Feng Shui

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of being in harmony with one's environment. Basically, it's the optimization of the layout of your house so that you can stay as calm and lead the best life possible. Note that even though Feng Shui's core principles share those of Taoism, Feng Shui isn't exclusively a Taoist philosophy.

Context

Feng Shui is all about energy (qi). Where do the intentions of placing your furniture go, and where does your energy (qi) itself go? The main goals of Feng Shui is to utilize your home's layout to make sure all the qi, love, success and wellness that circulate in your house actually stay in there.

Yin-yang

Your home should have active aswell as restful areas (yin and yang). You could achieve this by having bright lights and open spaces (for yang) and a soft atmosphere and dim lighting (for yin) in others. A should should harmonize in an area, those elements being Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. For example, earthy tones can represent Earth, and a kitchen could represent Fire. Put them both in the same room, and you have Earth and Fire. Elements create or control eachother to maintain natural harmony, i.e. Fire creates Earth.

The Bagua

The Bagua is a symbol borrowed from Taoist cosmology, though it's also applied to Feng Shui. It holds its origins from the I Ching (the book of changes) and represents the eight forces of the universe, those being Heaven, Earth, Thunder, Water, Mountain, Wind, Fire and Lake.

Applying it in Feng Shui

The Bagua Map is a map that divides your life into 9 life areas, each having its own element, color scheme and compass direction. In classical Feng Shui, you want to align the Bagua with the north and hang it on the wall of the 'true north'. In westernized Feng Shui or Black Hat Feng Shui you can just align the bottom of the Bagua with the wall containing your front door.

If you have a floor plan, take it and stretch the Bagua map over your floor plan. Treat the rooms as the Bagua says, for example wherever the Bagua points to the southwest of the Bagua, place pairs of objects, e.g. 2 roses which represent Love.

Keep in mind that you should always repair broken objects, for example if your Wealth area has a broken lamp that could cause a blockage of qi.