No man is an island – We all need company and a helping hand from time to time, that’s why good friends are amongst the most precious gifts in life. It’s not only important to receive affection, but also to give and to share. It’s always uplifting to have a helpful soul at our side and to walk part of the journey together. That’s exactly what the Northwest Bagua area is all about: Helpful friends and travel. 

The Bagua for helpful friends and travels is located in the Northwest or the front right corner of your home. The element metal and the trigram Qián are assigned to it. This trigram represents the sky – this includes the firmament above us as well as heaven in a religious and transcendental sense. 

This Bagua life area doesn’t make any difference between “here” and “beyond”, or between worldly and spiritual experiences. It represents real, living friends as well as other “helpful spirits”, such as angels, gods or totems. In the same way this area covers all kinds of travels: real journeys; spiritual journeys, like dreams or shamanic journeys and also our last, “celestial” journey. It’s all about the interaction with beings and worlds of all kinds; in particular with the help, the support and the enrichment we can experience in this context.

It is equally important to express our gratitude for all the helpful and beneficial energy in our life, and this Feng Shui Bagua area is the ideal place to express this gratitude.

Attention: First care about the basic energy and structure of your Bagua zones. The qi must flow freely before you can start planing measures for individual life areas. Install one Feng Shui vehicle or symbol after the other and give it some time to unfold its impact before going on to the next stage. 

Stardust And Minerals!

Metal is the most difficult, of the five phases, to understand for Western people. Because we immediately think about something cold, rigid, inanimate and valuable; not about a lively and dynamic principle. In Asian traditions metal represents the transition from earth to water – this energy is ripe, condensed and directed inward. Metals are the precious minerals found deep within the earth, they nourish our water and provide us with necessary nutrients. These little components are essential to us – one can say, that this alchemical process is essential to life and existence in general. It provides structure and organization, tends to connect and relate, yet it is flexible and creative too – it’s literally the stardust our universe is made of.

It's
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Easy Metal Element Decorating Tips:

Use white, gray, black, pastels and metallic colors like silver and gold, combined with round, circular shapes. The element metal is nourished by earth, so you can complement your look using yellow, natural colors and square shapes.

The Chinese character for metal (金 = jīn) simultaneously translates with gold – so it’s no big a surprise the element is connected with wealth and golden items. There’s no need in transforming your home into a jewelry store though, there are less obvious possibilities to attract metal energies and prosperity. In addition it would be a pity to reduce the element to that single quality and to ignore the motherly, supporting, nourishing and creative aspects it offers. 

Decorate with round, metal objects, such as bowls, pots and vases or metal sculptures, preferably expressing friendship or the energy of gratitude. Or create a gallery wall of your friends and mentors (present and future ones!) – Black and white photography and metal frames will work best.

In Feng Shui metal is always associated with bonds (chemical, personal and emotional ones). There are two life areas related to this element within the Bagua square. This one and also the West area, which is connected to creativity and children. 

Which symbol could embody the wide topics of travel, friendship, help and transcendence more appropriate than dolphins? These popular animals play no role in traditional Feng Shui, but they are very common in Western Feng Shui. Among others dolphins stand for joie de vivre, loyalty, spirit, friendship, community and sensibility. In some esoteric schools dolphins are even interpreted as incarnated angels.

Some More Tips, Charms And Ideas:

Often enough small things can make great impact. Place a metal sphere in the Northwest area of your home, may just give the right impetus. Or, be bold and paint the walls of this life area in gold or silver, combined with black and white art (travel images or photos of your benefactors f. e.) and a playful wind chime.

Round shapes get the best effect in this Bagua area, combined with square ones. 

Support the metal with earth element art, like clay figurines, crystals or terracotta art. 

You enjoy traveling? Here’s the place to visualize your next desired destination. Maybe a little Hindu sculpture embodies your next trip to India? Or you place a mobile with little airplanes and other transport vehicles, to keep it open and more general. Be creative! You’ll be surprised what the universe has in store for you!

Things To Avoid:

No arms, even if they’re made of metal! Generally avoid any aggressive, combative or harmful imagery in this area – actually they won’t do you any good somewhere else either.

No fire and water representations! Fire melts the metal and water will corrode it, so don’t use lots of blues, reds and triangular shapes.

Popular Symbols For This Area:

It’s always good to find personal, symbolic pictures or objects to decorate and boost a specific life area. Your own, positive relation to the piece/symbol can be very helpful! On the other hand, you have to keep in mind, that the cycle of the five phases retains its validity and that also personal symbols have to support the basic concept of the area. 

In which area of your life do you wish more support or help? Are you looking for new friends to share the joy of a hobby? Are you looking for an appropriate, spiritual teacher, a professional mentor or a partner for traveling? Do you want to receive helpful messages in your dreams? The more specific you can define your personal wishes, the more precise you can energize and “use” this area. 

Browsing the web you will literally find tons of Feng Shui charms and symbols for your purpose, in any size, style and quality. The following examples from my catalogue do fit well to the helpful friends and travels area as well.

Angel 

The word angel comes from the Greek word ángelos, meaning messenger or ambassador. Angels are usually depicted as winged figures with halos. In almost all religions winged hybrid creatures belong to the sacred, the divine sphere. The ethereal creatures do not have a godlike status but are rather associated with the inter-mediation (Messengers) between the heavenly and the earthly sphere. 

Generally speaking, an angel is a symbol for the human spirituality and our connection with God and the cosmic energy. Countless myths and religions talk about angels, not only in the Christian, Jewish and Islamic traditions, but also in the Assyrian, Mesopotamian, Babylon and Zoroastrian culture. If we include Bodhisattvas and Indian devas to the ‘family of angels’, we can also ad Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism to this list.

All of these varieties have one thing in common: they live in heaven, rush through dreams and visions, talk about the divine reality, intervene in earthly fortunes, mediate between heaven and earth and they protect us from harm. The symbolism of angels therefore concentrates on protecting human life’s path, bringing us closer to the love and helping us to develop inner growth.

If you have a special relationship to a particular angel of your belief, lookout for a picture or a figure of this angel. In case you want to profit from the illuminating and protective force of an angel without knowing or favoring a specific one, just listen to your Intuition. Which angel do you like? By which one do you feel inspired or touched? Browse in the Internet and in specialized shops. You will find the right angel – or he will find you!  

Cat

Cats and humans share a long time companionship and are considered to be independent and mysterious. Either there loved or hated, some cultures villainize them, others worship them. None of them are indifferent. 

The idiosyncratic animals are night active and therefore closely related to the moon. Cats are known for being patient and persistent hunters, sitting in front of a mouse hole for hours. This makes them perfect guardians. In ancient Rome the cat was sacred to Diana, the moon goddess and considered as a guardian of homes. In Celtic traditions, the cat was representing the guardian of the Otherworld, stoic, silent and cryptic, known for its deep knowledge of life. 

In Western tradition, black cats have been associated with witchcraft and the devil. But there are also many tradition that adore and worship cats. In Muslim lore, the cat is honored for saving Mohammad from an attack by a fierce snake. In ancient Egypt cats were sacred and worshiped as representation of their lunar goddess Bastet, and also appreciated for their courage (cats even attack serpents). In Norse tradition, the cat was drawing the chariot of goddess Freyja and the symbolic focus was on the cats fertility and maternal care. In Asian traditions, cats symbolize longevity, luck, the power of transformation and people believe that they’re able to see ghosts. 

As a totem, the cat reminds us to liberate from routines, bad habits or wrong crowds, to make some changes in our lives, to trust our intuition and to become more independent and flexible. The cat teaches us a lesson about being unique and not to be afraid of it.

Star

It’s all written in the stars, isn’t it? Since ancient times people have looked at the night sky and were fascinated and inspired by the sparkling stars. 

With the necessary knowledge the stars help us with orientation; spatial (navigation, astronomy) and emotional (astrology). No surprise though, that stars are associated with visions, illusions, secrets, transcendency and wisdom. Comets even indicate a clear direction – that’s why they are considered an omen, announcing important events. 

There are many stars, whose symbolism is closely connected with specific, mythological figures and gods. Generally speaking stars stand for light, hope, guidance, confidence, future, knowledge and wisdom. This extremely positive sign brings its light even in the darkest and remotest corners of the universe. Stars point beyond our existence – to spiritual levels and cosmic orders alike, in which we are embedded.

Umbrella / Jeweled Parasol

An umbrella usually has a protecting function – that’s also true for its symbolism. In addition, the parasol (whether it is a sunshade or an umbrella) is a symbol for sovereignty, status and power.

The so-called jeweled parasol (Sanskrit: Chhatraratna) is a decorated sunshade, common in Buddhism – sometimes also referred to as sacred umbrella or holy canopy. It is one of the eight auspicious symbols (Ashtamangala) and works as a representation of the Sahasrara (crown chakra). 

The Buddhist parasol origins as a symbolic depiction of a sacred medicinal and hallucinogenic mushroom of the Himalayan region; representing the protection from any kind of harmful forces, especially from illness and spiritual temptations. On a more abstract level it represents the firmament of the sky and therefore the expansiveness and unfolding of space. The jeweled parasol provides safety and shelter in the Dharma.

In some ways the umbrella embodies the whole universe, spreading its hand of protection over us. What ever you’d like to protect – this symbol will support you.

Note! Using suitable Feng Shui charms and symbols can harmonize and strengthen Bagua life areas, but can’t replace a energetic Feng Shui consultant, of course. For more complex and individual solutions it’s always worth to invest in a pro!

Curious about other Bagua life areas?

> Career and Life Journey (1)
> Love and Relationships (2)
> Health and Family (3)
> Wealth and Prosperity (4)
> Wholeness and Spirituality (5)
> Creativity and Children (7)
> Knowledge and Wisdom (8)
> Fame and Recognition (9)