Feng Shui Homework: Consider the Color Blue for Your Decor

Franca Giuliani - This September started with the reminiscence of a blue moon (which occurred on August 31). For those of you who may not know, a blue moon is the second full moon occurrence in a given month. Some also say it is the fourth moon to appear in a season. Now the moon is not actually blue, so why do they call it that? There are a few different stories. The oldest one I found was because of a way to describe something so absurd that it would not happen, as in “That will happen when the moon turns blue.” And of course we eventually got the phrase, “once in a blue moon.”

No matter its origins, a blue moon is considered having powerful and magical energies. In honoring this moon, I thought it might be appropriate to talk about what the color BLUE actually means, and how we can use it in our space and lives for better harmony.

Based on a feng shui perspective, BLUE is associated with the North East/Knowledge & Self-Cultivation and the East/Family & Health sectors of the bagua. Really DARK BLUES (almost black) relate to the North /Journey & Career. SKY BLUE is associated with the South /Illumination.

Yes, BLUE is associated with sadness and melancholy. “I feel so blue,” or “I have the blues.” But in feng shui, BLUE illustrates calmness, peace, tranquility, and introspection. Therefore, it's used quite often in bedrooms (a certain shade of BLUE-GREEN can also work) to help with sleep. It can be used where people convene, such as offices, to help avoid conflict. Keep in mind, though, that everyone

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10 Feng Shui Tips - How to Use the Power of Color in Your Home

Franca Giuliani - Within feng shui as within design, color is very important and powerful. Before trying to pick out the "right color” for home decorating, let's try to understand color.

Color is energy. (And, remember, everything is energy.) Colors are specific wavelengths of energy that can be used to balance our chi, our life force. Here's what colors can do for you and yours:

• Colors have an impact on our emotions and our vibration. They possess the power to arouse or to tranquilize, to bring joy or create depression. 
• Colors engage our eyes and influence how we interpret our emotional experiences. By understanding the emotional context of colors, we can manipulate the experience of space to benefit our energetic body.

Color Has Three Dimensions

HUE: This is the first recognizable characteristic of a color. It's the quality by which we distinguish one color from another, as red, yellow, etc.

VALUE: The quality by which we distinguish a light color from a dark color (or how clean the color is). Value is raised by adding white and is lowered by adding black. Colors change in value with light - the brighter the sun, the more light you have coming into a room, the brighter the room colors will be.

INTENSITY: The quality by which we distinguish a strong color from a weak one. Color is lowered in intensity by adding gray or by adding its complementary color. 

Color Has Harmony

This is an agreeable combination of colors, and there are two kinds of harmony.

CONTRASTED HARMONIES use colors on the opposite side of the color wheel. Most common are complementary colors - exactly opposite.

RELATED HARMONY uses colors close to each other on the color wheel or only one color. Analogous colors are

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