Feng shui is all about optimizing your spaces so that positive energy flows freely into and around them. But there are some things — many of which you have no control over — that can send negative or chaotic energy straight into your spaces, messing up all your efforts to cultivate a positive vibe. Many of these features are poison arrows — structures and objects that form sharp angles to point energy that's less than optimal straight at your space. A lot of these poison arrows are features that pre-existed you moving into your space — like a neighbor's roofline or the abrupt ending of a road at your driveway. Others are things you inadvertently placed inside of your space, such as a coffee table with sharp corners.
Either way, poison arrows can create chaotic or harmful energy that destroys your peaceful vibe. Fortunately, feng shui has cures that can lessen this energy, and they're usually super easy and affordable to use. So before you decide to move because your neighbor's roof is shooting a poison arrow your way, check out our list of feng shui poison arrows and simple solutions (called cures) to fix them.
There's a Garden Wall Pointing at Your House
If there's a garden wall that's higher than ground level (as walls usually are), and it points at your home's front or rear entrance, it can send negative energy straight your way. As a cure, plant lots of foliage between that wall and your door. You can even put in potted plants if you're in a rental and can't dig up the dirt.
Your Front Door Faces a Corner
If you're in the house on the corner, you probably love your corner lot. But the corner directly across the street sends a poison arrow to your front door. Fortunately, there's a really easy fix that's free — just start using your back door or a side door as your main entrance instead of the front door.
You Live in the Midst of Towers & High-Rise Buildings (or Across From a Spire)
From towering skyscrapers to humble church spires facing your home, these can all send a harmful vibe your way. To remedy it, place a small mirror next to your front door to reflect the energy away from your home.
Related: Mastering Feng Shui: Activating Cures for a Balanced Home
The Streets Make a T in Front of Your House
If a street dead-ends into another street directly in front of your house, negative energy can rush right down the street and into your front door. Add a hedge or a berm with plantings in front of the house at the edge of your yard to block this energy.
Your Front Door Faces a Fork in the Road
Does your driveway (or the road leading straight to your driveway) form the downstroke of a Y? If so, energy from two roads will rush right down your road and in through your front door. A hedge, shrub, or wall can fix this easily.
Your Neighbor's Peaked Roofline Points Right at Your Front Door
If the peak of your neighbor's roof points right at you, energy can rush along the top of their house and straight into yours. A tall, leafy tree can block this energy. If that isn't feasible, then put a mirror outside your front door reflecting the energy away from your house.
A Tall Building Overshadows the Front of Your House
If there's a big tall building across from your front door, it can create an area of dead energy where positive vibes can't get through. This is another situation where you'll need to use a different door as your main entry to invite positive energy into your home.
Your House Has Open Bookcases and Shelves
Open bookcases and shelves filled with books allow the edges of the books to send poison arrows into your spaces. To remedy this, either add glass doors to the shelves, cover them with a curtain, or move the books so the spines are flush with the edge of the shelves.
Columns and Pillars Block Energy Flow
Columns or pillars interrupt energy flow and send a chaotic vibe around your space. To fix this, soften these features with a tall plant.
There's an Interior Staircase Across From Your Front Door
These staircases send any positive energy that enters the house rushing out of the main part of the house. To fix this, add a folding screen or tall plants blocking the stairs from view at the front door.
You Have Exposed Overhead Beams in the Bedroom
We love this as an architectural feature, but not so much as an energy booster. But it's easy to fix — hang a canopy over the bed or, for a super easy fix, hang a pair of bamboo flutes over the bed from the beams. You can also move the bed so the beams aren't directly overhead or paint the beams white.
There's a Chandelier or Ceiling Fan Directly Over the Bed
Again — we love a sparkly chandelier as a bedroom fixture from a design standpoint, and ceiling fans are so helpful during the summer. To fix this, move the bed to another position in the room where these features aren't directly overhead.
A Wall Corner Protrudes Into a Room
Closets and odd-shaped rooms can create wall corners that protrude into another room. Add plants in front of the corner or hang a crystal ball directly over the corner to improve the energy.
You Have Tables With Sharp Corners in the Middle of the Room
Rectangular coffee tables are standard decor, which can bounce energy around in a chaotic, non-harmonious fashion. Choose a round coffee table or hang a plant or crystal ball over the table to balance the energy.
Fix Negative Mojo in Your Home
Your home is your sanctuary, and you deserve to live somewhere with a peaceful vibe. So fixing sources of negative mojo can help you accomplish this. Most of the cures are simple, and the improved energy is well worth a bit of extra effort.
