Feng Shui your home for the holidays
Decorating for the holidays is a great time to draw attention into your home with intention toward what you’d like to experience for the holidays. Instead of just going through the motions of what you’ve done in the previous years, start this holiday season with a plan to nurture your soul with intentions of ease, peace, harmony and joy.
You have control to make changes by using your Feng Shui eyes (seen) to consciously decorate keeping flow, peace and harmony in mind, and your Feng Shui mind (unseen) to create the intentional flow of nurturing yourself, family and friends. Follow these steps to create a harmonious holiday season for you and your loved ones for years to come.
Inner Feng Shui Mindset "the unseen"
1. It all starts with your intention
Have a conversation with your family and collaborate what you’d like to experience this year to bring more joy and peace into your home.
Are you in love with your traditions and your decorating style or do you want to create something new? Does it mirror who you are today? Are you overdoing it? Do you want to simplify? Do you need to step up? Do you want to donate your time or gifts to charity?Make an intention of how you are going to react during challenging situations that may pop up during the holidays. You may not be able to control how Aunt Betty acts when she’s had a little too much to drink, but you can control how you react. Work together as a family to keep each other in check.
2. Take good care of yourself
Winter is time of going inwards and slowing down, but the holiday season often has us pushing harder than we normally do.
Get plenty of rest.
Meditate and set intentions everyday for how you want your day to unfold.
Spend some time alone everyday, and concentrate on your breath even for 5-10 minutes to regroup.
Let go of control and ask for help. Don’t do it all yourself. If you hate hanging lights then hire someone to do it for you. If the thought of decorating is overwhelming, get your friends or family to pitch in and intend to make it a fun experience.
Plan for meals, shopping and budget for gift giving etc.
Spend time outdoors everyday- go for a walk even if it’s around your house or block. Take in the beauty of the night sky and the light of the sunshine during the day.
Be kind to yourself. If you overindulge, don’t beat yourself up. Allow yourself to enjoy and know you can always start over tomorrow.
Outer Feng Shui Eyes "the seen"
1. Make space for decorations and gifts
Clutter impedes the flow of energy and causes stress. In order to receive gifts or new things in your life you need to make space for them. And if you don’t love the gifts you’ve received, give them to someone else who will love them, or give to a charity. Gifts that are not used or loved become clutter.
Before decorating pick up anything that doesn’t belong in the room and remove accessories to allow room for your holiday decorations. Decorate your tree mindfully. A Charlie Brown Christmas Tree represents scarcity and low energy however an over decorated tree represents a cluttered mind and can feel overwhelming.
2. Only use decorations you love
Remove decorations that you have grown tired of, or are worn out. Remember that anything you place in your home affects your subconscious mind. So if you walk by something you don’t like it lowers your happy vib.
3. Organize your bins for decorations
When putting your decorations away this year, store in coordinated bins and bags that are labeled so you can easily locate your items the following year. Go through your lights and discard the ones that are burnt out. Only place in your bins what you know you will use again.
4. Place your Christmas tree in the best location to attract what you want in your life.
A Christmas tree is a powerful symbol that can be used to attract more of what you desire in your life. It draws attention and represents the energy of wood (growth) and also of fire (attraction and action). A live tree is preferred to signify growth. Choose the life aspiration you wish enhance and place your tree in that corner of your home or room of the magnetic direction associated with it. Intentionally decorate and use decorations that represent that which you want to attract into your life.
For instance, if you want to attract a soul mate than add things in pairs on the tree in red tones and place your tree in the South West. Or hang family pictures on the tree to enhance your family relationships and place tree in the East. Mindfully decorate your tree to attract more of what you desire in your life and do so with feeling and intention. You can even say a prayer or blessing as you’re trimming your tree thanking God/Universe in advance for bringing these things to you.
North (Career and Life’s Journey)
Northeast (Self Cultivation and Knowledge)East (Family)Southeast (Wealth and Prosperity)South (Fame, Reputation, Recognition)Southwest (Love and Partnership)West (Children, Creativity, Inner Child)Northwest (Helpful People and Travel)
Avoid placing the tree in center of home (Unity, Health). This is a yin area and is meant to be a place that is more quiet and nurturing, not stimulating.
5. Decorate with nature’s beauty
Use the energy of the wood element and decorate with evergreens, flowers, nuts, berries, and pine cones to naturalize your home. Add a pair of red flowers to spice up romance during holidays and place in the romance area of your home in the southwest. And of course hang mistletoe throughout the home.
Amaryllis represents beautyHolly symbolizes everlasting lifeMistletoe symbolizes affection, magicPeony represents love, happy marriage.Pinecones symbolizes human enlightenment, sacred geometryPoinsettia symbolize good cheer and successEvergreens represent calm, cool attitude, longevity, strength, determination, and revitalization
Use the water element to cool things down.
Add your branch cuttings, berries and flowers in vases filled with water. Or add candles floating in glass containers.
Decorate with the earth element and play with rocks, crystals, shells and sand.
6. Color Psychology
Red attracts and causes excitement, but be cautious, an overabundance may cause tension and arguments.
Burgundy, Plum, and Fuchsia, Brighter Orange tones are versions of the fire element. So if red isn’t your favorite color use them instead.
Blue tones allow flow and cool down excitement of the fire element created by the excessive lights and red tones.
Green is a healing energy and is complementary and balances out the red tones. Bring in greens from outside.
White is the color for the metal element and refinement. It represents purity and freshness and allows other colors in your home to pop.
Purple is a spiritual color and is in the fire family
Gold symbolizes prosperity and is in the metal family.
Browns and yellow tones represent earth and add a sense of feeling grounded. These tones lend themselves to decorating during the fall, but are usually left out during the excitement of the Christmas season.
7. Create an altar
The northwest is a good direction to place religious figures, a nativity scene or menorah on your altar. This area represents helpful people and travel. Think about the 3 wise men traveling to find baby Jesus.
Diffuse frankincense and myrrh essential oils on your altar and add candles, crystals, angel cards, and mala beads or whatever inspires you.
Place a beautiful glass bowl where family members and guests can write loving words of gratitude or positive affirmations in it. Invite your guests and friends to add their positive message into the bowl.
8. Use the power of scents to purify, calm and enhance positive feelings.
Use herbs, plants and fruits in baking, diffusing, simmering and decorating your home
Peppermint- purifies and stimulates the mind
Cloves and Bayberry- harmony and peace
Eucalyptus, Pine and, Cypress -cleanses and removes negative energy
Cloves and Oranges- creates abundance, joy, relaxation
Cinnamon, wealth
I hope you enjoyed these practical Feng Shui tips to maintain a sense of harmony to create a rhythm and flow to keep you centered and joyful this holiday season. Feel free to share with my some of your favorite and least favorite traditions.