Aromatic intention: your entrance's secret power

March 30, 2023

So many things we give up for our families. For me it's the solitude I cherished before marriage and motherhood. The decisions no longer made solely for myself. The luxury of uninterrupted sleep (still mourning that one).

This week's Torah portion, Vayikra, with its extensive details about sacrifices at the entrance to the Tabernacle couldn't feel more distant from modern life. But here's what caught me: the Talmud teaches that sacrifices without proper intention (kavanah) were invalid. Similarly, our family sacrifices made with resentment rather than love might fulfill obligations but miss their deeper purpose of connection.

"Similarly, our family sacrifices made with resentment rather than love might fulfill obligations but miss their deeper purpose of connection."

I noticed something else too — these offerings had to be brought to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Just like our home entrances serve as the "mouth of chi" where energy enters our spaces, this sacred threshold was where transformation began.

By bringing intention to our thresholds — both the physical ones in our homes and the emotional ones in our relationships — we can transform ordinary sacrifices into sacred offerings that actually draw us closer.

Current Lunar Cycle

The moon is in its first quarter phase, growing from the new moon toward fullness. In this building light, what are you consciously choosing to offer? What sacrifices might be transformed when made with clear intention rather than by default? As the moon gains illumination, consider how bringing awareness to your daily offerings can transform them from depletion to sacred connection. Just as the first quarter moon balances darkness and light, we too can find equilibrium between giving and receiving.

Current 9-Star Ki Cycle

This month's 1 Water energy flowing through our 2 Soil year creates the perfect conditions to transform how we sacrifice in relationships. While Earth energy tempts us to absorb everything without complaint until we're completely saturated ("I'll just handle this one more thing... it's fine... I'm fine..."), Water reminds us that even the most stable container needs channels for movement. Notice where you might be holding too much without release in your relationships—places where you've become so solid in your giving that there's no room for creative solutions. The most meaningful sacrifices aren't about endlessly accommodating, but about creating intentional channels where giving can flow with purpose. Like a well-designed irrigation system rather than a flood, your offerings can nurture deep connection without depleting your essential resources.

Room of the Week

Your home's entrance, like the entrance to the Tabernacle, is where transformation begins. The mouth of chi isn't just where opportunity enters — it's where intention matters most.

In Vayikra, frankincense* was a key ingredient in offerings, its aromatic smoke carrying prayers upward. Frankincense has been used in sacred rituals for millennia - its resin symbolizing purification, elevation of prayer, and the bridge between physical and spiritual realms.

This connects to feng shui's understanding that our sense of smell corresponds to the metal element — the element of precision, boundaries, and mindful letting go.

Your entrance is the perfect place to incorporate this ancient aromatic, transforming family sacrifices from obligations to sacred acts of connection through intentional practice.

*Frankincense is best here, but if you don't have it on hand, try rosemary or even lavender.

Daily Energy Focus

Sunday (Yang/Sun)

Look at what enters your home through your threshold. Place a small dish for frankincense near your entrance as a reminder that intention transforms what crosses this boundary from mundane to sacred.

Monday (Yin/Moon)

Consider the sacrifices you make daily when crossing your threshold into home life. The receptive energy of yin asks: Are you sacrificing with resentment or with intention? Identify one family sacrifice and consciously reframe it as an offering that draws you closer.

Tuesday (Fire/Joy)

Light frankincense today. As the aroma fills your entrance area, set a clear intention that transforms a daily sacrifice into connection. The joyful energy of fire reminds us that true sacrifice should bring warmth, not bitterness.

Wednesday (Water/Flow)

Notice how energy moves from your entrance throughout your home. Are your intentions meeting blockages from clutter? The ancient Israelites understood that sacrifices needed proper placement to be effective. Your intentions need clear pathways too.

Thursday (Wood/Growth)

Place a small living plant near your entrance. As you water it, recognize how intentional nurturing transforms obligation into growth. The growing energy of wood asks: What new connection could bloom from your mindful offerings?

Friday (Metal/Structure)

The structured energy of metal asks: Which sacrifices have clear intention, and which have become automatic and depleting? Frankincense connects to metal through our sense of smell — use it today to clarify your intentions as you transition between worlds.

Saturday (Earth/Grounding)

Sit at your threshold for five minutes. Notice what happens when you bring full awareness to this liminal space where individual desires meet family needs. Intention begins with presence.

Bagua Map by Room

How to determine your home's alignment with the bagua map

In BTB feng shui, we overlay the bagua map (like a tic-tac-toe board) onto your floor plan with the bottom of the grid aligning with the wall containing your front door. Most entrances typically fall in the bottom row of this grid – in the Career area (bottom middle), or on either side in the Knowledge or Helpful People areas. Sometimes entrances appear in the Children or Family areas along the sides of the home.

Wherever your entrance falls, it offers different opportunities to explore the relationship between intention and sacrifice:

Career Area: If your entrance falls here (bottom center of the bagua), bring mindfulness to professional sacrifices made for family. Consider placing frankincense near this entrance to remind you that career sacrifices made with intention create flow rather than resentment.

Knowledge Area: An entrance here (bottom left of the bagua) might benefit from connecting learning with sacrifice. Consider how you balance education and family responsibilities. Burning frankincense here could help discern which sacrifices serve your growth when approached with clear intent.

Helpful People Area: This placement (bottom right of the bagua) connects perfectly with Vayikra's community-oriented sacrifices. Metal wind chimes here can remind you that sacrifices made with intention strengthen connections rather than deplete them.

Children Area: If your entrance falls here (middle left of the bagua), consider bringing mindfulness to your interactions with the next generation. The white metal energy here can remind us that intention matters more than the size of our offerings.

Family Area: An entrance here (middle right of the bagua) offers an opportunity to reflect on how sacrifice shapes family identity. Try adding green plants to help you discern between sacrifices made from genuine love versus those made from obligation alone.

For all other areas of the bagua, consider how these spaces support the intentional sacrifices you make at your threshold.

Subscribe for free