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Originally Published Fall 1999
Peg: Feng shui (pronounced fung shway) is the ancient Chinese
art of promoting balance and harmony in one's environment; it is a cross
between art and science. Feng shui deals with the flow of energy (chi) in
the environment, both outside and in the natural world and within
buildings of all kinds.
New NAN candidate: You mean there is something invisible running
around my house called "chi?"
Peg: Have you ever heard of dowsing? Or how about ergonomics in
the workplace?
New NAN candidate: I know I don't get out enough because I have
been working so hard on certification, but I haven't been living in a
diving bell!
Peg: Dowsing and ergonomics are western offshoots of Feng Shui.
Feng shui is a holistic practice because it offers alternative ways of
relating with the world around us.
New NAN candidate: "Holistic" is a word that makes me
nervous and with all that is going on in this world, who can relate?
Peg: But we're only talking about the decorating aspects that
are concerned with feng shui. Pay attention! Since "chi" is the
invisible flow of energy that circulates through the earth and sky, there
is good chi and there is bad chi.
New NAN candidate: I think I have it now, good chi is winning
the lottery while bad chi is an IRS audit.
Peg: Well, that's close enough. Capturing the good chi and
directing its flow in and around your living environment is a large part
of fung shui. Whatever your taste or style preference, your goal should be
to create a serene and welcoming effect whether in your home or in your
stitchery.
Your friends, relatives and visitors will respond to the atmosphere you
create for them. If it isn't a cozy and welcoming spot, they'll find other
places to go. If the stitchery lacks appeal, it ends up in the bottom of a
drawer or at Good Will.
New NAN candidate: I can't argue, with that.
Peg: No matter which house I've lived in over the years or even
the style I've decorated in, most people come in and say, "this is so
warm and cozy." It is quite possible it is because I practice the
basic elements of feng shui.
A couple of the feng shui basics are to never set up a room with the
host or hostess's back to the door. While clearing everything out from
under the bed helps the chi to flow gently, without obstructions.
Feng Shui is about being a minimalist; to open your spaces and to cut
down on clutter, which is a sign of a personality disorder to the Chinese.
In the tradition of feng shui, color plays an important part in overall
well being in our living environments as well as in the stitchery we do.
Red is the color of energy, vitality and power. It will help with
depression, but is not a good color to be used by people with high blood
pressure or anxiety. It is a Chi Whiz regal and good luck color. In China,
the brides wear red as a symbol of good luck and good fortune. A stitched
piece with red as the dominant color will bring luck and good fortune to
the owner.
Orange will have a gentle, warming effect if used sparingly, and
sparingly is the key. If used in abundance or as a dominant color, it will
make people nervous and agitated. It is a color used by fast food
restaurants as they know that the color orange will make people eat faster
and leave quickly making room for more people who will eat faster and so
on. But used sparingly as an accent color, it can warm the cool colors on
the opposite side of the color wheel.
In the context of feng shui, yellow was used by emperors only,
forbidden for the general public to wear. In other cultures, yellow is the
color of intellect and mental stimulation. It is not the best color to use
in a room for children, because it is very stimulating. But it is the
color of happiness and warmth and useful in small doses.
Green is the color of healing and brings feelings of calmness. Surgeons
wear green scrubs and hospitals paint walls pale green to promote healing
in their patients. Green in the home creates a calm environment, like
being in the deep woods.
Pink is also calming, while blue is the color of truth, serenity and
harmony, but too much blue could leave you cold, depressed and sorrowful.
When using blue, it is important to use a bit of orange to counteract the
coolness of the blue.
Violet is the color that will connect you with your spiritual self and
is a color of mourning. White symbolizes purity and brings peace and
comfort. Silver is also a color of peace and of persistence.
New NAN Candidate: Wow, I would never have believed that feng shui
would help me with my certification.
Beyond Feng Shui
To explore color you can follow many paths through many fields of
learning history, anthropology, geology, religion, mythology, art,
painting, architecture, literature, culture, tradition, superstition,
symbolism, astrology, science, physics, chemistry, psychology, optics,
medicine all lead into the world of color. No other topic is quite so
fascinating, emotional or so personal. Even the blind are not immune to
color.
Love of color is really quite old as we can tell from ancient pottery.
Early cave drawings were the result of making pigments of brown, black and
red from natural clays, burnt bones and plant dyes. Color is a language
where every hue has a significance and this begins with the color of man
himself. Each race is designated by the color of the skin. Indians are
red, Orientals are yellow, Africans are black and the remaining are white.
Color is symbolic of the major faiths with Moslems being white,
Christians blue, and Jews yellow. There are 5 colored circles on the
Olympic flag to designate the 5 continents.
The signs of the zodiac have specific colors. Religions make use of
color: if you have been to Mecca you wear green; yellow is worn by
Buddhist and Hindu priests; and violet is the color used during Advent and
Lent in Christian churches. In the Old Testament Joseph had a coat of many
colors. In Iran a blue bead brings good luck while in Turkey the evil eye
is blue.
Universities recognize eight colors for their faculties; green for
Medicine; blue for Philosophy; purple for Law; scarlet for Theology-and
that reminds us of the Scarlet Letter.
We have blue Mondays, blue moons, blue blood, blue ribbons, blue is for
boys and pink is for girls (except in France where it is reversed). There
are blue collars, black sheep, purple hearts, yellow pages, red lights,
red necks, red letter days, not a red cent and all westerns have a
greenhorn. The bride wears white unless she is Chinese and then she wears
red.
Take notice of more instances where color is used to define things and
send your additions to this article to the NANthology editor. Thanks. |
