Because of the current conditions of our economy, I felt that this would be an appropriate article to write that might be able to help you with your career prospects. I receive many emails from people that are either looking for work, starting a new business or wanting to change to a different job.

There are at least three sectors in your home that can apply to your career. The first one is pretty obvious – the North, being your career sector. The other two may or may not help you with this depending upon your individual needs. One is the NW which is the Mentors Sector and the other is the South which is your Fame and Recognition Sector.

For this article we are going to focus on the North part of your home or office, which is your Career Sector and should be activated properly. First, it needs to be said that if the North Sector of your house is a bedroom, activate the North corner of your Living Room instead.

Clear the Clutter. The first thing that you need to make sure of is that there is no clutter in this area. Remember, clutter is said to block the flow of positive chi, which we definitely do not want to happen in an area as important as this!

Choose Your Colors Wisely. The element for the North is water, so it is important that the colors in this area reflect that element. Water element colors are blue, hues of blue, black and gray. Look around the North part of your home or office … what colors are the most overwhelming there? If you have metallic colors there, such as bronze, white, silver and gold, this will also enhance the area because the Metal Element supports the Water Element. Do you have brown, beige or yellow colors in a large amount here? If so… see what you can do about changing that, because those are Earth Element colors which does not support the Water Element!

Object Placement in the North Sector. It is important what pictures and objects that you have in this sector as they are said to directly influence your career. If you have a lot of ceramic items in this area, move them to an Earth Element sector such as the NE, SW or your Good Luck Sector.

Here are some ideas of items that you can place in this area that represent Career and/or the Water Element.

One of the best items you can have in this area would be photos or objects depicting water.

An aquarium, with fresh clean water is a great item to have here.

Water fountains are also said to be enhancers of this area.

A picture or figurine of an eagle in full flight is an excellent symbol of success, strength, power and authority. Always have an eagle flying or perched on a tree do not show one looking fierce and predatory.

Galloping horses represent success and your career taking off!

Because of their symbolism of wisdom, Elephants are good items to have in the Career Sector

A depiction of a turtle is an excellent object to have in your career sector. A live turtle is great as well.

Sailing ships are said to be very auspicious in the North to enhance your career. One that has its sails up is best. Stay away from representations of rowboats or pontoons. Sailing ships can be further enhanced by placing I-Ching coins and/or ingots on them.

Other Career Tips:

Bathroom in the North – If your bathroom is in the North Sector of your home, close the door to the toilet and keep it closed at all times. If this is a second bathroom, try to use it as infrequently as possible. Lillian Too suggests that placing a large boulder in your bathroom will help to press down on the bad chi caused by the toilet. If the bathroom does not take up the whole North Sector of your home, you may place items and decorate outside of the bathroom. Also, you can use the North corner of your Living room to activate your Career.

Bedroom in the North. If your bedroom is in the North Sector of your home, it is better to not do anything here to activate it. Use the North corner of your living room instead.

Dragon in the East. The dragon is one of the four Celestial Animals in Feng Shui and is the animal of the East. They can be placed almost anywhere in your home, but I would at least have one in the East. The dragon is considered “All Powerful” and is said to bring about wealth, prosperity, power, protection, great success, good luck and abundance. If you have a dragon that is holding or protecting a round object, that is said to be the Pearl of Life and symbolizes wisdom and great achievement. They do not belong in bedrooms or bathrooms.

Phoenix in the South. Placing a phoenix symbol in the south is said to symbolize opportunities that lead to success and prosperity. Do not display the phoenix AND dragon in this area, as they are for your SW sector. Roosters and Peacocks are also very appropriate for this area.

What is your KUA Number? Don’t forget about activating your Personal Development sector according to the PaKua for your KUA number in a room that you spend a lot of time in, such as a bedroom, living room or office.

Whether you are single and looking for a soul mate or happily married to your soul mate, I hope this article will be of help to you in your Feng Shui practice!

There are several different areas in your home that you can activate in order to improve relationships in this area. The first and most important is the Southwest sector of your home. You may also want to do some decorative enhancements in your bedroom – particularly in the Southwest corner of that room. The living room is also another place that you can activate. And last, but certainly not least – get a “double dip” by making sure the Romance Sector of your personal KUA number is covered as well.

Clear the Clutter. I can’t say this enough…. The first thing that you need to make sure of is that there is no clutter in this area. Remember, clutter is said to block the flow of positive chi, which we definitely do not want to happen in an area as important as this! A stagnated love life leads to unhappiness and possibly divorce – so make sure you have the clutter cleared in this area!

Choose Your Colors Wisely. The element for the Southwest is Big Earth, so it is important that the colors in this area reflect that element. Earth element colors are beige and yellow. You may also use pink and red in this area as well to spice it up a bit! Be careful not to use metal or wood colors in this sector – such as metallic, gold, silver, green or brown. If you do, use them sparingly and make sure that the item you are using has to do with romance if at all possible.

Object Placement in the Southwest Sector. It is important what pictures and objects that you have in this sector as they are said to directly influence your love life. If you have a lot of word or metal terms in this area, move them to a different sector such as the Northwest or West. In this area, try to stay with ceramic items as much as possible.

Here are some ideas of items that you can place in this area that represent Romance and/or the Earth Element.

One of the best items you can have in this area would be a depiction of a phoenix and dragon which are considered the celestial couple – able to overcome all odds together with their strength. They represent Yin and Yang – a perfect balance of harmony.

Display the double happiness symbol in the Southwest of your home, bedroom or living room. Double happiness jewel boxes are great here – just put a small photo of you and your loved one, a ring, a piece of jewelry or anything that symbolizes love in this beautiful box – or leave it empty if you wish.

Red, pink and/or white heart shaped candles are good in this area. You don’t necessarily have to burn the candles – just display them. Aromatherapy can also play a vital part in dispersing negative chi in this area.

Also, you may want to display a pink or red heart shaped crystal here as well. Try to find a painting or a photo of a romantic couple to place in this area. And don’t forget – if you are married – how about a wedding picture or an engagement photo here? If you kept the bride/groom figurine that may have been on top of your wedding cake you can use this too. You may also want to display your bridal bouquet in a plastic case here as well. Don’t box this stuff up and put it in the back of a closet somewhere – DISPLAY these symbols of your love where all can see!

Red or pink roses are also perfect for this area. You may use real ones or silk ones. I like silk because they last forever!

Lovebirds or Mandarin Ducks are said to mate for life – and are perfect relationship enhancers for this area.

If you are a lover of ceramics, the Southwest is a great place to display anything in twos. For example – two dogs or cats playing or in a loving stance – two elephants together – two of any animal representing a male and female relationship is great! Be very careful that you do not use things that have three in them as that can represent someone coming between you and your loved one.

Kwan Yin is representative of unconditional love and bodes well in the Romance Sector. After all, isn’t that what love is all about? Unconditional? How perfect a relationship can be when you each love one another despite each other’s faults and shortcomings!

The Chinese believe that the five elements, earth, wood, fire, metal and water are the forces of nature that make the earth what it is today. Both the Form and Compass Schools in Feng Shui hold these same beliefs and use the Five Elements Theory in their Feng Shui practices and interpretations.

These five elements have two different cycles in nature. One is Productive and the other is Destructive. In the productive cycle, fire produces earth, earth produces metal, metal produces water, water produces wood and wood produces fire. In the destructive cycle, wood destroys earth, earth destroys water, water destroys fire, fire destroys metal and metal destroys wood. The destructive cycle is not necessarily bad – it can be used as a cure for imbalance.

Each element is symbolized by color and material and can be found on your pakua in different directions.

Fire is represented by the color red. Candles and oil burners are good items to symbolize fire.

Earth is represented by brown and tan colors. Terra Cotta planters with potting soil, ceramics and rocks are excellent items to symbolize the earth element.

Metal is represented by white and silver and gold colors. Using metal objects made of copper, silver gold and bronze will enhance a metal sector.

Water is represented by blue hues and the color black. Water can be symbolized by aquariums, ponds or water fountains. It is important that the water is not still and stagnated but free flowing.

Wood is represented by the color green. Live plants, bushes or shrubs are excellent items to symbolize wood. Dead wood – such as furniture does not apply here – the wood must be living.

When deciding how to activate certain sectors, always use the breadwinner’s element to determine what to use and what not to use in excess in your home. For example, if the breadwinner’s element is wood, you don’t want a lot of metal elements/objects in your home because metal destroys wood. By the same token, you DO want to have plenty of water element symbols because water produces wood. Other members of the family can have their elements enhanced in their own personal spaces such as a bedroom or an office.

If there is a situation where there is an element in your home that you can’t get rid of – but is a bad element for the breadwinner, THEN you use the destructive cycle of the elements by placing whatever element will destroy the unwanted element in that area. Let’s say for example that you heat your home with a wood burning stove and the breadwinner’s element is metal. Since fire destroys metal – this is NOT good. So, if you cannot stop using the stove – then you need to find a cure that will destroy fire. The element that destroys fire is water. So, in this situation, you would put water element colors and objects on and around the wood burning stove in order to “downplay” the fire element.

Using the five elements of Feng Shui in the right way should bring a positive flow of chi into your home or office.