Could your kitchen be blocking abundance? Let's find out

If anyone had seen me last week—throwing rice around my balcony, walking clockwise through every room with smoking herbs, muttering intentions at doorways like some kind of domestic witch—it would have looked unhinged.

I wasn't embarrassed. I knew exactly what I was doing. I was clearing and making space.

Not for anything specific. That's the thing. I couldn't see what was coming. I just knew the air felt thick, the counters felt crowded, and my brain was doing that thing where it spins on the same three questions without landing anywhere. So I did what I always do when I can't think my way forward: I let my home show me. I cleared a shelf. I emptied a drawer. I made literal, physical space—and somehow, the mental fog started to lift.

This week's Torah portion, Vayechi (Genesis 47:28-50:26), tells of Jacob's final years and blessings to his sons. Vayechi is the only portion in the entire Torah written stumah—closed, sealed, with no white space separating it from the previous portion. The text runs together like one long exhale with no room to breathe.

According to Rashi, Jacob wanted to reveal the future to his sons—the "end of days"—but the prophecy was closed off from him. It wasn't their time to know.

Sometimes the lack of white space in our homes mirrors this feeling exactly. The constriction. The not-knowing. The desperate wish that someone would just tell us what's next.

If you're spinning on decisions that won't resolve, wanting clarity that won't come—start by making space in your home, even if you don't know what it's for. What matters isn't seeing the whole path. It's making space for the next step to become clear.

ROOM OF THE WEEK: THE KITCHEN

In feng shui, the kitchen governs wealth and nourishment—not just financial abundance, but the capacity to receive, transform, and distribute resources. It's where raw potential becomes sustenance. Where fire meets water. Where you literally feed what you want to grow.

How you treat this space reflects how you treat abundance: Do you let things expire unused? Hoard "just in case"? Create chaos that makes cooking feel like punishment rather than pleasure?

Start by working with what's already there—not adding, but creating receptivity.

THE PRACTICE

This week, we create breathing room—one small opening at a time.

Sunday (Yang/Sun)

Clear one shelf completely. Wipe it clean before putting anything back. Notice how even this small emptiness changes the room's energy.

Monday (Yin/Moon) 

Open your refrigerator in dim light. What's hiding in back? Remove three items that have overstayed their welcome.

Tuesday (Fire/Joy)

Stand at your stove. Does cooking here feel like a gift or a chore? Add one element of beauty nearby—something that makes you smile.

Wednesday (Water/Flow)

Check under your sink. This hidden water zone collects stagnant energy. Clear expired supplies. Let what flows in also flow out.

Thursday (Wood/Growth)

Examine your spices. Dried herbs lose potency after a year. Release what's lost its life force—creating a kitchen where everything earns its place.

Friday (Metal/Structure)

 Choose one category—utensils drawer, pantry grains, baking supplies—and organize with intention. The structured energy of metal asks: What deserves to stay?

Saturday (Earth/Grounding) 

REST. Cook or eat something nourishing without changing anything. Let the space hold you as it is.

9-STAR KI FOCUS

9-star ki is an ancient system for understanding your personal energy based on your birth year. Think of it as feng shui for your soul—it reveals how you naturally move through the world and what kind of support you need at different times. Not sure what your 9-star ki number is? Find it in this chart →

In 2025 (a 2 Earth year), here's your personal cycle position:

This Week's 9-Star Ki Spotlight: Earth Energy

If your primary number is 2, 5, or 8, you carry Earth energy. Like soil itself, you have a natural capacity to receive, hold, and nurture what's planted in you. You're the one people turn to for stability—who remembers birthdays, holds space for struggles, feeds everyone who walks through your door.

But out of balance, Earth can receive so much that there's no room left. You nurture everyone except yourself. Your kitchen—Earth's domain—becomes a monument to what you give rather than what you need.

Working with Earth energy this week (whether it's your number or not):

Earth needs space to receive. A seed can't root in compacted soil. Create one completely clear surface in your kitchen—even a small counter corner. Keep it empty for seven days.

This isn't aesthetics. It's creating receptive ground for what wants to come through.

Earth colors are warm yellows, terracotta, honey tones, as well as muted reds and greens. To amplify receptive energy, place a ceramic bowl on your clear surface—empty, waiting, open. Notice what you instinctively want to put there. Notice if energy shifts when there's breathing room.

CLOSING INSIGHT

Jacob couldn't reveal the future—it was sealed, closed off, satum. Sometimes it's not our time to know. But we can still prepare the ground. Clear the shelf. Empty the bowl. Make space for what wants to come through, even before we can name it.