As a feng shui consultant, I often get asked how energy mapping works and why it’s so important. Energy mapping is essentially the foundation of Feng Shui – it allows us to assess each area of a home and understand how it connects to different aspects of life.
Whether you’re aiming to enhance your career, relationships, health, or overall harmony, energy mapping can help you intentionally align your space with your goals.
Energy mapping is deeply personal – no two spaces are the same, and each one reflects the people who live there in different ways. For those just beginning to explore the meaning of Feng Shui, understanding energy mapping is a great step toward creating a home that supports every aspect of life.
How to use Feng Shui energy mapping
Picture the scene, a young couple moving into their ‘dream cottage’. Within weeks things start to go downhill, irritating little things at first, the washing machine floods the kitchen, he breaks a bone, then she does too… pets suffer, then the miscarriages, the ectopic, his mental health struggles, her job loss, and recession sends them spiraling into financial trauma.
It was a time of sleepless nights and total desperation.
Looking back, as the anti-heroine of the piece, I’m so grateful I found Feng Shui energy mapping before the whole thing turned into a horror movie you wish you’d never started watching.
Now, with years of experience, I could explain that we had bought a property with energy that was ‘bad for money and people’. A ‘reverse energy’ house where everything that could go wrong did so, full of Feng Shui house features to avoid. If we had thought it though, the fact that the previous owners were divorcing and lost money on the place should have raised a red flag, but no one really thought about negativity lurking around in everyday homes back then. The place had me at ‘roses round the door'.
This was the early nineties when Feng Shui was leaping into the public consciousness and people would discuss their ‘Feng Shui wealth area’ or how to improve their romantic situation by energy mapping their home for positive vibes. Reading a magazine article led to experimenting with a little DIY Feng Shui and avoiding common Feng Shui mistakes.
Things improved marginally, he got a pay rise, I got a better job, and emboldened, we took things a little further with the energy mapping and were blessed with a healthy pregnancy and a beautiful baby girl. A result beyond our wildest hopes after such a torrid time.
We had used ‘Western’ feng shui to define our energy map based on the position of our front door, although as I’ve since discovered, it was very limited in comparison to the traditional methods.
Suzanne Roynon is an expert interiors therapist, award winning author, speaker, and Feng Shui consultant
Back then, this was no easy feat. Today, however, the magic of Google Earth and the ability to access data for the complex calculations required to define Feng Shui for specific properties, means the process of creating good Feng Shui in your home can be done remotely and is infinitely more accessible for real people living in real homes. The great news is that I can even give you some very basic energy mapping information for your own home.
So where to start? Most people come to Feng Shui with the desire to improve their personal Love, Health, or Money situation – and find they enjoy the benefits in other areas of their lives along the way.
1. Start with a floorplan
It doesn’t matter if you live in a house or apartment, the process is the same. If you have a floor plan of the property, that’s great. If not, then create your own. There is a useful app called Magicplan which will do the hard work for you.
Once you have a floor plan, draw a three-by-three grid (imagine a tic-tac-toe grid) with equally sized squares or rectangles laid over your property. Each area represents a part of the energy map of your home.
Write ‘center’ in the middle box.
2. Work out the compass directions
Next, stand in the center of the home and open the compass on your smartphone. You’ll notice the eight main directions of your compass correspond with the remaining boxes on your grid. Add those directions to your floorplan and the energy map of your home will start to come alive.
Once you understand how the areas of your energy map are connected to what’s happening in your life and home, they often reveal the root of some of the challenges or delights you may be experiencing, and also highlight the best way to improve them, realigning the energy in your home to work with, rather than against you.
North – Career and/or Life Path
North represents your career and/or life path. It’s all about what you want to do with your life, how you earn money, and how you spend your days.
For us, activating the North in our new apartment included tucking the name and logo of a company my daughter wanted to work for in an envelope in the North. It took just over a year for her to be invited to a role at that very same company.
It can also be a good area to relocate your home office ideas and work on office Feng Shui.
Northwest – Travel and Helpful Friends
Northwest activates the travel and helpful friends area. Travel does what it says on the tin. However, ‘Helpful friends’ are those people who turn up out of the blue when you need them. A plumber or electrician; or a snatch of conversation that gives you precisely the information you need.
We keep a gorgeous globe of the world in our northwest to inspire us. When we needed a tree surgeon fast, we printed a picture of a lumberjack and received a flyer for a new company the same day and the job was done.
Achieve the antique look without the antique world history with this stylized modern globe
West – New Beginnings
West represents new beginnings, projects, creativity, opportunities, and children.
Essentially anything new you would like to draw into your life. It’s the first place to activate if you’d like to start a family, or when a fresh start, new opportunity, or perspective is required.
This is a great place to work on new ideas and plans for the future. If you’re planning to redecorate, this is the perfect place for making your mood board.
Creating mood boards is a great way to visualise and manifest your new space, or even goals that you have in life so you can start to make progress towards them
Southwest – Love and Romance
Southwest is all about love, romance, and your relationship with yourself
If this area is unsettled, you may find disharmony in significant relationships, and it is difficult to connect with others. Even if you choose to be single, having ‘pair energy’ in the Southwest supports emotional balance and self-love. This means avoiding solo items and selecting matching pieces in twos – lamps, cushions, décor, etc. to add symmetry to your home or ace your Feng Shui bedroom layout.
We consciously use pair energy for the whole southwest area with photos, Feng Shui plants, and interlinked hearts to ensure there’s always stability in love, and our emotional equilibrium is supported.
Heart Leaf Philodendrons are typically very easy to grow, thriving even in low light environments and high humidity. Their rounded leaves also make them a great choice for Feng Shui
South – Fame and Reputation
South defines fame, reputation, recognition, and the way others see you.
If you’re feeling invisible or unrewarded in your work or community, take a closer look at what’s happening in the south area of your home to see why your skills and talents are going unnoticed.
It might be as simple as replacing the unluckiest items to have in your home for Feng Shui, such as a blown lightbulb or polishing a smeared mirror to turn the positive spotlight in your direction.
Southeast – Money and Wealth
@maybetamsin ♬ Green Gramophone soundtrack from Hello Neighbour - timaeqq
Heading southeast will help you find and activate the Feng Shui wealth corner, helping with money, abundance, and blessings
This is an area that can always be improved upon, perhaps by decorating with art that makes you feel abundant, or creating an overflowing pot of money to symbolize increasing wealth. It’s definitely not the place to keep credit card bills or loan paperwork (there are far better ways to organize paperwork at home). Instead, make this the location for savings and investment accounts, along with anything that contributes to your feelings of financial prosperity.
Remember, abundance can come in many ways, so be actively grateful however it manifests. Currently, we have a plentiful supply of apples which we are cooking, gifting, and sharing to share the abundance we have received.
Made from brass, this money bowl is a great starting place for your wealth corner
East – Family and the Past
East represents the family, community, and the past.
This is the perfect place for family photos, mementos, and things you would like to keep firmly in the past. This might include home storage for utility bills, divorce papers, and tax documents. It’s also ideal for information on memberships, community groups, and organizations you are part of.
We keep the family tree, diaries, and organize family photos in this area, along with details of financial outgoings. Using a blue or black file is said to mute energy, while a red or green folder will help things grow.
Be careful not to get your folders mix up when trying to great good energy in your home by clearly labelling and color coding your paperwork
Northeast – Knowledge and Spirituality
Northeast combines knowledge, learning, and spirituality.
This area is superb for homework (especially when organizing a kid's room for back-to-school success), study materials, or a shrine. It supports concentration and will also enhance yoga practice.
This is a space where relaxing and meditation come easily in our apartment. We deliberately made a cozy corner to keep the area calm and peaceful, whether for reading, learning, or contemplation.
How to recharge your energy map
By being aware and activating the energy map within your home, you will feel supported and protected. You’ll gain clarity and motivation to enjoy life and cherish the space you live in.
- Deal with clutter – I know you hear this all the time, but clutter creates stagnation and chaos in your life. If you have clutter in any part of your energy map, you may struggle in the corresponding area of your life. Why not test out some decluttering tips and see?
- Upgrade your thinking – Steer clear of negativity, and doomscrolling social media, and avoid having TV or radio tuned to channels focused on news or fear/anxiety-inducing programs. Even in the background, they are impacting your subconscious mind. Instead, focus on the positive aspects of life to welcome happiness and joy into your home and family. This will do more to enhance your well-being and state of mind than you can imagine.
- See the bigger picture – Choose art, décor, and reading materials that inspire you. Don’t be afraid to part with anything that feels bleak, lonely, or no longer suits your mindset.
- Always do as you would be done by – Use the Interiors Therapy process to deal with your clutter and that of younger children, but respect that partners, other adults, and teens are responsible for their possessions, even if it makes your fingers itch. Trust that when they see the benefits of your actions, it will encourage family to declutter and they will probably ask you to help them too.
- Replace blown lamps and broken items – They contribute to general discord in your energy map.
- Fix dripping faucets and leaking pipes – as these represent money flowing away from your home wherever they are situated.
Of all the things Feng Shui experts wish you knew, the energy map is the number one most important. It can really set the foundations for every aspect of your life.
If you would like help to create the energy map of your home, book an inspiration video call with me to find out how you can enhance your environment and feel the benefits of a happier, healthier home.
