Feng Shui & Clocks: A Tale of Two Faces

This (much more expensive) clock is what we’re getting rid of—too vague!

Not all clock faces are created equal. Digital clocks are always a bit more stressful to look at than the old-fashioned analog clocks, which have hands that move in a circle. We have a few small digital clocks scattered around the house, including the one on the stove. But the main clock in our house is an analog wall clock above the kitchen door. It’s on the screened-in lanai (porch), which is also our dining room and main hang-out room. Until recently, we had a clock from Macy’s hanging there. It didn’t have much going for it, from a feng shui point of view, except that the back had flocking (sort of a glued-on felt), which dampened the ticking sound. The main problem with the clock was that it had no actual numbers on the face. Where the 3, 6, 9, and 12 would be, there were only little dots. Often I would stare at it wondering, “Is that 4:30 or 5:30?” That kind of vagueness from a clock is not good feng shui.

No vagueness here! It is a slight bit noisier than the other clock, but my husband stuffed fabric in the hollow space in the back (around the frame) and that helped a lot.

Then, a few days ago, my husband and I were in the Salvation Army thrift store in Kailua, and there was this clock that was about the same size as the Macy’s clock, but it had numbers. The store was having a 50% off sale on all items. I asked Steve what he thought, and he said, “Get it!”

So for $2.50 we got a charming clock with all twelve numbers on the face. Every time I look up at it, I automatically blurt out, “I love that clock!” The vagueness is gone.

A few other clock tips:

• If a ticking sound bothers you, as it does me, get only silent or very quiet clocks. This is essential in the bedroom.
• Clocks need to be kept accurate; otherwise they are holding you back in the past.
• If there are several clocks in the home, they need to agree on the time. Clocks that disagree by several minutes bring a vibe of untrustworthiness to the home. (If you collect clocks, you have a problematic hobby—keep them all accurate, or don’t have them on display.)
• One of the worst kinds of clocks is the kind that has no numbers at all. These were popular in the 1950s, and remain so in some minimalist homes. This is vagueness gone off the scale.