What important functions does the Taoism feng shui gourd have?

Taoist practitioners often carry a gourd on their backs as a magical tool for dispelling evil influences and exorcising demons. In ancient myths, there are numerous stories about using gourds to subdue demons and monsters. The gourd has the characteristic of being "easy to enter but difficult to exit." Its mouth is short, while its body is plump. Once evil qi enters, it is extremely difficult to escape.

In feng shui, the gourd is used to ward off evil and resolve negative influences.

(1) Resolving the adverse effect of a crossbeam pressing down:
A crossbeam pressing down is one of the most common negative influences in a room. According to feng shui, this is inauspicious, making people subconsciously feel oppressed, sleep restlessly, and prone to having nightmares.
Solution: Hang a gourd on the crossbeam or between two large beams, and this can resolve the disadvantage of the crossbeam pressing down.

(2) Resolving the turbid qi in the bathroom:
The bathroom is a place where turbid qi is generated. It is even worse if the bathroom is located in several important positions in the house. The northwest direction is related to the male owner and his career; the southwest direction is related to the female owner's health and career; the due east direction is related to the boy's health and studies; the southeast direction is related to the girl's health and studies.
Therefore, if the bathroom in the house is in the positions mentioned above, hang an empowered plant gourd in the corresponding direction to resolve the issue.

(3) Resolving the annual inauspicious qi:
The so - called annual inauspicious qi refers to the adverse气场 (qi field) for us every year. That is, in the annual flying stars of the Three Yuan and Nine Yun, the positions of the Five Yellow and the Two Black. The Five Yellow Star and the Two Black Star in the Nine - Palace Flying Stars are closely related to diseases, that is, the disease - causing qi field. Hanging a gourd in the corresponding position can resolve the "Great Five - Yellow Calamity" and the "Two - Black Sickness Talisman," which are the two malevolent stars, and can neutralize the inauspicious qi of the Five Yellow and the Two Black.

(4) Resolving all evil qi in the room:
Houses themselves also have their own prosperity and decline cycles. For second - hand houses, there may have been unfortunate events, such as someone passing away, or the house's feng shui layout may have problems, like being stuffy, dark, and damp. Generally, houses with evil qi may exhibit the following situations:
1. Usually, after moving in, people feel uncomfortable and always think there is something wrong.
2. After moving in, people often have nightmares, or they often hear noises at night, causing mental panic.
3. Family members' health deteriorates. They were fine before moving into this house, but this problem occurred only after moving in.
4. After moving into the new house, the relationship between husband and wife deteriorates, with frequent conflicts and talk of divorce.
5. Since moving into the new house, work or career has started to decline, getting worse and worse. As long as one of the five situations mentioned above occurs, it indicates that there are feng shui problems in the house. You can hang several gourds in the bedroom, living room, and at the entrance of the house to resolve them.

(5) Resolving excessive qi leakage in a yang house:
Many yang houses have excessive qi leakage. In feng shui, it is said that wind should be contained and qi should be gathered. Only when qi is gathered can good fortune be achieved. If qi cannot be retained, then it is impossible to contain wind and gather qi. Excessive qi leakage in the room can directly lead to the owner's poor health. You can hang several gourds inside the window to collect the qi, thus resolving the problem.

(6) Resolving the owner's poor health:
If one's health is always poor, hang an empowered plant gourd on each side of the bed, and this can resolve the problem. The gourd can absorb the disease qi from the patient, helping them recover quickly.

(7) Resolving all external inauspicious qi:
If the window of a house faces a hospital, a funeral parlor, a cemetery, or a slaughterhouse, it is affected by the yin - evil influence. Facing a police station or a prison means being affected by the official - gate influence. Facing a garbage dump, a public toilet, etc., means being affected by the solitary - yin influence. If there are external objects such as utility poles, sharp - angle influences, the heaven - chopping influence between two buildings, high - voltage lines, transmission towers, and the noise from the road, these all belong to inauspicious qi and are harmful to the people living in the room. You can use an empowered gourd and hang it on the inside of the window, just facing the objects causing the inauspicious qi.

In conclusion: The gourd symbolizes good fortune and prosperity with its homophone in Chinese. Since ancient times, it has been regarded as a mascot for attracting wealth and good luck. It is said that hanging a gourd at home can bring good fortune, peace, and health. There is a folk saying, "A gourd in the house, and the family will be wealthy," which means that every household should at least place one gourd to attract wealth. Evidently, the gourd is an essential lucky charm for the home.