Every culture has its own superstitions. You’ve probably heard some of these from your grandma, or your mother or father, or your auntie. For me, it’s always been Feng Shui. My dad touts it like no tomorrow, and whenever I tell him something that’s going wrong in my life, his answer is always: your Feng Shui must be bad. As of writing I’ve not yet rearranged my room, but passing his advice on to y’all must be therapeutic in some sense, right? Anyway, here’s all the advice my dad has given me. If you’ve had a run of bad luck recently, it might be time to rearrange your room. For your life force to flow correctly and all that.
The Bed
Buy as big a bed as you can fit into your crusty, cold flat. The bed is the center of rest and is therefore of great importance. Make sure that you don’t place your bed in direct alignment with a door. This is important as Chinese custom dictates that when a person dies, they are laid to rest in their coffin with their feet facing the door. This is to let the soul of a dead person walk out the door rather than back into the house. Souls are generally pretty important, so don’t let yours walk off in the middle of the night.
The bed also should have a headboard, or at the very least be backed onto a solid wall. This represents your sense of strength and security. Whatever you do, you’ll have a solid backing behind you. Some websites also say not to buy barred headboards as it may feel like a prison.
Finally, make sure the ceiling of your room is flat above your bed. A sloped ceiling will put pressure on you while you sleep. If your bedroom does have a sloped ceiling, buy a four poster bed, or hang a sheet above your head, I don’t know.
Mirrors, Reflective Surfaces, Electronic Devices
Try not to have any electronic devices in your room. The modern reason is that it disturbs your sleep due to the electromagnetic forces associated with electronic devices.
Also avoid mirrors or reflective surfaces like glass or a TV directly opposite your bed. The traditional and badass reason for this is that if you wake up in the middle of the night and see your own reflection, it will take away your soul.
Plants
Plants in the bedroom are not recommended in Feng Shui. They give off a strong Yang energy, which is the energy of growth and movement, and so are not optimal for a good night’s rest. One small plant is acceptable if your room is quite large, as it should not unbalance your energies. Don’t put your plants right in front of or beside your bed, as again, it has connotations of putting flowers on a grave. If there’s nowhere else for your plants to be, bring more Yin energy into your room with lush fabrics such as velvet or a shaggy rug in an oval or squiggly shape and pattern. Good luck to all the Tumblr girls out there.
Colours
What colours you should have in your bedroom depend largely on the year you were born, and your corresponding Chinese zodiac sign. I’ve done the hard work for you, and collated all the good colours for each zodiac in this article, from 1997 - 2001.
Ox: 1997 - Fushia and cream
Tiger: 1998 - Gray and purple
Rabbit: 1999 - Pink and yellow
Dragon: 2000 - Ruby red and grey
Snake: 2001 - Bright yellow, baby blue and peach.
More generally, soft earth tones are encouraged in bedroom decor, to create a tranquil space. Also pastels like blue, purple and green can invite healing energy. Whatever you do, don’t decorate your bedroom in exclusively white and black, and these colours are reserved for funeral ceremonies.
Positioning
Your bedroom door shouldn’t face a long hallway. Long hallways act like a channel for energy, and directing all that energy into your bedroom will disrupt your sleep. If this is the case for you, place a crystal ball near the entrance of your door to prevent bad energies from entering. You can also optionally place a chest of drawers beside the door to break the flow of energy.
Shelves
Try to avoid books in your room. They stimulate the mind, and therefore their energy interrupts sleep processes. If you need shelves in your room, don’t put them directly opposite the bed, as the shelf acts like a spiritual blade and will cut your spirit. Similar to the long hallway, if there is no other arrangement in your room, you can put a chest of drawers at the foot of your bed to break the flow of energy.
If you follow all these steps, the Yin and Yang of your bedroom should be in harmony. If it isn’t in harmony, you will experience interruptions to your life. I’m not saying rearranging your room will make your life better, but think about how many bedrooms out there have unbalanced energy, potentially leading to a mass disruption in daily life… yeah. Maybe my dad was right after all. I’m off to rearrange my room.