A critical Feng Shui principle is you are what you see, which means that where you place your art, and the colors, shapes, and images in your art, will influence what you attract into your life. The more you surround yourself with symbols of what you want to attract -- especially wealth, harmony, and love -- the more likely you are to achieve it. For example, artwork that is depressing or shows images that are violent or unhappy will make you feel the same way. But artwork that is inspiring and reflects harmony and happiness will make you upbeat and receptive to good things coming into your home and enriching your family.

The poet Maya Angelou said that we must be careful about the words we speak because our words will “hang on the walls.” While Angelou was writing about what we do in the figurative sense, Feng Shui believes that it is true of what we hang on our walls in the literal sense. That is why it is so important to surround yourself with positive, uplifting images throughout your home.

My client Katie’s success story is a good example of this principle. When I arrived for her home consultation, Katie complained that her gold sailing ship “wasn’t working.” The eighteen-inch model ship was on a table in her living room. She told me she had read on a Feng Shui website that displaying the ship would make wealth sail into her home. But Katie admitted that she didn’t even like the ship, and she was spending money as fast as she earned it. I explained that if any object she displayed meant nothing to her, it wouldn’t have any effect on her life. It’s only when she surrounded herself with objects and images that represented her personal goals that she would succeed in achieving them. To make matters worse, Katie had placed the ship so it pointed out of the room instead of into the room, which was a symbol of wealth sailing right out of her life. Katie quickly sold the ship on Craig’s List, then used the proceeds to buy a print of a villa in Tuscany, a place she and her husband hoped to visit. Soon their cash flow started to improve, and eventually they were able to save enough to take their dream trip.

Most of us feel better when we are outside, connected to the natural world. The Feng Shui way to reinforce this connectedness to nature is to add symbols of the natural world to your interior environment through art, such as beautiful images of flowers, plants, mountains, water, and flowering meadows. When you bring the natural world inside, you bring peace and harmony into your life. Landscapes are especially useful in activating positive energy. Just be sure to avoid any images of swamps, dead trees, or decaying cities since they represent stagnant energy. Similarly, despite the fact that water represents flow and movement in Feng Shui, an image of the raging ocean could make you feel unsettled.

Here are a few Feng Shui tips for choosing the right artwork to achieve your goals and for placing it in the right area of your home. These “areas” are locations on the Feng Shui bagua, which is the tool used to map your home in Feng Shui.
-- If you want to power-up your career and attract more wealth, place water images in your Career/Work Area.
-- If you want to enhance friendships, hang images of happy people and joyous occasions in your Family/Community Area.
-- If you want to travel, hang international scenes or pictures of maps and globes in your Helpful People/Compassion Area.
-- If you want to attract or enhance love, hang images with pairs of objects or loving couples in your Love/Romance Area.

To see how your current artwork might be affecting your life, walk through your home and take a look at what is hanging on your walls from the perspective of your new Feng Shui eyes. Consider whether each work of art reflects what you want to attract into your life. If any piece of art is sending the wrong message, it’s time to replace it, no matter how valuable it is.

Click here to download a color bagua to use to map your home and decide where best to locate your art.

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