Lucky Bamboo Symbolism and Meaning of Stalk Numbers

In feng shui, lucky bamboo has a deep meaning and symbolism. If you want to bring positive energy into the places where you work, live, and play (or give them to someone else), caring for or giving at least one lucky bamboo plant will help. So, whether you give lucky bamboo as a gift, receive one from someone else, or add one to your home or office, understanding the meaning behind the number of lucky bamboo stalks and choosing just the right arrangement will invite even more beneficial juju.

 

Lucky Bamboo Stalk Numbers and Their Meaning

The number of bamboo stalks grouped or woven together into an arrangement account for a large portion of the luck associated with dracaena sanderiana. This number influences the type of energy that the Chinese good luck plant attracts into your home and life. How many bamboo stalks are fortunate? The greater the number of stalks in the planter, the greater the blessing of fortune and luck.

• Single Bamboo Stalk

A single stock of lucky bamboo represents a strong, prosperous life. This plant is popular for businesses to give as gifts, particularly to other businesses, because it promises to keep the business growing.

• Two Stalks of Bamboo

The number two represents all types of relationships. People frequently send two stalks of bamboo as a token of love to a life partner, a friend, or a family member. This means that giving two stalks of lucky bamboo as a gift symbolizes the love you share with the giftee. Similarly, placing it in your own space can bring love energy to your relationships. You can also use two lucky bamboo stalks to increase your chances of success.

• Three Stalks of Bamboo

In feng shui, three is a lucky number, so a lucky bamboo plant with three stalks is an especially potent arrangement. The Cantonese word for “three” (sam) sounds similar to another Cantonese word (sang), which means “birth” or “life.” Because birth is a joyful event, the number three has powerfully positive energy, which is why it has such positive vibes in a lucky bamboo arrangement.

A three-stalk lucky bamboo brings you three types of luck:

Long life: Soh

Happiness: Fu

Wealth: Lu (career promotions)

 

• Four Stalks of Bamboo

The spoken word for four in Chinese sounds very similar to the word for death. The number four has the same connotation and attracts sha chi (negative energy). A four-stalked bamboo plant is never seen in Chinese culture, and it is never given as a gift. This is extremely impolite and could be interpreted as wishing the recipient death. Avoid four-stalk configurations.

 

• 5 Bamboo Stalks

The overall energy drawn to a five-bamboo-stem plant is one of health. The five-stalk bamboo promotes health in all five areas of your life:

 

• Emotional
• Intuitive
• Mental
• Physical
• Spiritual

• Six Stalks of Bamboo

A six-stalk arrangement is fortunate for several reasons. First, the number six in Chinese sounds similar to the word for luck. Six bamboo stalks attract prosperity and opportunities for greater wealth. Similarly, because six is a multiple of three, it carries the same lucky energy, only multiplied by two.

 

• Seven Stalks of Bamboo

Seven bamboo stalks bring good health. This number combines the five chi elements of feng shui as well as yin and yang, making it a powerfully lucky number in feng shui and Chinese culture. Seven bamboo stalks can bring harmony to any space because they represent the balance of all aspects of chi energy.

• Eight Stalks of Bamboo

Once again, the Chinese language is important in this number’s law of attraction. The number eight sounds similar to the words prosper, grow, or thrive. Similarly, because an eight resembles the infinity symbol, it can represent ongoing business success and prosperity. An eight-stalk arrangement improves fertility as well.

• 9 Bamboo Stalks

Nine is a multiple of three, so the good fortune associated with a three-stalk arrangement is tripled. It is also a good luck symbol and bestows great fortune on whoever receives a nine-stalk plant. In feng shui, the number nine also represents the peak of a cycle or experience. In this way, a nine-stalk arrangement, whether given as a gift or placed in your home, represents the pinnacle of success, luck, and well-being, and it can draw those energies into the space where it is placed.

• Ten bamboo shoots

The number 10 represents the end of a cycle in which you can look back with satisfaction on your journey and success. If you have a 10-stalk bamboo arrangement, your wish is to feel complete and content. The hope is that you will find your life to be ideal. If a 10 bamboo stalk plant is given or received as a gift, it represents the sender’s wish for the recipient to have everything they envision and desire in life.

• 21 Bamboo Stalks

If you have a lucky bamboo plant with 21 stalks, it is a very powerful overall blessing for great wealth and long-term health. The number 21 is a combination of seven and three; the good fortune of three is multiplied seven times, bringing the positive energy of both numbers.

 

The Five Feng Shui Elements and Lucky Bamboo

 

A lucky bamboo plant in feng shui is one that contains all five elements, which are represented by:

1. Bamboo plant made of wood
2. Stones or pebbles from the earth
3. Metal: A glass or metal container, or a small metal figure or coin attached to the container.
4. Grow medium: water
5. Fire: Wrap a red ribbon around bamboo stalks or a container.

 

 

Curling Lucky Bamboo

You may have seen photos or seen an actual plant with curled, wavy, or woven stalks. Lucky bamboo is a stick-straight plant by nature. You can grow it to make it curl with skill and care, but it’s probably easier to buy lucky bamboo that has already been curled because curling takes time and attention. In a greenhouse, growers place the stalks on a flat table. Three sides of the stalk receive no light, while one side receives plenty of light, causing it to grow in that direction. The stalk is manipulated and rotated to achieve the curl or wave. Curling the stalk can take a year or longer to achieve.