Three taboos on placing a shrine in your home
The three taboos for placing a shrine at home are that it should not be placed too high or too low, it should not be placed in a dark place, and it should not be placed with your back empty.
1. It should not be placed too high or too low
When placing statues of gods, you should pay attention to the fact that the height should be moderate, because in the introduction to Feng Shui, it is believed that the position of the statues should not be too high or too low. If it is too high, it is not safe enough, it is easy to fall, and it is inconvenient for worship. On the other hand, because the feng shui energy of the statue is too strong, placing it too high will suppress your own luck. On the contrary, if the position is too low, evil spirits will appear and destroy the Feng Shui aura.
2. Do not place it in a dark place
In Feng Shui, it is believed that dark places have insufficient yang energy, so a lot of yin evil energy will be produced, and these yin evil spirits will be harmful to the residence. Feng shui can be very destructive and can be detrimental to your fortune. Therefore, it is not advisable to place the statue in a dark place, otherwise it will have some negative effects on the feng shui aura of the statue and hinder the statue's qi-receiving effect. If it is in such an environment for a long time, the statue will only bring evil energy.
3. Don’t lean on an empty back
Avoid leaning on an empty back, which means that there should be a place to lean on behind the shrine, and it cannot be empty. There is a backrest, which means there is a backing. Worshiping the gods can ensure the career of the descendants. Usually, you will often meet noble people to help you. However, the back of the backing cannot be in places with turbid gases such as kitchens and toilets, otherwise the aura of the gods will be washed away.
The difference between a shrine and an ancestor’s shrine
A shrine is a small pavilion that houses statues of Taoist gods and ancestors’ tablets. Shrines vary in size, depending on the width of the temple hall and the number of gods. Large shrines have a base with a niche on top.
The styles of the statue niches are different from those of the ancestral niches: the statue niches are open, with hanging curtains and no niche doors; the ancestral niches have no hanging curtains and have niche doors. The seats of the statue niches are not divided into steps. They are placed in the order of the gods and Buddhas, with seats in the front, middle and back, left, middle and right.
Therefore, ancestral niches are mostly vertical rectangles, and statue niches are mostly horizontal rectangles. The niches are all made of wood, and are carved with auspicious patterns, emperors and generals, heroes, Taoist gods, and splendor. Chaozhou people live together in ethnic groups, and there are many overseas Chinese. In order to rectify their origins, commemorate their ancestors, and maintain blood relations, they pay special attention to the construction of ancestral halls and the installation of ancestral niches.