Creating Sanctuary : Passionate, Prosperous & Meaningful Living

In Feng Shui, summer is a fire season, which means its hot temperatures make the fire element more intense. As with anything in life, too much of a good thing can be unhealthy. Let’s explore fire in more detail.

The Energy of Fire

Fire is vibrant, enthusiastic, warm and expansive.  It is social and playful, as well as transformational.  Because fire is prominent during summer, this season more than any other is about joy.

Fire is represented as the color spectrum of red and all forms of lighting such as sunlight, landscape lights, candles, bonfires, etc.  The shapes that denote fire are triangular (like flames), pyramid and conical.  People, animals, wildlife, and pets all represent fire.  Any depiction of people and animals like animal prints, leather and suede, are also fire.

Fire personalities are joyful, expressive, spontaneous, playful, enthusiastic, warm, and magnetic.  They can also be unpredictable, scattered, irresponsible and overly dramatic. In the body, the fire element supports the heart and small intestine.

A space with balanced fire elements is warm and inviting, social and fun.  Too many fire elements may emphasis impatience, cruelty and even hatred.  In the body, excess fire leads to inflammation, and heart problems even high blood pressure.

Harmonizing Excess Fire

There are three ways to address the excess fire element; the water element, the earth element and removal.

  • The water element – Add water elements to your space, engage in water element activities and eat water element foods. This yang approach to harmonizing fire is called the destructive cycle.
  • The earth element – Add earth elements to your space, engage in earth element activities and eat earth element foods. This yin adjustment is called the reducing cycle.
  • Removal – Offset too much fire is by removing actual fire elements in the environment, reduce the consumption of fire element foods and reduce the level of fire activities.

Tips inside the home: reduce the wattage in your bulbs, turn on less lights, remove red accessories, bring in images of water, use a humidifier, diffuse with lemon grass essential oil, store away animal print fabrics, etc.

Tips outside the home: install a water feature near the front entrance, add yellow & white  flowers, create a container garden with  ceramic pots, use brick pavers to break up lawns, trim away excess plant materials, use black mulch in your garden, etc.

Use your creative skills to take the excess heat out of summer and have yourself some fun!