For as long as we can trace civilisation back, people have had a fascination with flowers. We’ve used them to decorate our spaces, dye our clothes, paint our faces, as medicine, for food, and have assigned each one a special meaning. It’s no surprise, then, that flowers can play a major role in feng shui as well.

Background of Feng Shui

The concept of feng shui dates back some 3,000 years and is based on the concepts of Taoism. In short, everything is alive and has its own energy, referred to as Chi. Through feng shui, we learn how to create balance and harmony in order to bring about good luck or positive energy. At its core, we can create harmony by balancing the five elements around us; wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

Understanding the Elements

Each of the elements is associated with specific colours and meanings.

 

Wood: Wood represents spring and the beginning of life. The colours associated with it are greens and browns.

 

Fire: Red is naturally associated with fire, as is purple. Its season is summer and it often represents courtesy, understanding, or recognition.

 

Earth: Oranges and yellows are the colours associated with earth. It’s the element of calmness and reliability.

 

Metal: Withdrawal and reversal are associated with metal. Its colours are silvers, greys, and whites and its season is Autumn.

 

Water: Water is the element of winter, represented by blues and black. It can refer to wisdom or communication.

Utilising the Colour Charts to Create Balance

Feng shui colour charts can be used to help create balance, as each element can either counter or “destruct” the forces of another or it can “create” an environment in which a specific element thrives. For example, if you look at the colour chart and locate fire at the top and metal near the lower right, the downward arrows indicate that fire counters the forces of metal.

 

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine you’re in a room covered entirely in slate grey. It feels cold and barren, doesn’t it? Now, close your eyes again, but imagine purple accents throughout the room. That softens it quite a bit, doesn’t it?

 

Greys and whites might normally signify withdrawal, but fire balances it out and it no longer has the same feeling. The same can be done with the flowers you select for your home. Most of us have a white room in our homes, but it is a colour of metal and is cold. It causes people to pull back. Again, we can add fire colours to create harmony and bring energy back into the space or counter the feeling- create an inviting space- by adding wood colours such as green or brown.

Feng Shui Meanings of Flowers

Certain flowers also have their own meanings in feng shui.

 

Cherry Blossoms: Innocence, new beginnings, and health.

 

Lotus: Health and harmony.

 

Narcissus: Career.

 

Orchid: Beauty and fertility.

 

Peony: Romance and love.

 

Nowadays, it’s easy to findquality flowers online and locate something befitting of your space. Try applying the principles of feng shui next time you shop for flowers and see if you can create balance or cultivate the type of atmosphere that appeals most to you.