When one has done a SC in an apartment and then didn't do maintainance SC at all, should one do again a full SC ceremony or will a 'quickie' do? It's been maybe 5 or 6 months since I did the last full ceremony.
- Gabor Simic, UK
Karen's reply:
It's best to do a full Space Clearing ceremony once a year and at any times of major change, and do maintenance Space Clearing during the year if the energy of your home starts to flag or you start to feel stuck in your life. The frequency of this will depend on how good the Feng Shui of your home is (if the energy flows well, you'll need less Space Clearing) and also on how balanced a life you lead. Some people need maintenance Space Clearing on a weekly or monthly basis. Others can leave it for a few months before they need to do anything.
If your life is still working quite well, you can just do maintenance Space Clearing but if you could use a real boost, do the full ceremony again and then continue with regular maintenance Space Clearing afterwards.
Can I space clear one room at a time or should I wait till I'm ready to do the whole house at once (that could be a long wait)?
- Kathy Evans, USA
Karen's reply:
Yes, it's possible to do a mini-ceremony in just one or two rooms of your home. You just do all the steps but on a smaller scale.
However, you need to bear in mind that this is a bit like asking, "Is it OK if I just wash my hands and leave the rest of my body until I have time?"
You are energetically connected to your home, so any stuck areas in it will cause a corresponding stuckness in your life. It's much better to have a full shower (do a Space Clearing ceremony for the whole place) and give yourself a fresh start.
If clutter clearing is what is holding you back, doing Space Clearing will release the stagnant energies that surround clutter and make it SO much easier to clear it.
From the Indian Stapathya Veda standpoint it is very important to live in a house with a proper vastu, that means the house should be directed straight to North, South, East and West. The entrance should always be in the East or in the North. This is supposed to bring good fortune, health, wealth and spiritual progress. All other directions are meant to be inauspicious and are meant to disturb the brain functioning and bring no good fortune.
How does this relate to your Space Clearing? Could a wrong direction be neutralised by Space Clearing? Or do you not think in terms of 'wrong' directions or 'wrong' directed entrances?
- Gudrun Hülsenbeck, Germany
Karen's reply:
The Chinese have a form of feng shui which stipulates certain directions; Indian Vastu stipulates certain directions; and in Bali, where I live, Asta Kosala Kosali principles prescribe that all homes are aligned to the sacred direction of the mountains which run across the middle of the island. This means that homes built in South Bali are aligned to the North, and homes built in North Bali are aligned to the South.
To discern whether a system has integrity, it is necessary to discover the basis for the stipulations. In Bali, it is because they have the most highly presenced mountains I have found anywhere in the world. They align their houses to align with those forces.
But even here in Bali, Space Clearing will not correct wrong alignments. There is no relationship at all between Space Clearing and any system of directionology.
I have a question about Space Clearning. My daughter recently moved into a home where the previous couple living there divorced. She asked my sister to help clear the space in her bedroom with something that sounded like "Raike" - pronounced "Ray-Kee". What exactly is this procedure and is it part of feng shui?
Thanks if you have time to answer this.
- L.M., USA
Karen's reply:
It's called Reiki. It's esentially a healing technique that some Reiki teachers are now attempting to adapt for use in buildings.
I have been into homes that are supposed to have 'space cleared' using Reiki and found that the walls are still very thick with stuck energy. The technique doesn't seem to have any effect at all but most people don't have the level of energy discernment to know this.
In your book you advise the reader to use flower blossoms as an offering. But I love flowers so much and do not want to kill and sacrifice them for my Space Clearing. What can I use instead?
Karen's reply:
If you are entertaining highly respected and welcome guests, you give them the best you have to offer. Exactly the same principle applies when inviting the high angelic presences that grace the Space Clearing ceremony to fill your space. The flower is the quintessence of the plant and therefore the most appropriate as an offering.
Some types of purification ceremonies use offerings of fruit, rice, tobacco or coins of the local currency but for the specific Space Clearing ceremony it is best to use flower heads.
You will find that if you look closely, your reluctance is based in cultural or ethical conditioning. I know this because I sometimes encounter this initial reaction in the West but never in Bali, where flower offerings are a way of life and people are more able to discern the powerful interaction made possible between the seen and unseen worlds of energy, facilitated by flowers. In my Space Clearing workshops people have the opportunity to experience this first hand and many have told me it is a moment so powerful they remember it for years to come.
So think of it this way if you will - what better fate could a flower have than to be included in a ceremony of such high magnitude?
I would also like to know if it is alright if I light an oil lamp in a glass container instead of using candles.
- Yezdi Irani, India
Karen's reply:
Yes, you can substitute oil lamps in glass containers for candles. This would work just as well. The container will have to be small enough to fit in the centre of each flower offering.
Is it good to use scented candles for Space Clearing?
- A.I., USA
Karen's reply:
It is horrifying how difficult it now is to buy plain candles in certain parts of the world. This is especially the case in the USA where most shops only have artificially scented ones. Like poor quality incense, these are totally counter-productive when used for Space Clearing, as they will drag the energy in your home down rather than enhancing it. They are also full of noxious chemicals you don't want to breathe!
Aromatherapy candles, made with pure essential oil, do not have these side-effects but are not helpful for Space Clearing. They can be used to help maintain the energy of your home at high level afterwards but during the ceremony the most effective aromas are from incense, not candles. Of the hundreds of kinds I have personally tested, Nitiraj Nagchampa and Basilica incense are the best. You can find information about these at the Online Store section of this website.
So for Space Clearing use plain white unscented T-light candles of the highest quality you can get. Beeswax candles are preferable to paraffin-based ones, and be sure to use zinc-wicked candles, never leaded ones (the way to test is that an unburned lead wick will leave a pencil-like mark if rubbed on a piece of white paper).
A study performed by Public Citizen (a nationwide group that studies environmental safety issues in the USA) states, "Just burning a lead-wicked candle for three hours may lead to concentrations of lead in the air that are nine to 33 times higher than those acceptable under federal guidelines."
We are having hard times financially and wondered if there is anything we could do feng shui wise to get the bad chi out and bring good in. I have already smudged a while ago and it doesn't seem to have taken effect.
- C.Z., USA
Karen's reply:
In my book I explain that incense is only effective for as long as its aroma is in the atmosphere. High quality incense can raise the energy of a space temporarily but it does nothing at all to clear out stagnant chi. I personally do not use or recommend smudging and am not at all surprised to hear it had no effect in your home.
It's impossible to know for sure without visiting your home whether you need feng shui advice, Space Clearing, clutter clearing or some combination of these. My best suggestion therefore is that you read and apply the information in Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui, which covers all these aspects. You also need to look at whether the way you earn money is in line with your spiritual purpose. Many people with financial problems know what they really want to do in their life but fear of change keeps them in a rut.
When you are walking around the perimeter of the rooms do you have to walk in the same direction throughout all the steps?
- Pushita Sashi Kundnani, USA
Karen's reply:
Yes, you will certainly get the best results if you do. Years ago, when I first started doing Space Clearing work, I always walked anti-clockwise to take out energy (clapping, bells, etc) and clockwise to put it in (harmony balls, etc). I then discovered that it is much more effective to keep walking in the same direction throughout the ceremony and that it doesn't matter at all whether that direction is clockwise or anti-clockwise.
What is Space Clearing?
