Feng shui (pronounced fung shway) is an ancient Chinese practice dating back over 7000 years that, literally translated, means "wind-water". Used primarily in architecture, landscaping and interior decorating, feng shui is the art of placing objects and arranging space in a way that harmony and a balance of the elements can be attained in that particular environment. Operating on the belief that all things both living and inanimate have a "chi", or energy force, that flows through it, feng shui is a way of equalizing the natural world with it's modern day, man-made constructions. It is believed that adjusting the energy of the home through feng shui can promote health, prosperity, success and love. Manipulating our outer world is often an effective way of changing our inner selves. Have you ever walked into a place of business and immediately felt uneasy? Or entered a friend's home and couldn't wait to get out of there? Chances are you were in a place suffering from very bad feng shui, especially if the space was cluttered.

One of the basic principles of feng shui says that all clutter must be cleared away; you should only share your personal space with items that are useful, beautiful or sentimental. When a place is overridden with broken or useless items, your own energy and the energy of the space becomes overwhelmed. Step one is to sell or give away that which is presently useless to your own purposes, fix that which is important but broken, and recycle the rest. It is also important that your home be well maintained. Clean regularly and perform repairs as quickly as possible. If a door is hard to open, it will make it difficult for you to progress in life. Dirty windows cloud your judgment and make it hard to recognize what's really going on in a situation, be it literally or metaphorically. Inadequate lighting contributes to a lack of energy, so replace burnt-out bulbs quickly.

Next, you will need to determine which direction your house faces toward. A common misconception is that your house faces in whatever direction the front door does. Sometimes it will just so happen that house-facing and door-facing directions will be one and the same (if so, the home offers greater potential for better feng shui) but this is not always true. The facing direction of a house is usually whichever side faces a busy road, an active city, or a beautiful, picturesque view--any place where maximum "yang" energy is located. If you have such a place located near your home and you have a door or window that faces this place, then this is the facing direction of your house. However, if there is no door or window that opens out in that direction, then this CANNOT be your facing direction. In order for it to qualify as a facing direction, it MUST allow energy to enter through an opening in it's exterior. If you live in an urban area surrounded only by roads, choose the direction in which the busiest, most active roadway lies. That will be your home's facing direction. If you live in a high rise apartment building, keep in mind that any tenants living above the ninth floor will determine their facing direction not by roadways, but by figuring out which window offers the best view.

Feng shui principles operate mainly around the openings in a room. It is great to have doors that face high activity roadways and windows that look out onto a beautiful view, but at the same time, if you open the front door and straight ahead are the doors leading to the backyard, the positive energy will enter the front door and be pulled right out the back door without taking the time to energize your living space. To avoid this, you could try hanging a crystal at a halfway point between the two doors. When crystals are hung, they hold energy in one place. (In the world of paranormal research, you will often find crystals hung at front doors--they use the same principle to keep negative spirits from entering the threshold.) Chi flows through the home like water, through doors and windows, so it is imperative that these entrances not be blocked. Keep foyers brightly lit and completely free of clutter.

Inauspicious (unlucky) energy is called "killing breath". Lucky energy lines travel in a curved, wandering pattern. The unlucky lines that create killing breath are straight and sharp, pointed objects which are referred to as poison arrows. Sharp corners, pointy roof angles, even outside electrical poles or exposed overhead beams are all considered to be poisonous. Too many sharp angles are aggressive. But it is virtually impossible to eliminate all poison arrows, so since chi enters your home through its front entrance, concentrate your efforts on the poison arrows facing your front door, such as a tall street light that stands directly in front of it or a road that ends at your doorstep, like the center house in a cul-de-sac. Counteract the ill effects of poison arrows by placing a folding screen with a foliage or floral design on it in the path of these objects, just inside the door or window. Another option is to place a specialized bagua mirror just inside the doorway to deflect the negativity back outside, or to hang leafy plants on a spiky iron fence out in the yard.

These are the basic principles that will get you started on your journey into the world of feng shui decorating. Check out the other hubs in this group to learn more about the many tactics and beliefs that govern this powerful, ancient Chinese art form.