Working with the bagua in feng shui is a fascinating and multi layered process. One way to get to know the nine areas of the bagua more deeply and make them personal for your own home and life is to make a collage bagua.
To do this start with a piece of posterboard. It can be any size you choose. You can either draw an octagon on it to represent the traditional shape of the bagua or you can create a rectangular bagua to represent the shape of most modern homes. Either way divide the poster into nine areas. If working with a rectangle you can do this by visualizing a tick tack toe board.
Starting at the bottom center area and going clockwise you will have a space for each area as follows: Career/Life Path, Self Knowledge & Cultivation, Family & Ancestors, Wealth & Abundance, Fame & Reputation, Relationships, Creativity & Children, Helpful People & Travel. In the center is Health.
As with any collage there are many ways you can go about this. One way I’ve found fun and insightful is to go on a hunt for images that represent the ultimate meaning of each area of the bagua for me. For example if you are someone who loves books and learning new things from them, you could use images of books in your Self Knowledge and Cultivation gua. Or if you are someone who is determined to turn over a new leaf with your diet and start eating more healthy food, your health gua could be collaged with lots of veggies.
Each area of the bagua has a corresponding range of colors so you can play with this as well. You can use different color papers as backgrounds for each gua and then layer your symbolic images on top of the corresponding color.
And as always when you are surfing your magazines and other sources for images stay open to what catches your eye. This is how the multiple layers of the bagua will reveal themselves to you and how you will begin to learn more about yourself and your home. Remember: feel with your eyes and give your left brain a break.
© Donna Thompson, 2008. All rights reserved.
Tags: Collage, colors, creativity
