"Where attention goes, energy flows." Jeannie Marie Tower

THE RIGHT PLACE, at the right time! It's no wonder Feng Shui is so popular these days. It is a tangible, straightforward way to feel that you can have some causation over your life. Feng Shui (pronounced "fung schway") is based on the idea that your environment is a physical manifestation of you, your life and your psyche. Feng Shui is the study of our relationship to our surroundings and seeks to bring harmony, peace and prosperity from the physical arrangement of our world. Proponents of Feng Shui prefer to call it an "art" -- the art of placement in our environment as well as a means of bringing balance and enhancement to the environment. It is about harnessing energy and making the "Ch’i" energy (the Life Force, the cosmic breath or cosmic energy) flow smoothly through our homes so that it will similarly flow in our lives. Sarah Rossbach, author of Interior Design with Feng Shui states, "The point of Feng shui is to harness and enhance environmental ch’i to improve the flow of ch’i within our bodies, thus improving our life and destiny. "

There are a few basic concepts of Feng Shui. One is the concept of arranging your home’s interior so that the ch’i flows through it smoothly, evenly, without obstructions. There is much emphasis on removing clutter. Much of Feng Shui principles are based on good common sense. If a door keeps sticking, fix it. If a light bulb is burned out, replace it. If a closet is so jammed with clutter, that you can hardly find what you are looking for, it is time to do some major tossing. The second concept of Feng Shui is based on the bagua, derived from the I Ching, which offers the "map" or plan that shows us which parts of our home represent and correspond to various aspects of our lives. By superimposing this "map" onto our home (with the home's entrance at the bottom of the diagram), we are able to both diagnose environmental problems and cure them. As you can see by the bagua below, the farthest right corner from the home’s entrance is the relationship/partner ship area. The other corner is the wealth area and so on. Proponents of Feng Shui suggest that you choose the particular area in your life that needs attention and make that particular area in your home of special importance. This importance can be achieve by a special object, a lush plant, a mobile, a light (to symbolically shine light on the area) or a crystal. Such items will draw ch’i to that area, and will also remind you of your intention in that area. As you symbolically nurture that area of your home, you also cultivate what it represents in your life.

The Feng Shui system teaches that your space mirrors your life. The Tarot system says that the Tarot images also mirror your life. The cards that you are consciously drawn to and which unconsciously appear in a reading, are a metaphor for your life and psyche. Feng Shui proponents say that by changing your external world, you foster inner changes as well. When you work with the potent Tarot images, you release images that have been locked up within, and you also foster inner changes.

Now, this is the exciting part of the union of Feng Shui and the Tarot system. What if we were to place particular Tarot cards in strategic Feng Shui areas in our homes? Wouldn’t the externalization of an inner need or desire, as portrayed by the Tarot image, when placed in the right spot on the bagua, draw ch’i to both the image itself and the area in the home we intend to develop? I believe that by placing a certain Tarot card in a specific area of your home, you can draw ch’i to that area by the potent Tarot imagery.

Here’s how to start. First you MUST pick one specific area on your home that represents a specific area in your life that you wish to enhance. If you have several areas that need attention, focus on only one. Otherwise, your energies might become too scattered to have effective results.

For example, let’s say that you want to focus on your finances, prosperity and wealth. You would first clear the wealth area in your home, as indicated on the bagua. As mentioned, traditional Feng Shui might suggest that in this area you place a leafy green plant (to symbolize growth and expansion) or hang a crystal, mobile or mirror to get the energy or chi moving, or place a red object to symbolize energy. When combining the Tarot into this practice, a card such as the Empress can also be placed in this wealth corner. The Empress is the ultimate symbol of fecundity, Mother Nature sitting on her throne, surrounded by lush imagery. By placing this specific Tarot card in your wealth area, you will draw energy to that area as well as provide your unconscious with this potent fertile imagery.

In another example, still using the wealth area in your bagua, you might choose the Chariot card since this is a card that portrays the concept of taking charge, putting yourself in the driver’s seat. This night be a particularly good choice if part of your financial concerns stem from excessive spending, overuse of charge cards, getting too far in debt, lending money to others or any similar inability to have more control in your finances. Also, there is no reason why you could not combine two Tarot cards, the Empress and the Chariot, for example, to convey the idea that you want to both expand your ability to prosper as well as be more responsible in your finances. However, I would recommend that you limit your selection of cards to only one or two.

Here’s another example of how to bring these two powerful tools together. Suppose you seek to establish a romantic relationship, to attract a potential partner. You might place the Lovers Card, the Two of Cups or even the 10 of Pentacles in your relationship corner (all of these Tarot cards depict couples, either looking at each other, touching each other or in some way expressing their connection to each other). Placing this compelling relationship imagery in your relationship area enhances the power of both the image AND the corner. You may want to add a red or pink candle, an African violet or some similar article that conveys love, compassion and relationship. It might also be useful to contemplate exactly what you seek in a relationship and then find a specific Tarot card that captures that ideal.

Here’s a final idea that brings these two potent tools together. You will need a good, large-sized copy of the bagua (enlarge a picture of the bagua up to at least 8 and one half by 11). For less than $10, you can purchase a tiny Tarot deck (one inch high). Again, focusing on the area on your bagua that you most wish to develop, you can lay the appropriate card(s) on that area. Leave this bagua out, in plain sight so you can continue in the process of planting the seedling in the wealth section of your consciousness.

Now, if you don’t feel really confident or comfortable in your knowledge of what specific Tarot cards mean, there is another way to choose the cards you will use in the chosen area of your bagua. Again, clear away the particular area in your home, remove all clutter, all distractions. Take your Tarot deck (any deck will do, but certainly the ideal would be a deck that has special meaning to you, one in which you find the images to be especially attractive, provocative or potent). To complete this next phase, you need not know anything about what the cards mean. Find a quiet spot in your home, ideally near or in the area that you wish to develop. Light a candle, do some quiet contemplating and then slowly flip thought the entire pack of tarot cards, creating two piles, one for cards that depict a positive representation of the ideal you seek in that area of your life and the other pile for those cards that don't fit your image. You are looking for cards that speak to you in a special way, that stir up your ch’i, your life forces. Once you’ve created the two piles, set aside the pile that has no relationship to your ideal and do the same exact process again, this time, selecting cards that have an even stronger connection to your ideal. Keep eliminating piles until you have narrowed your choices down to the two most striking images in the deck that capture what you seek. THESE are the cards that you will place in the chosen area, as a means to draw energy to that area in your life. Simply place the card in the appropriate corner. You could also put a special frame around the card or anything that you hold dear and that has positive memories. The goal is to "magnetize" this corner of your bagua with your special desires.

Both Tarot and Feng Shui are about creating energy, intentionality and drawing from the spiritual, mystical and unseen forces that govern our lives. There are, of course, no guarantees, especially if there is a part of you that has some deep inner resistance to what you seek. Unresolved fear of intimacy, lack of self-worth, uncertainty in you ability to succeed – any of these may act as impediments to the success of your Feng Shui and Tarot endeavors. And, of course, any tool, be it Fen Shui, Tarot, crystals or whatever you chose, can never absolve you from taking personal responsibility. Using these techniques are ways to raise your intention and raise your energy. They are mystical tools that help you to stretch your soul and psyche. You still have to take the necessary steps to achieve what you seek and to work through your resistance. The power, always and ultimately, rests in your own hands.