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Feng Shui Tips to Boost Your Home’s Energy This 2025 Wood Snake Lunar New Year

January 23, 2025
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By 
Hannah Haber

Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, is a multi-day celebration observed by various East and Southeast Asian cultures. It’s a special time where families gather together to honor their ancestors and welcome the future with good fortune. As we enter the Year of the Wood Snake, how can one invite this zodiac’s influence into their living space? We’ve gathered expert insights from Feng Shui Master Daryl Huang to help you create a harmonious and prosperous home this 2025.  

Understanding the Year of the Wood Snake

Feng Shui Tips to Boost Your Home’s Energy This 2025 Wood Snake Lunar New Year.
Photo by Pavel Kirillov | Source: Wikimedia Commons

We are now in the 20-year cycle of Period 9—the last time cycle within the 180-year Flying Star Feng Shui. This period, ruled by the Fire element, began on February 4, 2024 at 16:37 hours and will last until 2043. And 2025, marking its second year, is represented by the Yin Wood Snake or Yi Si (乙巳). 

According to Huang, this zodiac is a configuration of the Yin Wood as the heavenly stem and the Snake as the earthly branch. The Yin Wood evokes the verdant mountain landscapes, where lush and resilient vegetation thrives in close proximity to foster a vibrant and protected ecosystem. On the other hand, the Snake, combined with the Fire element this cycle represents, symbolizes joy and optimism. 

Moreover, he emphasizes that there are concealed Metal and Earth elements in the Year of the Wood Snake. This means that it shows promise of success as people would likely prioritize safety and security. 

Still, the Feng Shui master cautions that this Lunar New Year’s strong Fire element could aggravate the Earth element of a Sickness star, which is associated with health problems, illness, and general misfortune. 

Although we often connect it with destroying things, Fire is said to generate Earth based on the Feng Shui’s Five Elements theory. So, when Fire feeds Earth, it also strengthens the Sickness star’s negative influence. 

Fortunately, there are multiple ways to harness the positive aspects of the Wood Snake’s energy within your home.

How to Have a Feng Shui-Friendly Home This Lunar New Year

Mid-Century Marvel: Nazareno x Reyes' Masterful Curation.
Photographed by Ed Simon

Huang explained that every home has its own unique energy. And it’s best for its inhabitants to refer to their destiny chart to acquire the appropriate and favorable elements to enhance their living space. While determining the specific auspicious home aspects requires a personalized approach, the Feng Shui master enumerated some common Lunar New Year practices that generally applies to all homeowners. 

Habit of Decluttering

Staircase by the living room area. Photo by Júlia Tótoli.
Photo by Júlia Tótoli

Creating a healthy and harmonious home begins with a light and clean environment, a principle deeply rooted in Feng Shui. This is why developing a habit of decluttering is paramount when welcoming the Lunar New Year. 

Huang highlights discarding unnecessary items not only creates physical space but also mental clarity. This often translates to eliminating excess belongings, like boxes and hoarded items, and keeping everything organized and streamlined. The main door and kitchen, in particular, are the main areas of focus. 

The Feng Shui master emphasizes that achieving a light environment extends to maximizing natural light—a powerful cleansing energy. In many cultures, keeping the main door open is ideal for allowing this positive energy to enter the home, but safety concerns often necessitate keeping it closed. As an alternative, make sure your windows and balconies are kept clean and unobstructed to allow ample sunlight to stream in. 

For the kitchen, maintaining impeccable cleanliness is crucial. Huang reveals that a clean sink, clear countertops, and promptly discarded trash are not merely hygienic practices. In Feng Shui, they are directly linked to financial prosperity.

East-Facing Red Carpet

millennial condo, Jesy Cruz, CondoLiving magazine, interior designers philippines

Putting a red carpet or rug at the east side of your home is a vibrant statement of intention this Year of the Wood Snake. Aside from being easy to set up, Huang guarantees that this floor treatment brings prosperity when placed in this specific location. And it doesn’t matter what size or shade of red you use. 

However, if you’re not keen on carpet, the Feng Shui master allows any alternative item—as long as it’s red. 

Greenery for the East or West

Side view of the apartment. Photo by Fran Parente.
Photo by Fran Parente

Placing plants, which are also of the Wood element, in the east or west sector strengthens these locations’ innate qualities and symbolisms. The east sector, similarly associated with the Wood element, represents growth, new beginnings, family, and health. So, adding greenery to this area creates a harmonious resonance between the two Wood influences. 

The west sector, on the other hand, carries the Metal element, symbolizing children, creativity, and completion. Since this element weakens Wood according to the Five Element Cycle, the use of plants should be more nuanced to maintain balance. 

Small Water Feature in the Southeast

feng shui garden
Photographed by William Ong

In Feng Shui, water is a powerful symbol of wealth. So, Huang advises to install at least a small water feature in the Southeast corner or the wealth sector of your home. However, it should be active or moving water, like tabletop fountains or wall-mounted features, to bring better opportunities. 

He also noted that if your kitchen or bathroom occupies the Southeast area, you can skip on this aspect. 

Windchime in the Center

The center of the home, often referred to as the heart or Tai Chi, should ideally be a quiet and uncluttered space. But since the Sickness star occupies the center palace of the Lo Shu grid this Year of the Wood Snake, it can bring negative influences to the entire household.

To counter the Earth element of this inauspicious star, Huang suggests introducing Metal elements like a windchime. He explained that because such an item produces a tranquil metal vibration and sound, it weakens the sickness energy while keeping the center calm. 

Although it might be challenging to hang it in the middle of your home as it might not look aesthetically pleasing. However, the positive impact on health makes it a worthwhile consideration.

Encourage Collaboration at Home

A Perfect Match: Crate and Barrel and Vania Romoff.
Photographed by Ed Simon

Period 9 is all about collaboration. And to fully embody that value this Year of the Wood Snake and in the coming years, your home should be prepared for communal activities

Start by investing in a bigger dining table. The standard rectangular table will do, but Huang recommends getting a rounded one. He pointed out that these kinds of tables offer easier ways to start a conversation and share food. Since everyone is facing each other, it’s faster to build a connection. This setup also allows all present at the table to participate compared to the standard table designs that create a subtle hierarchy. 

Finding Your True Feng Shui Home Potential

A view of the living room and veranda. Photo by Eduardo Macarios.
Photo by Eduardo Macarios

Huang affirms you can do these foundational Lunar New Year home tips even without consulting a Feng Shui expert. But its true effectiveness hinges on a deeper connection between the homeowner and their living space. Simply following decorating rules or placing objects according to Feng Shui principles won’t fully realize the potential benefits if you don’t first establish a personal relationship with your home.

“You must be able to communicate with your house. You must be able to feel your house. So, you buy this property, you must go in and really spend time there; not just walk around and sit. Spend a little bit of time, even with zero furniture. Slowly try to feel it because at the end of the day, you will be living there,” Huang advises. 

The Feng Shui master further stressed that when you connect with your home on an emotional level, you create a foundation for harmony and well-being. This inner connection informs your design choices, allowing you to create a space that truly resonates with you. Additionally, this is also crucial when an interior designer enters the picture. 

By sharing your vision and how you want the space to feel, you ensure that the design truly reflects your personal energy connection to your home. This makes any Feng Shui adjustments even more potent. Ultimately, a strong heart-home connection is a key to unlocking the true potential of Feng Shui and creating a truly vibrant and supportive living environment this Year of the Wood Snake.

Read more: Feng Shui 2024: The Architecture of Qi Energy

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