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Lauras Substack ~ Where Feng Shui Meets Fashion! PodcastA place for Home & Wardrobe Inspiration. Im a certified Feng Shui Practitioner, Curator and Stylist for you and your Space. If I was a TV show it would be a cross between the Zen of Marie Kondo and the Whimsical Style of Rachel Zoe. Author: Laura B. Carrillo
A place for Home & Wardrobe Inspiration. Im a certified Feng Shui Practitioner, Curator and Stylist for you and your Space. If I was a TV show it would be a cross between the Zen of Marie Kondo and the Chic of Rachel Zoe. thefengshuilady.substack.com Language: en Genres: Arts, Fashion & Beauty, Religion & Spirituality Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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WELCOMING GOOD FORTUNE FOR THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE 1/29/25 đ
Tuesday, 14 January, 2025
If youâre new to the Pod, my name is Laura and Iâm a certified Feng Shui Practitioner, Curator and Stylist for you and your Space. Join me and my guests for conversations around wellness with a focus on living and curating our best lives. Subscribe for tips on mindful living! This hybrid Podcast & Newsletter originates on Substack where you can follow me for all the visuals, text and video. The Show is now on video with interview guests along with solo episodes so I encourage you to subscribe and watch on Substack and YouTube. For all my other content and services check out my Link-tree.If youâre reading this before 1/29/25, The Astrological New Year has not officially begun! Please donât give up on 2025, the energy is about to shift. I canât promise it will all be rainbows and roses, but a shift is coming. The Year of The Snake which officially begins on 1/29/2025 will be very different than the year of the Dragon. This is also a 9 year numerologically. Think completions. The end of a 9 year cycle.A Snake year will invite us to shed that which no longer serves us. This past year has been a âWood Dragonâ year. I looked it up and of all the different kinds of Dragons which include: Wood, Water, Fire, Metal and Earth; a Wood Dragon is the least like-able or appealing⌠In Chinese folklore, The Wood Dragon is described as follows: Introverted, less enthusiastic, and lacking in good relationships. All the other Dragon years are super positive with adjectives like smart, ambitious, and hardworking, easygoing, agile and flexible, persevering, farsighted, and vigorous. WTF?! Oh well, itâs almost over. I think most of us can agree that Astrologically Romance was at an all time low over the last year. Chiron, the wounded healer was in Aries representing âmenâ in 2024. I personally took the year off from dating! Iâm enthusiastic about 2025 though. Itâs going to be a Yin year so more about being receptive. The Year of the Snake will be about setting realistic goals, devising strategic plans and working towards our dreams. Feng Shui has many different schools of thought and approaches. As far as I am concerned, all roads lead to Rome. While my training was originally in Form School which is the 1st school of Feng Shui before directional practices emerged, I do pull from directional practices as needed as well Chinese Astrology. I predominantly look at a space as its own universe that begins at the entrance. However, I have adapted my practice to consider your best directions when it comes to where you sit and sleep and spend the most time. I also now address the yearly shifts in challenging directions. For this reason, I have started asking clients for their date and year of birth to determine their personal directions. Form school will inform most of my furniture placement with an emphasis on the Power Position and good chi flow. I do make adjustments as needed depending on the individuals best directions and whether they conflict with good form as well as the Challenging direction for the individual year. This can get tricky because every year the energies shift and thereâs a Challenging Direction that applies to everyone universally for each year. It could end up being one of your personal best directions or a direction your head faces when you sleep. It could even be in a dominant area of your home or business. So it helps to know what area of your home is being impacted and how to remedy it. Yes there are remedies and protections so itâs not all doom and gloom, just a matter of awareness and adaptation as shifts occur. Much like in astrology, itâs a moving target. That is the nature of life! Nothing is static. Highs and Lows are based on cycles. What I like about knowing these cycles is that you can use the knowledge to navigate them.The energy of time we are currently navigating inspired me to share some ways to make the best of the circumstances we find ourselves in. For context, I live in LA where many people are going through it due to the massive fires. I am personally safe and in a part of LA that was not directly impacted. I thought it would be helpful to share what the Universally challenging direction is for 2025 and how to navigate that. The official Chinese or Lunar New Year is on January 29, 2025, so you have time to prepare and perhaps even hire a Feng Shui Consultant now or later in the year. TIP #1 -Make sure to take note of the direction of negative energy in 2025! They call this energy The Grand Duke (Tai Sui) in Feng Shui. In 2025 it is Southeast between 135-165 degrees on your compass. The idea is to avoid facing this direction for extended periods of time. Donât worry you will not burst into flames should you mistakenly face Southeast just like you wonât die of lung cancer after smoking one cigarette. Just minimize your exposure. By the way, Southeast was also the negative direction for 2024 by the following degrees 105-135. Listen, I didnât immediately embrace a directional approach, it took some experimentation. I personally noticed when I stopped spending loads of time facing a Challenging direction and placed a protection facing that direction, my personal challenges cleared up. While my experience is Anecdotal, it is backed by thousands of years of wisdom and many other anecdotal examples. I also believe in Astrology and I recognize that there are cycles of change influenced by planetary shifts beyond the mundane. So I have made it my business to adapt to these shifts and help my clients find cures and enhancements to navigate these energies. Feng Shui is a practice that is over 5000 years old and many of its âlessonsâ and âcureâsâ are passed down through not only the written word, but through an oral tradition so youâre not necessarily going to find everything in books and articles. The knowledge and teachings are endless and nuanced and much of it is considered sacred and not to be shared frivolously. There was a time when only kings and queens had access to these teachings. I have taken the time to pull together some universally helpful tips.I feel very protective of the Art of Feng Shui. Itâs often misunderstood, misrepresented and misinterpreted. I can see why since itâs not cut and dry like say interior design or architecture. Both of those play a role in Feng Shui but Feng Shui is neither. I can tell you that Feng Shui is one of the 5 Branches of Chinese Medicine and as such it is actually a diagnostic tool. I can walk into someones home and literally read the room. Some places scream get out! Some say welcome home. They are all telling you something about their inhabitants though. You can learn about their love lives, health, wealth etc. Itâs a truly beautiful physical language. It is often the individual practitioners level of training, years of experience and personal approach, that truly brings the Feng Shui cures and practices to life. Ultimately though, the client themselves plays the most important role based on their desire to implement the recommendations and truly be in relationship with their own environment. There is a sacred energetic exchange between the practitioner and the client. Itâs meant to be a healing practice. In my enthusiasm and passion for Feng Shui, I have at times offered or even blurted out unsolicited Feng Shui advice. Itâs always bitten me in the ass! I have learned my lesson over time and realized it was ineffectual and served no one. Should the exchange not contain reciprocity and respect whether that comes in the form of payment, an exchange of services or at the bare minimum genuine gratitude or appreciation of the shared wisdom, then the cures and adjustments wonât be as effective. This is an energy practice after all and it has to flow both ways. TIP #2 - Cleanliness is Close to Godliness! The year of the Snake begins on January 29th and New Yearâs Eve is January 28th. It is said that if you sweep or do major cleaning on New Yearâs day, you sweep away your blessings. Ideally you want to clean before the official New Year. New Yearâs Eve or the days leading up are ideal for a deep cleanse and organization of your home. Clean like youâre hosting Royalty! In my last Podcast, I shared an Orange Activation and Cure. Today Iâm sharing an Orange House Blessing that is ideal for the new year! Youâll notice this cure uses water which is the Element LA is currently deficient inâŚTip #3 - The Feng Shui Orange Peel Blessing Ceremony is used to remove negative chi and return balance and harmony into an individual room or entire home. This is a perfect reboot for a home in honor of a new year. The Orange Peel Blessing is great for clearing a new home of predecessor energy. You can also use this remedy in a home after an illness, period of depression or arguing, and to remove any residual negative energy from guests. For this ceremony you need 3 fresh oranges, water, a glass bowl, and fresh flowers.1. Peel the oranges and break them into 9 pieces each, for a total of 27 pieces. Place the pieces in the bowl and cover with hot water to about 3/4 full.2. As you peel the oranges, state your intention for the ceremony in the form of an affirmation, such as âWith this ceremony, I remove all negativity and replace it with positive chi.â3. Take the bowl to the front door if you are clearing the entire home or to the entrance of the room that needs to be remedied. Starting at the entry, flick your ring and middle fingers outwards from the palm to sprinkle the water around the room. As you flick the water, repeat what is call the âSix True Words,â (pronounced Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum) or another affirmation, mantra, or prayer of your choice. Visualize all the negative energy and bad luck leaving, as well as new, positive energy filling up the space. Be sure you move around all nine bagua areas, and include all closets. After you have completed the ceremony for the first space, move to other rooms as necessary and repeat the process.4. Pour out the water and either throw away the orange peel or grind it in the disposal. Do not reuse the water for another ceremony. You can eat the orange as a celebration of all the positive new energy you have attracted.5. Open all the doors and windows to let in fresh chi.6. Place fresh flowers in a central location in the home or room. Replace the flowers every three days for a total of nine days. The final bouquet can remain until the flowers begin to wilt. I hope this Ceremony brings Blessing to all that read or listen to this especially my LA neighbors!During this whole fire fiasco, I have spent my time solely indoors. I'm have been fastidiously organizing donations, cleaning my home and preparing and activating cures for the coming year. I feel truly blessed to have been safe and am eager to do what I can to be helpful. Whether itâs donations or researching and writing this piece. I believe the silver lining to the LA Tragedy is the coming together of community. LA is shedding a skin and will emerge a new and improved city. It almost feels like a Communal Spiritual Awakening or Transformation. I want to spread Healing Energy, Comfort and Optimism. Many Blessings my friends and Ciao for now.Thanks for reading Lauraâs Substack ~ Where Feng Shui Meets Fashion!! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thefengshuilady.substack.com
