Feng Shui for a Vibrant Fall Home

by Erica Sofrina

 

I love anything and everything pumpkin – the fabulous colors, interesting shapes and, of  course, the pie!

One of my most enjoyable fall rituals is to fill my trunk with an  abundance  of the multicolored, unusually shaped pumpkins and gourds that  richly grace the  Half Moon Bay, N. California coast side where I live. I  especially love the  lime- green and tangerine ones with exotic curly  handles. I throw in handfuls  of dry, crackly autumn-colored corn and  drive happily home where I arrange them  artfully around a haystack on my front porch. It makes for a happy fall “greeter” to the home, sending an inviting message to all  who enter.

Inside I arrange a bountiful “horn of plenty” with the smaller   multicolored  gourds and mini-pumpkins along with the acorns, dry corn   and colorful autumn  leaves I have collected. For my Thanksgiving table, I   adorn it with mini  gourds, pumpkins, acorns and bright orange and red   autumn leaves. The most  unusual “prize” pumpkin is saved for the   centerpiece. My table is laid out on  a soft, deep-blue table cloth which   really makes the rich, earthy tangerine  and autumn colors pop.

The fact is that the more our homes are filled with objects,  shapes,  textures and artwork depicting nature, the happier we are in  our living space.  It reminds us of our true home and will always feel reassuring.

This teaching comes from the five elements theory which comes out of  Chinese  medicine and is a fundamental part of the ancient art and  science of Feng Shui. As human beings we are connected to 100,000  generations of ancestors  who lived in the natural world. It is embedded into  our DNA to feel a  deep sense of balance and well being in nature and feel  depressed when deprived of it.

One powerful way to remedy fall blues is to work with balancing the  elements  that begin to diminish during the fall and winter seasons. We  can do this by  pepping up the fire, earth and wood elements in our  home with colors, objects,  shapes and textures that represent these elements.

Pumpkins represent almost all of the five elements, which is one of the  reasons why they are so vibrant in the home. The orange color represents both  fire and earth with their orange and brown hues, the circular shape represents  the metal element, and the fact that they are a plant represents the wood  element.

These fiery and earthy orbs help balance the abundance of the water element  that fall and winter bring, making our homes feel warmer and cozier. (Read more  about how to balance the five elements in your home.)

I encourage you to gather up these rich earth bounties and make interesting  arrangements to create a vibrant “harvest” home for the fall. Remember, when we  see bounty we feel bountiful, and our lives begin to move in this direction!

For those who want to learn more about the Feng Shui five elements and how to  apply them, click here for your free color copy of my five elements map and information. Enjoy!