In the last post, we shared our Vastu tips for lighting, room by room. One word keeps coming back in this part of our story: Vastu. So we owe you a plain answer to a plain question: is Vastu real?
Our answer has two parts. Vastu is a real Indian tradition, and we respect it. Vastu is not a proven way to bring luck, wealth or health, and we never sell it as one.
In this post, we say what we believe, what we promise and what we will never promise.
Vastu is a real tradition, and we respect it
Vastu Shastra is the Indian tradition of planning homes, temples and towns. The oldest Vastu texts we still have are more than 1,000 years old. Builders used them to decide how a building should sit on its land.
Much of Vastu deals with the sun, the air and the way people use a space. An east window lets in the morning sun. An open centre keeps a home from feeling crowded. A clean, well-lit door makes a home easy to enter.
Anyone can see the sense in ideas like these. Many Indian families still think about Vastu when they build or set up a home. So when you ask us if Vastu is real as a tradition, we say yes.
Respect, though, does not mean we accept every claim made in its name.
We do not promise luck, wealth or health
Some claims go far beyond a well-planned home. You may hear that one lamp or one crystal will bring money, cure an illness or fix a family problem.
We have seen no proof for claims like these. Science has not shown that Vastu changes your luck, your wealth or your health. So we do not call Vastu a proven science, and we do not call any light a cure.
A light cannot bring you money. A light cannot heal you. A light gives light, and we want to make that light well.
We also stay away from selling through fear. We will never tell you that a corner of your home is bad. We will never tell you that you must buy a light to fix it. You will not find a JagMag light called lucky or Vastu-certified.
A promise has to be something we can keep. So we keep our promises small and true.
We promise only what we can stand behind
We promise you the real material. We name it on the product page, and the name is true. When we say stone, you get stone, not a paint or a print.
We promise human effort. Behind every piece is patient work by hands that know the material.
We promise warm light. Every light with a built-in LED glows at 3000K warm white, a soft golden light. Our legal policies put that rule in writing.
Our travertine cylinder wall light shows all three promises. The light is a solid cylinder of real stone, 28 cm tall. Our craftsman cuts it, drills it through and rubs the outside smooth by hand. He leaves the natural pores as the stone made them. Built-in LEDs send warm light up and down your wall.
You can check each of those facts when the light reaches you. You can touch the stone. You can see the pores. We want every promise we make to pass that simple test.
Small promises like these still lead somewhere. They lead to the way a room feels.
Vastu helps us think about the whole room
We keep Vastu close for one simple reason. Vastu makes us look at the whole room: the material, the light and the open space around them.
You need no magic to feel the result. A room with real materials, warm light and space to breathe often feels calm and settled. We design for that feeling.
Our wood and alabaster pendant light follows the same thinking. A 35 cm teak disc sits over a diffuser of real alabaster. A diffuser is the part that softens the light. Our craftsman reads the veins, then cuts and polishes the stone. Over a dining table, the light brings earth and warmth together.
The choice stays with you. If your family follows Vastu, we will gladly help you choose a light with that in mind. If you do not follow Vastu, the light works just the same. Only your reason for choosing it changes.
So Vastu is real to us as an inspiration, and we stop there. Vastu is also one reason we love natural materials in a home. In the next post, we look at that wider idea: bringing nature indoors.
FAQs
Is Vastu real?
Yes, Vastu is a real Indian tradition of planning homes and buildings, with texts more than 1,000 years old. Its claims about luck, wealth and health have no proof, so we do not make those claims.
Is Vastu scientific?
No, Vastu is a tradition, not a proven science. Some of its ideas match common sense about sun, air and open space. We treat Vastu as inspiration.
Is any JagMag light Vastu-certified?
No, no JagMag light is Vastu-certified. Our lights are inspired by Vastu thinking, and we never promise luck, wealth or health from them.
Nature gives the material.
Human hands give it meaning.
Vastu inspires harmony.
Light brings it to life.
That is JagMag.
With you.
Read next: Biophilic design: why we bring nature indoors
See real stone, wood and fibre in our decorative lights →