If you want to understand Feng Shui and how to apply it to your space, one of the first things you need to understand is the bagua map.
What is the bagua? The bagua is a feng shui energy map that you can place over your space so that you can accurately apply feng shui cures. Each part of the bagua map reflects an area of your life, such as health, creativity, family, and money.
When you use the bagua, you can easily understand which areas of your space need to change in order to make your life better.
How do you apply the bagua to your space?
First, you have to decide which version of the bagua you’d like to use. There are a few schools of feng shui, but the one I use is the Western school. It is the simplest version to apply, and since I believe your intention is one of the most powerful components of changing your space, I like simple. 🙂
Here’s what the western bagua map looks like:
As you can see, the western bagua divides your space into 9 equal areas.
To apply the map, you line the bottom 3 areas of the bagua to align with your front door (or the door you use to enter your home the most, which could be somewhere else!) This means the front door will always be in the knowledge/self-cultivation area, the career area, or the helpful people/travel area.
For my home, we use the front door the most, so our entrance is in the career area of our home.
How do you apply the bagua to an irregular space?
In Western feng shui, the bagua is applied equally, no matter the shape of the home. You break the entire floor plan into 9 equal spaces. If your home is a rectangle, for example, your “squares” might be more like rectangles. This is okay and is exactly how it should look if you’re doing it correctly!
Does the bagua apply to your garage?
YES! Every space, even the garage and closets, count. Feng shui includes every area, even if you’d rather it didn’t.
What do you do if the bagua has a missing space?
Let’s say your home has a patio area that is technically “missing” from the enclosed space of your home. The Western bagua would include that space, even though it’s technically outside. And you would apply cures to that area to balance it out and include it in your home.
You might also have an area that “bumps out” and extends past the bagua squares. Those areas would be included as well, and would be considered an extension of whichever area is closest. For example, if your dining area is in your wealth area, and extends past the square of the bagua, that area would be considered the wealth area. It just gives you extra space to boost that area!
How do you apply the bagua to an upper level or basement?
There are two ways to apply the bagua to other areas of your home. You can either treat each level as it’s own space, and apply the bagua from the entrance, just like you did with the main level.
OR you could treat each area as an extension of the lower level (this is what I do). One example of this is a bedroom that is above the family room and it falls in your children/creativity area – you would consider that bedroom as an extension of the children/creativity area, giving that area extra chi.
What happens if you have roommates or children and their bedrooms are off limits to you? How do you apply the bagua?
These areas do count towards the chi of your living space, but since you can’t control them, just don’t count them in your bagua. Each person is responsible for their own chi, and it could affect you, but YOUR chi will also affect them! You can only raise the chi of the areas you control, so don’t get too caught up in feeling responsible for their space.
In conclusion, when it comes to applying the bagua, it’s really more of an art than a science in the Western school of feng shui. What’s important is that you should just pick one way of applying it and stick to it. This means that you can’t really get it wrong, because your intention is to raise the chi of your entire home, so everything counts.
Now that you know how to use the bagua, you might want to try these feng shui tips:
- simple feng shui tips for creating a home you love (7 basic feng shui tips that work for anyone!)
- feng shui tips for good luck (9 ways to attract luck to your door with feng shui)
- creating a feng shui wealth bowl – must use tips to manifest more money and abundance!
- feng shui tips for good energy – 8 ways to increase the happiness in your home with feng shui!
Can I make my entrance hall my money area?
Yes!! The entryway is actually a strong money area in feng shui, so you can definitely add more money attracting things there!
Hi I have read your blog and I really want to transform my appartment according to feng shui to attract more abundance and money in our lives! According to the Bagua mop money corner is in my daughter’s room and next to it is the living room. Should I consider her room as the money corner or can I consider the living room corner right next to her room as money corner?
Hi! I would treat your daughter’s room as her own space (and not worry too much about her room) and then use the living room corner as your money area, like you said. I’d also really work on the front door and entryway as an extra boost to reinforce the money attraction! 🙂
So when u count ur child’s room as a separate area, would they use the entrance to their own room and apply a separate bagua?
Yes! the bagua can be applied to any individual room. 🙂
What do you mean by applying the bagua.? Do you mean to hang it up?
You CAN hang it up if you want, but you don’t have to! I just meant that you’re using it to figure out which areas of your home relate to the areas of your life. 🙂
Hi there,
I use my garage to “enter my house” and then use the internal door to enter my home. Should I use the garage door or internal door to effectively apply the Bagua map?
I would use the internal door and orient the bagua from there!
I don’t have an hallway at my front door so how would that work for me
You don’t have to have a hallway – just use your front door. 🙂
My house is a bilevel the main entrance faces the stairs and the living room to the left, where should I use the money corner?
Hi Rachel,
My front door is on the far left side of the house, my bedroom is in the wealth section of the house on the second floor. garage is on the right side and the kitchen is in the creativity section. The middle which is the health section i have stairs going into the basement. Its a very poorly designed home that i am renting. One day i wish to buy my own home and build it Feng shuily. Please help me to find cures or your advise i would greatly be greatfull for. I have been dealing with a lot of anxiety trying to feel my purpose here and for my family’s health and well being. Please help me…….
Our home is an l shape where we done have history past or wealth. Do we work on these where they shld be or push them to the left and split the center and fame areas? Or, split the knowledge/ spirituality area into 3 horizontal layers to include them there? Thank you!
Hey Marie! You can split it whichever way feels right and makes sense to you! If one side happens to be all bedrooms, I’d probably leave that side as is and split the other side, but it depends on how it feels to you.
I live in a mobile home that is 16×80 with an addition added on in the front that is 20×42, so how would I apply the diagram thanksCesaire
Hey Cesaire! Align the bagua so that the bottom is where your front door is. Whichever door you use most to enter your home is the entrance you use.
I have a big wall in front of my entry door so how I use the bagua map pls help.
Hey Rashida! The bagua goes over your whole home, so just ignore the wall and pretend it isn’t there. 🙂
Still kinda
confusing
Hi Rachel. I rented a room at someone’s house and I’m living with the owners at the moment. Very OCD and not much I can do here not even plants are allowed. How can I use feng shui to make my life happier in my little room?
Thank you
Hey Sandy! You can apply any of the feng shui tips to your own room. You don’t have to move things in the rest of the house for it to work. Just do what YOU can and it will work great! You can also try these tips: simple feng shui tips for creating a home you love (7 basic feng shui tips that work for anyone!)
I have a couple questions…. when moving 27 things are they to stay there or just move and put back.
My husband and I are retired…. how does the career area work for us.
Hey Renee! The career area is also your life path and opportunities area, so it doesn’t have to be all about a job. You can use it to create new opportunities and find new passions in life too! And yes, you can put the 27 things back or just move them a tiny bit. 🙂
Hi, I live in an apartment. My entrance is south facing and I’m in a corner lot so I have westerly exposure in the living dinning room and northerly expose in the bedrooms. the entrance has a small walkway/ foyer that opens into my living room. It also opens to my kitchen to the left and flows into the dinning room and has windows facing west with a door to balcony.
There is a wall that my sofa backs up to which is adjacent to my bedroom to the left of the apt. Than to the right is my son’s bedroom and in front is. A bathroom in front sitting in the middle of bedroom and living room.
How do I use the Bahia map?
Hi Patricia! You apply the bagua map by aligning it with the front entrance of your actual apartment (not the whole building.) That way it applies only to your space! In Western feng shui it doesn’t matter which way your apartment faces, so just align it with the front door and go from there. 🙂 xoxo
hi…my entrance door is on the left afar..so when i enter..im facing a wall and a glass door with wood which divides my living room to our music room. So using the bagua map..my wealth corner is my music or entertainment room?
The wealth corner is the far left corner away from the entrance. You stand in the entrance, looking inside your home. The wealth area is the far left 1/3d of your home. So if that’s the music/entertainment room then yes!
Hello! My house is oddly shaped. We come through the garage,then through the main door to the house. Which is directly the kitchen. On the right is a family room, washer and dryer, bathroom and another door to the back patio and yard. If you go a few inches to the left and straight ahead threw a door way is the living room. the right of that is the front door. Then you go straight then right through another door way there is a bedroom on the right, a bathroom straight ahead, another bedroom on the upper left and our bedroom on the back left. So how would I build my Bagua?
Hey Jaye! You align the bagua with the entrance that makes the most sense to you. So if that’s the garage door, align the bagua when you’re standing at the garage door, looking into the home. If you really feel like the “entrance” to your home is your front door, then align the bagua with your front door.
Hi There ,
Very Interesting and simple to understand ! In The square if Fame , We have a gap as its an empty Shaft of the building which is a closed and covered and we have no access to it . So how should I treat that corner as fame ?
Please advice !
Use the walls around where the fame area would be as your fame area. You can also create a fame area in another room of your home if that works better for you! xoxo
Hi my name is Natalia, I have a question, we built an apartment in side the house, at the back of the house the have there own entrance how should I do it.
Hey Natalia! I would consider that apartment a separate space from the rest of the house. So you can feng shui the main part of the home separately from the apartment. The apartment bagua would start where the apartment front door is, but the main home bagua would start where the main home door is. Does that make sense? xoxo