INSIDE: Creating a space that helps us thrive, succeed, and prosper is simple when we listen to ancient tradition. While the process of bringing order and flow into the home may seem complex, when we let Feng Shui symbols take a place, we discover rich, nourishing energy in abundance.

  

Derived from ancient Asian tradition, today’s system of Feng Shui provides guidelines to direct the unimpeded flow of energy through a space. By bringing balance and serenity to our bedrooms, kitchens, gardens, and workspaces, we enhance and protect the harmonious energy needed for success and prosperity.

This energy, called chi in Feng Shui, helps maintain our health. If it becomes blocked or obstructed by clutter, it over-accumulates and grows stale. Then, that space feeds our stress and can make us sick. This puts our mental wellbeing in jeopardy, but decluttering with Feng Shui can lead to healing.

Decluttering doesn’t mean throwing everything out. Through Feng Shui, we can place certain objects in certain areas of a space to help us thrive. By incorporating important Feng Shui symbols, we gain beautiful art and meaning as we amplify the energy in our homes. 

8 Feng Shui Symbols & How to Use Them to Improve Your Life

Let’s take a look at eight key symbols to Feng Shui. We’ve packed in quite a few extras to help you find what best suits your energy and needs.

The Celestial Guardians

The tortoise, green dragon, red phoenix, and white tiger are known as guardians and are considered central Feng Shui symbols that represent some of the most powerful energies to nurture.

Each celestial guardian aligns with a season, so we can opt to incorporate them during that time or throughout the year, as statues, in paintings, or in other creative ways. 

The tortoise resides in the north of the Feng Shui Bagua map and is associated with winter, a time of reflection and focusing on healing relationships. The green dragon, a sign of the emperor, aligns east in the spring, ruling over creative growth as we embark on new journeys.

The red phoenix, a mythical creature, reigns as the empress of the summer in the south region, and its presence invites wisdom as we understand and pursue our passions. Finally, the white tiger in the west handles the realm of fall, encouraging health and action to gain our fortune.

Other Animals

While the celestial guardians hold prominence, many other animals serve as powerful Feng Shui symbols as well. One of the most recognized in this ancient system is the Koi fish. If you use Feng Shui on an outdoor garden, a water feature with Koi fish can bring incredible calming vibes and good luck.

Horses, suitable to the south and north regions of the Bagua map, watch over the energy in the home to make sure it stays safely moving but also spurs us into action. Alongside the horse, deer bring us a reminder to endure and persevere.

The Lucky Cat, a popular symbol seen as a perched cat with a raised right paw, watches over the home to protect everyone inside, while the Ox grants wishes aligned with our true purpose.

Fowl

Birds of all types have a role in Feng Shui for delivering inspiration and freeing our space of unwanted energy. A few birds in particular can truly amplify home energy. 

Cranes promote our understanding of the life cycle, celebrating birth and the longevity of a healthy life. Doves bring peace and harmony into the home. Mandarin ducks, always displayed in pairs, represent a happy, fruitful marriage.

Another “fowl” grouped here for its fluttering wings, though obviously an insect, the butterfly adds to the romance between a couple in the home and spreads that love to others.

Fauna

Another central symbol of Feng Shui comes in plants, and it can be especially beneficial to grow and pot feng shui plants, although cut flowers can bring special energy. Make sure to release their energy back to nature when they begin to wilt – you do not want dead energy in your home!

Some flowers important to Feng Shui include peonies and orchids. The peony fosters love and commitment, while the orchid represents the sensitive balance of energy we need to maintain at home.

A universally resonate flower that shines across cultures is the lotus, representing the ebb and flow of life and to stick through even the dark moments to let beauty eventually emerge.

Bamboo has a particularly important role in Feng Shui because it embodies all five elements of chi – water, wood, fire, earth and metal. Keeping small pots with bamboo around the house has myriad energetic benefits, not to mention physical health benefits.

Fruits

Fruits displayed in the home help inspire fertility, whether in building a family or gaining wealth. Pomegranates especially evoke sensuality and passion, while oranges have long been a symbol of prosperity.

Peaches have an important presence among the fruits as they are considered the fruit of the gods, promoting immortality and long life.

Mystical Beings 

As Feng Shui relies on ancient wisdom and beliefs, it isn’t surprising that a few Feng Shui symbols represent beings we may not recognize on earth today. Whether or not these mystical creatures ever truly existed doesn’t matter because they make for some awesome art and energy at home. 

Chi Lin is a combination of the horse (body), dragon (head), and koi (scales). It carries blessings  through the home on the legs of the steed while protecting our spaces with the ferocity of the dragon. The Dragon Turtle, head and body respectively, promote wealth and abundance.

Another quintessential figure in Feng Shui is the Fu Dog, and we always find them in pairs. These lion dogs are fierce protectors and sit at entrance frames to homes, gardens, rooms, and sanctuaries.

Laughing Buddha

Besides being a jolly sight sure to make you grin, the Laughing Buddha delivers deep meaning in his wide smile and full belly. As a Feng Shui symbol, the Laughing Buddha echoes the process of enlightenment, that a restless soul can find peace through conscious living, faith, and patience.

Sacred Geometry

Sacred geometry comes up a lot when we talk about mental and spiritual health because it demonstrates the intricate connections we make in life and the delicate symmetry we need to balance the different parts of our being.

It’s no surprise that Feng Shui has some of its own shapes of sacred geometry. The Mystic Knot is a potent symbol in Feng Shui, most often made as a red-colored ornament. Within its design rests six infinity loops and it carries the meaning of the flow of life.

Perhaps the most important geometry of Feng Shui comes in Yin-Yang, a popular symbol that has often been disconnected from the tradition but has an incredible message. The energy that shines from Yin and Yang represents duality in life, the deep interconnectedness of the dark and light. 

Crystals

Finally, we've come to our favorite Feng Shui symbols – crystals! Any type of Quartz is a must in Feng Shui, and considering how many varieties of natural Quartz exist, you can find a stone for every part of the Bagua map. 

Amethyst delivers fantastic cleansing energy to make way for abundance, knowledge, and wealth in our lives. Learning how to incorporate it within your spaces can make a huge difference. 

Final Thoughts 

Creating a space that is free of the clutter that blocks the gentle stream of constant energy in our spaces is so important to our well-being. By mindfully reflecting on these Feng Shui symbols, we can determine what resonates with our energy and what we may need to work on balancing and find ways to invite these types of objects back into our sacred spaces.

* Crystals and stones should not be used as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Please read our full disclosure notice here.