June 29th: Mercury Retrograde through July 23rd
July 14th: New Moon in Cancer … Family Gua
July 29th: Full Moon
We begin the month in the shadow of the June 29th Full Strawberry Moon, when Mercury also went Retrograde in the sign of Cancer. If you energized your Knowledge gua last month (the front left area of your house and every room in your house), tune in and notice what’s changing as a result. Is new information about important issues coming to you? Perhaps you’re figuring out ways to slow down and go deep within yourself to learn more about the best ways to thrive? Or maybe answers are showing up.
The Knowledge gua is about tapping into your intuition and trusting your inner guidance system. It will always point you in the right direction! To activate the Knowledge gua, begin by removing clutter and allowing chi to easily move throughout your space. A key aspect of feng shui is that your outer environment reflects your inner state of being. Clutter (anything you don’t use or love) is one of the first things to remove when you are feeling stressed or out of sorts. Release your clutter, refresh and open up your space, and notice how situations become easier for you. It could be that you change your attitude, approach, or perspective. New solutions might come your way. Problems dissolve, or other events take place. Your outer and inner worlds are deeply connected. Tune into the patterns and enjoy the ride.
July 14th New Moon
The July 14th new moon is in Cancer. It aligns with the Family gua. This is the left-center area of your home when you divide it into a grid of nine areas, like a tic tac toe board. It also applies to the left-center of every room, your land, and your workspace. This is the day to set intentions related to your family relationships and to do a mediation to set them into motion.
After the July 4th holiday weekend, turn your focus to your Family gua. You’ll have about ten days before the new moon to refresh and uplift these areas (center left) throughout your home. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, begin with one space. The Family gua within your bedroom is a great place to start. Alternatively, place your attention on the Family gua of your house.
The Family gua is a Wood area in the Five element system. Wood energy is symbolized by the colors blue and green, flowers and floral patterns, trees and plants, stripes, and columns. A common myth is that wood furniture represents Wood energy. It does not. The Wood element is alive and vibrant. Look to nature for guidance. When you think about Wood energy, visualize trees! Wood furniture, on the other hand, is harvested wood. It is dried or dead wood. It is categorized as Earth energy in feng shui. Houses that are full of wood paneling, have a lot of Earth energy. If you have a lot of Earth energy, balance it with white, light pastels, and metal.
The Family gua is associated with the Thunder trigram in the I Ching. Thunder is represented by two dashed lines on top and a solid line on the bottom, when you stack them up. ☳ In the mythological Chinese family, Thunder is the Eldest Son. Both Thunder and the Eldest Son are known for having a burst of energy. They break barriers, push forth, and forge new pathways. Thunder energy can help you to break through obstacles and barriers.
The body parts associated with the Family gua are your feet. Your feet root you to the Earth and connect you with your family through your bloodline. Family connections run very deep. Be open to what captures your attention and to new discoveries. Services such as Ancestry.com are helping people connect with long lost relatives while also unearthing secrets that may have been long buried or best left in the past.
Also, all your body parts have a connection to your feet. As you massage your feet or have reflexology, you are also clearing blockages from various body parts and re-energizing them.
The liver and gall bladder are the organs and meridian networks associated with the Family gua. The liver meridian begins at the edge of your big toenail, continues across the top of your foot, goes up your leg and ends at the ninth rib. The gall bladder meridian begins at the corner of your eye, goes up around your ear and head, travels down your neck and shoulders, down your torso, around your hip, down your leg and across the top of your foot, ending at your fourth toenail.
Anger and frustration are associated with blockages within the liver and gall bladder meridians. If you find this to be a problem in your life or within your family, balance your Family gua.
6 Tips to re-balance your Family Gua
- Remove clutter. This is anything you don’t love or use, things that have been sitting around unattended, things that feel depleted, or are broken or discarded. Look out for piles of paper, clothes, books, you name it. Give everything a home.
- Clean your various Family guas… the left-center areas of your yard, house, every room in your house, and your workspace. I’ll be trimming a bush in this area of my yard soon.
- Assess the Five Elements throughout your Family guas. Strive to have more items and décor that signify the Water and Wood elements, when compared to the Fire, Earth, and Metal elements.
- Place a picture of your family that was taken during happy times. Families come in all sorts of arrangements these days. It can be a blended family.
- Place a vase of fresh flowers or a beautiful plant for an instant chi lift.
- Include a picture, image, or sculpture of a beautiful tree. Tree roots run deep, similar to family roots.
Here’s a quick review of how the Five Elements show up in your space and possessions. To support the Family gua, emphasize décor with Water and Wood energy. Use Fire, Earth, and Metal elements to bring balance.
Emphasize:
Water brings reflective and philosophical qualities to a space. Water items include:
- All water, water features, pictures and art with water (rivers, streams, lakes, ocean, etc.)
- Glass, mirrors, reflective surfaces and shiny objects
- Free form and symmetrical shapes
- Black and very deep, dark colors.
Wood energy is about growth and expansion. Wood energy is represented by:
- Fresh flowers, plants and trees
- Floral fabrics and patterns
- Vertical stripes and tall columns
- Green and blue
Balance with Fire, Earth, and Metal Items
Fire energy is transformative. It is represented by:
- Sunlight and the sun
- Candles, lights, and sparkly items
- Fire and flames
- Red and the red palette
- Triangles, pyramids, diamond, and cone shapes
- People and animals (including pictures)
- Electronics and electrical items
Earth energy grounds, comforts and nurtures. Earthy items include:
- Square shapes
- Yellow, Brown and all Earth tones
- Big items that hug the earth, such as heavy furniture low to the floor
- Sand and Seashells
- Bricks, Clay, and Adobe
- Wooden furniture (because it is harvested or dried wood)
Metal energy brings clarity and organization to spaces and situations. Incorporate:
- All metal: gold, silver, brass, aluminum and more (pots & pans, lamps, picture frames…)
- Marble, granite, flagstone
- Natural crystals and rocks dug from deep in the earth
- Circles, oval and arch shapes
- White, gray and pastel shades.
July 29th Full Moon
Tune into the full moon on July 29th. This is a good day to do a meditation. Notice what is coming to light related to your family, since planting seeds of intention on July 14th. The signs might be small at first. They will grow over time. Give thanks that what you have asked for is taking shape and beginning to emerge. Giving thanks in advance of something happening is a great way to help bring it to fruition. (It may seem counter-intuitive, but it works!) Set positive expectations, be patient and grateful, then watch how things unfold.
If you have any questions about your Family gua, or you would like a consultation for any area, contact Peg Donahue at https://fengshuiconnections.com/contact-peg/