*This post is also on my Medium blog. Voice over option is available here on Substack!
Feng Shui is a 5,000-year-old practice that means literally, “the way of wind and water”. Much of its principles have been used for decorating homes and businesses and can incorporate the ideas of yin and yang.
How would this translate to writing, though? How can something that uses a Bagua Map in terms of interior designing a space, apply to something as technically literal as writing?
I thought hard on this one.
Feng Shui…my book covers?
I am a huge fan of Canva for many reasons. One being that they allow you to see the colors that match your brand or photo, helping you choose the right balance of colors.
For my book, ‘Rumors of Ouroboros’ I selected white, black and red. According to Yin/Yang principals, and the Bagua map, I wouldn’t want the red lettering and white to be swallowed by a “fire” background, so using Black (which is water), added a unique balance. There is a snake eating its own tail on the cover, but it pulls your eyes in. It is odd for me to design such an “in your face” kind of book cover, but it works for the words inside.
Feng Shui…my writing space?
I never paid attention to where I wrote. Perhaps I subconsciously chose the seat near the bedroom window, or the brightly lit kitchen, as soft sounds from Corrine Bailey Rae colored the place in hues of song.
However, being more intentional about my spaces, I choose brightly lit spaces for calm and chairs that are good for my back. There should always be somewhat of a decent balance between yin and yang.
For example, writing in the dark may work for some, but try writing with a full bright moon up and a dim lamp. That places you in a mysterious mood to receive the muses. I do this with crocheting. My husband sometimes calls me, “The Lady By the Window”
Dark quietness, cold, cloudy= yin.
Sunny, energetic, light= yang.
We can consider animals as yang since they embody energy, so writing or podcasting near my rabbit is always relaxing but invigorating— until she makes noises trying to hop on to things.
Feng Shui…my social media?
This is tough to apply because we only partly control social media. We post what we post, but you never know when negative energy can disrupt the flow of your page, or when trolls and hackers will descend upon your data.
After much thought, I’ve considered changing my pages to represent all of who I am while trying to convey peace and beauty. Namely, on substack, I use pink and black in the name Ericajean, where it is mostly pink, with a splash of black and the background is white with pink, black and gold tones.
To me it screams professionalism but with an added “softness” — same with my Pinterest page.
I will still remove most social media platforms from my life as I’ve promised in a earlier article, because cleaning clutter is for the digital world too. Less “noise” = more peace.
In summation, this is a work in progress. I remain humble and respectful for the original meaning and practice of Feng Shui and do not know a lot about it, but being as we are creatures of energy I thought it would be beneficial to apply some small concepts of the idea into my writing life and hopefully this works.