Colour is a versatile tool that can be used to adjust the energy of a space. It is all around us and is influencing our energy patterns every day. In feng shui design, colour can be applied in a simple and straightforward way to trigger an emotional response.
impact of colors used in interior on the psychology of people
Feng shui can be seamlessly integrated into interior design by using subtle nuances and creative methods. In this ancient practice, there is a sensitivity to how deeply we are affected by colour: our moods, behaviours, emotions, and even physical reactions. Skilled practitioners use colour to affect not only mood but to also create a shift in the qi of the environment.
“Within the human body, the brain has several functions. One area of the brain controls our physical behaviour, another stimulates our emotions, another part controls our speech, while yet another helps our thought processes. Whatever we look upon and see through our eye will, through our optic nerve, send sensory
signals to each area of the brain, which in turn, will send signals to our body to react to what our eyes see. So the colours of everything our eyes come into contact with will influence our temperament, physical movements, language, and thoughts – in short, our lives.”
Thomas LIN YUN
Founder of Black Sect Feng Shui
color and feng shui
Can colour change the way you feel? I think most of us would agree that it can. Just think about the jolt of energy you get when you walk into a brightly painted, yellow room, or the calm you feel sitting in a cool, pale blue room. We know that colour can affect our mood and even our actions, but what about feng shui colour principles? Can colour impact you on a deeper level?
Colour is a versatile tool that can be used to adjust the energy of a space. At the heart of this feng shui is a connection to the natural world; the balance and harmony found in water, earth, and the changing of the seasons. In feng shui design, colour can be applied in a simple and straightforward way to trigger an emotional response ie. Yellow is bright and happy evoking the energy of the sun.
Colour is all around us and is influencing our energy patterns every day. Advanced feng shui practitioners’ use the nuances and subtleties of colour. The art of feng shui is the ability to balance and integrate many complex systems and principles, as well as the basic psychology of colour.
feng shui color theory and emotional responses
In feng shui you are working with both the physical space, as well as the invisible energy, or “qi” that circulates and surrounds us. The most effective feng shui is when both are combined: the mundane and visible, and the invisible and immaterial. Feng shui uses colour in a way that transcends the visual response.
1. Feng shui uses colour in design: We can see colour and it triggers an emotion or thought. It makes us feel a certain way. These perceptions and feelings are connected with the world around us, nature, and are also influenced by cultural norms.
2. Feng shui uses colour beyond what we perceive visually: energy, qi and unseen energies, “the other”. A feng shui practitioner can use ancient feng shui colour systems with the intention of creating a specific energetic shift or change to a space. For example, the five-element colour theory connects colour with energy patterns and characteristics that go beyond emotional and cultural triggers. These colour systems are based on formulaic, ancient cosmological methods that link natural energetic forces with mystical practices.
color, feng shui and well-being
The five elements are a good example of a colour system that can be used to improve well-being. These elements are universal energetic essences, each with their own flavor of qi. They are phases; how energy can shift in quality and purpose between one state to the next.
How much, or what type, of “energy” does a person, place, or thing have? When you walk into a room, does it energize you, or make you feel drained? Some days, you may wake up enlivened, full of buoyancy, and other days you may feel like you can barely get yourself to work. Maybe there is a place in nature that has a certain kind of power to it. All these examples can be attributed to qi and the nature of the five elements. By using colours associated with specific elements you can introduce a type of energy, for example, adding bright green will bring in vital and active energy of the wood element.
The key to a well-designed and harmonious space is a balance. Feng shui is about intentionally adjusting a space by balancing both basic design principles with ancient esoteric systems.
Advanced feng shui practitioners’ use the nuances and subtleties of colour. The art of feng shui is the ability to balance and integrate many complex systems and principles, as well as the basic psychology of colour.
role and function of color in feng shui
Feng shui colour theory, as with all the systems in this practice, starts with nature. The yin and yang play of colour found in water, mountains, and fields, creates powerful symbolism that is hard-wired into our subconscious. Feng shui colour systems are also based in ancient teachings from Taoism, Buddhism, and Shamanistic practices that tap into what is beyond our perception to create powerful shifts in energy. Here are three ways feng shui practitioners use colour:
1. To adjust the flow of qi of the site – adding a specific colour to correct an issue or to enhance the qi. Practitioners will refer to one of the many feng shui colours systems, such as five elements or the bagua.
2. To support and balance the occupant’s energy – for example practitioners can use the colours from the fiveelement system to correct personal energy imbalances.
3. To protect an individual or space – colour, specifically red, is used in many feng shui adjustments to protect and strengthen the qi of an individual when negative forces may be a factor.