FENG SHUI COLORS - part II
Feng Shui colours are a popular topic among people who want to decorate or re-decorate their homes. We all know that colours affect our moods and feelings. Studies also show that certain colors boost creativity or sexual desire, while others can encourage depression or anxiety.
Colours are one of the tools in feng shui, to make a space more aligned to person's needs. Feng Shui colours also act as a bridge between the energetic imprint of a property, a person's own energy, and the purpose of the space. It all needs to link together in order to establish a nurturing and harmonic ambience.
In one of my feng shui consultations, a couple was having marital problems. The wife has asked me to check their property if there is anything that might be causing arguments between them. After analysing a property and their ba zi, I discovered there were many clashing elements used throughout most of the property. In the bedroom, the artwork chosen was very chaotic and not peaceful, with many crushing colours, and it was quite big. The larger the piece, the more effect it has. They have also chosen a draining colour for their bedroom, relating to the ba zi. Meaning, they would feel tired, low on energy, and libido-less. Secondly, they had a clash between fire and water in the kitchen, which means arguments. Fire is related to masculine energy and water is related to feminine energy. When used together in the kitchen or bedroom, for example, this means the couple will have arguments. In addition, I discovered too many clashing color combinations in their living room, which caused communication and relationship issues.
After clearing out the clashing combinations in the bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room, the couple experienced much more tranquility and happiness. They have started to communicate more and are not fighting as much. Their environment has changed, and this has impacted them both.
Sometimes we don't need to do much to change our surroundings. With a few key changes, everything can become different.
Depending on the space and other factors, suitable colours are used in feng shui to create balance and harmony.
There are some general rules in Feng Shui on how to choose the right colour for a specific room. In my own work, the colours are chosen regarding the feng shui analysis of the property and the study of astrological natal chart or BA ZI of people who live and work there.
I like to take a wholistic approach when choosing colours for a client.
Finally, the colours are also chosen according to the purpose of the room. A living room or an office benefits from different choices of colours than a bedroom. Children's bedrooms are also special and more delicate spaces, where more attention is paid to getting the right tone of colour in order to offer them what they need.
Moreover, the client's needs are also met through the choice of colours. If a client is suffering from an illness or emotional condition, the colours are chosen to help them overcome that. This is also done in synergy with the previous steps.
Colour therapy, also called chronotherapy, is now more widely used in wholistic interior design, where people come to realize that colours have a powerful effect on their wellbeing.
In feng shui, we have known this for a very long time: the colours in your environment affect your chi and your life. Your environment is not only the internal walls of the house where you live. It also refers to the outside, to what is surrounding you.
What shapes and colours do you see outside, in front, from a bedroom window, from the office? Is there anything particularly striking, perhaps a very sharp red roof or a neighboring building? Perhaps a green field with trees? All this co-creates your environment and therefore influences your wellbeing and prosperity. Colors used internally can balance those energies as well.
In feng shui, I also pay attention to choosing the right combination of colours. It is not only the individual colour that might be used as a wall colour, but also all the other patterns of colours present in the room. Regarding art and decorative objects as well. When more things come into balance, the better the result is.
For instance, if you choose a yellow color as your main wall paint color, then don't use many blue or green details in that room. We want to avoid a clash between the two elements. In this example, yellow belongs to the earth element, whereas blue is related to the water element. Earth controls water, so they are in a controlling rather than a supporting relationship.Each colour is also related to a specific direction, season, family member, organ, body part, and aspect of life. Depending on the position of the room and its orientation, the clash of the two colours also affects a specific body part, family relations, and so on.
When a wholistic approach to colour selection is taken, great results can be achieved.
Let’s look into Feng Shui colors in more detail!
Colors are based on the ancient Chinese philosophy of the 5 elements, or "5 Actions in Motion."
They represent everything in the universe: seasonal cycles and physical laws, daily cycles, directions, and timings of the day. They even relate to family members, body parts and organs, aspects of life, many characteristics, and the nature of all living things. They also relate to colors, shapes, materials, taste, emotions, aspects of life and so on. These are the same five elements that are used in Chinese traditional medicine, in Chinese astrology, or Ba Zi, face reading, in the I Ching, and in martial arts such as Qi Gong and Kung Fu.
The relationships between the 5 elements are varied; they include supporting, draining, controlling, and clashing. Each element is represented by several colors that reflect the essence of that element.
Now let’s look at the 5 elements and colors that they relate to:
WATER ELEMENT-color black and all shades of blue (except sky blue).
The essence of water is going deep within; it is introverted and cold.
It represents movement, transportation, communication, and so on. It is constantly changing and moving. Stagnant water means dead Chi; there is no life in it.
WOOD ELEMENT-all shades of green. Plants and trees are all part of the wood element. That is the growing energy. Many people think that the color brown is also wood, but this is not the case. Brown is actually an earth element, as it has a completely different energy. Greens are very uplifting. They represent growth, entrepreneurship, ideas, taking action, vitality, and children, as these are all growing energies. Apart from red, green is the most eye-catching color for humans. It is calming but also stimulating, depending on the shade as well.
FIRE ELEMENT-colors: red, pink, purple, and sky blue (gas blue)
Fire represents expanding energy and the peak of activity. It is very alive, explosive even, and has a warm energy. The colors of fire are needed in cooler areas (the N, NE for Northern hemisphere) and in the cooler countries with less daylight or sunshine. Fire also represents the sun, so we apply this element to balance the cold yin energy when it is too dominating. Fire is also related to romance and sexuality, so it is OK to use it in the bedroom sparingly.
EARTH ELEMENTEarth's color is brown and its shades are yellow, orange, and grey. The earth element is very grounding and calming. It is the static element that doesn’t have much movement, hence it is slowing things down. It can be calming, but when in excess, it becomes dormant or lazy. With each element or color, we need to be careful not to use it in excess, especially for some buildings, depending on their feng shui analysis based on orientation and other characteristics. For example, when a house is receiving a lot of earth elements by the way it is positioned and by its surroundings, we don’t want to add more earth elements to it by using yellow, for example, for that building. So everything is about balance in Feng Shui.
Earth tones are generally OK to use in most cases and rooms, especially when they are mild tones of the earth. I don’t recommend using too much earth in the bathroom, especially brown, because it clashes with the natural element of the bathroom, which is water.
Earth tones are OK to use for dining and living areas, as well as some bedrooms.
METAL ELEMENT is made up of the colors gold, silver, and white.Grey is not metal, but earth. Many people mix that. Metal has cooling energy and is also withdrawn. Metal has a sociable, but more private nature. When all the space is white, including furniture in high gloss finishing, the energy can be very fast and it is difficult to relax and settle down. This is not a recommended practice in the current times when everything happens so quickly and the pace of life is rapid. We need more nurturing and grounding colors, so metal is best used as an accessory in interior design. All the white health clinics are not calming people, but are actually making them more anxious. So white is very yang, active, so we need to be conscious of that.
OK, so here is my general guide to feng shui colours for specific rooms:
In hotter countries, avoid using fire colors in interior design, such as red, pink, orange, yellow, purple, or sky blue.
In cold countries avoid colours related to water element : blues, black and even white, grey
Generally, in the bedroom, avoid black, dark blue, dark grey, and dark brown.
In the kitchen, avoid colours like black, blue, or white.
In the children's room, avoid the colours: red, dark blue, dark grey, and too much white.
In your office, avoid clashing colours: the combinations of white and red, black and red,
Now you know about Feng Shui colors, where they come from and how to use them.
Which are your favorite colors in your home? Is there any color you are afraid to use?
Drop me a line and I will reveal what it means!