Living Near One Of These 9 Things Can Attract Bad Luck, According To A Feng Shui Expert
Everything is chi, and being neighbors with these nine things can mess with yours.
Igor Alecsander | Getty Images Signature Loving or hating where you live can impact every aspect of your life — it's hard to give your all to your career or social life, for example, when you're generally uncomfortable and unhappy in your basic surroundings.
However, in the ancient Chinese design discipline of feng shui, there are certain aspects of your living quarters that can negatively impact you without you realizing it.
A feng shui expert said living near these nine things can bring bad luck:
Natalia Kaylin is a feng shui and mindful design consultant. In a recent video, she explained that in feng shui, everything is energy, no matter how inanimate or seemingly random they may be. Hence, they all influence the flow of chi in our living spaces, and hence in our lives.
But while the principles of feng shui most heavily focus on design and decor, the location and direction of our homes are impactful as well. And Kaylin said there are nine things your home may be placed by that can negatively impact your energy flow without you realizing it.
1. Wetlands
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Wetlands can be vibrant areas teeming with plants and wildlife, but swamps and bogs tend to be symbolic stand-ins for sadness for a reason. Kaylin said they can also interrupt the balance of energy toward the melancholy and stagnant in your life.
"Staying in such an environment for too long can affect your energy and mood," Kaylin said, but the exception is that if your day-to-day life is super fast-paced, demanding, and city-based, like a high-powered career in a downtown area. In this case, living near a wetland may actually provide balance.
2. Highways
Kaylin explained that in feng shui, physical health is intricately related to well-being in every other aspect of life, and living near a highway means your life is full of air and noise pollution.
But the lack of relaxation is just as big a problem. "The energy is moving too fast," with all those speeding cars, she said, "which prevents the energy from slowing down and accumulating to nourish the home and its occupants."
3. Cemeteries
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The energy near a cemetery can be too far in the direction of "yin," Kaylin said. It's the type of energy related to darkness and contemplation. We all need that in our lives, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and she said living near a cemetery is a perfect example.
4. Land that slopes downward
Topography is important in feng shui, with the ideal location for a house being a plot of land with a wide-open front yard and a rear yard protected by things like trees or mountains.
Of course, we can't all be so lucky to live at the foot of a mountain, but Kaylin said, no matter what, we should avoid homes on land that slopes downward. In feng shui, this is basically a metaphor for things "going downhill," which is the last thing any of us wants!
5. Homes that are below street level
In a similar regard, homes that are below street level, like garden apartments, for example, can have similar problems. Kaylin gave an example of a client who lives in a below-street-level home who worried constantly about a car on the street above veering into their house — the anxiety became too much for their family over time.
6. Too much scenery at the back of a house
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In feng shui, the front and back of a home govern different aspects of life — the front is about good fortune, blessings and money, while the back is about family, relationships and health.
If your house backs up to a spectacular river or a beautiful vista, it may be pleasing to the eye, but it can tilt your energy too heavily towards the family and health-related aspects and away from the money-based energy of the front of your house.
7. Cliffsides
A cliffside home over an ocean may be some of the most desirable real estate around, but feng shui says it's a no-go. It's simply too dangerous. Similar to the person who worried about a car veering into her house, the possibility of the land giving way is too disruptive to chi to be worth the money.
8. Adjacent buildings with sharp or pointy design features
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Feng shui recommends against having sharp, pointy objects or shapes pointing toward you, because they give off an energy of aggression you don't want to have flowing through your home. This is one of the reasons, for example, that feng shui has rules about where cactuses can be placed around a home.
So if your neighbor's house or a nearby building has angular, pointy features aimed right at your home, Kaylin said this is something you should consider and avoid if possible.
9. Road intersections
Similar to living near a highway, living adjacent to a street intersection makes it hard for you to truly relax. The noise, constant headlights flashing in your windows, and the safety concerns can accumulate into stress, which feng shui says can disrupt your energy flow overall.
If your home is placed near an intersection, Kaylin suggested putting up tall shrubs or fencing to offer as much separation from all the hubbub of the street as possible. Guard your peace!
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.