A Bagua mirror combines the feng shui power of a mirror with the power of the feng shui Bagua. Mirrors are sometimes called the “aspirin” or “antibiotic” of feng shui because they can offer protection for your home. Bagua mirrors can be very powerful—especially concave and convex mirrors—and they can do more harm than good if they are not used properly. Therefore, it is best to work with a professional feng shui consultant for help with using concave or convex Bagua mirrors around your home.

Bagua Mirror Basics

A Bagua mirror has an octagonal frame (usually made of wood) with a round mirror at its center. The coloring and decoration of the frame can vary, but many Bagua mirrors are painted with the colors red, gold, and green, representing summer, late summer, and spring, respectively.

Each side of the octagonal frame has three lines—known as a trigram—symbolizing an aspect of life. The section at the top of the frame has three unbroken lines and represents heaven. It’s important to hang a Bagua mirror so that this section is at the top. For the same reason, most Bagua mirrors have only a single hanger that is placed at the top of the frame.

The shape of the mirror itself is very important, as it determines how the mirror works and should be used. Bagua mirrors can be flat, concave (bowing in, like a bowl), or convex (bowing out, like a dome). Flat mirrors are considered neutral and can reflect both good and bad energy. These can be used either indoors or outdoors, much as you might use a standard decorative mirror indoors for feng shui cures. Concave and convex mirrors should be used outdoors only and can have very different applications.

Concave Bagua Mirror

A concave Bagua mirror is used in feng shui applications when the negative energy, or sha chi, outside needs to be neutralized by being absorbed. Essentially, a concave mirror will “suck in” the negative feng shui energy and neutralize it. A concave mirror often is preferable to a convex mirror because the negative energy is taken in, rather than being reflected outward, where it can affect those in the surrounding area.

One way to use a concave mirror is when the front of your home (and particularly the front door or windows) faces a road that is perpendicular to the front of the house and meets a road that is parallel to the house, forming a “T.” Placing a concave bagua mirror above or to the side of the door or window facing the perpendicular road prevents sha chi energy from entering your home from the road.

Another common application of a concave mirror is when a home faces a large obstacle, such as a large tree, an electrical utility tower, a cell tower, a cliff, or a mountain. These obstacles can direct negative energy toward the home, which can be absorbed by a concave Bagua mirror.

If an obstacle or neighboring building or other structure has a pointed or sharp feature directed at your house, a concave mirror can absorb the sha chi from these features.

Convex Bagua Mirror

A convex Bagua mirror is used when you want to reflect back the negative feng shui energy pointing at your home, be it the front door or any windows. This is the most aggressive and usually least desirable use of a Bagua mirror because it promotes the endless bouncing of negative energy.

One common misuse of a convex mirror is to place the mirror with the intention of reflecting negative energy back toward the home of a problem neighbor. However, this is not an effective way to solve conflicts with the neighbor and can increase the negative energy around your own home.

Convex Bagua mirrors are used for extreme cases of negative energy, such as when a home faces a prison, cemetery, or hospital. The intent is to reflect the energy back toward its source. However, because the energy is reflected—not absorbed or neutralized, as with a concave mirror—it does not go away and can actually worsen the situation. For this reason, it is highly recommended that you consult a feng shui professional before using a convex Bagua mirror.

Convex Bagua Mirror

In a convex bagua mirror, the round mirror part at the center of the octagon looks like the back of a spoon; that is, it is rounded outward. Choose this type of mirror if you wish to reflect negative energy back to its source.

1. Reflecting negative energy back to its source is an aggressive action, so many practitioners of feng shui prefer not to use this type of mirror except in dire circumstances.
2. Using a convex Bagua mirror can cause repeated bouncing of negative energy between poison arrows or other sources of sha chi and your spaces.
3. Use only when the negative energy is extreme and cannot be resolved in any other fashion as using this type of mirror may make the situation worse instead of improving it.
4. Examples of when energy may be excessively negative and require a convex mirror might include if your house faces a cemetery or someplace with extreme negative energy, such as a hospital or courthouse.
5. It’s best not to use this type of mirror to reflect negativity directed by others towards you as it may make the situation worse.
6. Because reflecting and bouncing negative energy is such aggressive action, it may be best to consult a feng shui professional before using this type of mirror.

Concave Bagua Mirror

With a concave bagua mirror, the round mirror part at the center of the octagon looks like the bowl of a spoon; that is, it is rounded inward. Choose this type of mirror if you wish to absorb and neutralize negative energy.

1. This type of mirror draws in negative energy and neutralizes it instead of reflecting it back out into the world.
2. Using a concave Bagua mirror ensures you remove negative energy directed at the spaces where you work, play, or live without sending negative energy back out into the universe.
3. Neutralizing the energy in this way is desirable because it doesn’t bounce it back and inadvertently send negative energy towards others.
4. Concave mirrors are excellent to neutralize poison arrows pointed at your space, such as a roofline or a T in a road.
5. Concave beluga mirrors can also neutralize energy spikes from power lines.
6. In cases of extremely negative energy, such as directed and targeted negativity, it may not be a powerful enough remedy or you may need more than one mirror or a larger mirror to absorb and neutralize the energy.