May 11: Mother's Day
May 12: Full Moon … check your Wealth Gua
May 26: New Moon … tap into your Knowledge Gua
We begin May in the shadow of the April 27 new moon in Taurus, which is associated with your Wealth gua. Taurus is all about safety, security and comfort. Bringing yourself and your home into alignment with this energy early in the month, will create motion towards prosperity and blessings as we approach the May 12 full moon. For a recap about your Wealth areas and related feng shui tips, re-read last month’s post.
If you refreshed your Prosperity areas during the latter part of April. Bravo! If not, I recommend that you remove clutter and spring clean the back-left corners of your home and every room in your home, prior to the May 12th full moon. The earlier you do this, the more momentum and good fortune you’ll create for yourself. Nearly every day this May is a “good money day” according to astrological cycles. Maybe some of this good fortune will extend to you too!
Common Blocks to Prosperity
I find that the main culprits preventing people from experiencing free-flowing prosperity are:
- clutter (too many things you don’t use or love),
- things that are broken or in disrepair (particularly plumbing and electric)
- some feng shui design elements (such as a missing or abbreviated Wealth areas)
- beliefs, thoughts, words, and feelings, and sometimes actions, that negate your wishes.
Since we’re in a very favorable cycle for money and blessings to come to you in unexpected ways throughout most of May this year, this is the best time to get your home and workspaces in order while also aligning your energy.
Play with these concepts and activate your space during early May. The full moon is when things come to light. See what shows up for you May 11-13 (the three days around the full moon) and be ready to release, or leave behind, all that doesn’t reflect how you’d like to move forward. Notice what happens. Small wins and blessings grow into bigger ones over time.
Mid-Late May … Knowledge Gua Focus
A few days after the full moon, switch your focus to your deep inner self. The feng shui area to work with is your Knowledge gua. This is the front-left corner of your home, every room in your home, your workspace and your land. The front-left corner is the left-corner block closest to you when you divide each space into a grid of nine, similar to a tic-tac-toe board. Prepare your Knowledge gua so that it’s in great shape prior to the May 26 new moon in Gemini, which occurs on Memorial Day.
This is the front left corner of your house, every room in your house, your workspace, and your yard or land.
When the moon is in Gemini, it’s a good time to communicate, cultivate and express ideas, learn something new, connect with people you’d like to meet, promote yourself or your business, and more. Gemini ushers in a curious, breezy, and light energy, touching the mental realm. It’s a time to get your environment in order to help your put your best self forward. You might find yourself more inclined to align with your truth, have discussions to bring about change, and make decisions.
Back, Shoulder, Arm or Hand Trouble?
The Knowledge Gua holds the energy related to really knowing yourself at a deep level. It is about recognizing and connecting with your inner truth. From a health perspective, the Knowledge Gua relates to your shoulders, back, arms, hands and fingers. If you are one who carries the “weight of the world,” it could manifest as back pain or shoulder trouble. I have seen this in my practice throughout the years. People who worry about others, particularly family members and their choices, may also experience regular back pain or shoulder problems. The challenge is to adjust your space (clear out clutter!), let go of other people’s issues, and do the work on oneself. If you have any imbalances or issues with these body parts, work with the Knowledge gua throughout your house. You have multiple areas … it’s the front-left corner of every room. Remove clutter, put things away that don’t belong out in the open, and open channels and pathways for chi to easily flow or move.
An Area for Reflection
The Knowledge gua is a wonderful area for reflection. In your home, this could be a meditation room or area, a study, office, or family room. It could also be a corner in a room where you place a comfortable chair for quiet time and self- reflection. My favorite meditation chair is located in the Knowledge gua of my bedroom, and I use it regularly.
The Knowledge gua or corner is a great area for books and resource materials, a globe, various shades of blue, and earthy items. Outside, it’s a great place for a meditation garden.
The Knowledge and Partnership Guas are Energetically Linked
The Knowledge gua pairs with the Partnership Gua in the opposite corner (furthest right corner). When you know yourself at a deep level, it’s easier to be in a healthy relationship or partnership with another. Thus, get comfortable and be happy with yourself. As you cultivate inner peace, the right relationships will come to you. The Partnership gua also holds energy for your relationship with your mother and mother figures. If you have any conflicts with your mom or mother-figures in your life, clean these up. Doing so will help you to cultivate a healthy and loving partnership, if you wish for one.
Look around your Knowledge gua and notice what’s there. What captures your attention? Take some photos and review them. It’s easier to notice things in a photo that your eyes might gloss over in person.
Earth Areas
The Knowledge and Partnership guas are Earth areas in the Five Element system. The Earth element is strengthened by Fire and depleted by Metal. Wood and Water also weaken it. Thus, if you have an abundance of Metal, Water or Wood items or colors in the Knowledge or Partnership guas, rebalance the areas by adding items and décor with Fire and Earth characteristics.
In the I Ching, the source for much feng shui knowledge, the Mountain is the trigram for the Knowledge gua. The story is that sages and wise people would go to the mountain to reflect, gain knowledge, and develop their insight and intuition. You can also develop your insight and intuition by clearing emotional and physical clutter, enabling you to delve deeper within yourself. The Knowledge gua represents your inner relationship with yourself. The opposite gua, Partnership, represents your outer relationships with others.
Audit the art and decor that you have in these areas also. What insights do you receive when you look at pictures on the wall or when you read the titles of books that are located here? Reflect on furniture and other possessions filling the spaces and notice the insights that come to you. Tune in and pay attention to your hunches and intuition. Do the items in your various Knowledge guas support your personal journey for connecting more deeply with yourself? Would some items be better placed elsewhere? Do you have items in other areas that would be better suited here?
Look around and explore what you have. Many times, you have items that support your intentions and endeavors located in areas where they are less effective. Aligning your art, décor, and possessions with the themes of each gua strengthens and leverages the energy of the gua. The result is that you’ll have to do less “heavy-lifting” to bring your goals and wishes to fruition.
Activate the Knowledge gua, by removing items that don’t belong there, as well as items that have low energy. I enter the back door at my house via the Knowledge gua. I step into a porch where we have a bureau that stores many tools. Although the top of this bureau used to be a magnet for dropping a variety of miscellaneous items, my husband and I have been better about keeping this clear of debris. Prior to May26th, I’m going to refresh the top of this bureau and add a plant for the warmer months.
Clutter is anything that you don’t use or love. Make the process easy on yourself by removing items that have little or no emotional impact first. As you do so, the deeper layers move to the surface and become easier to deal with over time.
Knowledge Gua and the Mountain Trigram
In the I Ching, the Mountain trigram is depicted as two dashed lines capped by a solid line on top. Since the ‘mountain” is the trigram associated with the Knowledge gua, mountain pictures, images, and art, do double duty in this area. You can enjoy your art while it is also helping you to connect more fully and deeply with yourself.
Set a goal to create an environment with clear and coherent chi flow. This is one that is clutter-free, well organized, clean, and has a nice vibe and chi flow. Another action to get things moving in a positive direction for you is to gather items that you haven’t used in a long time (or never use). Re-evaluate them. If they have a place in your life, activate them and use them. If not, move them along to people who can use or appreciate them. You can gift, donate, sell, or recycle them. If they need repair, do it or put a plan in place to do so. Leaving items hanging around month after month and year after year, lowers the chi of your environment. It’s time to dislodge such items and give them new life.
Since both the Knowledge and Partnership guas are Earth areas, some of the recommendations and adjustments are similar, depending on your space, circumstances, and intentions.
Enhancements for the Knowledge and Partnership guas include:
- pottery, brick and clay
- seashells
- yellow, brown, and earthy colors
- square shapes
- mountain shapes and images (Knowledge gua)
- books or a globe (Knowledge gua)
- a pair of items or images of two people or animals (Partnership gua)
- flat or horizontal surfaces and shapes
- plaid patterns
State blue is a supportive color for the Knowledge gua and pink and/or yellow are great colors in Partnership.
Earth is strengthened by the Fire element. Items that contain red, sunbursts, triangular, cone or volcanic shapes, sparkles, leather, and people and animals, will strengthen Earth qualities in any gua. It’s great to have some red or fiery items in your Knowledge gua to spark your inner self-discovery and journey. In the Partnership gua, a photo or sculpture representing a partnership is supportive too.
A single photo or a photo with one person is fine in the Knowledge gua. It’s best to have a photo or drawing with two people (or two pictures with single people) in the Partnership gua. It’s common for single people to hang pictures of single people. If you are single and you’d like to be in a relationship, double-up your single photos or hang pictures of two people who look like they’re happy and enjoying each other’s company.
Reinvigorate your Knowledge and Partnership areas prior to May 26th. Doing so with intention is even stronger. On May 26th, do a mediation and reflect on your wishes coming to fruition. Set a goal to see evidence that this is so. When asking for evidence, I specify that it be obvious and that I notice at least three signs. They might show up in conversations, an ad, a license plate or billboard, a headline, something I’m reading, a common theme … you name it. Signs and messages are all around you and are abundant. What’s important are the ones you notice. They’re fun and reinforce that you’re on the right track.
You can check back about progress with your wishes and intentions two weeks later, with the June 11th, full moon. As you get into a rhythm with the moon cycles, it’s easier to be in the flow of supportive energy. You clean and prep a related space prior to each new moon. Then you set your intentions and do a meditation on the new moon day, or within 24 hours of it. Think of this as the time to plant or “seed” your wishes. During the following two weeks, take inspired action towards your goals. Then check in with the full moon and notice what’s coming to light … what signs or signals do you see related to your intentions? At each full moon, notice what’s happening and release what no longer serves you. A few days later, begin preparing for the next new moon … as the cycles continue.
If you’d like some ideas and suggestions of ways to adjust the Knowledge gua of your space, contact Peg at peg@fengshuiconnections.com, or schedule a service or 15-minute complimentary session via Calendly. A consultation can help to put you on a path to success.