Question: I am confused regarding dried flowers/cut branches. I have several wreaths and branches. Should I remove all of them from my home? Is there any place in the home these are OK?
Answer: First of all, now that the holidays are here, I’d like to say that if you have some dried arrangement temporarily (let’s say a month or less) adorning your table or front porch, I don’t think the chi boogie man is going to come out and get you over it. If you like the look of a temporary arrangement like that and your energies (AKA your life circumstances) are holding strong – go for it. The idea is to always be mindful of what you do have in your house though, so you can make adjustments as soon as you have a desire for something different in your life.
Now, let’s talk about the permanent stuff. First of all, step back and take a quick review of you and your family’s life. If it is going perfectly, with everyone healthy, happy, and harmoniously living in the world, and your home happens to be filled with dried flower arrangements (and has been for years), then by all means – carry on. Remember, “If it ain’t broke, I don’t fix it.” You must have some MoJo going on over there that must be counterbalancing all the dried stuff, so I don’t even want to mess with it.
But if life isn’t perfect and you have chi weaknesses in your bagua somewhere, you may want to consider doing something about the dried stuff.
The chi that you want to attract and encourage to stay around within your home is vibrant, lively and in it’s thriving state. The chi that you do not want in your home is chi that is weakened, “sleepy,” disintegrating, wilting, dying, or seemingly dead. Dried flowers, pampas grass reeds, pussy willow stems, eucalyptus branches, wood shavings, wilted fresh flowers in stinky, stagnant water, moldy and damp fireplace wood, plants with a lot of dead or wilting leaves on them (snip those leaves off!), and (dare I go here?) pet ashes and people ashes all are things in their “diminishing state” in the “circle of life.”
“Preserved plants,” like those palm trees you see in some public places where they look real but they have been injected with something to stop their growth or death, seem to test OK. (Seeds usually have an essence within them that is vibrant and therefore also makes the cut.)
Yes, I have actually done experiments on this (as it is such a touchy subject) and I have observed that when dried stuff is removed, there is a definite chi improvement. (I get a lot of people resisting feng shui because they desperately want to keep their potpourri and crispy, crunchy arrangements.)
I invite you to experiment on your own. Remove all dead or dying items from your household and lot and track the way life goes for the next few months. If things don’t improve, you either have something that was counterbalancing the dried stuff or you have something else keeping you down (because you should see improvement.)
Stuff that counterbalances dried up, dead stuff: living things (animals, kids, plants, and heck, I’ll even throw fresh vegetables and fruits in here!,) moving items, fresh air circulation, natural light, and bright, lively colors.) Since I’m not lucky enough to see all of your homes, you’ll have to be the judge of this. Remember, feng shui is a guide, based upon years of observations of actions and results.
One last thought, think about what you are willing to allow in your home. I usually lump dried flowers in the same category as kitty litter boxes, toilets, trash cans, dust, dirt and clutter. These are all potentially negative or chi-weakening items. I usually say, if you have to have them, and you have any control over their placement, put these items in a gua that is working very well for you (and might be able to “take the hit,”) and not a gua that is already suffering from weakened chi. (a gua being the part of the home that is associated with a part of your life in the feng shui map, the bagua.)
To learn how to Move Your Stuff and Change Your Life and get YOUR personal questions answered by me, join my monthly membership below!
Can I leave my pussy willow stems and dried decorative flowers outside, but still on my property? How far away from the front door? What about lavender stems and flowers which I use in my bath and tea?
Hi Lena, without seeing your place, I’d say to consider what is happening in your life and if you feel dreary, weak or dead in some part of it, then it might be a good idea to experiment with a change in the dead sticks and things department. If you want to show me your house or discuss waht EXACTLY you want to change in your life so I can give you exact-to-you-cures, feel free to join this program: https://karenrauchcarter.com/move-your-stuff-with-karen-membership/ you can unsubscribe anytime 🙂
I can’t say for certain. I would watch how life goes to be sure. If it was me, I would not have them as I feel the hit immediately (as an uber sensitive person) but I will give you a rule that says “the closest things have the most impact on you…so perhaps distance outside will help and maybe not? Why are you attached to them? That might be the bigger question….Release and watch what replaces it in life. 🙂
So are you saying bringing in pussy willow stems with eucalyptus is bad? I just looked at the feng shui and they said pussy willow was good. It reminded me of my mother and I bought it? What do you think
I do not have an opinion until I hear what changes in your life. THEN you will KNOW if they are “good” for you or not. This is about the perception of your environment and how things are energetically relating to YOU. Make sense?
I have quite a few dried flower arrangement at home and a lot of live plants… Do you think the live plants counreracts the negative effects of my dried plants? We have natural light and 2 children as well. But I feel the peacefulness and stress levels at home could be improved. Please help
This is a classic case of finding the goldilocks “just right” for you. I would change the dead to living ratio towards more living and see if it helps! Only you can be the judge to know if you have enough FOR YOU! give it 4 to 6 weeks afgter making a change to notice the results – sopmetimes it happens immediately and sometimes it takes a bit 🙂
Hello, I have dried flowers given by my partner last year February so I placed it on a jar inside my bedroom and our relationship have been rough lately. We’ve been fixing it for months up to now. Is it okay to keep it inside my cabinet instead of throwing it? Because those flowers are special to me.
I never have an opinion of anything until you tell me what’s happening – THEN I have one. If you want to keep them even though you are seeing things “wilting, dying or drying out” then perhaps trying a traditional cure of encircling the item in red. When you ring someething in red you are telling the universe, “don’t let any of my energy cross the red line to this item” – see if that gives you an uptick in the relationship department!
I currently have a bouquet of dried flowers in my room from various bouquets that my partner has given me, I’ve been wanting to keep them because they mean a lot to me. Could I possibly preserve them in resin and turn them into an art piece or would the negative energy still be present? Thank you in advance
Well, who knows what you’ve got in your house to improve or negatively impact anyhting, but given this about of info, I’ll say try it and see. Place your intention that they hold the living energy of the moment in time when they were presented and the loving vibes that were all around – maybe that will tip the scales more in your favor! I will also think of it like Goldilocks…not too this, not too that, but just right. In other words, try to have more actual living vibrant plants than the dead to counterbalance them.
Hi, is it ok to place lovely smelling dried lavender inside sachets in the wealth corner of my place?
I’ll put it this way…”with the right intention, you can hardly go wrong.” 🙂 And when in doubt, try it out and tweak if necessary after the results are in.