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Feng Shui Power Principle - The Bagua
The Feng Shui bagua is a basic tool of Feng Shui. It is a mapping chart used to determine which part of a home relates to a specific aspect of life, such as wealth, love, or health. It helps you decide where to place the furniture, objects, and art around you to bring positive things into your life. Understanding how to use a Feng Shui bagua is a basic step in making Feng Shui adjustments.
The word “bagua” (pronounced bag-wha) means eight-sided in Chinese. The traditional Feng Shui bagua is an octagon that contains eight areas (or guas) plus a grounding center, for a total of nine areas corresponding to critical aspects of life. Modern Feng Shui uses a grid-shaped chart that contains the same eight life areas and ground center as the traditional octagon, but more closely resembles the shape of our contemporary homes.
How to Use the Feng Shui Bagua
These three simple steps will help you orient the bagua and use it to map the areas of your home, office, or business:
Step #1: Orient the bagua by standing at your front door looking into your home. Even if you usually enter your home through the garage or side door, orient the bagua from the true front door.
Step #2: Draw the floor plan of the first floor of your home, including all attached structures like a garage, side porch, or deck. Ultimately, you can draw the floor plan for each level of your home, including the basement and attic.
Step #3: Divide the floor plan into nine equal areas. Then, determine where the rooms lie within the bagua. Once you know what each area of your home represents, you can add furniture, accessories, and colors to activate these areas.
Once you have divided your home or workplace into the nine areas of the bagua, you can decorate and accessorize these areas in order to activate the specific energy for each area. Here are a few of my favorite objects to place in each bagua area to active its attributes.
Power/Wealth/Abundance:
• Valuable possessions and collections, coins
• Expensive art and antiques
• Pictures of desired objects, like homes, jewelry, cars
• Plants and flowers or images of plants and growing things
• Triangular objects
• Red, purple, dark blue objects
Fame/Future/Reputation:
• Diplomas, awards, prizes
• Pictures that represent what you want to achieve in the future
• Images of a sunrise
• Things made from leather, wool, feathers
• Triangular objects
• Red objects
Love/Relationships/Marriage:
• Photos of you and your spouse/partner
• Pairs of objects, like hearts, doves, cranes
• Pictures of romantic images and places
• Objects that represent love and marriage to you
• Triangular objects
• Red, pink, white objects
Creativity/Children/Legacy:
• Artwork and pictures that show children
• Whimsical images and images you associate with childhood
• Creative projects, craft supplies, hobbies
• Things that you associate with creativity
• Round objects
• White, pastel, or metallic objects
Compassion/Travel/Helpful People:
• Images or items that represent mentors and heroes
• Successful business projects
• Religious or spiritual objects
• Pictures of places you want to visit
• Round or oval objects
• Gray, white, or metallic objects
Self/Career/Work:
• Water features, fountains and fish tanks
• Artwork depicting rivers, lakes, waterfalls, oceans
• Crystal or glass objects and mirrors
• Items that represent career success to you
• Flowing and freeform objects
• Black and dark blue objects
Knowledge/Wisdom/Harmony:
• Books, DVDs, CDs, Tapes
• School materials and things being studied
• Artwork depicting mountains or images of wise people
• Images that represent peace and harmony for you
• Flowing and freeform objects
• Deep blue and black objects
Family/Health/Community:
• Photos and artwork of family groups, relatives, friends
• Heirlooms and valuable antiques
• Flowers and pictures of flowers and gardens
• Items you associated with family and good health
• Rectangular objects
• Green and wood objects
Well-Being/Balance:
• Artwork that depicts mountains
• Ceramic and clay objects
• Objects that make you feel grounded, stable, and secure
• Pictures of mountains
• Square objects
• Brown, yellow, and terracotta objects
When adding objects, shapes, or colors to activate a bagua area, some people are tempted to overdo it and put all of these items in each of the bagua areas of their home. I recommend you resist the urge to over-adjust. One or two items that represent the attributes of each Feng Shui bagua area for you will do the job.
Choose either a horizontal or vertical bagua, available on my website, depending on which one matches the general shape of your home.
Carol M. Olmstead, FSIA is a Certified Feng Shui Practitioner. Known as “the Feng Shui Maven,” Carol practices a contemporary version of Feng Shui that honors the essence of its 5,000-year-old Chinese heritage, but focuses on the practical applications for our culture today. Visit her website at FengShuiForRealLife.com.
The word “bagua” (pronounced bag-wha) means eight-sided in Chinese. The traditional Feng Shui bagua is an octagon that contains eight areas (or guas) plus a grounding center, for a total of nine areas corresponding to critical aspects of life. Modern Feng Shui uses a grid-shaped chart that contains the same eight life areas and ground center as the traditional octagon, but more closely resembles the shape of our contemporary homes.
How to Use the Feng Shui Bagua
These three simple steps will help you orient the bagua and use it to map the areas of your home, office, or business:
Step #1: Orient the bagua by standing at your front door looking into your home. Even if you usually enter your home through the garage or side door, orient the bagua from the true front door.
Step #2: Draw the floor plan of the first floor of your home, including all attached structures like a garage, side porch, or deck. Ultimately, you can draw the floor plan for each level of your home, including the basement and attic.
Step #3: Divide the floor plan into nine equal areas. Then, determine where the rooms lie within the bagua. Once you know what each area of your home represents, you can add furniture, accessories, and colors to activate these areas.
Once you have divided your home or workplace into the nine areas of the bagua, you can decorate and accessorize these areas in order to activate the specific energy for each area. Here are a few of my favorite objects to place in each bagua area to active its attributes.
Power/Wealth/Abundance:
• Valuable possessions and collections, coins
• Expensive art and antiques
• Pictures of desired objects, like homes, jewelry, cars
• Plants and flowers or images of plants and growing things
• Triangular objects
• Red, purple, dark blue objects
Fame/Future/Reputation:
• Diplomas, awards, prizes
• Pictures that represent what you want to achieve in the future
• Images of a sunrise
• Things made from leather, wool, feathers
• Triangular objects
• Red objects
Love/Relationships/Marriage:
• Photos of you and your spouse/partner
• Pairs of objects, like hearts, doves, cranes
• Pictures of romantic images and places
• Objects that represent love and marriage to you
• Triangular objects
• Red, pink, white objects
Creativity/Children/Legacy:
• Artwork and pictures that show children
• Whimsical images and images you associate with childhood
• Creative projects, craft supplies, hobbies
• Things that you associate with creativity
• Round objects
• White, pastel, or metallic objects
Compassion/Travel/Helpful People:
• Images or items that represent mentors and heroes
• Successful business projects
• Religious or spiritual objects
• Pictures of places you want to visit
• Round or oval objects
• Gray, white, or metallic objects
Self/Career/Work:
• Water features, fountains and fish tanks
• Artwork depicting rivers, lakes, waterfalls, oceans
• Crystal or glass objects and mirrors
• Items that represent career success to you
• Flowing and freeform objects
• Black and dark blue objects
Knowledge/Wisdom/Harmony:
• Books, DVDs, CDs, Tapes
• School materials and things being studied
• Artwork depicting mountains or images of wise people
• Images that represent peace and harmony for you
• Flowing and freeform objects
• Deep blue and black objects
Family/Health/Community:
• Photos and artwork of family groups, relatives, friends
• Heirlooms and valuable antiques
• Flowers and pictures of flowers and gardens
• Items you associated with family and good health
• Rectangular objects
• Green and wood objects
Well-Being/Balance:
• Artwork that depicts mountains
• Ceramic and clay objects
• Objects that make you feel grounded, stable, and secure
• Pictures of mountains
• Square objects
• Brown, yellow, and terracotta objects
When adding objects, shapes, or colors to activate a bagua area, some people are tempted to overdo it and put all of these items in each of the bagua areas of their home. I recommend you resist the urge to over-adjust. One or two items that represent the attributes of each Feng Shui bagua area for you will do the job.
Choose either a horizontal or vertical bagua, available on my website, depending on which one matches the general shape of your home.
Carol M. Olmstead, FSIA is a Certified Feng Shui Practitioner. Known as “the Feng Shui Maven,” Carol practices a contemporary version of Feng Shui that honors the essence of its 5,000-year-old Chinese heritage, but focuses on the practical applications for our culture today. Visit her website at FengShuiForRealLife.com.
