Thursday, 18 December 2014

Clock Feng Shui

At first glance, hanging a clock on the wall seems like an easy task.

Gweilo is not fussy about choose the ideal place in their home to hang your wall clock, it is a matter of personal opinion but for Chinese common customs and traditions, you can't enjoy simple pleasures like that without apply the Feng Shui techniques on where is the best and where is the worst place for displaying clocks.

Feng shui rigid rules precede the eye of the beholder, in other words whatever you think nice take second fiddle.

So desu ka or meaning I see, there are rules to be observed as I learnt.

So you think Chinese peoples are very superstitions? Nah even  for many in the West have believe in superstitions like a black cat crossing your path is considered bad luck or has a fear of the number 13 to the extent of many high rise buildings will eliminate at 13th floor.

It's a different perspective for Chinese. In fact,  the number 13 is considered lucky. The number's pronunciation in Chinese is similar to the word. In Mandarin Chinese, the number 13 is pronounced shisan, and can mean either “definitely vibrant” or “assured growth.


For the rest of the world a clock is just a mechanical or electrical instrument for measuring time or indicating time by hands on a round dial or by displayed figures.

Are you aware of there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to feng shui and your clock?

In Chinese thought, clocks aren't deemed auspicious in feng shui. They generally believed to have originated because the character for clock (钟) is pronounced ‘zhong’, which ... sound like death or sounds like 送終 (sòng zhōng, the funeral ritual).

How do you hang a wall clock?

Just peel, place, press and you have an instant hook ready for use. Well isn't that convenient for you? Then, as time goes by, the adhesive will start losing strength.  A year after, one of my wall clock using this method just eventually loses its gripping ability and my clock  came crashing down on to the floor. CRASH-KABOOM.

If using a nail or a screw into the wall for the usual hang on lightweight plastic clocks, you would have no problems but chances are the hanger is not strong enough to hold the heavier clock. Immediately after hanging it will literally rip a nail or screw out of the drywall.

Recommended Procedure to hang a heavy wall clock:

1. Find a good place to hang them in keeping with the principles of feng shui.
2. Get a stud finder to determine the wall locations are empty of water pipes and electrical wires.

To prevent a calamity like drilled into a electrical cable or others
3. Use a measuring tape, locate the centre point position of the clock correctly to properly hang and align.
 Find the exact middle point
4. Mark the exact spot where you want to drill your hole. X's mark the spot.
5. Drill into the spot you marked with an electric drill. Always use the drill bit and screw size recommended by the wall plug manufacturer.
6.  Pushed the plug into a hole that you have pre drilled in the hollow wall
Add caption
7.  Place a long countersunk wood screw into the plug and insert the screwdriver blade into the screw slot and start twisting lightly into place in clockwise direction. Typically .... #8 Screw. #10 Screw. #12 Screw.

The screw should stick out 1/4-inch gap to insert through the case, to allow the hanger
 on the clock to position securely on the screw.
8. Slip the clock's hang holed over the head of the screw. If need be, give it a good tug to ensure proper placement of the screw is deeply embedded in the stud.

Auspicious shapes for a wall clock.

The best shape for clocks are round, hexagonal and octagonal. Again it’s the sound of the Chinese letter wording which influences the decision of FS shape.

Eg. Zero  or the character ling which denotes ”nothing”. It’s the neutral number. The absolute number and so it’s left aside as a number with no negative and no positive”energy”. It’s a safe number, it mean nothingness or completion.

Hexagonal (6 sides) or the character 流 (liú), also means “to flow".   This is considered lucky in business. this number or with the string with three 6 in a row are considered very lucky, and people will try to buy such things (such as phone numbers 666. So don’t assume rich car owners of these are Antichrist or the devil in popular culture.

Octagonal (8 sides) or the character 发(ba).The luckiest of all the Chinese numbers.
It has the similar pronunciation with Fa (meaning wealth or fortune).
Which bring us back to the most inauspicious Chinese number which
4 or 四 means death or No that means no square wall clock to be hung? Rubbish!

A cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum-regulated, that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo's call.  Oh , how time flies so fast. The price has gone mad or  cuckoo from merely Rm80 has inflated to Rm700

The first thing we want to do is what shape and size you might buy?


Too many I like to choose

Some clock and watch dials are made of phosphorescent material which absorbs the light.


The clock face glows for 3 hours after lights are off, then slowly fades out. I skip this as I found out the clock was not permanently visible at night as when you wake up in the middle of the night and need to look but couldn't once the glow in the dark die.

How to use wall clocks for good feng shui in your home?


DO make sure your clocks are not too huge or a little too dominant.

DO hang clocks in hallways, living rooms or the kitchen.

DO make sure alarm clocks beside a bed are small and not dazzling, if they’re electric.

DO make sure clocks in the bedroom wake you to a pleasant melody that you enjoy, such as chimes.

It can get rid of your home negative vibes.  The entire house should not be too very dull or quiet as it can  attract that bad negative energy or ghost into your home. A little bit of noise is good for cleansing for the home. Yo make some noise!

Remember: metal makes water (in Chinese means wealth)! So by having a clock chiming and swinging in your home is a terrific way to activate some of the most beneficial energies in feng shui!It like saying money comes to me, money comes to me.


Let's Make Some Noise and  let's live it up 


DO hang/place clocks in out of the way locations so the pressure of time isn’t over emphasised.

DO hang clocks in the direction of west, northwest and north corners of the house or living room.



1- DO Not ever give to a Chinese a clock, which represents the ultimate Extremely Taboo gifts to avoid in Chinese culture . It's the bad thought that counts here as you indicate you want someone dead.

Similarly, a good friend moved to a new house, you want to make such a good impression and send a  great-looking clock to them, but people may misunderstand.

 Having said that about giving a clock as present, I came across this..
"A beautiful double side clock from my dear brothers & sister. I like it much much much.", quotes from a face book user.
As long as the receiver feel comfortable about the gift, I guess it's OK then.


2 - DON’T hang a clock approximately too close to the front door because it was considered "an unlucky or bad omen " for people to enter your home and the first thing they see is a clock. In other words,  it must be obscured from viewing from main door. To be precise, do not display clocks so that you can see them first thing as you enter the house.

Initially,  I also wanted to place the wall clock to be able to view easily when I open the door but learning the bad omen, forbade me to do otherwise. 

I love the vintage look at this clock and its antique style

3- Always make sure the battery is good condition  and time is displaying correct time, broken clocks represent stagnate time, toss it away.


Memories: A stopped clock adds to the eerie sense, when the bomb fell on Hiroshima, all the clocks stopped, and time stood still at 8.15am on August 6th 1945.

4- Do not display big clocks in the bedroom, or, even worse feng shui, do not display several different clocks in your bedroom. The bedroom is the place for absolute relaxation, the place where time "slows down", so to speak, and it has to be ruled by a different clock - your own body clock.

DO make sure your clocks are not over sized or dominate your room, stress and
anxiety can make it difficult to sleep soundly

I heard from clock smith and clock dealer guy telling me not to use alkaline battery for any clock. Alkaline batteries are not well suited for use in clocks, they do not last any longer than standard zinc batteries. Since clocks are slow-draining devices, it consume a very small amount of energy. Always use normal zinc battery (heavy duty) than alkaline batteries which can damage equipment.


Finally, and most importantly, you should not keep clocks or other timepieces that are broken or have stopped. This is considered very unlucky and disturbing to your life path. It's like saying this is your time is up or in Chinese 时间到 You're Dead!