I noticed that there’s a “knowledge” area on the feng shui map, and I’m wondering what that means?

In case anyone isn’t familiar with the feng shui bagua map, it’s a tool that feng shui practitioners use to assess and adjust the energy of a space. It’s usually depicted as a three-by-three grid, and it’s made up of eight life areas around a center.

One of these life areas is the knowledge area. It’s called Gen in Chinese. It’s also about self-knowledge, self-cultivation, and skillfulness. It’s represented by the color dark blue, the number eight, square and flat shapes, and the element of yang earth. Yang earth is like a big mountain, one that you might climb to the top of to meditate.

To find the knowledge area of the bagua, stand at the front of your home or bedroom looking in, and imagine a three-by-three grid laid over the home or room. The corner that is closest to you on the left-hand side is the knowledge area.

This area of the bagua is related to your spiritual development as well as your skills and wisdom in mundane areas of life such as your career. It’s a great place for a library or a meditation space. Both books and meditation are related to the knowledge area. Reading books can be educational, and meditation assists in your spiritual development. Experience and practices like reading and meditation are really the most impactful way to cultivate yourself, and they may be especially effective if you do them with intention in the knowledge area of your home.

If you want to take it a step further and incorporate color, try a dark blue bookshelf or meditation pillow, since dark blue helps to activate the knowledge area.

by Anjie Cho