Good feng shui comes from a series of small things done around the house by the Matriarch, who knows that collectively and over time, paying attention to the small details will add up to increase the good fortune of the family. Some of this includes the way things are arranged in the kitchen and in the dining room to ensure the way we eat brings us good luck. While it may appear trivial and can even be dismissed as superstition by some, when practised in a habitual way, good dining feng shui can make a great deal of difference to the well-being of the whole family.
Here I want to share just a couple of important feng shui habits I have put into place in my household. They are not big things, but they give me the assurance that my family and I, and all the friends who are invited to dine in my home, enjoy good feng shui.
Good luck emanates from sacred art hung on the walls of the dining area, from the bowls and plates and cups I use for serving, and from the place mats used to dress up the table… even from the paper napkins.
Remember then…
little grains of sand,
make the mighty ocean,
and the fertile fruitful land.
SERVE MAIN DISHES FROM A DEEP BOWL
The Chinese way of home dining is very simple. We bring out a few main dishes, including the staple of rice, and place them in the center of the dining table. Then everyone tucks in for a nice home-cooked meal. Everyone eats out of a bowl with porcelain spoon and chopsticks. The rice and dishes to be shared are placed in bowls that have depth, so that the food is kept warm, but more importantly, so that the food is served in a container that suggests abundance. This ensures that those eating from these bowls will enjoy financial luck that is deep and long-lasting. When the main dishes are served from flat plates, the food gets cold much more quickly, and the feng shui dissipates just as quickly.
In restaurants that understand the protocol of Chinese dining, the main dishes ordered are usually first brought out and shown to the host, then taken to a side serving table to be dished out onto individual bowls for the guests. And when served on plates, there will always be a personal bowl on the place setting so the guest can transfer their portion of the dish onto their personal rice bowl. In reputable restaurants, these personal bowls are always rounded and deep enough, thus auspicious.
BOWLS & PLATES MUST NOT BE CHIPPED
It is just so important that the bowl one eats out of MUST NOT be chipped or splintered in any way. I am especially strict about this, and no matter how expensive my dining sets are, anything cracked or broken in my household is immediately thrown away. This is because it is bad luck to eat from plates and bowls, or drink tea from tea cups, that are chipped. Doing so causes hindrances to plans, and brings problems to ongoing projects. It also causes friendships to break and illness energy to pervade one’s personal space.
One time I was too busy to insist on a change when I realized my bowl was broken, but instead continued to eat from it. I got such a severe backache after that. So be observant every time you sit down to eat your lunch or dinner, whether at home or eating out. If your plate or bowl shows even the tiniest crack, change it for another one.
DECORATED BOWLS ARE AUSPICIOUS
It is excellent to serve food in porcelain or ceramic bowls and plates decorated with auspicious images like bats, which mean abundance, or with longevity symbols like the crane, peach flower and so forth. Lucky motifs bring good energy to your food. The bowls I use for the main dishes are decorated with bats and lotus flowers, and these are painted onto the bowls in blue, a very lucky colour in years that lack the element of Water. Water is an excellent element for me personally, so I am extremely fond of white and blue porcelain bowls and plates.
Even my big rice urn, which has a fat body, sports an auspicious money tree drawn in cobalt blue to bring good luck to the household. To Chinese families, the rice urn is a very important container that must be chosen with considerable thought.
