7 steps you need to know to design a house with Vastu Shastra
Here I wanted to share with you 7 steps to design a house with Vastu Shastra because I see a lot of confusion about it. Vastu is becoming more and more popular in the West but many confuse it with decoration, they’re not aware of the methodology involved in it or they confuse it with ‘Feng Shui’. (If you’re not very clear about their differences or points in common, I explain it to you in this post: Vastu Shastra vs Feng Shui)
In addition to this, Vastu Shastra encompasses a very broad and complex knowledge that needs to be applied properly in the different geographical locations of the planet. A house in India is not going to have the same climatological needs as another in Germany or Australia. The energy, the climate and the solar radiation are different so the approach changes.
Whenever someone contacts me to help them design their house with Vastu Shastra, the first thing I do is to tell them how it works so they know what degree of purism or principles they want to implement.
Nowadays, it’s very difficult to apply all Vastu parameters in an integral way for budget or time constraints, urban regulations, compatibility with the new construction systems, etc. So, I have adopted the policy of “being practical within our idealism”, doing what we can with the means available and the requirements of the project.
In this post, I address the most basic steps that you should take into account if you’re thinking about designing a house with Vastu from scratch. So here we go!
STEP 1: Choice of land/plot
Vastu also offers advice on whether the land or plot is suitable for building and living. Several parameters come into play here: shape, orientation, energy of the land, topography, etc
My clients have almost always come to me with the land or plot already purchased, but if you’re reading this post on time, just wanted to let you know that this will be one of the most determining factors in the design of your house. It will also determine how easy would be to follow Vastu’s parameters J
Tip: listen to your intuition and not the reasons of your mind.
STEP 2: Know what degree of Vastu you’d like to apply in the design of your house
Each person is a world and his/her house, too. The most important thing is to know what one wants to achieve with the design of the house, the philosophy of life that one seeks to implement and the means that one is willing to invest during the process.
I understand that if you’re interested in designing a house with Vastu, it’s because you’re looking to create a home in harmony with nature that promotes your health, peace and spiritual well-being. But, are you willing to apply all possible principles to achieve it or you’re simply looking to improve the design you already have in mind?
For example, in India I have seen people paying a lot of attention when buying or renting a new home to the orientation of the main door of the house, the kitchen or the bedroom to see if it follows Vastu. Construction companies know this and many follow this principle to say that’s “Vastu compliant”. The client believes that he has a house that follows Vastu when in reality, only 3 or 4 things have been applied. The client is happy and so is the construction company, ignoring a very superficial Vastu application.
As I have said before, Vastu Shastra is a very broad subject. My recommendation is that you inform yourself well with a Vastu consultant who inspires you confidence to guide you through the process.
STEP 3: Do a geobiological study of the land
If in the previous step you have decided to apply a loyal approach to Vastu, the ideal is to do a geobiological study before starting with the design of the house. Why?
This type of study will determine the best location of the house within the plot and offer a design guide following the earth magnetic grid that’s present there.
Here, there’s a visible and ‘invisible’ survey of the site, offering a lot of information for planning the right design for the house. The main objective is to avoid having water sprigs passing under where your children sleep, geopathies crossing your bed, etc.
STEP 4: Parametres to design a house with Vastu Shastra
The basic Vastu principles focus on harmonizing the visible and tangible aspects of the building (prakriti) with the invisible and intangible ones (purusha).
The tangible principles focus on the orientation of the house with respect to the cardinal points, the proportion, the shape & volumes along with the materials to be used.
To these four parameters we must add the harmonization of the 5 elements (Pancha Bootha) in relation to the function of each room.
These are the 6 main ingredients (form, proportion, orientation, materials, elements and functions) and depending on how they all combine with each other, the energetic result will be one or the other.
STEP 5: Construction
Bioconstruction is very similar to the philosophy that Vastu adopts, although it goes a little further in some aspects. If your intention is adopt a purist vision of Vastu, the natural position of the material must be taken into account when placing it in the house. For example, if you’re going to put up a wooden pillar, Vastu recommends putting the top of the log towards the ceiling and the bottom against the ground.
On the other hand, during the design process it’s common to have setbacks or impediments to implement Vastu parameters, so it’s normal to make some energy corrections during the construction process.
STEP 6: Energy Corrections
Depending on the approach that has been adopted and the characteristics of the project, it’s quite common to make some energy corrections when the house is already built. Some are made during the construction process and others, just at the end.
Normally, this is something that comes up during the design planning and is anticipated to be done during the construction and/or once the work is finished.
STEP 7: Pujas
Pujas are different types of rituals that are done during the different phases of the project. Here I wanted to mention it at the end because it’s something optional that goes with the faith, spirituality and intention of each one. The ideal is to do one on the land before starting the construction and another one at the end.
My recommendation is to do a cleaning and harmonization ritual to bless the space at the time of moving. This can also be done when moving to a new apartment to clean the energy footprint of the previous tenants (If you’re interested in knowing more about it, I explain several guidelines in my online course How to harmonize your home for spiritual growth)
And that’s all! I hope you have now more clarity regarding the steps for designing a house with Vastu. It’s quite a process, but it’s worth it!
With light and love,
Julia
Images: Via Estliving.com