Q&A Sunday: Can a Mirror Face a Window?

I wanted to verify something with you if you're willing. Is it bad placement to have a mirror face a window? Thank you!

Lisa R., NYC

 

Hi Lisa

Thanks for writing in, and what a great question! Mirrors are used a lot in feng shui, and there’s often much confusion as to how to use them. In this case, no it is not “bad” or unfavorable to have a mirror face a window. In fact, it can be an auspicious placement.

In general, mirrors can symbolize and bring in water energy in areas of your spaces that lack water. An example would be if you have a fireplace (fire energy) in the Abundance (earth) area. Adding a mirror is one of the numerous ways to add water energy to tone down the fire. 

Another use for mirrors is that they can expand, extend space. For instance, if you have a toilet or bathroom in an inauspicious location such as the Fame gua (fire), then you can place a mirror on the outside of the door so that the bathroom energetically “disappears”. The reflection in the mirror expands or extends what’s reflected into the Fame area where the toilet sits.

Another example that answers your question specifically is an adjustment I personally have in my office. I have a convex mirror above the Abundance area of my desk. It reflects the image of my window, where there is a view of the East River. I have the mirror specifically reflecting the window and image of water, to bring that water (Wealth & Abundance) energy across the Knowledge, New Beginnings and Abundance areas of my desk. This brings in so much auspicious qi for my business. I also have something similar in the kitchen, where a convex mirror reflects the window and view of water over my stove. The stove represents wealth so this increases that energy of prosperity, as well as adjusting my stove location!

So, no it's not "bad" for a mirror to face a window! 

As in many cases with feng shui, the adjustment really just depends on the person and situation. If the circumstances mentioned above are similar to yours, the choice to face a mirror towards a window may well be auspicious, but if you aren't sure or have doubts, feel free to follow up or book a 15-minute consultation call!

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!

Q&A Sunday: Feng Shui and Interior Design

I've been receiving your newsletters and am an interior design student currently and wanting to learn more about feng shui. I'm half Asian and have basic understanding having grown up with the Korean tradition, but I would like to know more about about feng shui that I wish to apply to my career as a sustainable interior designer. Although there is a plethora of books and references out there, I wondered if you might be able to give me your advice on how or where I can go to learn more? I really appreciate any advice you could offer!

Emma B., Sydney, Australia

 

Hi Emma,

Thanks so much for reading my newsletters and for your question. We actually just answered one similar to this a few weeks ago. Here’s a link to it. But i’ll add some more information based on your specific request.

Since you’re half Korean, you may want to reach out to your family members to see if there are any connections to your ancestry there. Korea has their own form of feng shui called Pungsu-jiri. Most cultures have some form of “geomancy” — a way of looking at the environment and our relationship to it. By definition, geomancy is a way of divination through signs from nature, which is essentially how the art of feng shui works. You might have interest in learning more about Korean feng shui.

There are definitely many books out there, and as I’ve mentioned before, because there are so many schools of feng shui, it can be confusing, and the information may be conflicting. If you really want to incorporate this into your career, I suggest you look for a teacher locally. But if you want to just tip your toe in, my top books to recommend are:

Modern Book of Feng Shui - Steven Post

108 Ways to Create Holistic Spaces - Anjie Cho

ALL BTB feng shui books

I, of course, more deeply recommend the BTB Masters program, which currently offers a few online courses and is expanding further, and fengshuistoryboard.com, which is currently online. Each of these programs is taught by BTB feng shui masters, including some of my mentors and fellow feng shui students. 

If you are genuinely interested in incorporating the philosophy of feng shui into your sustainable design, I highly recommend finding a mentor or teacher and practicing hands-on learning and certification, as this will help you bring meaningful adjustments to your design work. Good luck in your studies! 

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!

Q&A Sunday: Bedroom Colors and the Bagua

I'm confused when it comes to bedroom feng shui. I see a lot of articles on creating a bedroom space that's romantic, with colors of red/pink, etc. But what about the area in which the bedroom is on the bagua map? My bedroom is in the Family area which has different colors and shapes, etc. than the Love & Relationships area. What's the best way to set up a bedroom like this?

Jennifer S., Madison, WI


Hi Jennifer

Thanks for your question! it’s a really good one, and it comes up a lot. Here we’re looking at two different approaches or feng shui techniques. 

First off, when writing a general post on feng shui for a bedroom, I try to make it as crowd friendly as possible. The bedroom can be in any area of the feng shui bagua map, but it’s always a bedroom! So usually I approach it from the knowledge that the bedroom can be in any bagua area, however here are some ways to work with the bedroom in light of what a bedroom is generally used for: sleep, or healing, or in the case that you mentioned, to encourage romance. 

It’s actually a great idea to also approach the bedroom with regard to where it’s located on the feng shui bagua map. You mentioned that your bedroom is in the New Beginnings (Family) area and it’s not in the Relationship area. You can possibly see that with your bedroom in this area, there can be opportunities for energy and growth in your relationships, especially your primary relationship. Your bedroom doesn’t have to be in the Relationship area to use the colors related to the Relationship gua. You can invoke romantic colors in your bedroom (in New Beginnings area) to create and invigorate new relationships. Or you can use the colors of New Beginnings (green) to encourage growth and healing in your personal life. But without talking to you, I can’t tell you what is the “best” way to set up your bedroom. 

This is where a feng shui practitioner can be very helpful. My friend and colleague, Doris Ingber, calls what you’re looking at as “Barnes & Noble Feng Shui”, where you read things here and there and work with things in a very literal way. There’s nothing wrong with this, because it’s a step in the right direction! But a skilled feng shui consultant can help you use the feng shui principles in a more precise and effective way depending on what your needs are. It’s sort of like working with a doctor or looking on WebMD 😃 But if that’s not something you’re interested in, I’d advise you to look at what you want to achieve in your bedroom, and take the advice on the posts that resonate with you.  

We’re also doing a raffle on the podcast in May through June 2017, so be sure to enter and you will have a chance to win a free mini-consultation with me that we’ll share on the podcast. There we could look at your bedroom more closely! Until then, take a peek at some of these bedroom feng shui posts to see what you can glean!

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui or Green Design questions!