FENG SHUI Symbols of Mentors

As mentioned in a previous article, the compass direction that houses the trigram of power, Chien, is the northwest. Thus you should energize the northwest to activate the kind of luck that brings influential friends, mentors and advisers into your life.

One way to do this is to display images of deities, gods or powerful and successful leaders in the form of paintings, portraits, statues or figurines in the northwest corner of the home. You may use representations of the many different gods and heroes in the Chinese culture such as Kuan Kung, the legendary hero from the days of the three kingdoms - he was deified many years ago as the God of Wealth and Protection. Statues of Kuan Kung stand proudly in many Chinese homes and offices, as his countenance is believed to impart protection and support from powerful people. Paintings or sculptures of religious or spiritual leaders may also be used as they represent divine blessings from heaven.

Alternatively, if you're not particularly religious, symbols that strongly suggest powerful and successful leaders of your own cultural and historical background may be used. All the great traditions of the world have their own folk heroes and legendary figures. Choose figures whose achievements or positions signify the kind of luck you desire.

For example, if you're an American, you may wish to display a painting of a past American president whose qualities you admire. If you're French, you can display a bust of Napoleon. If you're a budding actor or singer, you may want to get a poster of a successful actor or singer whom you idolize and wish to emulate. Or, if you're in a caring profession such as counseling, nursing or care giving and wish to learn the ways of kindness, generosity and patience of the late Mother Theresa, you'd want to get a painting of this icon.

Hanging pictures or placing statues of these mentors in the northwest of your home can be very effective. One final word of advice: the statues or figurines can be made of metal, ceramic, crystal or clay, but avoid placing statues carved out of wood in the northwest corner, as the northwest's element is metal and in the destructive cycle, metal destroys wood. This is counter-productive, and instead of energizing, it may instead suppress, or worse, destroy the mentor luck you're trying to cultivate!