How to prepare your car and yourself for the Chinese New Year

MANILA, Philippines–The New Year begins on Feb. 19, according to the 3000-year-old Chinese calendar. This is a good opportunity to swing fortune to your favor using the principles of feng shui.

Feng shui has some basis in practicality, as its tenets are based on the physical realities of real life. Keep things clean and uncluttered, for example, as dirt and chaos will naturally lead to a bad environment.

Cleaning and cleansing

The best advice for your car, according to feng shui consultant Richard Yu, is to keep your car clean.

It’s a good idea to actually cleanse your car, removing all of the bad luck of the previous year. (The guy who survived being squashed by a bus on Edsa won’t have to bother doing this to his Vios.) Any good energy that was taken out by the cleansing will be replaced.

Cleansing should be done during the day, and by hand. Cleaning by hand is the only way to remove the accumulated bad luck. A mechanized car wash will of course remove physical dirt, but won’t help with the spiritual type. Time to use some elbow grease, then.

Drying the car under the sun helps, as the sun is also considered a cleansing tool. You may also say prayers while doing the cleaning.

The interior should be cleaned as well. Footwear used for “yin” (negative) places like cemeteries, jails, hospitals and police stations should not be used inside the car. So it’s not just obsessive cleanliness— there’s something to be said for changing to footwear specifically for the car.

After cleaning comes checking, particularly the tires and undersides of the car. As the tires are the car’s “footwear,” be sure to clean them well, too. The trunk should also be cleaned and cleared of accumulated clutter and junk.

As the engine bay may be difficult to clean by hand, a little leeway is allowed by using a sprayer or pressure wash (of course, after covering the parts that should not get wet).

The spiritual side

Bringing the car for a blessing will help improve the spiritual well-being of its occupants. You can bring the car to church together with your family. The ideal is during dawn or early morning mass, according to the feng shui expert.

You should also take the chance to cleanse yourself by going to confession, doing penance, attending Mass and receiving Communion. Seek a priest to have the vehicle blessed. You can cap off the process by having a simple meal, even at home, with the family.

If you need to visit your departed ancestors, you should do it before going to church, but after the cleaning and cleansing.

Engaging in charity work also helps. You may donate food, medicine, or even blood. If you do choose charity, offer the work in His name, otherwise the bad luck of the charity recipient may be transferred to you. Do the charity work before the meal but after the Mass.

If you’re buying a car this year, the lucky colors are red and green. Yellow and orange, being Earth colors, will always be good. Blue is a less fortunate color for this year, as is current favorite white. Black is also not lucky.

However, all is not lost should you still favor one of the less fortunate colors, or if you already own a car in those colors. You may still add some luck in the form of colors but if you choose to do so, add yellow or orange, not red or green. The earth elements are always good to add some healthy spirituality to your drive.

The unlucky stars, however, are of the Earth element. As most cars are metal, there’s no need to add more metal to it unless you happen to drive a carbon-fiber exotic. In that case, add something yellow or orange, too.

Clean your garage

Extend the cleaning from car to garage. You should also clean the garage often, of course while your car isn’t parked there. You should scrub or mop it with water mixed with non-iodized salt. Dry it, then rinse again. Do this process while reciting strong prayers. You may recite the prayers in your mind, in case your neighbors might get alarmed. The scrubbing should be done inside to outside, and clockwise, not counterclockwise.

Watch out for road rage

The powerful star this year is the one connected to the gossip or snake tongue star. Road rage will thus be something to watch out for. The driver should be checked too, and not just the car.

Avoiding red meat on Tuesdays and Fridays will help, substituting fruits and vegetables instead. This will help to lower the propensity for anger, and to extend one’s patience.

Chinese feng shui as well as Western science observe that there are more accidents during the new moon period. Stay at home if possible or at a safe place.

For Catholics, a rosary made of real wood, or a St. Benedict’s cross or medallion will help. You must have the items blessed after attending a Mass.

Above all, prudence and sobriety are needed to make the best of this new year, and to stay safe and healthy.