Feng Shui Your Hand Bag

The subject is common enough to be important: all females have handbags, and there are a lot of jokes about them. They have been around for centuries-originally, they were pouches carried around the waist by both sexes, which later became purses carried around by fashionable women. Now they serve a practical purpose to all women.

My first advice would be to project in your mind the bag that is most suitable to your purpose, i.e. if you have a purpose like a work-bag, going out to the cinema bag, have fun bag or a formal evening party bag; only then can you apply the appropriate Feng Shui principles.

The most important part of Feng Shui of your handbag is to improve the energy surrounding your bag. To do this:

• Choose the right colour

Each colour has a specific meaning and corresponds with the five elements. Feng Shui says that choosing the correct colour can improve your energy levels. Select the colour that is supportive of you, and not the one you need to avoid as per your own element based on your birth sign or horoscope.

Colours

• Red or any shade of red denotes Fire
• Green or any shade of green denotes Wood
• Yellow, beige, cream represents Earth
• Black or blue represents Water
• White, gold or silver signifies Metal

Make sure your bag colour matches or complements the colour of your outfit and also possibly your shoes for co-ordination and harmony if you are projecting your personality.

• Pick the right size and shape

A work of art has to be decorative whereas a dishwasher has to be functional. But a handbag should be both: decorative and functional.

Make sure your bag fits you just right. Carrying around a bag that’s too big is a burden and can drain your energy levels. Having a bag that is too small and cannot fit the necessities is stressful and not functional; it also drains your energy. Go for bags that are shallow rather than deep, so that you can find what you need when you need it, and are not tempted to carry around things you do not need (called clutter) just because you have the space.

• Organize the inside of your bag

The level of organisation (or disorganisation) inside your bag can affect your energy levels. The three basic items in your bag are your wallet, your mobile phone and your keys. Make sure you have proper compartments for these items to access them efficiently. And get rid of the clutter — take unnecessary items out of your bag.

Whether we look at this is as a case study or otherwise, in general, handbags are those extras that were never needed when we lived natural and harmonised lives. But, this is not so in this day and age. So, the function is like an extension of ourselves, which adds what we miss ourselves with our own inner eyes. Whoever misses security will have items to this effect; those missing beauty, will have things to powder the nose; others, missing self confidence, their own unique companions. Everything springs from our own inner perception of us.

·Our insecurities are in our handbags...

1. Ensure that your wallet does not have any unnecessary papers. See that you have your business cards, credit cards, cash, travel pass, smiling faces of your loved ones’ photos to lift your spirits and a symbolic photo of your favourite deity like Ganesh or Sai Baba (for inner security).
2. In your change pocket of the wallet, keep three Chinese coins tied with red ribbon for a feeling of abundance and attracting prosperity all the time (based on our belief system).
3. Ensure the phone battery is adequately charged to get you through the day (for communication fears) and that you have a little crystalium disc attached to the mobile phone to protect you from the electromagnetic field emissions.
4. The keyring should not have any unnecessary keys.
5. Crystals are wonderful companions for clarity of thinking; keep a small, white, clear quartz crystal in the bag to help you remain focussed during the day. Alternatively, you can keep a raw crystal called Rhodochrocite for enhanced intuition.
6. A number of practical items in a handbag like a small Swiss army knife; pen, mirror, glasses and a couple of other items of personal nature can be kept in the handbag. These little items are not considered clutter, and they do come in handy.

·Feng Shui works for artistic designers of handbags:

A number of handbag designers in the West are now producing handbags with Feng Shui principles and collage works combining elements such as Chinese prayers, papers and antique kimono fabrics in a vinyl casing with some brightly coloured works, which gleam like gold fish underwater. The ancient principles are infused with East Asian aesthetic.
Additional detailing on individual bags may include lucky (play) money sewn in to attract more (real) money and specially coloured linings chosen for their Feng Shui elemental meanings; like red is for fame and reputation and black represents professional success.
The care that goes into crafting handbags through Feng Shui principles may or may not bring a sense of emotional security to their bearers. But this same painstaking approach definitely means that it is still seeking more personal security as mentioned earlier.

Fashion bags will come and go but the classic Dior, Gucci and Hermes will probably be with us for years to come.
Swinging the unique bright bags around, you're going to attract something,it may not necessarily be prosperity but it will be something.
Essentially, I believe the idea is that we personalise our handbag and in so doing, make it lucky.

(Courtesy NEW WOMAN Magazine-India)