Celebrating the Holidays with Feng Shui
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
Whether you’re hosting loved ones, enjoying cozy traditions with your family, or just staying in to avoid the cold, it’s very likely that you’ll find yourself spending a good amount of time in your home during the holiday season.
Decorate with intention.
If you like to decorate your home for the holidays, this is a great opportunity to add in a layer of feng shui intention. During the dark, cold winter months, it can be supportive to make a few seasonal changes in your home to invite in more uplifting qi.
Here are a few of our favorite ways to decorate using feng shui principles:
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Bring in nature.
Evergreen trees and branches are a great way to introduce the wood element, which represents compassion, growth, and flexibility. Their cleansing and uplifting fragrance is a welcome addition to indoor environments during the winter months. Evergreens are also a reminder that there is still life around us, even in the coldest, darkest times, and they can help give us a sense of hope for the new growth that will arrive in the spring.
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Add brightness.
Adding something bright to a space can be a very powerful feng shui adjustment. Especially during this dark, yin time of year, lights and candles can help create a balanced environment by introducing more yang qi. We love using twinkle lights, flameless candles, or beeswax candles to boost and uplift the qi in our spaces, especially in areas that may feel a bit dark or stagnant.
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Choose symbolic colors.
In feng shui, we often use color to adjust the qi of a space. Red is a great color to work with during the colder months because it is connected to the fire element. Even a small amount of red can go a long way in warming up your space. Blue and green represent the wood element, which can help to uplift the energy in your home. Try adding a colorful ribbon to the wreath on your front door or changing out your throw pillows and blankets to add a seasonal pop of color.
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Focus on the center.
The center of your home is an important place from a feng shui perspective because it affects everything around it. Especially if you feel a bit unstable, it can be helpful to give some attention to this area. You could do something as simple as noticing what is going on in this part of your home or giving it a good deep clean. You may also want to create a focal point here with the intention of introducing more harmony and grounding energy.
Note: This doesn’t have to be the actual center of your home. It could also be the area of your home that feels like the center to you.
Clear the space.
There are many space clearing methods we use in feng shui to cleanse and reset the energy in our homes. If you’re hosting friends or family this season, space clearing can be especially supportive. This helps to prepare the space before your guests arrive, and energetically refresh your home after they have left.
Here are a few of our favorite space clearing methods that suit this time of year:
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Work with oranges or orange peels.
Oranges are traditionally used for space clearing in feng shui. They have a lot of yang qi, and are connected to abundance and cleansing. Here is a space clearing method we love to do using fresh oranges. You can also keep a bowl of fresh oranges on your kitchen counter, or make a mist using water and fresh orange peels or orange essential oil.
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Cleanse with the wood element.
Woody scents like juniper, cedar, and rosemary are very cleansing and uplifting. You can bring these plants into your home as decoration and enjoy their fragrance, or mindfully burn dried botanicals to clear and bless your space.
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Mindfully sweep and clean.
Yes, it’s important to get rid of physical dirt, but sweeping and cleaning with intention can also cleanse your space on an energetic level. As you are cleaning, set an intention to move the qi around to make way for new, positive qi.
Approach giving and receiving mindfully.
When it comes to gift-giving this season, consider where your gifts are coming from. Can you support a friend or a business whose values align with yours? When you purchase a gift from someone’s business, you are also choosing to support them with your dollars, so give some thought to which communities or individuals you’d like to support. Also consider the words that you offer to those around you, and how you can approach this with more mindfulness.
The other side of giving is receiving, which doesn’t get talked about as much. Even if you receive something that isn’t what you wanted, try offering gratitude anyway. You can always re-gift the item later. This also applies to unwanted advice, which can sometimes happen when we’re around our families for the holidays. Try saying thank you and moving on — this can help to smooth any difficult qi instead of creating unnecessary challenges. You can also model how you would like to be treated: if you don’t want unsolicited feedback, try refraining from offering it to others.
We hope these suggestions help you create a mindful, happy holiday season for you and your loved ones! We wish you a joyful holiday season, and hope to see you in the new year for our live Lunar New Year ritual!