What Is The True Meaning of Feng Shui?

   Feng Shui in Chinese means wind and water. However, this term is roughly only 100 years old. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was referred to as 'the secrets of the heavens.'

   The practice of Feng Shui can be traced back over 1,500 years ago and was used primarily for the selection of burial sites. Feng Shui is the science of understanding and observing the living environment to assess the potential and possible outcomes for a person living in a space.

   A simple line from one of the foremost books on Feng Shui, the Burial Book, states "Chi is dispersed by the Wind and gathers at the boundaries of the Water." This simple line begins to describe the nature of water and how it plays a role in accumulating, collecting and gathering Chi.

   The true objective of Feng Shui is to harness the Chi of the local environment to support us in our goals and desires. It is a science and practice of looking at the quality of a person's life by looking at their living environment and seeking to improve that quality of life by tapping into the natural energies or Chi in that environment. As the Yang part of Feng Shui, it's roles relates to activate, circulate and move the Chi.

   As a result, it is a practice of living in harmony with your environment to produce tangible results naturally. It involves the intuitive, aesthetic adjustment of visible and invisible objects or factors, realigning all dimensions of the environment into a balanced, harmonious state.

I have a fireplace in the South area, would it be bad to add more elements of red to it? Also can I add plants around a fireplace?

Based on your description, it sounds like the fireplace is in the Career section of the room. The career section represents water and the fire and water combination are destructive to each other. As a result, I would not recommend adding any additional red, which, represents the fire element, or any candles.

To adjust the fireplace element, I would consider hanging a large mirror above the fireplace, which represents the water element.

Typically, I do like to have plants set on each side of the fireplace or small topiaries sitting on top of the mantel. It makes the space feel warm and complete.

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What does the Chinese dragon mean as far as feng shui goes?

The dragon is the traditional Chinese Symbol of growth, protection, vitality, spring, prosperity, health and new beginnings.

One dragon represents power, a group of two dragons represents unity, nine dragons promotes longevity.

Many times people will look for dragons in the hills of land forms.

For additional feng shui tips.