Dear Kartar: I just bought a Money Tree (Pachira aquatica) and after reading about placement found that it should be in southeast area of my home for wealth. One option is my dining room area which it won’t receive much indirect sunlight. The second option for SE is my daughters’ bedroom window but I’m concerned about plants in the bedroom distrusting the chi in that room. I initially bought the tree to go in the corner of my living room but that is the SW corner (love) so I definitely don’t want it there now. I’m at a loss. I don’t want to return the tree but I’m concerned about it not receiving enough sunlight to thrive but also want it in an optimal place in my home to promote good chi. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Answer: You asked about a Money Tree (for wealth luck) and where to place it. I am well aware of the New Age version of Feng Shui, which has tagged the Southeast direction as being a Money Spot, but that is too generic to be meaningful and not considered traditional Feng Shui. If you want to just participate in a kind of placebo ritual, then honestly you can place a Money Tree anywhere you want and when you look at it, it might inspire you.
But in terms of how “wealth” areas are determined in classical Flying Star School (Xuan Kong Fei Xing) feng shui, we have to do calculations based on when the house was built and what direction it is facing in order to locate the major and minor wealth areas within a floor plan. Once that is established, we might use other elements to activate that area. For example, until 2024, the major wealth star is the 8 star. It is inherently earth in nature and the way to stimulate it is with the fire element. This 8 star could be located anywhere in a house based on its construction year and compass alignment. So, to be clear, it is not necessarily located in the southeast sector. Nor is it necessarily located in the back left hand corner of a house, as the Black Hat School (BTB) would have you believe.
Additionally, placing a live plant (wood phase) in an area with the 8 earth wealth star, could actually weaken the wealth star because Wood Depletes Earth in Five Element Theory.
All this to say, that you are starting from the wrong premise in regards to how to enhance wealth luck in your home. Don’t be embarrassed, as many people still do not know about or understand traditional, authentic Chinese Feng Shui. They have been fed, instead, over the last 30+ years, something entirely different which perpetuates superstitions and misconceptions.
Live plants are also used in traditional Feng Shui to buffer the qi flow from a main exterior door to a back door if there is a direct alignment. This is a kind of “prosperity” remedy in and of itself because the house with directly aligned exterior doors can leak its qi too quickly. The trickle down affect is that it can make it harder for the occupant to save money.
Enjoy your Money Tree plant wherever it receives the best light to keep it healthy.
Kartar Diamond of Feng Shui Solutions® has a full-scale consultancy, including assistance with property searches, design phase and existing homes and businesses. She is the author of three books, 6 ebooks, 36 Cast Study Lessons and more to come. See the books she’s authored or browse through her online Traditional Feng Shui school.