The 3 legged money frog is one of the most popular charms that homeowners who practice feng shui like to have at home as part of the decor.
This is even when it’s not one of the celebrated 4 celestial animals.
Sometimes referred to as a wealth toad, it is often placed in display cabinets, table tops, and counter tables, etc.
It’s Chinese name is 金蟾 which literally means gold toad.
It is symbolic of wealth luck and owners undoubtedly would want it to bring fortune for the household as a whole.
Legend of three legged frog
The toad was believed to live a long life of up to 10,000 years. And for a period of time was more associated with symbols of longevity rather than money luck.
The story about how the amphibious animal lost one of it’s limbs goes like this.
Chang’er (嫦娥) who is the goddess of the moon stole the elixir of immortality from her husband Hou Yi the god of archery and fled to the moon.
As punishment for rash act, the gods turned her into a frog. But as she had sampled the elixir, she became immortal and in the midst of the transformation, the gods had mercy on her and stopped it before full transformation.
Thus, resulting in a three legged frog.
When paintings or design motifs depict the frog in a circle, the circlt almost certainly represents the moon due to it’s association with the moon goddess. Eclipse were also said to be a result of the frog swallowing the moon.
Other objects that often paired with the toad for dual auspicious meanings include plum blossoms, lingzhi, vase, lotus, etc.
In Chinese folklore and mythology, Liu Hai (刘海), or Liu Haichan (劉海蟾), who is a prominent immortal went on a quest to search and capture the 3 legged feng shui frog after learning about it’s prolific prowess in bringing fortune to it’s owners.
After a prolonged pursuit, he finally founding it dwelling in an old abandoned well. With the knowledge of the creature’s insatiable appetite for money, he lowered gold coins tied to a red string to lure the frog out.
This playful act became so popular in stories that even today, we can still find paintings of Lui Hai baiting the frog with a red string with gold coins.
There are other variations of this story regarding Liu Hai.
But the majority of homeowners will use a statue or miniature figurine of the money frog holding a coin in it’s mouth. Sometimes resting on a bed of Chinese gold coins as well.
They are often made with materials like resin, brass, and precious gemstones like jade, quartz, etc.
Because frogs are intrinsically related to water, a preferred material would be metal as water is in harmony with metal.
Nevertheless, you have to make your own decisions for the fixtures and decor of your home.
In spiritual teachings, frog symbolism implies self-reflection, purging negative energy for personal growth, actualization etc. When one shows up in your life, it is synonymous to letting go of old beliefs and welcoming new ones to reach a new higher level in what you do.
Placement of the feng shui money frog
Because the use of the frog is simple feng shui symbolism, many practitioners feel that they can be placed anywhere in the house.
But for finesse in geomancy, that is a placement suggestion that lacks in substance.
The first thing you need to remind yourself that frogs are apprehensive by nature and would scurry off when they see other animals bigger in size.
This means that the wealth frog should never be placed in open areas where there is no place to hide to just to give it a little peace of mind.
You want it to spend it’s time and energy bringing wealth luck to residents instead of fearing for it’s life.
The implications of this natural instinct means that they are best kept in areas of the house where it can see the residents but residents wouldn’t notice it unless they try to.
And because they are meant to bring prosperity luck to the household instead of one individual, the ideal location for them are common indoor areas like the living room, library, entertainment rooms, etc.
Please don’t use dark humor and place it in the kitchen, especially close to the stove.
If placed on the ground they can be nicely positioned under the sofa, the inner area of the coffee table legs, in the corner, etc.
When placed on an elevated position, preferably at a wealth location, be mindful that the height might a certain feeling of unease due to the fear of falling off… even if they are known to be capable jumpers.
So keep the height of elevated positions to no more than 20 inches, or about half a meter. In this case, the lesser the merrier.
This makes places like the TV console, low shelves of display cabinets, side tables, etc, very good spots to leave the creature.
When using them indoors, take note that you want the frog to be facing you to signify it bring wealth to you. So orientating it to face the sofa set, or the place where you usually sit and rest would fulfill this criteria.
Alternatively, you can also position it in the living room to diagonally face the main door. This allows it to welcome positive energy into the living space to bring good fortune.
Be mindful however, not to place it directly in front of the front door. This can be misinterpreted by the frog as an invitation to leave the house… which is not part of the jobscope you have prepared for it.
Since the intention is to subtly encourage the creature to bring wealth to members of the household, be careful if you regularly host guests in at home.
If the money frog is facing a common sofa or dining table where guests frequently gather to chill, the wealth luck might be given to them instead of you out of confusion!
If you have your own garden and landscaping, and would want to let frog roam outdoors, it is best not to have one that is too small in size.
This is because being outside exposes it to more threats. It needs to be of a significant size in order to fend for itself.
I have seen for myself of homeowners who buy them at as much as a meter tall made of solid brass. They are imposing, strong, and sturdy.
These sizes are only suitable for outdoors areas like the garden, deck or patio.
Unless you have a really big house, going that big can look weird. Just go for something slightly bigger than the size you have in mind for indoors.
Also don’t forget that domestic pets like dogs and cats in the neighborhood can kidnap the 3 legged toad if you don’t take measures to protect them.
If there are water features in the front yard like fountains and ponds, I can see the money toad happy making a home there.
However, be mindful not to place them right at the bottom of pools totally underwater. If you don’t know, frogs don’t have gills and need to surface for air. Drowning them is not going to bring you good luck.
When used in conjunction with the bagua map, the areas where you find the Kan trigram should be a good location.
Otherwise, wealth corners are also acceptable.
Directions
Let’s talk a little about directions.
The north is where the water element resides in the house. Water is representative of wealth.
Coincidentally, a frog is a creature that loves water.
This combination makes the north sector of a house or office a perfect area to give the frog a home.
Do not place it in the south as it has a fire energy base and will be akin to cooking the frog.
Number of frogs
One is good enough and there is no need to go overboard with more than you can count.
But if you are the type that likes the strength with numbers, then I suggest that the number of frogs would be most potent when the ruling star in flying star feng shui is taken into consideration.
Since we are now in the period of 8, 8 would be a good number to adhere to.
9 would also be favorable as 9 signifies completeness in feng shui. And since the period 9 is literally knocking on the door in this time, it will symbolize upcoming fortune.
To wrap this up, remember that the most that the 3 legged money frog can do for you is bring you more luck and opportunities to earn more money.
So inaction and procrastination when faced with such fortune can still lead to no positive end results.