𝗜𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆: Noemi Tessa Ky Llaneta
“Hala! mamalasin ireng bahay niyo!” My Lola said the moment she entered our newly renovated home, “Ano ba naman areh?! Eh gusto niyo bang malugmok na laang?” she went on, nagging my parents while roaming her eyes, pointing at the location of the door facing northwest and the mirror almost facing it. She even went to count the number of steps of the stairs, judged every decoration we have in our house, and even sighed in disbelief at the way it was constructed, “Hala sige, kaganda nga ng desinyo, mali-mali naman ang ayos— aysusmaryosep!”
My mom, her daughter, sighed knowing her mom grew up along the streets of Binondo, the infamous Chinatown of Manila. She does believe in feng shui and how it affects a person’s well-being. It is not just the “lucky things that you should keep in your house” type of feng shui, but the real ones that incorporate prosperity with the design. She believes in Qis and Chis (or the positive and negative energies) and how you achieve them. She even refuses to think that a design is beautiful (even when it is) if you don’t follow the laws of feng shui because, to her, it is useless and a sign of hypocrisy.
While she was roaming and ranting about the “flaws” of our house, I learned that feng shui means wind-water and suggests balance and harmony not just with the objects and designs but as well as unseen spiritual forces. It affects the owner of the space psychologically that’s why even if feng shui does not agree with the design concept, it cannot be overlooked. Maybe this is why my grandma’s so obsessed and overcritical with the construction of our home. She kept on yapping that I picked up a few beliefs from her other than those I already knew.
For instance, it is suggested to have the exterior of your house embody geometrical shapes such as squares and rectangles (it feels like this is the only category that we got right according to her). While it is ideal for today’s architecture, having a geometrical facade is preferred in feng shui given that it resembles balance and symmetry more than any other shape. Nonetheless, it is still unfortunate if fixtures are placed in the wrong location. This is why at times, organic shapes such as curves are welcome especially in corridors to avoid discomfort and let Qi circulate properly.
She also suggests that our home should face some sort of natural landscape to have a secured Qi. But we don’t live in a province, we don’t even live somewhere near the outskirts. We live in a city, where a house faces another house, and the horizon stretches to higher establishments. So instead, Lola pointed out the interior of our home, especially the floor plan. She mentioned something about the Eight Trigrams in floor plans and how bagua is one of the most important feng shui diagrams (which is funny and eerie to me because when people talk about bagua, the first thing that comes into my mind is Kris Aquino’s movie back in 2004). These floor plans follow particular arrangements for better energy flow and proper space and boundaries all across the home.
Another thing that she denoted was the way our bedrooms, or any other resting areas, are facing sharp corners. It doesn’t matter what kind of fixture or furniture it is or whether or not it is located above our bed, parallel to it, or outside the door, it is just that, it could damage our health. This is why they call it the poisonous arrow. She even told me that I should remove my working desk in my room because it is better to have it elsewhere. I should have a specific area where I finish all my work, a room with its own walls so that it would have its own energy, its own purpose undisturbed (but we only have two rooms here, so nonetheless, my desk would share some energy).
Above all, she is all about the arrangement and colors, not the construction. It is something we could change from time to time just like how lucky color changes annually, and how we could set up the furniture accordingly. It is something within our control. Lola suggested that if we could still move some things to create a progressive energy arrangement with the rooms then we should do it sooner rather than later, especially the system of the entryway. The energy flow is the most important thing of all, how wind and water should not collide, how busy spaces should be away from relaxations. With colors, they have this thing called the five elements theory where they incorporate environmental colors based on the specific element that brings positivity and balance or negativity and clashes.
My mother sighed at this sight, Lola too. It was evident how they came from different generations as one kept these superstitions and the other couldn’t care any less. As I watched them discuss the arrangement of the house, I realized that Feng Shui is almost a part of our culture. They’re beliefs that were passed down through generations and can’t be ignored easily. Apart from this, you cannot tell me that Feng Shui did not influence a good layout at some point. Disregarding their “meaning”, their principles are almost the same as design, especially balance, and harmony.
But time changes, and so believers change, too, as I hear my mom defend herself, “Hindi naman namin kailangan sundin yan diba? Pamahiin lang yan ma,” showing her protest to her mom as the argument went on, to which my grandma replied: “Pamahiin, pero wala rin namang mawawala kung susundin mo”.
And it is the truth of most belief, of most superstitions. There’s a greater loss if you do not believe them. A risk that you do not want to take because at times, science couldn’t explain it and yet it is still happening. Bad things happen in an unexplainable matter, there’s nothing else to blame but the myth passed down every single generation.