Are dried flowers bad feng shui?
Photo by Peter Bucks on Unsplash
It seems dried flowers are making a comeback in the decorating world, and we’ve been getting lots of questions about them. We wanted to share our perspective on dried flowers and feng shui, and what to keep in mind if you’re a fan of this decor trend.
If you’ve been reading our blog or listening to our podcast for a while, you’ve probably noticed that we love and recommend plants and cut flowers often. Plants and freshly cut flowers are sources of vital, healthy qi, as well as wood energy which adds vitality and growth. This makes them a great way to enhance and activate a certain area of the bagua that you would like to work on.
You might be thinking then that dried flowers would have a similar effect. After all, they’re a trendy and low-maintenance way to bring plants into your home, right? However, from a feng shui perspective, dried flowers are not ideal. Because they are dead, they do not have the same life energy of potted plants or fresh flowers. Instead, they’re a source of yin qi, which is connected to death. Yin qi in itself is not a bad thing, but you want to have a balance: not too much yin and not too much yang. If you really love dried flowers, it’s okay to have them in your home. Not everything has to be a feng shui adjustment. You can always keep things in your space that you love and are meaningful to you, even though they might not be great feng shui. Just keep in mind that if you are making a feng shui adjustment, it’s best to stay away from dried flowers.
For example, if you would like to enhance the abundance area of your home with flowers, use fresh ones rather than dried, as dried flowers won’t have the same effect. Make sure you care for them by recutting the stems and changing the water often, and remove them once they’ve wilted.
While real, fresh flowers are best, silk flowers can be used if they’re very realistic and well maintained. If you do feel inclined to go with artificial flowers or plants, though, take a moment to ask yourself why. Are you choosing an artificial plant because a living plant will be unable to thrive in that space due to the light or temperature conditions? Or are you feeling lazy or unwilling to care for the real thing? Interacting with a living being is part of the value of using a plant as a feng shui adjustment, so it’s important to do your best in nurturing and caring for it.