|
 MAKING
WAVES WITH FENG
SHUI
Feng Shui Flowery-Stuff
by Dennis Fairchild
‘Tis
never too early to celebrate spring and sunshine... even tho it’s only
frigid February in the midwest. This month’s phenomeNEWS mailbag was
filled with questions about getting ready for warmer temps and getting
together the garden according to the ancient Asian philosophy called
Feng Shui (pronounced ‘fung schway,’ which suggests that everything in
your house and yard affects you).
Hi Dennis,
Valentine’s Day and the
Chinese New Year are upon us. I love cooking more than cleaning. Are
there any fun Feng Shui foods to serve to my family on these occasions?
Donna, Ferndale, MI;
internet
Dear D,
As the
Little Rascals said in one of their classic episodes: yum-yum eat it up,
eat it up. This post-Chinese New Year (in late January) dish is often
served throughout February. Tres simple and yummy. It’s called
Kurikinton – brilliant orange in color and sweet as well: sweet potatoes
and chestnuts.
Scrub the
skins of a pound of sweet potatoes (yams, do quite well, too), dice them
into small cubes about half-an-inch quarters and soak in water for about
two hours. Drain and rinse. Next, bring a pot of water to a rolling
boil, add the orange spud chunks and cook about 15 minutes or until you
can pierce them easily with a fork.
Drain,
return them to the dry pot, mash ‘em up and add a tablespoon or two of
honey or rice syrup and a small jar of chestnuts in sweet syrup. Stir it
all together over low heat and serve with a drizzle of mirin (sweet rice
cooking wine) or maple syrup. Eating this in February is said to enhance
internal health and happiness and keep you feeling sunny beneath cloudy
skies. Whenever possible, always buy organic sweet potatoes and yams at
your local natural food grocery; mirin can be purchased at Whole Foods
and, locally at Royal Oak’s Nutri-Foods or Clawson’s Noble Fish.
Dear Dennis,
My mom’s favorite color
is pink and her birthday is just after Valentine’s Day. She’s not a big
fan of carnations. Do you have a suggestion for a flowering birthday
plant that she might enjoy on her heated enclosed back porch?
Gloria, Toledo,OH via
internet.
Morning
Glory-ahhh!
A
beautiful name and I’m sure you have a beautiful momma too.
Fuchsias, with their pendulum-like lantern flowers are favorite Feng
Shui flowers for the weeks following New Years. (Normally in Feng Shui,
droopy plants and trees, like a weeping willow, are not honored in
wind-water reasoning, but fuchsia is an exception.)
Feng Shui catalogues these as fire-element plants – passion, health –
and are best when displayed in a southern-area of one’s home. They
flower profusely over a lonnng period from early spring to late autumn.
For extra good luck and prosperity this year, also hang a few Chinese
red paper lanterns (www.orientaltrading.com
) as compliments.
Hello Dennis,
My new neighbor, whom I
adore is Chinese. I love Feng Shui and all your phenomeNEWS columns. I
want to give him a Feng Shui-OK housewarming gift and am considering a
bonsai. Is this a good Year of the Dog gift?
George, Palmer Park,
MI; via internet
Curious
George:
Alas, the
Japanese bonsai – a person-made manicured plant, altho cool-as-heck in
my opinion, are not welcomed as a Feng Shui treasure. Way way back, they
were designed to bring Ma Nature into one’s home. However, because their
growth is purposely stunted, it ain’t a good thing. Ditto for cacti,
aloe vera... and – gasp! – roses. (Think sharp, pointy un-fun thingees.)
Bonsai are
best displayed in rooms that are separated from dining and sleeping
areas or a separate greenhouse. Feng Shui tradition says to never never
display them by an entranceway or major living/gathering area of a home.
However, Chinese folklore says that if a bonsai sits atop a personal
piece of fabric (fave shirt or such), that it minimizes the Feng Shui-Ma
Nature voodoo.
Hi Dennis and
phenomeNEWS,
I’m getting all sorts
of seed catalogues now. I live in lower Ohio. Any fave Feng Shui flower
that I can order and empower my property with prosperity?
Sarah, via internet
Sweet
Sarah:
Best best
choice for “our” Zone-5 is the chrysanthemum, especially the
amber-yellow ones. Like a peony, the chrysanthemum is one of the most
highest-regarded in Asian cultures. The frilly-flower is symbolic of a
life of ease, happiness and joy.
February
is the best time to display them in your home, so haunt your local
flower stores and place them with pride, please. Bright yellow or
purple-tones are believed to attract extra income as well as spiritual
awareness and relaxation. Feng Shui also really likes purple lilacs
planted on the sides of homes in order to repel neighborhood
interference and keep your home a happy one.
Dennis Fairchild is author
of several books on divination and conducts personal tarot and
astrological readings. He can be reached at (248) 546-6912. |
