April Feng Shui Forecast …
April 1: Mercury Retrograde through April 25
April 8: New Moon and Solar Eclipse
April 23: Full Moon
April: Eclipse Season and Career Gua
We begin April in the midst of eclipse season. We had a lunar eclipse and full moon on March 25. This is followed by the new moon and solar eclipse on April 8th. It’s a big deal in the NH area because it will be a near total eclipse throughout most of the area and a full eclipse in the northern part of the state. There’s lots of buzz about this!
Eclipses are times of change. This set of eclipses is said to usher in flashes of intuition and insight, creative visions, and healing. This is a positive set of eclipses. May we all benefit from the positive and encouraging shifts.
The April 8 new moon and solar eclipse will be in the sign of Aries. This is the first sign in the zodiac, thus we begin a new astrological year. We are beckoned to step away from old patterns and begin anew. These cycles coincide with spring, Easter, Ramadan, and Passover amongst other holidays and traditions. In addition, Mercury goes retrograde April 1, through April 25. It will be May 14th before Mercury moves into new territory and we can move forward more readily. April is an ideal month to clear out excess accumulation, reorganize your space, reconsider your options, explore various avenues, and then take inspired action to proceed beginning in mid-May.
The Career gua is the area of your home to work with this month. This is the Center-front sector of your home, every room in your home, your land, and your workspace, when you divide each space into a grid of nine blocks, similar to a tic-tac-toe board.
The Career gua influences your opportunities and path in life. If you’re looking for a new direction or you’d like more inspiration about how to spend your time, work with your Career gua. Refreshing and activating the front-center areas of your home and rooms can help you to rekindle your passions, tune in to your dreams, and pay attention to opportunities that come your way.
The Importance of Center-Front Doors
The architectural front door is located in the Career gua of many homes. Yours is one if you have a center-front entrance. If this pertains to you, this month’s theme is doubly important. Your front door represents the “main mouth of chi.” For this reason, it’s important to keep your front entrance in good shape, even if you don’t use it regularly.
It's ideal to have a curvy path, wide enough for two people to walk side by side, leading to your front door. The front door itself should be in excellent condition and open easily and fully. Spring is a good time of year to check this out and refresh your front entrance. Sweep away and remove winter debris, eliminate squeaks, give your door a fresh coat of paint or perhaps a new color. Also, make sure the outside lights are working properly. Replace light bulbs, if needed. Hang a spring wreath or place a welcoming door decoration. In general, re-energize your main entrance. Doing so may inspire you in unanticipated ways.
Spring Cleaning Time!
Even if you don’t have a center-front entrance, activate the various Career guas throughout your home this month. Notice the condition of the various spaces and work first with those areas that feel cramped, cluttered, or out of sorts. Return any items that are simply laying around, to their proper places. A primary principle of feng shui is to “give everything a home.” Spring is a good time to gather things up from the winter months and return them to their proper place.
Remove the accumulated winter dust, revitalize the area high and low by vacuuming and dusting deep into the corners and under furniture. Wash your windows, curtains, drapes, and fabrics. Vacuum your upholstery. You might be surprised at how much dust is extracted. Remember to include lamps, artwork, and picture frames. If you have time, clear out and reorganize cabinets, drawers, and closets, with an eye towards eliminating items that you no longer want or need. It’s fine to keep sentimental items, these are not considered clutter, as long as there aren’t too many of them.
Collect the trash and gather items that you no longer need or want. Toss out the rubbish and sell, redistribute, or give away items that others might cherish more than you. Doing so opens up your space, which provides more opportunity for connections, experiences, people, and items of value to come to you.
Next, evaluate your refreshed space. How does it feels? Do you like it? Would you like to make some changes? If so, what would you like to do? Visualize your home or workspace as you would love it to be. Feel what it would feel like to have it this way. Inspiration may come to you this month to move in the direction of your dreams.
The Career Gua and Water Energy
The Career area is associated with the Water element. The archetype for Water is the Philosopher. The Philosopher explores deep mysteries, searching for the truth. In the process, ignorance takes a back seat as new knowledge is uncovered. What role does “the Philosopher” play in your life? Is there something you’d love to learn or discover either about yourself, your work, or your life? In what areas do you embrace mystery or delve deeper into a topic? Where do you yearn to spend more time, scrutinize the meaning of the topic, or gain insight?
In balance, Water flows easily, without interruption. Water energy is curious, clever, candid, insightful, spiritual, and thinks things through. When Water energy is deficient, you might feel irritable, stingy, critical, fearful, superficial, or dry. Excess Water energy expresses itself as a lack of enthusiasm, depression, self-pity, stagnation, and being too blunt, detached, insensitive or lonely.
In the Five element system, each of the five elements have symbiotic relationships with each other. There’s a push and pull, of sorts. One element always strengthens another, while the remaining elements wear it down or deplete its energy to one degree or another. Water energy is supported and strengthened by Metal. Simultaneously, Water corrodes Metal or wears it down. In other words, it consumes it. In turn, Water feeds the plants and trees. In excess, floods and runoff occur. Water also extinguishes Fire and washes away Earth. Thus, Water is strengthened by Metal and depleted, consumed, or used up by Wood, Fire, and Earth.
Emphasize Metal and Water energy to create more flow.
If your Career or Life Path could benefit from more insight or use a boost, or you’d like to create more flow in your space, balance the area using décor that emphasizes Metal and Water elements. This can help provide a breakthrough and gets things moving in a new direction. Metal strengthens clarity and Water brings flow. If you feel anxious, overwhelmed, or in fear about things, you may have too much Water energy. In that case, tone it down by removing Water or Metal or adding Wood, Fire or Earth energies.
Harmonize your space by playing with the Five Elements. If your space is balanced and you’d like to emphasize Career, focus on activating the Water and Metal elements. Here are some suggestions for things to work with:
Water energy enhances flow and reflective, philosophical qualities. It is represented by:
- Water features and water itself
- Mirrors, windows, glass, reflective and shiny surfaces
- Black and very dark colors
- Free form, wavy and symmetrical shapes
- Pictures of lakes, rivers, harbors, ocean views
Metal energy helps bring clarity to a space. Metal items include:
- Physical metal: gold, silver, brass, aluminum, etc. (pots & pans, lamps, picture frames, art and sculptures)
- Marble, granite, flagstone
- Natural crystals, gems and rocks dug from deep within the earth
- Circles, oval and arch shapes
- White, gray, and pastel shades.
De-emphasize Wood, Fire and Earth elements. These are characterized by:
Wood energy is about vibrancy, growth and expansion. Wood is represented by:
- Fresh flowers, plants, and trees
- Floral fabrics and patterns
- Vertical stripes and tall columns
- Green and blue
Fire brings dazzling, sparkling energy to a space. It is represented by:
- Fire, flames, lights, sunlight, candles
- Triangles, pyramids, diamond, and cone shapes
- People and animals, as well as pictures and sculptures of people and animals
- Electronics and electrical items
- Red, burgundy and the red palette
Earth energy grounds and anchors your space. Earth items include:
- Wooden furniture (because it’s harvested wood)
- Pottery, earthenware, bricks, and clay
- Seashells and natural items
- Square shapes
- Oversized or heavy furniture that hugs the floor
- Yellow, gold, brown and autumn/earth tones.
Look for Blockages in Your Career Gua
Blockages come in many forms and shapes. They interrupt the flow of chi or energy. A blockage could be a piece of furniture that physically blocks a space or is difficult to get around, a closet or drawer that is overfull, a plumbing or electrical problem, a door that doesn’t fully open, a pile of forgotten or discarded items, etc. Blockages vary and can be a challenge to realize, particularly if you have been living with them for a long time. After 30 days, your eyes glaze over your space and you no longer see the exceptions.
Over the years I have encountered multiple blockages that clients didn’t realize they had, because that was how they typically lived. One client had a couch blocking the front door for the winter, another taped the front door shut, a third named a room “the junk room” and proceeded to fill it up. A fourth client was trying to sell a house that had a bullet hole from a BB-gun in a window near the front door. Each of these clients called about how to get the chi moving in their home. They were so consumed by their situations that they couldn’t see what was obvious to others. Scan your space with feng shui eyes and be open to seeing it in a new light.
Career Gua and your Health
Healthwise, the Career gua aligns with your kidneys (your life-force center), bladder, and your ears, which are also linked to your kidney meridian. If you have related health concerns, adjust the Career guas (front-center areas) throughout your house to strengthen your health.
I’ve had clients who were unhappy in their Careers and also had ear and/or hearing problems. When they removed blockages in their Career guas, their hearing improved. Your kidneys are also associated with fear. If you’re feeling fearful about anything, adjusting the Career gua of your house and every room in your house can help get things moving forward for you.
Nine Tips to Revitalize Your Career Gua:
- Hang a beautiful mirror in the center-front are of your home or any room in your home; make sure you can see your full head in it.
- Add a symbol that reflects your passion, your work or calling, something you enjoy doing, perhaps a service you provide, or a hobby. The kanji symbols for the Five Elements sit above the door to my office, which is in the Career gua of my office.
- If you want a new job, place a reminder of what you’d love to do and/or for whom.
- Make a Vision Board and place it in a Career gua in your house or your office.
- Add a water feature. Keep it clean and keep the water flowing.
- Hang a windchime to activate energy.
- Hang a crystal. Crystals regulate and also activate chi.
- Light a lamp regularly, with intention.
- Add a black or dark colored floormat for center-front entrances. Navy blue works well in the Career gua too.
Set Your Intentions with the April 8th New Moon and Solar Eclipse
Do a meditation on April 8th to initiate your intentions related to your career, work, life opportunities and activities you are most passionate about. New moons are the best times to set your intentions. You plant the seeds or your ideas, and then allow them to take root for the next few weeks as the moon grows in intensity and light each night. This year, our Aries new moon coincides with a powerful solar eclipse. Notice what flashes of insight, inspiration, and new ideas come to you over the next month, in particular.
See your wishes taking root beneath the surface. Seeds take time to develop and grow. Honor the gestation time and trust the process. Two weeks later, check how they are coming along as the light of the full moon (April 23) lights the sky.
Your intentions could relate to:
- New means or resources for healing,
- Learning something new,
- Involvement with new projects or activities,
- Discovering more or deeper purpose and meaning in your life,
- Doing work or activities you love,
- Doing a job that fulfills your passion or purpose,
- Improving health related to your kidneys. bladder or ears,
- Releasing deeply held fear that is holding you back,
- Honoring your truth.
Summary
The Career gua of your space holds energy for your work and passion-driven projects and activity. Energetically, this area is related to the Water element. So first, balance your space for your Career or Life Direction and Opportunities and then enhance it for additional pursuits.
If you’d like some ideas and suggestions of ways to adjust the Career gua of your space, contact Peg at peg@fengshuiconnections.com.