As such, the moving-in date needs to be carefully worked out. It is also more auspicious to move in during the fifteen days of the waxing moon i.e. when the moon is rising rather than during the second half of the lunar month when the moon is waning. And l always prefer moving in during the morning hours as opposed to the afternoon hours. This ensures that you bring excellent sunshine yang chi into the home with you.
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| Moving House Ritual |
THE MAIN RITUAL
Prior to moving into the home, it is a good idea to make Incense Offering to the local landlords and spirits of the land. This is an excellent way to appease them and the ritual ensures that the spirits do not create obstacles for the family. It is simply so important that the family can live in harmony with the spirits of the land and the goddesses of the earth.
Getting the spirits of the cosmic realms on your side is a powerful method of Spiritual Feng Shui and it ensures that life in the new house will not just be safe and secure for the family, but also that there will be abundance and good fortune. This is an important dimension of ensuring that life in the new house will be smooth, prosperous and happy; and that there will always be longevity of good feng shui.
The incense offering ritual should be done in the early morning hours before the family moves in. Prior to the moving-in date, furniture and clothes can already be moved in. The "official moving-in date" is the day when the family moves in the beds and sleeps in the house thereafter. So by the day the family moves in to live in the house, quite a lot of the furniture has already been moved in.
It is also a good idea to ensure that before the family moves in, that ALL the light switches work, that the plumbing works and most important of all, that the kitchen is in good functioning order, as part of the moving in ritual involves boiling water and cooking something "sweet" i.e. turning on the stove. On the day of the move, everything must work!
STEPPING OVER THE FIRE
At the designated hour, burn some charcoal, and as the family enters the main door into the home, they should, one by one, step over the fire and into the home.
The patriarch should carry a golden rice urn (half filled with rice) as he walks over the fire and into the home. This signifies that he will be the principle provider of the home. Carrying the rice urn symbolizes wealth and it being half full indicates there is room for more wealth to come. Walking over fire means leaving all the bad luck behind, as the Fire element has great relevance in getting rid of all misfortune luck.
It is very important that the Patriarch must wear long pants (cheong fu which signifies abundance lasts a long time). The patriarch MUST NOT wear shorts or anything that looks old, faded or is torn. This is considered extremely inauspicious.
The matriarch should carry a pillow as she steps over the fire. This signifies that she can sleep well with no worries and that the life will be one of great good fortune. It also signifies that there will be no problems arising out of infidelities and other misfortunes causing the marriage to go wrong.
The mother of the family should also wear long pants or a long skirt. The mother must not wear clothes that are excessively sexy or see-through, as this is considered very unlucky for her. The best is to wear a long sarong, or a long skirt. Long pants are also acceptable but like the patriarch, she should not wear anything short.
The sons of the family should carry books as they walk over the fire, while the daughters of the family should carry flowers. This ensures the sons will become brilliant scholars and have success and rise to minister's level, while the daughters will become great beauties and contract auspicious marriages. In the old days, sons of families would bring honor to families by their rise in society, while daughters would make brilliant marriages. Modern day living is not so different, as many families continue to harbour very similar aspirations.
Thus, on the day they moved into the home, Chris carried a golden rice urn, Jennifer carried a soft pillow, while Jack and Josh carried their school books. All four of them wore long pants to signify longevity of abundance in their new home. If there are altars in the home, these should be consecrated and set up with water, light, food, incense and flower offerings - five types of offerings to ensure that the Buddhas are properly welcomed into the home at the same time.
Once inside the house, the maids, who each carry foodstuff and clothes as they walk over the fire then warm up a pre-cooked sweet concoction comprising sweet longan and other fruits cooked earlier with rock sugar. Then the family sits down to have a meal. Water is boiled to make sweet tea and a pot of rice is cooked.
By the time they moved in of course, most of their furniture had already been moved in and set up. The fridges and the pantry had been filled with food. The television is turned on to generate yang chi and a few friends come over an hour later to signify plenty of friends visiting. Conversation as they eat and laugh together should comprise only the most positive comments and remarks! To find out more, you can check out Moving House Ritual.