A good Feng Shui location can put our home on a solid footing to provide the vital life enhancing Ch’i energy that supports and prospers our lives. What is the ideal Feng Shui location? Is it the same for everyone? Do you have one, and if not, how do you get it? Is it even possible? Let’s unravel this simple but vital Feng Shui formula.
Why do we want the Ideal Feng Shui Location?
We know real estate agents always advise location, location, location, but Feng Shui takes this directive even further. Think of the Ideal Feng Shui location being similar to exercising or eating wisely. It helps to establish a foundation of energy and stability that can then be utilized through all other areas of your life.
What is the Ideal Feng Shui Location?
Literally speaking, the Ideal Feng Shui Location applies to the exact spot where your home lies. Whether a free standing house, condo, apartment or other dwelling, all of the criteria remain the same.
Feng Shui began in China thousands of years ago. In an attempt to provide the best place to bury the elders, the search began to define the ideal location. After millennia of observation, experimentation and evaluation, four fundamental features were identified as essential to achieving this end.
Feng Shui practitioners are trained to evaluate any structure’s placement for these four features. This model has come to be known by several names:
- Seat of Armchair
- Belly of the Dragon
- Good Location
The Four Features of an Ideal Feng Shui Location
Irregardless of which phrase you use, all titles applied to this dynamic explain the same four features. For me, Seat of the Armchair is the simplest to understand. Imagine your home is sitting in a literal seat of an armchair with the front door facing out from the seat cushion of the chair. Your home would then encounter:
- The high back of the chair supporting it from behind
- The low embrace of the arms offering protection on both sides
- The seat providing stability and power
- The view from the front receiving information, energy and allowing access to a variety of resources beyond
This arrangement achieved many critical functions when developed so long ago, but all can be applied to today’s living.
- The Mountain Behind supports a safe spot for the family, shielding it from marauders and any attackers from behind.
- The low embrace to the sides provides vegetation or another means of identifying any approaching threat as they must maneuver through the obstacle.
- The seat allows a solid footing for the structure, its Power Spot.
- Water in front provides sustenance and expansion. Not only can the family fish and receive life-sustaining water from this source but also travel as well as receive guests.
In this day and age, we do not necessarily have to protect ourselves from invading tribes or wild animals. However, we do need to:
- Feel our home is a safe place (Mountain Behind)
- We are protected by its walls and our neighbors (Embrace on the Sides)
- Have a solid footing in our lives (Power Spot)
- Get an opportunity to expand and grow (Water in Front can also be a roadway)
Is your home placed in this configuration? If not, don’t panic. We can look at each component and suggest possible changes to improve your Feng Shui location.
Feng Shui Location Feature #1: The Mountain Behind
Don’t take the suggestion of a mountain behind your home literally. If you have an actual mountain there, lucky you and enjoy the beautiful view! However, having a Mountain Behind every home in the world is impossible. When doing a consultation, I generally consider the “Mountain” to be something taller, bigger or wider than the building you live in. In addition to an actual land form, big trees, a higher building or tall fence would constitute a Mountain Behind.
When you live in the city in a multi-story apartment or other tall structure with no ability to work with the landscape (or city scape) around you, Feng Shui still offers an adjustment. If you have no Mountain Behind, place a piece of art in the back of your home that depicts a mountain. I invite you to download my FREE PRINTABLE of gorgeous Mt. Hood if you need a mountain for this adjustment.
Feng Shui Location Feature #2: Embrace on the Sides
The Embrace on the Sides serves to help us feel protected from danger and allows us to feel safe and secure in our homes. If no Embrace is present in your landscape, you can install fences, shrubbery or a line of trees to mimic this configuration. Any of these features should remain lower than the height of the home to encourage Ch’i to circulate ideally.
Feng Shui Location Feature #3: Power Spot
In 2002 we purchased a new home. It was big and grand and beautiful. Located on an extremely sloped site, its Landscape Feng Shui provided many challenges. As a brand new Feng Shui practitioner, I enthusiastically (and naively) set to work making major changes. This multi-year project was a huge part of my Feng Shui education. Thank goodness one essential feature was already in place when I started – the Power Spot.
The land around this home fell away from the structure on three sides. To even be able to approach the front door, the builder had erected several retaining walls and created a large, level piece of ground on the front side of the house leading to the front door. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this area was able to create enough beneficial Ch’i to support me on moving forward.
Most homes have a front door that is in a level location. If yours does not, strongly consider making Feng Shui modifications, particularly if you are experiencing any extreme difficulties in your life.
Feng Shui Location Feature #4: Water in Front
As stated above, Water in Front provides life sustaining energy and enrichment for the family in any home. If you have your own view of a river, stream, ocean, lake or other body of vibrant, flowing water in the front of your home, savor your good fortune and auspicious energy. For the rest of us, Feng Shui considers this Water to be a roadway. Leading us to and from energy enhancing opportunities, we appreciate the many possibilities it provides.
My home with all of the slopes also had the front door facing the Mountain (what was I thinking?!) Again, thank goodness for Feng Shui! Part of my landscape plan involved doing a major landscaping project on the back side of the house. If you have this configuration, I highly recommend you contact me for your own personal l Feng Shui telephone consultation so we can take a look at your specific situation.
What is your home’s Feng Shui location?
Are you sitting pretty or are there some Feng Shui features you’ve identified here that are needing adjustment? If you are thinking of some major changes, schedule a telephone consultation with me. Landscape modifications can become quite costly, so it may save money if you factor in any Landscape Feng Shui needs ahead of time as part of the project.
Isn’t it glorious that Feng Shui offers so many wonderful alternatives to attract more life enhancing energy into your life? Use the new Ch’i that your Feng Shui creates to dream new dreams and accomplish those you’ve already envisioned. I’d love to hear what goals and opportunities you will Feng Shui today.
Have fun,
Carol
