Before Marie Kondo and her spark joy test, Feng Shui was a go-to technique for doing everything from decluttering your home to clearing off your coffee table to priming your bedroom for better sleep or a boosted love life. Another thing the ancient Chinese concept can help you with around the house? Arranging your houseplants in order to cultivate abundance, love, health, and more good vibes. “In broad strokes, Feng Shui is a rhythmic practice of replacing heavy energy with fresh, light energy,” says Meghan Wallace James, a Feng Shui expert who is certified in both Eastern and Western practices. “Plants absolutely support this practice: cleaning the air, vibrating with growth, bringing the natural world indoors—and looking lovely to boot.”
At its foundation, Feng Shui is the science of using energy sources to create harmony with people and their environments. As plants are sources of life, they can be powerful to incorporate into your space. “Plants are a Feng Shui heavy hitter, for they are a physical embodiment of the material elements correlated with the love zones (earth element) and the wealth zones (wood element) on the Bagua, which is the Feng Shui floor plan map,” James explains. It’s worth noting that she says the vast majority of people she encounters want more love and more money. (I mean, same, no?)
When welcoming plants into your home you should be a bit discerning and really focus on the energy you want to bring forward. Take time shopping and make choices that you feel best suit you, your home, and your lifestyle. Once you’ve found the plants for you, James recommends ditching any faux florals lying around. “We want the real deal—in our bed, in our bank account—not an idea of the real deal,” she says. “In my private practice, I advocate for geometric, lush, and large plants for my clientele, for that symbolism corresponds nicely with their aspirations. I prefer statements as opposed to collections: Why have seven little plastic pots on a bench when you could have a pair of Kentia Palms anchoring your living room? Bold statements are declarative: This is what I want! This is where I’m going! It is empowering to walk into a room and be visually reminded of your aspirations.” Creating bold statements with visual reminders keeps that manifestation at the forefront of your mind. When you’re reminded of what you’re striving for, achievement is inevitable.
Okay, so you have your plants, now what? James recommends using the Bagua to help with placements. “The way I interpret Feng Shui [is that] the Bagua is oriented from your front door, and then divides your home into nine equal-sized zones, called ‘guas.’ Each gua has an assigned name, individualized essence, material element correlation, and defined color palette,” says James. “Your front door will open into your home from wisdom, life path, or attraction, based on the symmetry of your entrance. From there, walk to the very back left corner of the home to find abundance; walk to the very back right corner to find love.” Place your plants into the zones you want to energize.
So, say you want to call in a new lover. According to James, you should first, head to your love gua (the farthest back, most right corner of your room). Then, open up space to breathe by eliminating clutter and bulkiness however possible. Next, add a pair of plants, one more yin in nature and one more yang, to activate the delicious polarity of strong sexual attraction. (By nature, most plants are yang, but those that require low maintenance and can survive in shade, like a snake plant, for example, are considered yin.) Finally, she says: “Get ready.”
Should things start getting steamy, here are a few plants that can stand the heat and humidity.
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