Cultivating Relationships
One of the fascinating aspects of feng shui is how the patterns in your space mirror the events in your life. This is so true when it comes to our deep human need to cultivate meaningful relationships with others.
The Relationship or Partnershiparea of your space is the back right of every space when you overlay a tic-tac-toe grid of 9 blocks over the entire area. The area can be your land, your house, your office, your master bedroom, home office or any room in your house. It can also be your desktop, your car or wherever you are. How does the Relationship gua of your home look and feel? What room is located here? How is it used and what shape is it in?
The energy of the back right area of your space can be highly supportive of relationships and partnerships if this area happens to be used as a dining room, family room, sitting room, meditation room or a master bedroom. If this area is a bathroom, a laundry room, a closet or a storage area, strengthening and enhancing relationships may be challenging. If this area is cut short or missing from your space altogether, adjust the relationship corner of every room throughout your house, particularly the master bedroom.
What is your primary desire as it relates to relationships in your life? Is anything missing? Would you like to attract a life partner? Perhaps you’d like to strengthen or rekindle your current relationship. Maybe you and your partner have grown apart and you intend to end a relationship. Whatever your intention, being clear about what you want will help it to come about.
Visualize your intention, and then size up your space. How does the area look and feel? Do you feel happy and energized when you are in this area? Are the colors ones that you enjoy? What messages are on your walls? Do the pictures tell a story? Do they reflect the quality of relationships you’d love to have or further develop in your life?
The Relationship gua is energized by the Earth element: the color yellow, earthy items such as pottery, adobe, brick, seashells, square shapes and low flat rectangles and heavy furniture that hugs the ground. The feng shui color for the Relationship gua is pink. So red, pink or white is very helpful in this area also. If you don’t like these colors or they don’t work for you, add some yellow or earthy tones.
Placing a symbolic representation of partnership in this area is very helpful. This could be a picture or you and your partner, a pair of items or two beautiful animals. Swans mate for life, as do eagles, loons, cranes, dolphins, so they are always a fun choice in this area. Classical feng shui suggest placing mandarin ducks for the same purpose. Hearts are lovely in this area as is a beautiful vase of fresh flowers.
If a bathroom or laundry rooms is located in your Relationship gua, add some Fire energy to strengthen this area. Fire strengthens Earth and tones down Water. You can do this by adding any shade of red, triangular or diamond shapes, pictures of people or animals, light, sunlight and candles. More Earth energy is also helpful. Stay away from a lot of white and dark blue in the area. Too much white will leave this area feeling cold and barren. Too much blue can smother the flames of romance or partnership. If this area is cluttered, clean it up!
Work with the Relationship gua of your home or office with positive intention; open to the possibility that you can cultivate the relationship you dream about and live a life you love! Many people are already doing this. You can too.
Peg Donahue and Katina Lemay operate The Center for Feng Shui and Intuitive Arts. To learn more about feng shui or our programs, visit our website www.center4fengshui.com.