It’s true, the cactus has a bad reputation in feng shui.
Considered a poison arrow and a dangerous plant, cactus plants are associated with negative energy.
But like with anything in feng shui, cactus plants have positive points too.
It’s easy to automatically say all cactus plants are bad feng shui, but that’s not necessarily true.
In fact, there are some times when cactus plants can be good feng shui!
Cactus Feng Shui: why are they considered bad feng shui?
The reason cactus plants are generally considered bad luck in feng shui is because of the poison arrow concept.
In feng shui, poison arrows are sharp corners or sharp objects that point directly at you, your front door, or your home.
Poison arrows are considered sha chi energy, which means harmful energy (negative Chi).
If poison arrows point at you for any length of time, this negative energy accumulates and can have harmful effects, like bad luck, illness, frustration, sadness, and irritability.
Since most cactus plants have sharp spines, thorns, and/or spikes, you can see how that would give them negative Chi energy.
In fact, ANYTHING that you associate with negative energy or danger can have negative Chi.
For this reason, it’s important to be mindful of the energetic relationship you have with all objects in your home, not just cacti.
Feng Shui Cactus Tips: Where should I put a cactus in my house?
Good Feng Shui Cactus Placement:
Good places in your home for cactus plants are:
- The feng shui fame and reputation area.
- In front of large windows to slow down energy.
- Strategically placed outside to create a protective energy barrier.
The feng shui fame and reputation area:
Cactus are associated with fire energy.
Fire energy is extremely activating and causes energy to speed up.
Fire energy is most helpful in the feng shui fame and reputation corner of your home, which makes this a good area to place your cactus plants.
The fame and reputation area is associated with how people see you, what kind of reputation you have, and also how much attention you receive from others.
While the fame area is a great place for a few cactus plants, you can see how having too many cactus plants in this area could cause problems.
You might get too much attention or even start receiving negative attention if you have too many cactus plants in this area.
There definitely can be too much of a good thing!
In front of large windows:
Another area of your home that can benefit from thoughtful feng shui cactus placement is in front of big windows to disperse the energy.
Cactus have strong protection energy, which means they are helpful as a feng shui cure.
Window glass lets a lot of energy into your home, and cactus (or any plant on the window sill) can redirect that energy and slow it down.
Keeping cactus plants in front of large windows can also keep positive Chi circulating in your home instead of it leaving through the window.
(Note: Cactus plants can also be helpful in front of a mirror or mirrored walls to help slow down the energy, but keep in mind that mirrors double whatever they reflect!)
Outside of your home:
The third area of your home where cactus feng shui energy can be helpful is outside.
If you live on a busy street, or a street where you don’t feel safe, cactus can create a protective barrier for your home’s energy.
Again, do not use more than a few cactus outside (if possible) because they can repel energy.
And try not to place a cactus plant directly by your front door – you want your front door to be welcoming and inviting, even if you are protecting your home from negative energy.
Where should you NOT place cactus for good feng shui?
Bad Feng Shui Cactus Placement:
- Areas where family gathers and spends time, like dining rooms, living rooms, family rooms, and kitchens / kitchen islands.
- Coffee tables or dining tables where people or pets can bump into them.
- Directly by your front door.
- In your bedroom, especially near the bed or on your bedroom nightstand.
Family gathering areas:
Keeping cactus in family communal areas, like your dining room or living room can cause friction.
The strong fire energy and poison arrow energy can cause arguments, disagreements among family members, irritability, frustration, and it can also just make the room uncomfortable.
Communal areas in your home should be harmonious areas where everyone wants to hang out and spend time together.
And if you have children or family members who like to run around and play, having too many cactus plants in these areas can be dangerous.
Be mindful of how the energy flows throughout your space and keep them out of the reach of small pets or children.
This will help the feng shui energy flow (Chi) in your whole home and make it easier for everyone to be happy and get along.
Your bedroom:
Keeping cactus in your bedroom can also cause problems.
Your bedroom should be a place for rest and romance.
It is associated with your physical health and the health of your relationship.
Too much fire energy in your bedroom can cause insomnia and other health problems and also arguments with your partner!
If you already have a cactus in your bedroom and everything is fine, you don’t have to remove it.
But if you have a cactus plant in your room (or even worse, on your nightstand) and you have insomnia or problems with your partner, try moving it out of your room and see if the problem goes away.
(See these posts for more info: how to feng shui your bedroom and feng shui for insomnia)
Near your front door:
Near your front door can also be the wrong place for a large cactus.
Your front door is how good fortune, good luck, and fresh energy enter your home.
The strong protective energy of cactus plants can make it difficult for this energy to enter your home.
Your front door should be as bright, happy, and welcoming as possible so that the good Chi wants to enter and stay awhile! (See this post for more info: how to feng shui your front door)
Should you keep cactus in your home’s wealth area to stimulate finances?
The feng shui wealth area of your house can benefit from a small amount of fire energy.
Again, fire energy is activating energy, which can cause money to circulate faster.
But if you find that you can’t keep money, you start to have a lot of bills coming in, or more money is going out than coming in, having a cactus in this area could be causing it.
Remove it and see what happens!
Can you place cactus plants in your bathroom for good feng shui?
While having plants in your bathroom can help slow down draining energy, bathrooms are also associated with health and wellbeing.
Having cactus plants in the bathroom can cause negative health problems, so it’s generally better to have other plants in the bathroom instead.
If your bathroom is in your home’s fame and reputation area, however, you can use cactus plants here to stimulate the fire element. (See this post for more info about how to feng shui your bathroom!)
What about cactus plants in the kitchen? Is it bad feng shui?
While the kitchen is an active area of your home, keeping cactus here can also cause health problems.
The kitchen is associated with health and wellbeing, so the cactus negative energy can cause problems with nourishment and digestion. (This post has more info: how to feng shui your kitchen)
The feng shui of cactus in the workplace or office:
Keeping cactus plants in your office, on your desk, or in your workplace or business can also cause problems.
The dangerous vibes and poison arrow energy can cause problems with coworkers, problems with customers or clients, and can also chase away business and financial success.
Good feng shui placement for cactus plants in your office or business is in the fame and reputation area of the entire space, but away from areas where people might bump into them.
Some things to keep in mind for keeping cactus in the office:
While having a small cactus plant on your office desk’s fame and reputation area can activate it, it’s generally too close to you for you to work comfortably.
It can cause irritability and frustration while you’re working, and chase away good energy too.
If you have your own office, place the cactus in the fame and reputation area of your entire office instead. Or better yet, use a candle or lamp to stimulate fire energy.
You can use cactus in your office or workplace to direct energy.
If you are in an extremely negative work situation, placing a cactus between you and your door can ward off negative energies and create a protective bubble around you.
This is a feng shui cactus cure that you should really test out for yourself – if it seems like it makes the problem worse, a crystal for protection at work might be better.
What if you really love cactus plants? Will cactus cause bad luck?
If you LOVE cactus, don’t fret.
All things in feng shui have their good and bad qualities, and anything can cause bad luck and frustration if there’s too much of it!
Feng shui is about balance.
Because cactus plants have a lot of fire energy, you just need to make sure that you balance that energy if you want to keep a lot of cactus in your home.
Some ways to balance the “bad energies” of cactus:
Keep them surrounded by other plants.
Grouping cactus in with your other plants will balance the energy and slow it down.
Some good plants to counteract the fire energy are:
succulent plants (like the jade plant and aloe vera): the rounded leaves and water retention will slow down the fire energy. Plus they are also money plants that bring good fortune and abundance!
snake plants: their tall, pointed stems direct and balance the wood element, and direct the cactus spines’ energy up and away
lucky bamboo grown in water: the water element balances the fire element of the cactus.
What about Christmas Cactus?
The feng shui of Christmas cactus is a bit different than that of desert cactus.
Christmas cactus plants are actually tropical plants.
They do not have cactus spines or thorns, and aren’t dangerous!
In fact, they have bright, beautiful flowers which bring positive energy to any space.
As they get bigger, they even start to trail or drape, creating a waterfall effect (and yin energy), which is great for softening energy.
You can keep Christmas Cactus in any area of your home and reap the positive feng shui benefits!
Now that you know everything you need to know about cactus feng shui, you might also want to know:
18 feng shui lucky plants that will actually bring good fortune in 2022
feng shui plants for wealth (8 plants that attract money and abundance!)
feng shui plants for good health (8 plants for health, healing, & growth!)
Crystals for Plants: 11 Healing Crystals for Indoor Plants
