Feng Shui & Dragon Imagery: Part One, Interiors

A dragon wall-hanging is a splendid art piece for your living room or office.

Dragons are the most protective of all the mythical beings in feng shui, and as such they are to be highly respected. It’s considered to be disrespectful to walk on a dragon, so dragons on carpets are a no-no—unless the carpet is hung on the wall as an art piece. Likewise, a floor mosaic of a dragon isn’t good, unless it’s in the deep part of a pool, where no one ever walks. (Chinese dragons, the type we mean in feng shui, are associated with water—they’re not the fire-breathing type of Western lore—so there is no fire-under-water situation created here.)

Years ago, I went to a Tibetan store in San Francisco and was entranced by their small carpets (about 15 by 15 inches) that are meant to go on top of the short wooden stools that are common seating in Tibet. I never did buy one, and now I’m glad I didn’t—putting your okole (rear end) on a dragon wouldn’t be considered respectful.

This dragon figurine has a pose similar to the vibrantly colored dragon that graces the cover of my book “Feng Shui for Hawaii Gardens.”

Dragons are yang—very yang—so it’s best not to have their images in a bedroom, which should emphasize things that are yin (because rest is yin). I once consulted for a gentleman in Hamakua on Hawaii Island, and his headboard was a very complicated, hand-carved affair from China with lots of dragons and lots of open spaces. At first, I was concentrating on the open spaces because they were the most obvious thing. (Headboards should be solid because they represent backing and the backing should be solid—no holes.) Then I realized how many dragons were carved into it and I told him that it would be best just to part with it and let it be someone else’s problem. I expected resistance, but thankfully he said it was already listed on Craigslist, but that he hadn’t had a buyer yet. One important takeaway from this is—just because something is made in Asia, doesn’t assure that it’s good feng shui.

If you have a favorite dragon image in your home, one great place for it is to the left of your favorite lounge chair. That’s to your left as you are sitting in the chair. Be sure to read my upcoming Part Two post on dragons where I’ll explain why this positioning is best—it’s the same for outside your home—and more. In the meantime, my colleague Elliot Tanzer has LOTS to say about interior dragons. I highly recommend his advice, found on his website.