WELCOME IN LUCK WITH THE CHINESE NEW YEAR by
Stephanie Roberts
Chinese New Year will be here soon,
arriving with the new moon on February 8th or 9th depending on your
location. Look up the exact time of the new moon for your time zone
if you want to be accurate.
One of the things I like best about Chinese New Year is that it provides
a second chance to catch up on all those things we meant to get done
before the Jan. 1 New Year, but didn't quite get to. And, for those
who have slipped a little on their New Year's Resolutions, it's an opportunity
to refocus. You've got two weeks to get ready, so give thought to how
best you want to use this second chance for a fresh start.
Chinese New Year celebrations focus on home and family, and on ensuring
that the New Year will bring lots of good luck. Much of this activity
centers on thorough house cleaning to clear out old energy and make
way for the new. In the Chinese Lunar Calendar, the New Year marks the
start of Spring, so it's a good time for "spring cleaning" even if the
weather is still wintry in your part of the world.
If you don't have time to clean and de-clutter your entire home before
New Year, concentrate on your kitchen. A clean, food-filled kitchen
is the center of family life and a symbol of health and prosperity,
so it is especially auspicious for the New Year. Here are some key things
you can do:
- Clean out your refrigerator and freezer. Toss anything ancient, mysterious,
or "iffy", and get refill or replace anything that's almost less than
half-full (such as condiment bottles and jars). Defrost the freezer
and get the inside of the fridge sparkling clean.
- Clean off the outside of the refrigerator, too. If your fridge is
covered with magnets, photos, take-out menus and grocery lists, clear
them all off to create a clean slate (you can put any necessary ones
back after the New Year).
- Declutter your pantry shelves, and use or toss anything that's been
in there for months. Wipe down the shelves and clean the cabinet doors.
- Clean your oven and stovetop, and replace burner pan liners if they're
no longer shiny and new-looking.
- Replace worn and/or grubby oven mitts and dish towels with new ones.
- Get out a broom and thoroughly sweep the kitchen, and then from the
kitchen out the nearest door. This symbolically sweeps out the old energy
and any lingering not-so-good luck, to make room for better luck to
come in with the New Year.
- Do a big grocery shop, so your fridge and pantry will be filled with
bounty when the New Year arrives. Make sure any canisters (flour, sugar,
rice, etc.) are full.
- Buy nine of the biggest, most perfect oranges you can find, and place
them in a bowl on the kitchen counter or in the center of the kitchen
table. Or, on New Year's day, roll the oranges one by one through your
front door to symbolize luck coming in to fill your house. Then gather
up the oranges and place them in a bowl in your kitchen or living room.
- Prepare some of your family's favorite foods the day before, to serve
on New Year's Day. Plan ahead, because using sharp knives on New Year's
Day is thought to bring bad luck, instead of good! (This is more superstitious
than symbolic, but it does mean you can enjoy a good meal with the prep-work
already done.)
If welcoming in greater prosperity is high on your wish list, add these
steps to your New Year preparations:
- Pay all your current bills before the New Year, and pay off as much
as possible of any debts you may have. Even a small additional payment
on a credit card bill symbolizes your strong intention to prosper and
become debt-free in the New Year.
- A day or so before New Year, withdraw an amount of cash that's more
than you usually carry around, so you enter the New Year with a fat
wallet. If money's tight, fill your wallet with one-dollar bills and
your change purse with pennies. Having many pieces of money around for
the New Year is more important than how much it adds up to.
- In addition to the nine oranges mentioned above, place more bowls
of fruit and nuts around your home and in your office, as symbols of
abundance.
- Buy a new red garment and wear it on New Year's Day. You don't have
to dress from head to toe in red, so long as you wear something red
and new - even a small accessory will do, if that's all you can afford.
Remember that Chinese New Year is a time to celebrate family. Even if
you don't bother with any of these preparations, it's a good time to
pick up the phone and call your friends and loved ones to let them know
they are important to you.
With best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year,
Stephanie
Announcements
NEW YEAR GIVE-AWAY
Since clearing
out the old to make way for the new is a big New Year's theme, whichever
calendar you follow, it seems appropriate to make our "Clutter-Free
Forever!" Home Coaching Program this month's give-away for a
lucky subscriber.
To enter, send an email to
before midnight
(Hawaii Standard Time) February 6th. We'll announce the winner in
our next issue.
For more information on the "Clutter-Free Forever!" program, or
to sign up for a year's worth of FREE Clutter-Clearing Tips &
Motivation, click
here.
Feng
Shui Q+A
(Most questions will have been edited for clarity
and length, and any identifying details have been changed. Please note
that due to the high volume of email I receive, it is no longer possible
for me to respond to every question personally. I still welcome your
questions, and if I cannot provide a personal response I will try to
address your issue in a future Q+A column.)
Q: I remember reading somewhere that it is
bad luck to put fresh cut flowers in one or two areas of the ba gua,
but I cannot find any information on this. Could you set me straight?
A: I believe it's overstating the issue to say that fresh flowers
are "bad luck" anywhere. They bring the beauty of nature into the home,
and that's a good thing.
Keep in mind, however, that flowers represent the "wood" element. Wood
is not a good match for areas where you want the water or earth elements
to be strong (wood absorbs/depletes water, and disturbs/uproots earth)
or for "metal" areas, which are harmful to wood. But this will also
depend on the type of flowers; white or yellow blossoms, for example,
will be compatible with "metal" or "earth" chi. If you have purchased
fresh flowers to use specifically as a feng shui cure, then it's a good
idea to match both the flower colors and their "wood" energy to an appropriate
location.
If you have flowers that are not specifically a feng shui cure, then
the best place for them is wherever you will appreciate them most. Placing
them in an "optimal" feng shui location is pointless if that will be
somewhere you are less able to see and enjoy them.
Your click, along with others' today, improves the lives of more than 1,000 children. Each click helps prevent life-threatening diseases, restore vision to blind children, and enable child amputees to walk.
You don't pay a penny. Sponsors will pay for the services your
click provides.
In 2004, visitor clicks funded basic, critical
health services for more than 461,000 children around the world. The
number of children helped depends on the number of people who visit
The Child Health Site. Please
click every day, and encourage your friends and family to do the
same.
After a longer-than-expected hiatus, I am once again
available for long-distance feng shui consultations.
Here's how it works: You send me a detailed floor plan and photographs
of your home, along with a completed issues questionnaire, and I review
your information and discuss my feedback and suggestions with you by
phone.
If you are interested in a consultation, please visit our Services
page and download the Off-Site Guidelines (PDF), which provides specific
details about the information that I will need from you.
The consultation fee is based on the size of your home. Details available
on our Services page.
If you are interested in a consultation for an office location, please
contact me by email.
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND EDITIONS NOW AVAILABLE!!!
Softcover editions of "Fast Feng Shui" and "Fast
Feng Shui for Prosperity" are now available in AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND
through Fast Trak Direct Pty. Ltd.
Order your copies today by calling Fast Trak Direct at: 3 5255 3073
(Wallington, VIC) Please note that [OT] can only ship to Australia/New
Zealand postal addresses.
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2005 Stephanie Roberts. All rights reserved.
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