How to Prepare for the 2026 Lunar New Year of the Fire Horse - Feng Shui Tips - Planting Seeds of Intentions
Laura Cerrano
Intention is another word for establishing a clear focus. This is a vital part of adopting the feng shui lifestyle. Why? Because your thoughts, spoken words, values, and habits contribute to your overall life experiences.
This is the first step in providing a Feng Shui consultation, designed to help clients reflect on the present moment and plant seeds of intention for the future. It’s important to clarify that intentions are not a “wish list”. Think of intentions as a mental honing tool to help refine your focus on what is truly important within your personal and professional interactions. Perhaps that can be to support self-growth, cultivate healthy relationships and habits, learning about new cultures, travel, and more!
Intentions are interesting because you don’t want to be too vague or overly detailed to the point where your expectations create a daunting task, vs enjoying the journey. Many times, we as humans have the “perfect” plan in how our life journey should unfold, yet the universe tends to have an even better one if we listen closely to that inner compass.
If you're not sure where to begin, start by focusing on what you are ready to release. By doing this, it allows you to identify what no longer aligns with your values. This ‘editing’ process is a fantastic way to get the ball rolling.
Another way to approach intention writing is by focusing on what you are grateful for. This lays a strong foundation to build upon, appreciating the positive experiences in life. According to Dr. Cortland Dahl on WebMD, practicing gratitude invokes empathy and social bonding. Studies have also shown that grateful people tend to be happier, sleep better, and have lower levels of inflammation.
A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is to focus on manageable and actionable intentions.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” - Lao Tzu
Intention Writing Exercise:
Take a piece of paper and write down at least 3, 8, or 9 intentions. Use positive language.
Examples:
I am fully present with ___________
I embrace opportunities for ____________
I welcome ________________
I am fully worthy of __________________
Naturally, you can come up with your own wording and gear it towards your focus
Place your written intentions inside a red envelope (this symbolizes honor and protection). If you cannot, then use red paper or at least red ink when writing.
Place the unsealed red envelope in an area of your home that you feel is sacred (maybe you have an altar) or a good zone of your home that already has an abundance of supportive energy. You can identify that after setting up your flying star natal chart.
Honor your intentions by taking action to nurture them.
i.e., If you seek to learn a new language, begin to research classes, interview the instructor, and the school to see if it’s a good fit. Once you’ve found a healthy, trusted connection, enroll in or connect with language learning meet-up groups, and now you are really putting that intention into practice. It’s a step-by-step process.
If you would like a list of life categories that Feng Shui often references to help refine client focus, here they are. Feng shui has 9 life categories.
Career
Health
Family/Freinship connections | social life
Creativity/hobbies/interests/joy of life
Travel and Helpful people
Knowledge/wisdom/spiritual maturity
Personal and professional Reputation development
Finances
Relationships personally, professionally, and with your community
If you feel writing an intention for all 9 categories is too much, no worries. Pick at least 3 out of the bunch and start with that.
Tip: Even though we have computers and iPhones and other devices that can record your thoughts, it’s strongly recommended to handwrite your intentions. According to an article on Psychology Today, “writing by hand deepens content processing and supports emotional health”.
Remember, you can always add and adjust your intentions, which often happens. As you become more familiar with your journey, clarity in how to refine your approach reveals itself. When you observe synchronistic experiences, it’s a great indicator that you are in the flow of life. A hypothetical scenario could be meeting the right person at the right time, which opens the door to a new job opportunity, which leads to more income that helps pay for other focuses you have (i.e., travel, investments in health, or donating to a certain charity, etc).
“Where attention goes, energy flows”