Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice of organizing human environments in harmony with nature. Dating as far back as 4000-5000 years B.C, it was originally used to situate important buildings like temples and tombs. Over time, the system evolved to include private dwellings, and it is still in use today.
The principles of Feng Shui are closely linked to Taoism. They involve including all of the elements of nature within a home and placing them in a way that invites positive energies and deflects negative ones. The five natural elements of air, earth, water, fire, and wood are brought into the home and placed in precise ways to attract and align energy (or Chi).
The significance of an aquarium in Feng Shui
Water is one of the five essential elements that must be included in a home order to be harmonious with nature. However, the typical home only includes elements that drain water: sinks, showers, toilets, and baths are designed to remove and eliminate excess water. The typical home does not include a place where water is held, stored, and celebrated.
This lack of water in a home represents the lack of flow and movement of energies and is linked to stagnation. The water element also symbolizes abundance and freedom, two important forces for health and happiness.
An aquarium is a perfect way to bring water energy into a home, in a way that stores and celebrates the beauty of water and the flow of living energies. It is often the only method in which water is included and celebrated in accordance with Feng Shui principles.
Building a Feng Shui aquarium
An aquarium can be decorated to further enhance the inherent Feng Shui of the water energies.
Add wood and plants to include the wood element. Use sand and rocks to include the earth element. Some decor and fixtures (even some of the fish!) can include shiny metal elements. And choosing brightly-colored, quickly-moving orange and yellow fish will invite fire energies, even into the watery tank of the aquarium.
The ideal Feng Shui aquarium includes eight golden fish and one black one. The number eight represents prosperity, while the blackfish absorbs negative energies.
Placement of the aquarium in accordance with Feng Shui
Proper Feng Shui means not only having all the elements present and honored in the living space but placing them to align with certain energies. Place the water element in the place in the home where you want the most movement and energy.
Putting an aquarium at the front door invites prosperity, which is why you often see aquariums at the door of Chinese restaurants. Placing it slightly to the left of the front door is ideal for luck in money.
There are also a few places Feng Shui tells us not to put an aquarium:
- Do not put an aquarium in the bedroom, as the constant flow and movement impede restful sleep.
- Do not put an aquarium in the kitchen, because the kitchen is typically the source of the fire energy in a home, and the two will not harmonize.
A Bagua is a Feng Shui map that defines the energies associated with the points of the compass. Different compass points are associated with different energies; the placement of the aquarium in those sectors invites change, movement, flow, and abundance. Placing the aquarium in the southeast portion of the house invites wealth and abundance while placing it in the north promotes a career.
To learn more about the many benefits of Feng Shui and how to incorporate this ancient philosophy into your home with an aquarium, contact us today.