These are hard times for everybody… unemployment, layoffs, foreclosures. We all need money, and work, and some financial help. But you can actually make more money using Feng Shui. I am not saying that Feng Shui will cure all your woes and make you rich overnight, but you can improve the energies that influence the wealth in your life by using it.

So, how do you start energizing your Feng Shui for wealth and prosperity?

Spend some time studying the areas that might affect your wealth to decide what you need to do.

The most important areas are: Wealth and Prosperity, also known as your Feng Shui money corner, Fame and Reputation, Career and Helpful People and Travel. (Consult the Bagua map)
All these cures will apply to every room in your house, and of course, especially to the rooms where these areas fall on your house or apartment.
First thing to get rid of: clutter. Check that there’s no clutter in any of these areas of any of your rooms, even the garage!!!

For your Wealth and Prosperity area:

If you don’t have one by now, this is a good time to set up an aquarium.  If it’s possible, make it big enough to house 3 Goldfish or more, always in odd numbers. Use rocks and plants to decorate it. Make it beautiful. A lot of people ask me what’s the best placement for an aquarium, and I tell them my preference is either the Wealth area or the Career area. The only 2 places where you should not put an aquarium are the bedroom and the Fame and Reputation area. Of course, if you have money problems, maybe you can’t afford an aquarium, (don’t forget to check The Fish Tank Place, and Craigslist) but you can always find a picture or a painting of an aquarium or fish. If an aquarium is not something you really like, think of a table fountain. Flowing water is key. It can also be the picture of a waterfall.

Use things in shades of purple, red and blue: flowers (silk or live but never dried), candles, curtains, any decoration with these colors. Look around your house, move your furniture around, make it a comfortable corner.

Leave a lamp on in that corner 24/7. A lamp with low wattage will suffice, but keep it on. Obviously, if the wealth area of your home is in your bedroom, this would not be advisable, but do it in the wealth corner of your living room, or home office.

How about repainting that old dresser you have lying around, making it red or blue or purple and using it in the wealth corner of your living room, bedroom or den?

We all collect our pennies and other coins somewhere in the house. Well, get a nice container (a copper bowl, a purple box or something nice) and put all your change in the Wealth area. This is a great place to put valuable collections, antiques, and pictures of stuff you wish to have like a car, a boat, etc.

You have red or purple cushions lying around? Make sure you put them in this area.

If one of these areas (wealth, fame or career) happens to be a bathroom, it doesn’t mean that you will forever have money problems, it just means you have to use cures to make the energy flow in the right way.

Keep the toilet lid down AT ALL TIMES. This is a rule in Feng Shui, but it’s of the utmost importance if the bathroom is one of these important areas that are directly related to money.

Avoid all clutter as you would in any other part of the house.

Put a plant (silk or real, no dried flowers or herbs) in a place that is higher than the toilet.

Hang a multi faceted crystal over the toilet.

Make the bathroom a comfortable and pleasant place to be.

Use the colors related to the area to energize the Chi. Candles with these colors are perfect. Towels, bath rugs, a picture.

Keep the bathroom door closed at all times.

For your Fame and Reputation area:

This area is important because your reputation is what gets you work, so you need to energize the Chi there.

Red, red and more red…. fire is key. Avoid using a lot of black (water color) in the Fame and Reputation area, since water extinguishes fire. If you already happen to have something black there, keep in mind that there always has to be a balance of all the elements, so although fire is the ruling element in that area, you need a bit of all the elements in every area, so don’t forget to add earth, wood, water and metal elements.

This is another good place to put all your red cushions, flowers, and set up a nice plate with red candles and light them once in a while. A healthy plant works fine here too.

No clutter!!   Try to avoid large mirrors. No fountains, aquariums, or pictures of water in any form.

Anything that has to do with fire is good. Electronics are considered fire elements, as well as animals and animal prints.

Great place for diplomas, awards, pictures or figurines of animals, triangular and pyramidal objects.

For the Career area:

The reasons to energize this area are obvious!

Here, you can use all the black and dark colors you want.

The area is ruled by water, so a fountain is also recommended here. For wealth, I personally like to have my aquarium in the Wealth and Prosperity area, but the Career area is also a good place to put it.

You can also put pictures of oceans, rivers or waterfalls.

If your front door is in this area, you have to make it super welcoming! Nice round rug, a mirror, a healthy plant (or a healthy looking silk plant), crystals objects.

Absolutely no clutter!!

Think of ways to energize your Career area. Get your creativity flowing and if you already have a table there, maybe you can paint it black or dark brown or blue.

Remember that if you can’t afford a table fountain, or a painting, you can even use a piece of paper of the color you need and lay it on a table or hang it on the wall!

Try to keep mementos related to your career in this area. Keep in mind we are doing this in every room, so if you can’t keep your diplomas near the front door, maybe you can do it in the career area in your bedroom, or your home office, just make sure that the career colors and elements are represented in every room.

For the Helpful People and Travel area:

This is an important area to enhance, especially if you have lost your job and are unemployed. Helpful people here could be your boss, your potential boss, a contact that might get you a job, even a religious figure. Use colors in the shades of white, gray and black in this area.

This is the place to put any images, paintings, posters or figures of spiritual guides, gods, goddesses, saints and angels. Pictures of mentors and influential people in your life. Maybe the picture of someone that you are hoping will give you a job, or who you would like to work with. Since it’s also the Travel area, this is the place to put pictures of your favorite vacation spot or a place you want to travel to.

The important thing to keep in mind is that Feng Shui works, and if you take a serious look around and make an effort to avoid the clutter in these areas of your life and energize the Chi, your situation will improve.