A Feng Shui Master’s Guide to a Prosperous Year of the Horse

With the Year of the Horse galloping fast around the corner, homeowners may be looking for meaningful ways to refresh their living spaces and invite renewed energy into their lives. This Chinese New Year is characterised by the Fire Horse, which symbolises vitality, movement, and forward momentum. It’s a year bursting with kinetic energy, which means that homes can feel busier or more cluttered going into this new zodiac cycle. 

With that being said, the ancient practice of feng shui—which emphasises the arrangement of objects, buildings, and space to create a harmonious and balanced environment—is a great way to reassess and refresh your home’s energy flow for an auspicious year ahead.

Whether you’re making small decorative adjustments or planning larger home renovations, we speak to Kian, a feng shui expert from the Joey Yap Consulting Group, in collaboration with IKEA, to find out how to activate prosperity corners, enhance your home for better positive energy, identify potential danger zones, and more.

THE ANNUAL FLYING STARS 2026

To identify which areas of the house the positive energy (qi) and negative energy (sha qi) may flow in this Year of the Horse, homeowners can refer to the annual flying stars of 2026. Each number from 1 to 9 represents a specific type of luck or challenge in this zodiac cycle. 

Some may bring prosperity, luck, and romance, while others may stir accidents, arguments, and other troubles. By overlaying the chart over your home’s floor plan, you can pinpoint which areas are more auspicious and where to neutralise the negative energy. 

“1 is known as the Victory Star and Future Prosperity Star. As it resides in the centre, the qi flows and spreads to every sector. Therefore, the centre of your home is an important area that you shouldn’t overlook. However, it does have a retreated qi energy due to its Water element situated in an Earth palace, so you must continue to nourish it, or its positive energy can be suppressed.”

Ensure the centre of your home is brightly lit, clean, and clutter-free. Include Water elements or motifs around to strengthen its auspicious qi energy for better creativity, prosperity, and blessings.

“The most auspicious sector of your home is South-East, as it is where the 8 Wealth Star and 4 Academic and Peach Blossom Star reside. Activating the area of the former will bring more fortune, whilst having a study or office in the latter can help you absorb information faster and do well academically. For couples or singles looking for romance, your area at 4 can impact your relationships, so keep it as tidy as possible.

“Conversely, in 2026, the 5 Yellow (Wu Wang) is the worst as it is known as the Calamity Star. This dreaded misfortune star means there will be many ups and downs. If you use this space in your home a lot, especially for important things, you may have a higher chance of experiencing a turbulent year ahead. 

“The 5 Yellow has strong Earth energy, so to mitigate this, you need to use metal. Place metal objects around the area to dispel the negative energy. If you’re not using this area for important areas, leave it alone as it is important to keep this space calm with no loud activity.

“7 and 2 are also not as good. 7 deals with communication, and it has a lot of retreated qi this year, so a lot of negativity can potentially happen here. If you have communal areas in the South-West sector, you might find that you experience communication issues or arguments with people. 

“2 is known as the Illness Star. If your bedroom or kitchen resides here, older men or the leader of the household are particularly vulnerable. A short-term solution would be putting metal objects around to release the negative energy.” 

“In the West sector, there will be arguments and miscommunications as flying star 3 is the star that represents an argumentative spirit. If you feel like there have been a lot of arguments in the house recently, you may have unintentionally activated this area. 

For those who are easily agitated, this is the area you need to refresh. One of the easiest ways to do this is to introduce fire, such as candles, to burn and release the negative energy.” 

Based on the Annual Flying Star Feng Shui 2026, focus on the South-East, North-East, and East as these are the three most auspicious areas of your home. Ensure that these areas are always clean and tidy.

DIRECTING GOOD QI FLOW

What’s the point of having an aesthetically pleasing home if the qi flow is blocked? According to Chinese beliefs, the way the qi moves is the essence of what makes feng shui in your home effective. The qi flow governs the health, harmony, and wealth of whoever uses that space. Here’s how you can direct good qi flow around your home.

ENTRANCE/FOYER 

“The entrance governs wealth as it is where people leave the front door to go to work and make money. If your main door is untidy or cluttered, it will affect your wealth. The technical term for this is called the bright hall. Your entrance must be a good, bright hall. That way, when the first qi flows into your house, it will be an auspicious one.

“Some people might think that putting more totems can invite more wealth, but that’s not the case. You want it to be as clean and tidy as possible. It’s not about what you put but what you don’t put. Invest in storage or organisation boxes.”

DINING AREA AND KITCHEN

“The dining area and kitchen govern health and harmony, as it is where you both cook and serve food for your loved ones. One way to maximise the kitchen area is to see if it’s located in the good or ‘bad’ area of 2026. If it’s located in number 5, you might not want to cook as much, as fire can activate the negative energy.

“But if you can’t move the kitchen to another area or you can’t avoid cooking, you can use metal elements to counter the negative energy.

“It’s also not good feng shui to have a sink opposite or next to your stove, as water and fire clash. This might create arguments around the house. In this case, do some remodelling. If that’s not feasible, put a water plant in between the stove and sink to mitigate the clashing energy.”

BEDROOM AND LIVING ROOM

“These two areas govern the harmony and health of the house. The bedroom is for sleeping and rest, while the living room is where you spend time with loved ones. To activate the area, you need good qi flow. The size of the furniture also matters and contributes to the feng shui. Big or bulky furniture can block the energy flow, so you’ll need windows and sliding doors around to help the qi move around.

“The bedroom is considered a Yin area. This is a resting area which should be quiet, peaceful, and dark enough for you to sleep. If you are staying in an open-concept house, try to include some dividers and curtains, so you have a private resting area.

“Also, don’t underestimate the power of natural sunlight. When a house is naturally lit, it contributes to your overall mental health. You want living areas to be as bright as possible. Apart from natural light, you can use lighting fixtures and colours, too.

“Lastly, tidiness impacts the qi flow. If you have a lot of clutter and delivery boxes lying around, that is a feng shui no-no. Pack them up right away, or at least have a recycling box to put them all in, so it doesn’t take up space.”

OPTIMISING GOOD QI

“Don’t have your bed directly facing the door, as the qi flow is directly hitting you. Have a nightstand in between, curtains, or a screen divider to block it and have a safe space. You want it to be as safe and protected as possible. 

“There’s also the famous myth that your bed shouldn’t face the mirror. What is the reason? Seeing your reflection or shadows in the mirror in the middle of the night can frighten you and affect your health. On the other hand, mirrors are also reflective, and light can still shine directly on you when you’re sleeping. To get quality rest, it’s advisable not to sleep facing a mirror.”

“In your office, you want your desk to be against a wall so that you have a good command position of the room. If you do have your back to the door, have a divider such as a bookshelf, so you have protection and peace of mind. If your desk is facing a corner, this is considered a sha qi area. To solve this, simply extend the corner by putting a plant or divider to make that sharp corner flat. This way, when the qi flow is moving through, it won’t hit you directly.” 

ACTIVATIONS

“You can activate qi through water, wind, earth, and fire. Fire is the easiest, as all you need is a candle. Whenever you want to activate a certain space, simply light your candle for a few hours.

“If you don’t have candles around or have children at home, salt lamps are an alternative. 

“Potted plants can also activate energy. You need to look for plants with large leaves; cacti are not good for feng shui. And no, artificial plants will not have the same effect.

“Where do you put the plants? Anywhere is fine, but I would generally advise you to avoid putting them in your bedroom, as they bring in active Yang energy, and we established that bedrooms are more suited for Yin energy.”

For more Chinese New Year-related reads, head here.