Acielle / StyleDuMonde | @styledumonde
The year of the water rabbit promises to be one of hope.
According to Feng Shui expert Patrick Lim Fernandez, there are actually two kinds of luck. The first is your personal luck, tied to one’s birth and one’s sign, that is sometimes called one’s Ba Zi, or “The Four Pillars of Destiny.” This is linked not only to one’s birth year, but also on the month, day and hour, which an expert can help interpret and read.
The other luck pertains to the physical aspect like one’s home, office or property, which refers to the concept of Feng Shui. Literally translated from Chinese as “wind water,” it’s an ancient practice that tries to improve and manage and flow of the good energy.
Positive Vibes
For the Year of the Rabbit, Fernandez believes there are certain sectors one can pay attention to for prosperity. First off are the North and South sectors, and one can enhance these areas in a variety of ways. One option is to introduce some activity into these directions, either by spending some time in this area, or putting certain objects that are living or moving. Things like a fountain, plants or even electronics with sounds or moving parts can be good.
The opposite is true for the East, which has a Sickness Star, and the Southeast which he notes has a lot of conflict energy. He recommends that you should keep these areas peaceful and quiet, and to avoid the color red.
For relationships, the romance energy is in the Southwest side which one can enhance or activate it by putting either auspicious items, or things related to water as that is the element of the year.
One should also pay attention to the bedroom, which should have more of the quiet yin energy to rest and replenish one’s chi. He also advises against working in one’s bedroom, but if that can’t be avoided, to try and create partitions to separate the spaces meant for work and rest.
The Best Colors and Crystals
As this coming year is a water year, lucky colors are related to this element like shades of blue and black. Of course, for celebrations like birthdays and the upcoming new year, bright colors are key.
Lucky crystals would be whatever one needs for the year, or perhaps, as some believe, whatever one intrinsically responds to. Similar to some Western beliefs, Fernandez posits that each stone has its own frequency and vibration, that is good for different purposes.
For him, sugilite and amethyst are great for health and wellness, and one can either wear it as an accessory, carry it on one’s bag, or use it as home décor.
Jade is for both protection and prosperity. Mica stone is a good stone for creativity, and for bouncing back negative energies. At the same time, the tourmaline stone he believes is good for absorbing negative energies, so it won’t affect the person.
For romance, he ascribes to the powers of rose quartz and rhodochrosite, and recommends lapis lazuli, apatite, and clear quartz for mental acuity and clarity.
And, of course, for money and prosperity, Fernandez likes the citrine as well as the golden needle stone.
Welcome Good Fortune
There are many ways to celebrate the Lunar New year, with the first step involving a bit of spring cleaning. It is the spring festival after all. “First is the physical aspect, [which involves] decluttering in your house. It also means buying new things to wear, or perhaps getting a haircut,” Fernandez shares. But one should make sure to finish cleaning before the new year, as sweeping is a big no-no on the actual day, as it is feared that one may be sweeping one’s luck away.
From a financial perspective, he recommends that one try to pay off debts if possible, and to avoid making any new ones. And for the emotional aspect, to make peace with any grudges one may have to enter the new year with a clean slate.
On the eve itself, which falls on the 21st, he recommends having fresh flowers in the home, as well as filling one’s rice bin with rice and putting ang pao with 168 pesos inside for luck. You can also create a centerpiece with the five lucky fruits (pomelos, oranges, pineapple, apples and dragon fruit or peaches) in even numbers.
As it is a time of celebration, Fernandez suggests a few “lucky” foods, like fish or shrimp, which in Chinese are homonyms for prosperity and laughter respectively. Roasted foods also have a celebratory feel, as is any dish that one would personally consider festive or special. Eggs are symbols of fertility, while lettuce is linked to rising fortunes. For dessert, anything sticky and sweet would be good, he says.
