The ancestors will protect your family and bring peace and prosperity if you follow these Feng Shui tips for your altar with sincerity and devotion. However, if your business is struggling, you encounter financial losses, or can’t seem to hold on to your earnings, you might want to check if your altar commits any of these five major taboos:
1. Placing the altar next to a passageway
Feng Shui experts advise against this as the constant movement and noise from passersby disrupt the tranquility and solemnity required for a worship space. Additionally, the entrance tends to invite negative energy from the outside, and the strong drafts can easily disturb the incense burner, bringing bad luck and diminishing the family’s prosperity.
2. Allowing sunlight and wind to reach the altar
According to Feng Shui principles, sunlight and wind carry strong yang energy. Exposing the altar to these elements makes it difficult to accumulate the yin energy associated with the spiritual realm, causing unease and difficulties in your endeavors.
For an optimal spiritual space, it’s best to place the altar in a dimly lit corner, with moderate lighting.
3. Setting up the altar in the bedroom
The bedroom is considered a private and impure space, making it unsuitable for an altar. Placing an altar here is believed to show a lack of reverence, leading to reprimands from the deities and bad luck. Scientifically, the sounds of prayers, gongs, and incense smoke can disturb the sleep of the bedroom’s occupant, negatively impacting their long-term health.
4. A cluttered worship space
It is vital to maintain cleanliness and order in the worship area. Clutter, garbage, or unclean objects like trash cans near the altar can invite bad luck and negatively impact the family’s health and careers. The same goes for the space beneath the altar—avoid storing electrical appliances, fish tanks, or artificial flowers there. Instead, opt for a Feng Shui compass or a painting that aligns with the owner’s fortune.
5. Positioning the altar in an unfavorable direction
The direction of the altar is the opposite of the person praying. Experts recommend aligning the altar with the favorable directions according to the owner’s Mệnh Quái (a Feng Shui concept). The favorable directions are: Sinh Khí (best), Phúc Đức, Thiên Y, and Phục Vị.
The unfavorable directions are: Tuyệt Mệnh, Họa Hại, Ngũ Quỷ, and Lục Sát. Additionally, avoid placing the altar directly across from the living room entrance, at the bottom of a staircase, or near a window, balcony, or toilet.
This information is for reference only and is subject to individual interpretation.