Feng Shui for Real Life

The color orange is the Feng Shui "social color" because it helps draw people together and encourages conversation and connection. But on the more serious side, the color orange can be used to help overcome abuse, shock, and depression because surrounding yourself with the color can make you feel energized, creative, and motivated. Surrounding yourself with orange will get you talking and keep the communications flowing.

People either love or hate the color orange. One example is the project called "The Gates," where artists Cristo and Jeanne-Claude weaved miles of orange fabric gates throughout New York's Central Park. Like the color orange itself, some people loved these gates while others hated them, but the project was an expressive demonstration of how powerful the color orange can be. You may not need to produce such drama when you use the color orange, but you can add orange to your home and workplace in both dramatic and modest ways.

Shades of orange that are close to red represent the Feng Shui Fire Element, so use it to power up a space located in the Fame, Reputation, or Love area of your home. Shades of orange like terracotta or brick represent the Feng Shui Earth Element and can be used where you need some grounding, such as in a bedroom. Click here to read more about using colors to represent the Feng Shui Elements.

Whether you love or hate the color orange, here are a few simple ways to activate the Feng Shui power of this color:

• Paint an accent wall in orange or terracotta in a room where you need to bring people together, like your family room.
• Use earthy orange in combination with other warm desert colors to stimulate collaboration in small offices.
• Add some bright orange to your studio or craft room when your creativity feels blocked.
• Wear an orange accessory when you are meeting someone for the first time because it makes you seem more approachable, especially if you are in a communications profession.
• Surround yourself with the color orange if you are recovering from an accident, surgery, or a dental procedure.
• If you are a family therapist or work with family groups, add orange accents to your office to symbolize joy in relationships.
• Display orange flowers like gladiolus or begonias when you need to boost the energy in any commercial space, especially in a restaurant.
• Throw orange pillows on the sofa or armchair to bring energy into a windowless office or dark room.

Of course, no article about the color orange would be complete without mentioning that seasonal representation of the color -- the Halloween pumpkin. The world's largest pumpkin has been grown by Ron Wallace in Rhode Island, with his massive tribute to the color orange weighing in at a whopping 2,009 pounds. That represents a whole lot of the color orange out there in the field and one pretty scary jack-o-lantern. Watch the video of this massive tribute to the color orange.