An Ancient Chinese Art Can Help You Make Thanksgiving … a Bounty of Balance.
October 26, 2009 by Carole Shashona
Filed under colors, fall
Feng shui is a technique that uses color, shapes and sounds to ensure harmony – one course that often isn’t in abundance around the Turkey Day table.
It starts in the kitchen. The hostess, dressed in holiday red, is preparing the turkey when somebody says the wrong thing. So begins the traditional Thanksgiving fight. By the time grace is finished, biscuits are flying, fingers are pointing and family members and in-laws are making comments they’ll surely regret by Christmas.
That hot scene can be avoided.
First, the hostess needs to change—her dress, that is. Red represents fire. Coupled with the heat of the stove, the color creates disharmony and discord for all in its midst.
I’m an expert in the ancient Chinese art of feng shui, the principle that aligning space allows positive energy to circulate. I use colors, shapes, designs and placement of objects to affect the flow of energy necessary in maintaining physical, environmental and emotional balance of people in homes, offices and businesses.
A little bit of red is OK, as long as it is tempered with green, the color of growth and balance. I suggest the Thanksgiving hostess wear a green apron while cooking. Or place a green teapot or a pile of parsley nearby.
ADD TRANQUILITY
Even better wear green, yellow and earth tones to add tranquility. Or pink and red to stimulate friendship.
Next, the hostess might want to go to the yard, collect some leaves and bark and incorporate them into the table decor. Throw in some nuts for grounding, some baby pumpkins for power and some dried peas for strength.
That can make Thanksgiving the harmonious holiday it was meant to be.
Thanksgiving is a very special theme for me. It is a time for recognizing Mother Earth, a time for joy and abundance, a time of nature when the colors are so vivid.
Each color has a meaning. For example, red and orange represent power. Yellow is warmth and wisdom. Green is health, longevity, growth and tranquility. Orange and brown, combined give balance. Black symbolizes water and the flow of life. Cranberry is the color of love and fire.
My plan gives everything on the table a purpose, from the stone candleholders and the eight baby pumpkins in a neat pile to the dates and cranberries in a tray and the round plates that rest atop the square place mats made of fall leaves.
The idea for Thanksgiving is to have fun. It’s a lot of pressure. So what can we do to keep ourselves balanced?
Be at one with the universe, especially in the dining room, which represents nourishment.
If the dining room is not in balance, instead of nourishing, all things can erupt.
I call my plan Thanksgiving with Soul, tradition with creativity.
According to the principles of feng shui, life and destiny are closely interwoven with the workings of the universe and nature.
A DEEP-ROOTED TRADITION
The Chinese developed the art 2,000 years ago when they noticed success in rice paddies that were aligned in a certain position. Feng shui masters believe that placement of furniture, art, wall hangings, plants, mirrors and, in this case, table settings affect the flow of positive energy in a space. They use nine basic remedies to alter, moderate or raise that energy.
The remedies include light, by using refracting objects like mirrors or reflective brass; sounds, from wind chimes or bells; plants and fish; moving objects, such as windmills or fountains; and heaven stones, stone objects or statues.
I practice feng shui in my own life and know from experience that it works.
One evening, I wore a red dress during a family dinner party and watched the sparks fly.
By the time we sat down to dinner, my husband and I weren’t speaking to each other. I had an argument with my mother and my mother-in-law.
Twenty minutes after my quick change into a dress with softer colors and a green apron, I noticed a shift in moods.
The art of feng shui, once considered hocus-pocus by Westerners, has seen a boom in business in the past several years. I’ve traveled the world to incorporate feng shui into designing new buildings and redecorating homes and offices.
It’s taking what nature provides and using it for balance. Have fun with it, be creative.
Among the advantages of feng shui, it can he done inexpensively. Many of the objects that decorate my home this season come from the yard or a garden. They include squash in vivid colors, fruits and nuts, pine cones, and dried and fresh flowers in orange (power) and yellow (sun energy).
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