Feng shui decorating often makes use of plants to increase the amount of wood chi (also spelled as qi) within a space. Wood chi is the chi that is associated with new beginnings and momentum. But an excess of wood chi might result in high levels of aggression and impatience. Feng shui is all about creating a balanced, pleasing environment so too much wood energy is not a good thing.
It is important to remember that only living plants have wood energy. Once a plant is no longer living it will either have neutral chi or sha chi. There is some controversy about decorating with dried plants. Some feng shui consultants argue that the intention of the person overrides any negative chi that might be associated with dried out plants and others argue that the sha chi remains attached to the dried plant no matter what.
With a touch of creativity you can use plants in your decorating along with any of the other four aspects of chi. The aspects of chi are:
metal,
water,
wood,
fire, and
earth.
There are some basic tips to keep in mind when decorating with plants:
Your plants should be healthy. This is because dead and dying plants are no longer associated with living chi but possess sha chi. Sha chi is sometimes translated as “death breath”. Sha chi is regarded as being negative chi, and obviously you want to minimize the amount of negative energy in your space.
As an aside, by taking good care of your plants you are re-affirming your commitment to take good care of yourself and make use of the opportunities that feng shui may assist you in creating. (This is more of a modern psychology principle though).
Soft leaved plants with flowing leaves are generally good plants to use. You want to avoid prickly or sharp leaved plants. This is because the spikes create sha chi. (This is a general rule in feng shui – sharp, pointy items create negative chi).
Common plants that can be used as fung shui cures include lucky bamboo. Other used plants include palms and ferns. Palms are easy to care for and visually attractive. Palms should have soft leaves. For office plants bamboo or palms are probably best as they are super easy to look after.
As a general rule cacti are regarded as being inauspicious plants.
Feng shui is all about creating a pleasing environment so you would not want to introduce a plant that is displeasing to you. This would include any plant that causes you to have an allergic reaction. (This is really just advanced common sense!)
What can you use plants for in feng shui decorating?
Plants can be used in corners to decrease the amount of metal energy in the space.
Plants can also be used in long hallways to slow down the flow of chi.
Plants can be used to increase the sense of urgency in a space.
If the plant has flowers the color of those flowers can also represent another element (aspect of chi).
Plants can naturally be included in most rooms of the house and create an appealing scene.
Feng shui decorating with plants can combine the energy of wood and other elements by using pots made from different materials or with different colors.
Trisha has always been interested in the relationship between people and their surroundings. Coupled with a natural curiosity this has led to her becoming fascinated with feng shui decorating [http://www.feng-shuidecorating.com] as a practical way to improve this relationship.