The basics of feng shui are well-known. No matter what culture you belong to, the concept of feng shui will have directly or indirectly affected your thoughts and subsequent living arrangements. An ancient Chinese concept of house arrangement, feng shui positively influences the energies flowing within the home by harmonizing it with that of the natural world. Even the name, which is taken from Taoism, translates to “wind-water,” which is inspired by a poem that speaks about the flow of the human spirit like the wind or water.
There are various principles and natural elements that govern the workings of feng shui. Many architects and designers often keep the feng shui of the place in mind. Often, you will see real estate ads specifying the directions — north, south, east, and west — that the rooms face or the apartment itself faces. This aids future buyers to choose if they want an east-north-facing home or if they want to settle for something more south inclined. The elements of feng shui range from colors, seasons, and cardinal directions, to even living entities like tortoises and horses, and plants like bamboo.
Lucky bamboo arrangements
Coming to the feng shui and the arrangements of the lucky bamboo plant, the ideal direction for the plant is to place it in the east or southeast direction. Also, while lucky bamboo also makes a room look bright, you should avoid darker green stems or yellow stems if feng shui is your true aim. Now, Chinese astrology also deals with yin and yang — the feminine and masculine aspects of life, and this representation of yin or yang is reflected in the lucky bamboo arrangements via the number of stalks the plant has.
An odd number of stalks
In feng shui, odd numbers represent yang or the masculine aspect of nature. Usually, for the odd numbers, you can choose the items according to the energies you are trying to attract. You can opt for three stems if happiness is your goal, five stems affect areas of life that are in direct connection to wealth, seven stems represent health, while nine stems relate to fortune.
An even number of stalks
As odd represents the masculine, even stands for the feminine or yin. While you can always opt for more, it is advised to stick to a maximum of 10 stalks for a house bamboo plant. The reason behind this is simple — it will make caring for the plant easier and you can focus better on nurturing and managing the plant. Coming to what the even numbers represent, two stalks stand for love, six is wealth and luck, eight is for inner growth, and 10 is for the perfectionist in you. Notice that the number four is missing. This is because the number four closely represents death in Chinese.
Shapes
Bamboo is a beautiful plant and its simplicity is purity itself. Whether you choose to use a clear traditional vase or opt for concrete pots, you can always add other decorative things like braiding the stems or interweaving them to add more appeal to the plant.
Placements
Coming to where you should keep the plant, bamboos grow well in low and indirect light. Since they are water-based plants, caring for their nourishment is easy. The best place to keep the plant is in the eastern corner. But if you want to attract more wealth and good fortune, consider the southeast corner.
Other elements
Since feng shui is an amalgamation of the five basic elements in Chinese astrology, you can incorporate these elements of air, fire, earth, water, and metal by opting for pebbles to represent earth, coins for metal, the plant takes care of the wood part and water is cared for the basic mode of nourishment, and for fire, you can opt for a red ribbon tied to the plant.
If you are looking to add some greenery to your house, it would be a great idea to consider planting lucky bamboo. Grown mostly in Southeast Asia, these plants are very easy to care for and lucky bamboo is known to influence your good luck and attract more wealth. Also, bamboo is very easy to care for as it is a water-based plant. And apart from the feng shui benefits, the plant adds a certain appeal and aesthetic to the house, while also being an air purifier.
