Feng Shui Decorating: Love & Marriage

According to the Bagua diagram, the rear right corner of the room is the section, or gua, that rules love, relationships and marriage. Focusing on this area can foster the growth of a present relationship as well as bring about a new one. The most important thing to remember is to honor this gua with items that come in pairs. Since a pair symbolizes togetherness, adorn this area with figurines of mandarin ducks (a Feng Shui favorite, as these animals mate with the same partner for life), doves or dolphins. Since reds, pinks and whites, the traditional colors of love, enhance the love and marriage gua, you could also use pairs of pink crystals or red candlesticks. This sector is the place to proudly display visuals of your love such as photographs, your wedding album, tokens of affection, souvenirs from places you have traveled together, and love letters. Since this gua likes pairs, a pair of photographs is doubly auspicious (lucky).

Because the love gua is associated with Earth, crystals are used to energize this element. Crystals create an energy that is considered extremely auspicious. Pink crystals displayed as a pair, as I mentioned before, will bring good luck to the matriarch of the family and ensure everlasting love. Earth stones are another good idea. When you combine fire (the red string) and earth (the stones), you are achieving a positive cycle of the elements. Placing three such stones in the love and marriage section will inspire your luck will change tenfold. These stones are also used to attract a new mate, activate a stagnant love situation, or improve your marriage.

Feng Shui also uses aromatherapy to stimulate the energy in the room. For the love and marriage gua, light incense sticks or candles scented with rose to encourage your romance to endure.

If your relationship is in trouble, a statue of a dragon-headed turtle with a small piece of red ribbon placed in his mouth will come to the rescue. The dragon symbolizes good luck and protection, while the turtle represents longevity and wisdom. The baby turtle on it's back represents new beginnings. A single person who is looking for love should display actual peonies, or a photo or wall hanging depicting peonies; the peony is a symbol of good fortune, particularly for women.

If you keep running into the same types of people or situations, or tend to make the same mistakes time and time again, there are ways of using this gua to cure romantic blunders:

• If you consistently get involved with people who are afraid of commitment, remove all fragile, breakable items and crooked, unstable furniture from the Love Gua. Take two earthenware pottery bowls and place them next to each other on a sturdy surface. Leave them empty to encourage the surrounding energy to find something to fill them with; do not fill them with anything yourself until you've found love. Then, and ONLY then, fill them with matching plants.

• If you are perpetually single or having difficulty finding a new partner, make sure the love section is free of any artwork depicting lone images. If there is, replace it with a picture of a romantic couple. Basically, nothing in this gua should stand by itself--you want the objects to always have a pair (unless it is a loveseat, then it‘s okay). Even a single chair can ward off love. Remove it. Even if your bed is not located in the love gua, check to make sure it is not against a wall. Placing one side of the bed against a wall leaves no room for an additional person to comfortably enter and exit.

• If you've had your heart broken or been the unwitting victim of a love affair gone wrong, clear your love gua of triangular images such as diamonds, sunbursts and pyramids. Triangles give off very bad vibes and are not good feng shui. Again, even if your bed is not exactly located in the love section, it is still the main symbol of marriage and relationships. Position it so that the headboard is completely against a wall to encourage solidity and stability, otherwise unwelcome energy will be drawn into the room.

• If you are a workaholic who never has time to go out and play, keep your love gua free of anything that represents work. The presence of exercise equipment, computers, bills, desks, filing cabinets, even calculators will bog you down. Replace these items with romantic objects that are aesthetically appealing to you, such as plush, velvet pillows or chenille throws in jewel tones (deep red, deep purple, etc.)

• If you've been in the same relationship for a while and it's become a little boring, spice it up by airing out your love gua. Your furniture should not take up more than half of the space in this area, so if there is a large, cumbersome piece located here, move it to another section or another room altogether. Stimulate a monotonous sex life by placing rose-scented candles in the area and lighting them each night to add zest to your love life. Brighten up a dull sex life by stringing red, pink or white lights around the gua.

Remember, there are always options in life. You don't have to sit idly by and watch helplessly as events unfold. By utilizing the principles of feng shui decorating in your love gua, you have the power to alter a relationship's course.