The boy is very keen to visit my mum these days because there is a collection of cactus at her house. He’ll gush with excitement over the plants, but yet, wouldn’t lift his fingers to touch them for fear of being pricked.
While I cannot understand why he is so attracted by the cactus, I do find the succulent plant interesting.
For example, some fengshui practitioners have said that the cactus should not be placed inside a house or office because the plant will supposedly cause disharmony due to the sharp jagged energy it emits. More interestingly, I found out that the cactus is believed to ward off evil in Greek culture.
Speaking of which, I have two cacti tales to recount.
One involves a wicked lady who gave us a pot of cactus as a housewarming gift many years ago. It was a small decorative pot of different small cactus and she suggested we put it on top of our coffee table. At that time, I was not aware of the fengshui involved, but I’m sure she knew because she had consulted a fengshui master about her place. Moreoever, her husband’s collection of cactus was kept outside, not inside the house. Anyway, I threw away the pot subsequently, not because I was aware of the fengshui elements but because we didn’t think the gift bore any good intentions, coming from her.
Another involved my mother. Some years back, the family living behind her sold their house away. That house was subsequently tore down and rebuild. During that period, my mum sense a strange presence outside the kitchen (which was facing that house) everytime she was in there, even during broad daylight. She suspected that some of the spirits of the old family were still lingering on because a few people have died inside that old house. So what she did was to move some of her smaller pots of cactus and placed it on the divider between her house and theirs. After which, nothing strange happened again.
Totally inexplicable isn’t it?
These tales probably explain why I don’t have any cactus inside the house, but only a small little one outside. To ward off evil or the likes. Hmm, come to think of it, maybe that’s why nobody seems to come to my place very often eh?
There are somethings that really cannot be explained….whether you believe it anot!!!
I have always loved cactus, esp those colourful ones but because of all these hear say hear say and I don’t really know which to follow, I decided to play safe and not buy any cactus at all….
Comment by Jan (My lovely Rays) — Mon, 4 Sep 2006 @ 12:47 pm
I quite believe in fengsui too but is really a profound subject and one have to update yearly cos the elements change position yealy… so I rather not do anything… unless really necessary… somebody was telling me my hubby dislike staying at hse most probably is our hse… too white… anyway… your mum’s experience is really creepy! E-eeh!
wtpg: Yup, it’s profound and complex. But interesting what you said about house being too white and hubby not staying in. Never heard of that one. I heard that we should not put too many flowers inside the house…or hubby will stray. But like you said, it depends on a whole lot of other elements.
Comment by wtpgrr — Mon, 4 Sep 2006 @ 1:06 pm
Hmm.. I didn’t know there’s any Feng Shui element in a cactus… interesting what you share here.
Zara is very interested in Cactus as well, she’ll touch the pricks and then complain “pain pain” each time we pass a cactus.
Comment by zara's mama — Mon, 4 Sep 2006 @ 1:24 pm
I didn’t know about this too! Interesting!
Hubby bought me a cactus many years back (when we were still dating), i kept it in my bedroom but didn’t recall anything bad happened back then…but the cactus died in less than a month’s time…
Eileen: That’s what the fengshui practioners say. Maybe small ones got no effect…but looked like you harmed it more than it harmed you. Hahaha…
Comment by Eileen — Mon, 4 Sep 2006 @ 2:03 pm
Hmm.. As a kid, I was very obssessed with cactus and kept plenty. Even though it’s supposedly a tough plant, or perhaps my fingers aint green enough, or perhaps I was over-enthusiastic and over-watered them, they died shortly one after another, sometimes with squirming maggots inside!
And on the contrary, I heard that cacti kept inside the house supposedly helps to ward off evil spirits. But one thing is for sure, cacti ice-cream is yummy!
DR: Haha, you and Eileen can shake hands lah…both do more harms to the poor little cactus. Never eaten cacti ice-cream though. Got thorns or not?
Comment by domestic rat — Mon, 4 Sep 2006 @ 5:46 pm
I bought my husband a book about feng shui years ago and he never cracked it. I’d love to know more about it and need to get around to reading it.
Interesting what you say about the gift. I received a similar gift from my mother-in-law years ago when we bought our first house.
BBM: I doubt your MIL meant any harm…
Comment by Black Belt Mama — Tue, 5 Sep 2006 @ 11:08 am