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Good and Bad Feng Shui House Facing and Sitting Directions
Recently, a friend introduced you to Feng Shui, and you want to try it. You decide to start by making a bagua or energy map of your home. Your friend comes over with a Lo-Pan or Feng Shui compass and starts taking measurements. Sometime later, you end up with a plan, some numbers, and directions. There are a couple of Feng Shui tips to consider when maximizing your home’s good energy flow: the facing guidance and the sitting directions. What are these, and what do they mean?
Before discussing facing and sitting directions, it is essential to know about a few Feng Shui principles first. Feng Shui follows the principle of yin and yang. They are represented by a circle comprised of a white and a black half. Each side has a small ring with the opposite color inside of it.
Yin and Yang
The yin and yang symbolize two opposite yet interdependent forces of nature. The yin is the feminine, nurturing, soft, and dark, while the yang is the masculine, forceful, firm, and bright. If either is out of balance, it is not a good thing. Another principle Feng Shui follows is the five elements.
Each element has its characteristics, colors, positives, and negatives. The elements must be balanced, as they are indistinguishable from Qi or energies. The elements are wood, fire, earth, and water.
Importance of House Feng Shui Facing & Sitting Directions
#1. Direction
The facing direction is somewhat self-explanatory. It means the direction the front of your home faces. It is not to be confused with the direction your front door faces. When using your compass, you must take several measurements and get the median number. It is considered to meet the yang (or most masculine) energy.
#2. East
The east is represented by spring and the element of wood (growing things). If your facing direction is east, welcome it by painting your front door green. The East also signifies new beginnings and abundance. Not bad! The south is represented by summer and the element of fire.
#3. Feng Shui House Facing and Sitting Directions: South
If your facing direction is south, embrace it, but use some caution. Paint your front door red, but consider a water feature to balance out the forceful passion that is fire. The White House in the United States is a south-facing building. It has red flowers and a huge fountain out front. Does that surprise you?
#4. West
If your facing direction is west, it is best not to fight this element but embrace it. Paint the front door in white, gray, or metallic colors. The West also signifies productivity, creativity, and good times. Finally, the north is represented by winter.
Paint your door dark blue or black and consider it a water feature. North also signifies wealth and career, so don’t neglect your north-facing home!
#5. Sitting Direction in Feng Shui
The sitting direction is not as easy to guess. It means the direction the back of your home faces. It is the opposite of the facing direction and is considered to face the yin (or most feminine) energy. Most of the time, it is meeting your backyard or fence.
While some Feng Shui practitioners do not concern themselves with the sitting direction of a house in detail (it depends upon which school of thought they follow), nearly all study the house’s sitting energy; in other words, what is just outside the back of the house? A green or rock garden is good. Privacy from neighbors in the form of a row of trees is a good thing but beware of very tall earthen or metal-based walls, as they are considered oppressive.
Another aspect of “sitting direction” is how you sit in and around a building. This will affect you, too. Where you sit in your home or office will affect the flow of Qi around you and therefore affect how you feel, whether you realize it.
At home, there are some general rules to follow, no matter what room you are in. For example, sitting with your back to windows or doors makes you miss out on activity and may leave you feeling vulnerable while sitting with your back against the wall, so your face most of the room is ideal.
#6. Psychological factor
This also works on a psychological level. You will better know what is happening around you and feel more included. Walls also offer protection. Sitting in a corner will provide an even greater sense of safety, but doing so at all times may make you a bit antisocial.
Since where people sit affects them in subtle but natural ways, the way you set up the furniture in your rooms is essential. You want yourself and others to feel comfortable and secure at all times. The room where this is most obvious is the living room.
The seating may be across a wall, or perhaps the sofa may be along one wall, while other chairs are across from it in corners. It is very similar; only the main piece of furniture to manipulate is the bed. Make sure it does not face the door and is as far from it as possible.
This is because you want the bedroom to be quiet and not overly active. The bed should be either against a wall or in a corner. These concepts also work in an office setting, whether it is a home office or an office away from home.
Desk Position
Try to have your desk turned so it faces the room. If you work in a cubicle, you may have only so many options, but you can control your desktop. Clear off the clutter. Your desk should not have things that block your view of the room (again because there needs to be a free energy flow). Oval meeting tables are better than squares or rectangles with sharp corners. They still allow for a place of power but are less aggressive.
Positioning is everything when it comes to facing and sitting house directions, whether inside or outside. Knowledge is your best friend, so do your research, but beware of what you read on the Internet. You will likely find conflicting information because some sites follow classical Feng Shui while others follow the Western tradition, but few places will state which version they refer to.