar.
In 2016, we are leaving the Wood Sheep year, which was more about growth and community, and heading into the Fire Monkey year, which has more of a theme of heart-focused passion and playfulness. As we welcome the new year, there are a few feng shui-specific ways of celebrating and preparing for the year ahead.
Space Clearing with Intention
One of the most important things to do for Chinese New Year is clear the space of your home and fill it with positive intention. In feng shui, one preferred method for space clearing uses the scent of oranges. You can scatter fresh orange peels around your home or use an orange essential oil mist to uplift your space. Oranges represent and create life-affirming, bright, yang energy.
I like to start at the front door and go around the whole home in a clockwise fashion. Visualize sunlight filling every corner of your home and the new intention filling your space and every cell in your body. It’s especially effective to do this on Chinese New Year’s Eve or day.
Declutter Nine Items
Removing nine pieces of clutter on Chinese New Year’s Day or on the eve of Chinese New Year will create movement and activity on a physical and energetic level in your environment. This activity works in two ways. First, you’ll be moving the qi (or life energy) around by moving the objects in your home. Sometimes we get stuck, and we can see that manifesting as clutter around our homes. By moving these nine items around, we’ll be “unsticking” that qi.
On a second level, when we remove those nine items from our homes, we essentially create a vacuum for the universe to fill with something better! A new opportunity, inspiration or insight. When the environment is static, our inner lives also become stagnant, so shake things up in your life by removing nine items!
Carry a Chinese Zodiac Charm
Many people might read this and think it would be beneficial to carry around a monkey charm in the monkey year. But in my feng shui lineage, we have been taught that it’s especially auspicious to carry around the current year animal’s best friend! The idea is that the year god (animal) will see its best friend and be so enamored that it will do you no harm.
In the Chinese zodiac system, the monkey’s best friend is the snake. A snake charm acts as a protective talisman and provides support as well. So find yourself a little snake figurine to carry around with you at all times in this Fire Monkey year. As a note, the snake must be three- dimensional and realistic looking.
In the Western world, we don’t often celebrate the Chinese New Year as much as the beginning of our own calendar, but in the world of feng shui, the beginning of the lunar year is a very important time for starting anew and taking control of the energy in our lives. Even if you don’t want to celebrate this occasion, clearing and refreshing your space can be a start to making positive and much-needed changes!
