Lights and colors

Light is energy in one of its most obvious forms. What we perceive as color is, of course, light as well. Its power is incalculable, yet most of us take it almost for granted. You need only reflect on the mystery of the dawn and the slow pageant of the sunset to understand how completely light and color transform the entire world, our perceptions of it, and our own lives. In the same way, light and color in our homes are an integral part of the quality of life we have there -  and a major factor in influencing the interplay of Yin and Yang. Change the colors of the walls or doors. put in new lights and your home is changed. So the Feng Shui practitioner takes lighting very seriously indeed, and also warns against inappropriate lights and colors.

Overhead lighting

An overhead lights sends a powerful shower of energy streaming down over the bed. Feng Shui experts would advise you to avoid this arrangement, especially if the light is positioned over the head of the bed. Even when the light is switched off, the electrical circuitry is in place, subtly affecting the energy movements in the area and most particularly, underneath.

Downlighting

Positioning two lights over the bed so that they shine down over the heads of the people using it may be convenient for reading, but from the Feng Shui point of view it is regarded as potentially harmful for health. Reading lights should be placed beside the bed.

Soft tones

These are ideal for your bedroom - warm pink tints and pale peach shades. You find these toward the reddish end of the spectrum and also in the off-white tints such as eggshell, magnolia, beige, and light tan. Very pale purples, light magentas, and violets are also suitable in the bedroom as long as they create a soft, relaxing effect. Strong reds, wine colors, and orange tones are too overpowering and not suitable for indoor, domestic use.

Yellow and strong earth colors

These work very well in the kitchen and are a perfect correspondence in The Five Energy system, but are not appropriate for use in your bedroom, living room, or bathroom.

Pure, brilliant white

This is not recommended for domestic walls, but cream colors, warm off-white tints, and beige tones are suitable in almost any room. The warmer tints are best suited to your bedroom, living room, and kitchen. Cooler shades may be used in your bathroom and other utility rooms.

The blue end of the spectrum

This is not recommended for use as a room color in Feng Shui. Dark blues, the colors of deep water, are particularly avoided. The use of very light blues in the living room is somethings acceptable, but the cumulative effect tends to make people withdrawn and introspective.

Light greens

These are cool colors, relaxing and easy on the eyes. You can use them in your bedroom and also in your sitting room and bathroom. Dark green tones, however, are too heavy and are not generally recommended for the home.

This is very general advice and should not be taken as a set of fixed rules. Indeed, if you engage a Feng Shui expert to assist you in arranging your home, you may be given very different instructions - follow that specialist advice, since it will be adapted to your particular circumstances and the conditions prevailing at that time.