Many people convert bathtubs into standing showers to expand bathroom space, unaware that removing the bathtub has laid a poor Feng Shui layout for themselves. How exactly should bathroom Feng Shui be arranged based on the Five Elements?
The bathroom belongs to the element of water in the Five Elements and is the place with the strongest water energy in the residence. Therefore, its Feng Shui arrangement should be based on the family members’ Five Elements preferences and taboos as well as the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams.
In the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, different directions represent different family members. As shown in the figure below:
Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams Represented Family Members
After confirming which family member each direction represents, let’s look at the Five Elements preferences and taboos.
Simply put, a person’s birth Five Elements are affected by the season. If you were born in summer, your Five Elements tend to be relatively hot, so you favor water and avoid fire. Conversely, if you were born in winter, you favor fire and avoid water. If you were born in spring, since spring is the season when wood is prosperous, excessive wood needs metal to cut it down, so people born in spring favor metal and avoid wood. Autumn is the season when trees wither, so people born in autumn favor wood and avoid metal. Therefore, people born in spring favor metal, those born in summer favor water, those born in autumn favor wood, and those born in winter favor fire.
However, this theory is only general and suitable for reference. To truly understand your own Five Elements needs, you need to go through professional Bazi calculation.
For example, if the husband favors water, then a bathroom located in the northwest is very suitable. The northwest represents the male head of the household, meaning the husband has plenty of water energy. Having a bathtub in the bathroom adds more water to water, allowing the husband to have good luck. But if the husband avoids water, a bathroom in the northwest will make him have bad luck.
Is a Larger Bathroom Better?
Is the larger the bathroom, the better? It depends on whether the family members need the bathroom’s energy. For a general couple’s layout, if both favor water, living in a suite with an en-suite bathroom is good Feng Shui because there is a bathroom in the room. If both avoid water, connecting the master bedroom with the bathroom will certainly damage Feng Shui. What if one favors water and the other avoids it? It depends on the direction of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. If the bathroom is in the direction of the person who favors water, the larger the bathroom, the better. On the contrary, if the bathroom is in the direction of the person who avoids water, the bathroom should be as small as possible. Everyone should apply Feng Shui principles objectively. As for the children’s Five Elements, it is also easy to handle. For example, if the son’s Five Elements favor water, living in a bedroom next to the bathroom is best, and the bathroom should have a bathtub.
Some wealthier families will install a steam room at home. Steam is extremely fiery. People who need fire can use the steam room, while those who avoid fire should not. For example, if the eldest daughter needs fire but other family members avoid it, the solution to installing a steam furnace at home is simple: place it in the eldest daughter’s direction, which is the southeast. If the eldest son needs fire but others don’t, place the steam furnace in the east. The bathroom is very important for home Feng Shui.
There was a case where a client extremely favored water and needed water to balance his energy. I designed a plan for him: convert the bathroom into floor-to-ceiling glass so that he could see the bathroom from his bedroom. In other words, this is to introduce the water energy of the bathroom into the bedroom for use. As long as the bathroom wall is replaced with floor-to-ceiling glass and part of it is covered with frosted glass, the effect of introducing water energy into the house can be achieved.
In addition to having a particularly large bathroom, people who need water should also try to stay in the bathroom as much as possible, including taking longer baths. Reading newspapers in the bathroom is also an exclusive “privilege” for those who need water. For example, the Wen Chang Star (the star of literary talent) is associated with the “Zi” water. Planning anything in the bathroom will bring special inspiration, and even writing and reading in the bathroom will be particularly effective. Of course, the color of the bathroom should also match. For people who favor water, the bathroom tiles should preferably be white, blue, gray-black, gold, silver, or other similar colors.
If you avoid water, that is, if you have excessive water in your Bazi, a strange phenomenon will occur: your bathroom will always leak! No matter where you move, you will face the same trouble— the bathroom often leaks, frequently has problems, and may even flood. For anyone who avoids water, no matter how many times they repair the bathroom at home, it will still leak. The solution to this problem is actually very simple: just place four potted lucky bamboo (planted in soil) in the bathroom, and use crimson or green bathroom tiles. Then the bathroom will not leak.
Many people ask: do bathroom exhaust fans need to be kept on all the time? The function of the exhaust fan is to remove moisture from the bathroom. If you avoid water (i.e., your Five Elements need fire), the bathroom exhaust fan should be kept on to remove moisture. If you lack water, in principle, the exhaust fan should not be kept on all the time. When you extremely favor water (lack water), the large bathtub in the bathroom should be kept full of water to enhance water energy. If you extremely avoid water (excess water), you can replace the tiles with red-toned ones, or keep the water heater on to let the fire burn continuously to strengthen fire energy. People who avoid water like to use very hot water when bathing, but people who favor water cannot stand overly hot water. Speaking of bathrooms, bathing is actually one of the ways to bring good luck. For people who favor water, soaking in a bath is certainly better than taking a shower. Using different bath salts when soaking can attract different types of luck. There is a type of bath salt that turns the water completely blue. For people who lack water, soaking in blue water will greatly enhance their water energy. For those who need metal, they can use milk (which belongs to metal). For those who need wood, there are more choices, such as lavender, lemongrass, etc. For those who need fire, they can use red bath salts such as pear, orange, or rose, which will turn the bathwater into a fiery red color like fire when soaked in the bathtub.
Speaking of this, I can’t help but think of a classic case from my master. A woman had suffered from gynecological problems for a long time and couldn’t be cured. My master suggested that she try to treat it from a Feng Shui perspective. The bathroom of her house was in the southwest, and the woman’s Bazi avoided water. Moreover, two cans of red paint left over from the house renovation were found in her bathroom, which confirmed the occurrence of her gynecological problems.
It can be seen that the bathroom should not be cluttered with too many items. Every object has its own Five Elements energy.
