18 Times Feng Shui is Misused or Misinterpreted on the Web

The internet is filled with news and articles about Feng Shui. Most of the ones that came up on my news feed makes Feng Shui seem like magic or some kind of superstition (it’s not). I have gathered those articles here so you won’t be misled by them.

Through my comments on each of the online articles below, you’ll get a better understanding of what Feng Shui is. But most importantly, this article will help you learn what Feng Shui is NOT. 

For those of you familiar with Feng Shui, I hope this list will give you a good laugh!

For those of you NOT familiar or new to Feng Shui, I hope you will learn a little more about Feng Shui so you won’t get misinformed in the future.

Here goes!

Feng Shui is NOT about Trivial Objects

1. The Art of “Phone Shui”

This article talks about a phone that’s not pre-loaded with apps or cluttered with bloatware. It gives customers the freedom to curate their own experience. What they essentially meant by “Phone Shui” was that the phone did not come with clutter.

If you’ve been an avid follower of my blog, you’ll know that clutter is not part of classical Feng Shui. That’s because in ancient times, we did not have the problem of over-production and consumerism. Decluttering is more of a Western Feng Shui concept, and decluttering will NOT bring about the Feng Shui benefits such as wealth, abundance, and love.

2. Feng Shui Your Wallet

The idea here is that you can start shifting the energy around your finances starting with your wallet. And if you “Feng Shui your wallet”, such as using colors, it can help you attract and keep the ever-flowing energy of wealth.

I totally agree with Jen that Feng Shui is NOT about trivial objects, like your wallet. If you know residential Feng Shui, you’ll know that it’s about the house, the landscape surrounding it, its interior, and its sitting and facing direction.

I get it. Using your favorite color and keeping your wallet organized can make you feel better. At best, it is the first step to help you organize your finances, which will hopefully lead to better life planning. However, do NOT expect money to come if you’ve only “Feng Shui’ed your wallet”. Even if it does bring a constant flow of positive energy, its level of energy is minimal.

3. Feng Shui Your Car

The idea here is to make your journey “feel balanced”. The tips to “Feng Shui your car” include the usual, such as clearing clutter and cleaning your windows. There is also other gibberish such as playing music and drinking water.

Like the concept mentioned above, Feng Shui is NOT about trivial objects. The tips above can help you enjoy your car ride, but it has nothing to do with Feng Shui!

4. Feng Shui Fashion: Harmonious Wardrobe

The idea here is that if you carefully change the way you dress, you can balance your elements and even grow your confidence. I don’t agree with the part about balancing elements, but I DEFINITELY agree that dressing well can help grow confidence.

This is the last time I’ll say this – Feng Shui is NOT about trivial objects! I have to say, though, I’m really impressed by the wardrobe design. I am even more impressed by how people can stretch the definition of Feng Shui!

Though color does represent an element and has its effects on us, wearing it will NOT change a person’s elements. I’m saying this assuming that the Feng Shui master is referring to the elements from a Bazi chart. Some people have too much Metal, some lacking Fire. Then, if someone lacks Fire, wouldn’t it be faster if the person swallow Fire? It doesn’t make sense, does it?

What you eat does have some element associated with it, but that’s in the realm of Chinese medicine and NOT Feng Shui.

Steer Away from Strong and Definite Statements about Feng Shui

5. Southeast Area is THE Wealth Corner

This article tells you to find your Southeast corner, clean it out, and place some objects with an element of wood and water and coins. It assumes that Southeast is THE money corner.

Doesn’t this make Feng Shui sound like magic? If doing so can help people bring in more money, then wouldn’t everyone be enjoying an abundance of wealth?

The energy in Southeast can be related to any number of potential events and circumstances, both positive and negative. For instance, depending on the house’s sitting and facing direction, the Flying Star combination in that section can be good or bad. Further, there are many different Feng Shui wealth areas, and none of it is an absolute definite, unlike what the article suggests.

6. Guaranteed Money Gains

Just like the previous article, this article suggest that you take care of your Southeast area for “guaranteed” money gains.

Here’s a word of advice: anytime you hear the word “guaranteed”, steer away from it. If it is really guaranteed, wouldn’t all Feng Shui masters be millionaires or enjoying abundance of love and good health? We all know that’s not the case.

7. Bathrooms are Bad Luck

“Bathrooms are bad luck according to Feng Shui.” No, it is not like that. Again, this is a definite statement. I also have readers who think the same way too.

The restroom, because of what we do there, is said to be overflowing with negative energy. In ancient times, that statement would be more valid because they lacked a sewer system. In modern times, the restrooms are MUCH cleaner and lack the negative energy compared to their ancient counterparts.

Nevertheless, restrooms do serve a purpose – which is to counter the inauspicious energy of the house. For instance, using Kua numbers, you’ll notice that there are 4 auspicious and inauspicious areas. The restroom is best located at the inauspicious areas.

Practices that are Confused with Feng Shui

8. Depositing Money in “Li-Chun”

“Li-Chun” means the first day of spring in the lunar calendar. It’s the calendar people use to select auspicious dates to get married, build a house, adjust bed placements, and much more. The first day of spring is marks the first day of the new Chinese horoscope cycle.

There’s a practice where it’s “good luck” to deposit money during that day of the year. This practice is more popular in Southeast Asia like Singapore. Although experts have debunked this practice, many people still practice this in hopes to bring more luck.

My theory is that it got popular because this is an easy thing to do, and everyone’s looking for that get-rich-quick shortcut. I think people confused this practice with Feng Shui is because it was recommended by some Feng Shui master. Let me make this clear – this practice has nothing to do with Feng Shui! If it seems too easy or too good to be true, then it probably is!

9. Throw Your Oranges Before 9pm Time to Find Love

Similar to the previous one, some Feng Shui master recommended this practice, and hence people confuse this practice with Feng Shui.

If this is a ritual or a traditional cultural practice to find love, then fine, I respect that. But some people don’t get that and thinks this is a Feng Shui practice. It’s NOT. This makes Feng Shui seem ridiculous and superstitious. Plus, if it doesn’t work, it’ll give Feng Shui a bad reputation.

Here’s the takeaway – if some Feng Shui master tells you (or anything) to do something, do NOT automatically assume that it’s a Feng Shui practice.

You CANNOT Feng Shui Your Food

10. Feng Shui for Waistline Trimming

This article is about diet experts giving you Feng Shui kitchen tips that’ll help you manage your diet. Some of these kitchen “tweaks” include having a calorie guide on the fridge, keeping spices by the stove, using see-through containers, and other “tweaks” that has nothing to do with Feng Shui.

Since when did diet experts start giving Feng Shui tips? Just because it has to do with organizing your kitchen, then it’s Feng Shui? No. Feng Shui is NOT about these tiny trivial stuffs.

11. Feng Shui Food Practices for Good Luck

This article talks about a lot of things. For one, it talks about how each food has its own Five Elements. As examples, wholegrain are earth foods while black fungus and mushrooms are water.

I need to make this distinction: the Five Elements that they’re talking about is more about Chinese Medicine than Feng Shui. The Five Elements theory wasn’t created exclusively for Feng Shui. Do NOT automatically assume that if the Five Elements theory is used, it’s about Feng Shui.

This article also talks about food practices, such as hanging chili or mandarin for good luck, and hanging reeds of garlic to help grow your business. Although this may seem similar to the practice of placing Feng Shui items, placing fruits for good luck was NOT mentioned in Classical Feng Shui. If doing so makes you feel positive, then great! However, do not expect these food placements to bring you Feng Shui benefits.

12. Feng Shui Your Fridge

The title of this article is “This is why you should NEVER put milk in the door of the fridge.” It talks about how to Feng Shui your fridge, saying that the fridge door is the warmest part of the fridge. It goes further to explain which parts of the fridge are the coolest and where certain items should be kept.

Seriously… What has Feng Shui become? Is re-arranging food in the fridge a Feng Shui practice? Is Feng Shui just about re-arranging items? Of course, the answer is NO.

Useless Commercial Feng Shui Items

13. Buying Antiques for Feng Shui

This is an article about a woman who was scammed by a self-proclaimed Feng Shui master into spending 1 million dollars buying antiques to improve Feng Shui.

If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I have doubts on the efficacy of Feng Shui items. Whether they’re antique or not does not matter. In fact, some believe antiques, especially those excavated from graves, bring extreme Yin energy and are not suitable for the home.

If you have a million to spend, you might as well remodel your home and make improvements to your interior design or floor plan. This way, you can achieve real Feng Shui results from improvements on how you gather Qi from the outside and how the Qi flows on the inside.

14. Feng Shui Lucky Charms

There’s a lot of Feng Shui masters out there who sell lucky charms. I hold a similar opinion with Feng Shui master Kevin Foong. I think lucky charms do NOT work, at least not the way you think.

According to Kevin: “These are just items. While these represent prosperity, they just make you feel better… Don’t expect your life to change [with these]… Because you’ll just be disappointed.”

I couldn’t agree more.

To me, carrying these lucky charms is the same thing as carrying a rabbit’s foot for good luck. If it makes you feel good, then great! Just remember to set your expectations right.

Also, the practice of carrying these charms is NOT a Feng Shui practice. Many people are looking for quick shortcuts to boost their luck, and they get tricked into wasting their money because of their desperation.

Please, don’t be like that. If you’re seriously seeking improvements, I suggest that you exercise your Human Luck. Invest in yourself, be prepared, and work towards your goals. As for Feng Shui, I’ve always suggested that you hire an expert instead of doing it yourself.

Feng Shui is used for WHAT?

15. Feng Shui Eyebrows

This is about “facial Feng Shui”, which is “especially important in deciding one’s fate.” Well, there’s no such thing as facial Feng Shui. There’s facial reading. There’s palm reading. There’s NO facial Feng Shui.

This article confused facial reading with Feng Shui. Similar to palm reading, facial reading is also a type of art that decodes one’s destiny. Perhaps facial reading is not as popular to the author’s readers, but Feng Shui is, and that’s why she tied those two together. However, doing so just misinterprets what Feng Shui is because it has nothing to do with decoding one’s destiny.

16. Feng Shui Travel Guide

This article tells you where to travel based on your Chinese Zodiac sign. My guess is that the author thinks travelling is “Feng Shui” because “travel welcomes positive energy into your life.”

So now, we have a new definition of Feng Shui. If there’s positive energy, then it’s Feng Shui?

As for Chinese Zodiac, it has a slight connection with Feng Shui. A person’s birth year is required to calculate a person’s Kua number. However, it has more to do with Bazi astrology than Feng Shui. Even so, nothing meaningful can be derived from just one’s zodiac sign.

Feng Shui is about the house and its surrounding. It’s about where you live and NOT about where you travel.

17. Feng Shui is Furniture Placement

Ok, this one is a little better than “how to Feng Shui your fridge” because it’s a more common Feng Shui misinterpretation. In fact, many articles refer to Feng Shui as the “art of furniture placement” and nothing more. This is very misleading because Feng Shui is MUCH more than that.

The reason why furniture sometimes needs to be moved is because they need to accommodate to the Qi flow of the area. For instance, the bed location should be adjusted if there’s a door that’s close to it AND facing towards it. The same applies to the living room sofa and work desk.

18. Restroom Cameras for Feng Shui

There was an article in 2018 published on thebeijinger.com about installing cameras in female restrooms explained away as Feng Shui. Oh my… seriously?

I had mixed feelings when I read this article. At first, the article just made me laugh. But then, I got sad for the girls who were being taken advantage of. Then, I was also feeling angry that the name of Feng Shui was used for such wicked intentions. It reminded me of another news where a Feng Shui master tricked young girls into sexual intercourse for “good luck”. I seriously don’t know what to say.

Here’s my suggestion – if the “Feng Shui practice” sounds ridiculous, then it probably is. If it sounds crazy, then it probably is too. Please, use common sense and don’t get tricked like this.

Conclusion

The classical Feng Shui practice requires us to review the house’s sitting and facing direction, its surrounding, and the location of the bedroom, kitchen, and front door. This is just to mention a few!

With that in mind, can you see how ridiculous the “Feng Shui practices” mentioned above are? For me, they’re both funny and disheartening. It’s funny because I know what Feng Shui is about. It’s saddening because these articles are just creating more Feng Shui misconceptions, making it sound both superstitious and overly simplistic. Nevertheless, I’m truly impressed by how people twist the definition of Feng Shui for commercial purposes or for their own self benefit.

I hope this article helped you understand more of what Feng Shui is NOT. If you want to gain a deeper understanding of Feng Shui, here are some classes that you can take to gain more knowledge.

Have you read any articles where it tells you to do some ridiculous “Feng Shui practices”? If so, please share using the comments below!

Victor Cheung

Feng Shui practitioner and blogger of Feng Shui Nexus. I’ve witnessed the efficacy of Feng Shui, astrology and divination. Here, I share my knowledge and experiences with you to get you closer to your goals and dreams. Subscribe to get email updates or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.