Year of the snake

2013 is the year of the water Snake. Water is the most yin/feminine element, but yin is not considered weak in Chinese astrology and feng shui. Instead, Water is the most powerful element for it can move around any obstacle in its path without losing its essential nature. Water can, in time, dissolve the hardest mountains. Snake year is quiet and introspective, yet still powerful and intense. The volume is turned down after the energy of the previous Dragon year. In Snake year, events occur very slowly preparation and planning are key. So in a Snake year, more than any other year, it is very helpful to focus on your bedroom in your home for rest, healing, and retreat. Snakes love knowledge, wisdom, and learning. So this year focus on your Knowledge corner. The Knowledge corner of each room is located in the near LEFT-hand corner from the entry. This corner represents the tri-gram Mountain in the Black Hat style of feng shui.This Knowledge corner is where you focus to increase your inner awareness, understanding, and spiritual development. And Snake year is all about spiritual development. Be sure to keep your Knowledge corner clean, and do not allow clutter to gather there. A cluttered Knowledge corners equals a cluttered mind. Your Knowledge corner is an excellent location for books, an altar, or spiritual objects. You can enhance this area with a bright light, a mirror, or a crystal ball to add illumination. Or add a wind chime, a mobile, or other moving object to keep this area active in your life. Fresh flowers and fresh plants are symbolic of fresh ideas and new mental and spiritual growth. But dried flowers and dried wreaths are especially not lucky in this corner because dried and dead things keep you stuck in the past. The energy-producing items that can be problematic in other areas of the home -- computer, television, fireplace, entertainment center, stereo -- are all fine here.  A computer in this corner can be used to acquire new knowledge. Television programs can open new doors to learning. A fireplace adds vitality to inner development. A stereo can inspire new growth from musical inspiration. How many rooms in your dwelling? That's how many Knowledge corners are in your home, and every Knowledge corner can be transformed. A one-room studio or cubicle has only one Knowledge corner, but a home with many rooms has many Knowledge corners, one in each room. More rooms just mean more Knowledge corners for you to enhance for increased consciousness and spiritual development in this Water Snake year. Attention to feng shui is important at New Year to welcome new opportunities. Clean your home as if it is spring cleaning but done now. Move any piece of furniture that has not been moved during this past year to clean behind and below it. Do not start a new year and a new cycle in a messy or dirty home environment. Snake year should be calming, so no chaos or clutter in 2013! If you have clutter anywhere, now is the time to get rid of it. What is clutter? Any item that you do not use. Clear out all closets, drawers, and storage areas if they have clutter and are not organized and tidy. If your spiritual path is not clear to you, or you have no idea where to start with inner cultivation, then you definitely must have no clutter hidden, stashed, or hoarded. Cleaning out the Knowledge corner is one way to heal and stay balanced in Snake year. And remember there that must be no clutter in your Money corner (far left-hand corner from entry), especially in a restful Snake year, so you do not obsess or fret about finances. But this year the main feng shui focus is the Knowledge corner. New spiritual awareness cannot enter if this corner is full of stuff, clutter, and piles of papers. Look at what you've placed in your Knowledge corner. Really look and become more aware of your environment, especially in this area. No junk, no clutter, and no obviously unlucky items like a paper shredder, cat box, or garbage can. ADD  BEAUTY Fresh flowers bring fresh aroma that clears the air for New Year, especially if your home feels dark, over heated, or musty. Add beautiful flowers to welcome the New Year and to increase abundance. And plants offer fresh oxygen to improve health. The energy of a room is brightened by the addition of flowers and plants. So be sure to follow this one tip and add fresh cut flowers or a healthy plant to your home for New Year. Lucky flowers are orchids, peonies, and lilies. Chrysanthemums have a scent that not everyone likes, so pay attention to scent. Roses are fine in a home or office, but remove them if there is much arguing (influence of the rose's thorns.) Avoid thorny plants like a cactus, indoors or outdoors. Instead, grow lush plants that have soft round leaves like a jade plant or philodendron. Outdoors, it is more fortunate to have plants that stay ever green and do not ever lose their leaves. Healthy bamboo is lucky because the stems become longer and stronger as the plant grows. If you bring home a lovely orchid, after the flower wilts, cut away the dead stalk and insert a good-quality silk orchid into your container. Then your orchid seems to be always in bloom, instead of a dead stalk tied to a wooden stake. Silk flowers are a wonderful way to add light and life to your environment. A red blossom adds to your money luck. So if you are budgeting and are more money conscious in a thrifty Snake year, use silk flowers to have an orchid always appears to be in bloom without spending on a new orchid. FIRST THING SEEN When entering your home, what is the first thing seen? Your eye goes somewhere, so be observant in every room of your home. Make sure that the first thing seen in each room is inviting, clean, and inspiring when you enter. You do not want to see a pile of paperwork or any type of mess. Organize each room so that the first thing seen sets a pleasant tone and makes the room inviting to enter. The first thing seen should be so attractive that you want to be near it. Not everyone has natural artistic talents, but everyone can aspire to improve the beauty, comfort, and general appeal of their immediate surroundings. Read a few interior design books or magazines. Be open to cultivating your own sense art, beauty, and aesthetics. LUCKY WISDOM COLORS In your Knowledge corner, add cool, soothing colors. Green or earth tones are excellent in this location. It's still fine to have a strong Money corner with the colors of wealth – red, and purple, gold, and sometimes green – which are perfect for your money corner. Decorate with these colors in the Money corners of your home and office. Red curtains in the living room bring money and success because red is such a powerful color in feng shui. Red, purple, and gold are recommended for strong financial success. Fen Shui advice from Susan Levitt