The Feng Shui of—Creating Sacred Space
Practical Tips and Cleansing Rituals
Michele Lewis
May – June 2025 • Vol 4, No 16
As the warmer months move into gear, you have hopefully already completed some good spring cleaning and decluttering in your home. Once you have done the basic tidying up, it’s time to clean at a deeper level by using some feng shui space-clearing methods.
Space clearing is cleansing at an energetic level by removing accumulations of negative yin chi. Negative chi is both seen and unseen, and can be felt through our own sensitivity. It gathers in buildings and spaces, clinging to walls, ceilings, and furniture, and tends to “hide” be-hind objects, in closets, corners and dark areas. It also tends to sink to the floor.
There are many types of negative yin qi. Emotional energy, such as anger and hostility as well as sadness and fear can all be felt in a home. Behavior patterns that are spiritually or emotionally unhealthy, and those that cause illness and even death carry this energy. Smoking, alcohol and drug abuse—as well as all other addictions—carry a type of negative energy that accumulates over time in a home, in many cases without the occupant’s awareness that there has been a gradual build-up of negative qi. Negative yin qi can enter a building or space through other people, animals, or through forces we may not be aware of.
Negative yin qi is draining, both physically and spiritually. It can generate feelings of indifference and lethargy, as well as emotions that we can’t explain. It can give one a feeling of being unsettled, even a sense of eeriness. When you experience this, it’s time for a clearing!
The purpose of any clearing method is to bring in fresh, yang qi to disperse the negative yin qi. There are many methods of clearing; some are quite simple, such as opening windows, and turning on lights. You can use sound very effectively; such as ringing bells or clapping your hands. It even works to bang on pots! The use of pure fragrance is always helpful; not only does it help disperse negative qi, it can give the added benefit of activating positive thought and feeling.
When negative qi is entrenched in a space and is difficult to clear, there are methods of dispersing it that require physical and spiritual preparations, and entails an understanding of how to use them. Salt has been used for millennia in many cultures to cleanse and purify. The Native American culture has brought us smudging, the ceremonial burning of sage, pine or other herbs for purification. The burning of pure incense in a cleansing ritual brings similar results. There are other cleansing rituals that use chanting, prayers, and religious objects and symbols.