6 beliefs about doors in Feng Shui and the logic behind them

In any home, the front door always governs money and wealth opportunities. Photos: 123rf.com

In Feng Shui, doors are considered one of the most important elements of a building or space. Doors are the main entry and exit points where energy (or Qi) flows in and out of the house.

In any home, the front door always governs money and wealth opportunities. This is where energy flows into your house from the external environment.

If you are lucky enough to have a beautiful view outside your front door, positive Qi flows, bringing good money, relationship and career luck.

This then leads to the inevitable question: what then constitutes negative Qi? Identifying negative Qi is quite simple – we want to avoid negative formations like sharp objects immediately outside the front door.

These include the edge of another building, sharp objects like pylons, dead trees, or even pillars.

Here is some common knowledge about doors in Feng Shui and the logic behind them:

Door Logic #1: Opening too many doors in the house is bad.

True. One of the functions of Feng Shui is to bring the energies or Qi from the external environment and keep them circulating within the home.

Too many doors open at the same time inevitably results in unstable Qi that cannot be contained inside your house. This will result in a high outflow of wealth, along with the possibility of relationship conflicts.

Which door will be more likely to attract good luck?

Door Logic #2: A Poison Arrow or Cutting Knife directed into the front door is bad.

True. The easiest way to visualise Qi is to think of the wind. As the wind flows around buildings and objects, it takes on the shape of the object. Common Poison Arrows or Cutting Knives include road signs, lamp posts, electrical posts, or even the pillars of your front porch.

There are some schools of thought that would recommend using plants or shades to block the poison arrows. This is a possible temporary solution.

However, be aware that by doing so, you would be creating a smaller, brighter hall outside of your front door. The best remedy, in fact, is to try to reposition the front door. I know, repositioning the front door can be a costly affair.

Alternatively, if you have a different door, for example, a sliding door, which is common in landed homes, you can just simply close off the main door and use the sliding door as your main entryway.

Door Logic #3: A Building Sha is also known as a Poison Arrow or Cutting Knife.

This, in fact, is the most severe form of the Cutting Knife. Imagine the edge of a building pointing directly at your front door. It’s visually unappealing, and carries severe implications where Feng Shui is concerned.

Most practitioners will recommend placing a convex mirror to reflect the Cutting Knife away. Again, this could be a viable temporary solution, but the best is always to try to avoid this scenario.

To remedy this, most practitioners would recommend a bagua mirror. However, any convex mirror will do.

Too many doors open at the same time inevitably results in unstable Qi that cannot be contained inside your house.

Door Logic #4: A main door facing another main door should be avoided.

This is commonly found in apartment buildings. I’ve seen plenty myself. In Feng Shui terms, this scenario is akin to two homes “fighting” for the Qi.

It leads to unfriendliness and a cold, distant relationship between neighbours. Perhaps that is why apartment dwellers are known to be less friendly with each other?

There is no remedy for this, unfortunately. Awareness is the key.

Door Logic #5: The main door must be well-maintained.

It is said that if your main door and frame are rotten, decayed or mouldy, this will lead to illness in the family. The prescribed cure for this is to simply have the door replaced.

However, the decaying door is a reflection of the problem, not the problem itself. The presence of mould or cracks on your doors is indicative of either dampness or stagnant Qi inside the home.

Merely replacing the door is not enough. It’s best to conduct thorough spring cleaning and decluttering.

Door Logic #6: No suppressing beam above the door.

True. A beam or an overhanging ledge directly above your door causes compression of the Qi as it enters your home. This has health implications.

In some apartments, we see air conditioning units placed directly above the door. Understandably, this was a space management solution. But it is not recommended.

The next edition of Home & Garden will be on bright halls.

Paulynne Cheng is a Communications professional turned Bazi and Feng Shui practitioner. She can be reached at [e-mail].