Elixir's
Second Feng Shui Window

Monday, June 8, 2009 (16/5/4707)

The anniversary of Heaven and Earth uniting to begin creation out of chaos.

Ji/Celestial Yin Earth
Cho/Earthly Yin Earth (Ox) Year

Geng/Celestial Yang Metal
Wu/ Earthly Yang Fire (Horse) Month

Jia /Celestial Yang Wood
Shen/Earthly Yang Metal (Monkey) Day

Ji/Celestial Yin Earth Si/Earthly Yang Fire (Snake) Hour

This is the beginning of the solar month of Mang Zhong , or feather seed. This means that the seeds are sprouting.

This month's basic feng shui framework

The energy of Geng is Celestial Yang Metal.

The energy of Wu is Earthly Yin Fire. When we deconstruct this Earthly element into its Celestial components, we get Ding/Celestial Yin Fire and Ji/Celestial Yin Earth.

So our elements for this month of Geng/Wu Mang Zhong are Yang Metal, Double Yin Fire and Yin Earth.

Celestial Yang Metal is like a Heavenly tool. It's the element of Cosmic forces inducing change.

Earthly Yin Fire is a small fire, like the fire of a hearth, or the fire within us that motivates life.

Celestial Yin Fire is the Fire of stars and of Heavenly motivators.

Celestial Yin Earth is the cosmic matrix of what can be done and what cannot be done.

Discussion about this month's window

The objects we used for this display were as follows:

- 13 highly polished Nautilus shells in a rounded wicker basket.

- 8 Thorny Clam shells in a square wicker basket.

- Both baskets were angled on the diagonal between Chien, the Heaven Gua and Sun, the Wind Gua. (These Gua considerations must be considered from two opposite directions. One is to consider as if you're facing from the inside out as a creator. The other is to regard it from the outside in as an observer. The primary, though not exclusive, point of observation for these windows is from the point of view of the creator.)

- A Hosta plant in a woven wood container in the left rear corner.

The 13 Nautilus shells express the 13 lunar spirals of a solar year. Their hypnotic polish really gives them a precious air. The rounded basket further emphasizes the Yin dimension of this energy.

The 8 Thorny Clam shells express the 8 dimensions of the four pillars configuration of the Ba Zi in the the feng shui calendar. The Thorny Clams are really bringing down the house because they are so bizarre and unusual.

Both sets of shells capture the motion of the sprouting seeds. The Nautilus shells catch the spiral motion of the sprouts, while the Thorny Clams express the radiating and protective quality of Yang energy. The square wicker basket containing the Thorny Clams further emphasize this energy.

Both of the baskets have large, rounded handles. This rounded quality takes on a full semi-circle and thus evokes the round image of Heaven. These rounded handles bring out the quality of "hanging from Heaven," which is a word-play in images for the Chinese meaning of Gua.

The motion of the Hosta plant over the course of this month is really bringing out the axis we're creating between the Heaven Gua and the Wind Gua. The plant itself is situated in the Heaven Gua. It sprouted an approximately 2-foot perfectly stem over the course of several days, further expressing a pure Yang/Heavenly principle. When this stem had reached its height, it burst forth with a spray of purple flowers, thus calling and expressing the energy of its opposing Wind Gua in a most dramatic way.

There's another word play with the word Hosta, although this one is in Sanskrit rather than Chinese. Hosta is the name of the asterism the moon had entered when Lord Ram lead his army of apemen and bears against the demon forces of Lanka millennia ago. So we're working with the idea aligning with cosmic principles to get a big task completed. This also brings us further along the line with the anniversary celebration of Heaven and Earth uniting to begin creation out of chaos.

The shape of the Hosta plant speaks of Fire that is transforming into Earth. Each Hosta leaf also speaks of this progression. The coloring of its leaves suggests the relationship between Earth, Metal and Wood.

In the background of this night time shot of Elixir's second feng shui window display, you can see Elixir's Giant Philodendron showing off in a big way.

Take home lesson

Sometimes it's a good idea to use non-obvious representations in our feng shui displays. This is especially true when those objects can embody multiple layers of the energies at play at the same time. In this sense, their non-obvious quality is an invitation to depth and intimate communication in relationship. When you can find beings that are alive or traces of living beings, such as shells, that truly embody these layers of principle, you have found very potent conductors for these energies.

Isn't this just like situations and people we meet in life? If we can apply some extra attention to these situations, many times we can discover a hidden gold mine inside of them.


Back to Elixir's Feng Shui Window Displays Gallery

John Mini, M.S.C.M./ L.Ac.