Space Clearing is not Feng Shui

Here’s an interesting Feng Shui fact: Space Clearing is NOT Feng Shui!

If this is a shocking revelation, please read on…

Space Clearing often gets confused with Feng Shui because many practitioners incorporate both disciplines into a single consultation. In my opinion, that’s one of a thousand reasons why a lot of people are so confused about what Feng Shui really is.

Unfortunately, many popular or mainstream publications, especially on the Internet, often promote Space Clearing as Feng Shui. So let’s break down and debunk this popular myth.

Space Clearing, also called House Blessing, is a religious or spiritual ritual that is intended to protect the inhabitants from misfortune. This can even be broken down to include many religious groups like Christianity (Holy Water), Hinduism, and Buddhism, and are typically performed by a priest or monk. This ritual extends to many cultural societies including Native and South Americans.

So when you start identifying things like Smudging, Flower Offerings, Salt and Incense Burning, these have absolutely no relation or correlation to the traditional, classical approach.

Classical Feng Shui originated from China as a systematic body of knowledge that is used to select and analyze the energetic qualities of both Yin (burial sites) and Yang (dwellings for people) Houses. This knowledge also does NOT have any direct link to any particular religious practice, even though the fundamental concepts behind Yin and Yang and the Five Elements do have a place in Taoist Philosophy.

While both disciplines (Feng Shui and Space Clearing) do touch on “energy” work, they are not the same and each discipline should be given their own independent merit. Therefore, it is important to educate and learn the true derivation of these practices and decipher the correct way of applying them into your life.

So I often tell my clients, if you have a personal preference to make your home even more lovely, comfortable, and special to you, such as using certain space clearing techniques, you are always encouraged to incorporate them. The key lesson here, however, is knowing the difference. And that is: Space Clearing is NOT Feng Shui.