Kitchen Feng Shui

Is the kitchen located in the center of your home? Is the kitchen located in the northwest (NW) area of the home? Is the stove/cooktop located on a kitchen island or another position where there is no solid wall behind it? When standing at the front door of the home are you able to see the stove? Is the stove directly aligned across from the sink? Is the stove and sink within 2 feet of each other? Is there a toilet on the other side of the wall directly behind the stove or directly above it on the upper floor? Is there anything reflecting the stove such as a mirror or mirror-finished backsplash? Is red the dominant color of the kitchen? If you said yes to any of these questions, then from a Feng Shui perspective, there is potential risk of negative energies that may affect things in your life including health and wealth.

Before I get started, I would like to explain one Feng Shui term, called a poison arrow. Poison arrows are believed to cause stressful negative energy. Some of the questions I asked refer to poison arrows in the kitchen that may result in negative experiences for the residents of the home.

With so many different schools of Feng Shui out there, there are many varied opinions on do’s and don’ts of Feng Shui in a kitchen. I’ll go over a few general aspects based on my training with Xuan Kong Flying Star Feng Shui that you may want to take into consideration for your own kitchen. Keep in mind that there are many Layers of Feng Shui that a certified consultant will need to analyze before giving any specific Feng Shui remedies and recommendations. What I will go over are only general guidelines and do not take into account the many other factors in each home that may affect and result in a different analysis and recommendation.

The first thing to understand is that the kitchen is considered the heart of the home in Feng Shui. If the kitchen is located in the center of the home, then all the residents’ health will be negatively impacted. This is because the stove represents fire and essentially is burning the heart, weakening it. With a weak heart, the whole body/house and residents are affected. There is no Feng Shui remedy for this issue aside from a major renovation to move the kitchen to a different location in the house or move out and find another home to live in. The only other remedies that can have an impact here are a lot of work with regards to your Heaven and Mankind luck.

If the kitchen is located in the NW direction which signifies the patriarch, this will magnify problems for the male head of the household with health, relationships, and wealth areas, such as losing a job, major losses in business or difficulty with relationships. Women may also be affected, especially if they are the main breadwinner of the household, but the effects will not be as severe as the man of the house. Once again, there is no Feng Shui remedy for this issue aside from a major renovation to move the kitchen to a different location in the house or move out and find another home to live in. The only other remedies that can have an impact here are a lot of work with regards to your Heaven and Mankind luck.

Stoves affect both the health and wealth of the residents and should always be placed with a solid wall behind it. If the cooktop/stove is located in the center island or where there is no wall, then there is no support which causes vulnerability with both health and wealth which can result in sickness, injuries and loss of money. As with the previous two issues, outside of renovations or moving, the only recommendation is working with Heaven and Mankind luck.

If there is a mirror reflecting the stove this increases yang energy in the kitchen by reflecting the fire energy of the stove, causing an imbalance in the heart of the home. Be sure to check for a mirror in the kitchen or dining room that may be directly across from the kitchen and even a metal backsplash that is somewhat reflective. I’ve seen some Asian households who use aluminum foil on the back wall of the stove and this can also be considered a reflective surface. If so, remove them as quickly as possible.

When standing at the front door or main entrance of the home, such as if the back, side or garage door is used to enter the home regularly, and you are able to see the stove, this is considered a poison arrow because the chi will flow to the stove making it vulnerable for health and wealth. If this is the case when using a door that is not the front door, it is highly recommended to stop using that door and enter and depart from the front door to reduce the negative energies. If this is the case with the front door which is the only entrance of the home, then view to the stove should be blocked in some manner.

If the stove is in DIRECT alignment with and across from the sink, this is considered a poison arrow. The fire energy of the stove clashes with the water energy of the sink, which can cause disharmony in the home resulting in fights and arguments between the residents, decreased intimacy between lovers and health issues. Aside from renovating the kitchen to move either the stove or sink, there is only one remedy to this, which is placing a green colored mat on the floor between them . Be advised that the green mat remedy is not highly effective and will only slightly divert the clashing energy, minimally reducing the disharmony.

Another poison arrow with the stove and sink is if they are within 2 feet of each other. This causes the same issues as mentioned in the previous poison arrow, but may also cause infidelity in committed relationships. There is only one remedy to this, which is placing green items between them, such as a green pot with plants in it, aside from renovating the kitchen to move either the stove or sink. Be advised that the temporary green item remedy is not very effective and will only slightly divert the clashing energy.

With a toilet on the other side of the wall directly behind the stove or directly above it on the upper floor, this represents pouring water on the stove which puts out the fire weakening the heart of the home and reduces health and wealth. The only way to remedy this is by doing a major renovation to move either the stove or the toilet.

Some cultures believe that red is a lucky color. However, if red is the dominant color of the main fixtures of the kitchen such as countertops, walls, cabinets or the major appliances like stove or refrigerator, this increases the fire energy of the kitchen, which is too much yang and causes an imbalance of energy. The red should be painted over or replaced with a more neutral color or other color recommended by a Feng Shui consultant who can analyze all the energies of the kitchen and suggest the most auspicious color options to increase wealth and strengthen health. Smaller accessories like a red KitchenAid mixer or décor items that can be taken out, hidden away in cabinets or drawers are fine. It is recommended to keep red items stored away and not displayed on counters if possible. As a general tip, be very careful using a lot of red anywhere in the home as you may be unknowingly activating negative energies.

Lastly, after you are done cooking and eating, be sure to clean everything up because clutter blocks chi and with Feng Shui, the goal is to always have chi flow easily. Just as you don’t want to have blockages in the heart of the body, which can result in some major health risks, you do not want to have chi blockages in the heart of the home, the kitchen. This general guidance to ensure orderliness and lack of clutter also applies to the rest of the home.

I have and previously had many of these issues in my current and previous homes and would not be surprised if these are attributing to my health such as my high blood pressure and random body injuries such as back and neck spasms or severely bruising my ankle or leg to the point I’m unable to walk for a few days over the past several years. I have no plans on staying in my current apartment if I can help it because I know I have many poison arrows with my kitchen, bedroom and front door that are not beneficial for health or wealth. I am very glad I decided to get certified since I know what to look for when searching for my next home, especially if I end up buying a home!

In case this post freaked you out and made you think you need to sell or move out of your home, I’ll leave you with the following to help ease your panicked thoughts. As I mentioned in my What Does Feng Shui Have to do with my Spiritual Journey? post, Feng Shui is only one third of the pie, called Earth Luck or basically your home. Another third is called Heaven Luck and is based on the premise that fate, destiny and karma, which is related to past lives and related karmic debt, will affect your current life. The last third is Mankind Luck. This is what each person has free will to do, such as thoughts, feelings, and actions. This is the area that has the most potential to have the greatest effects out of all the three and where both actions towards goals as well as spiritual practices come into play. It is said in order to really shift one’s life the luck scale must be tipped from one thirds to two thirds. To do that, working on both Earth Luck with Feng Shui and either Heaven or Mankind Luck is necessary, which is exactly why I have been very heavily focused on spiritual practices and sharing my spiritual journey on my blog.