The Ultimate Vastu Guide: Where to Place Diyas & Candles on Diwali for Maximum Positivity and Wealth
Every flame you light on Diwali is an intention. Place that flame in the right zone and it stops being “just décor” - it becomes a beacon for wealth, healing, and divine protection. This is your map.
Diwali night is more than celebration. It’s a spiritual broadcast. When you light a diya, you are literally declaring: “Darkness stops here. Light begins here.”
In Vastu Shastra, fire (Agni) is a corrective, cleansing, and attracting force. A diya is not only aesthetic - it’s energetic. Placing it randomly will brighten a corner. Placing it with Vastu awareness can quietly shift your wealth, protection, relationships, even health.
After more than 20 years of consulting on Vastu for homes, businesses, and temples, here’s what I’ve seen consistently: The homes that place light with intention on Diwali feel different for the entire year. Calmer. Luckier. More supported.
The First Flame: The Most Sacred Diya
Step 1: Light your first diya in the Puja Room or altar space.
Use: a ghee diya (clarified butter lamp). Ghee is considered sattvic - spiritually pure, uplifting, and high-frequency. It invites blessings, not just brightness.
Why here? Most traditional homes keep the Puja Room in the North-East (Ishan corner). This is the zone of divinity, clarity, and higher guidance. When the first flame is offered here, you’re basically “activating” the entire house with divine permission before lighting anything else.
“The first diya is not decoration. It’s an announcement to the universe: this home is under divine protection tonight.”
A Vastu-Guided Light Map: Where to Place Diyas Around the Home
After the first diya is lit, you spread that activated light into all key energy zones. Use the table below as your checklist while decorating for Diwali evening.
| Location | Vastu Zone | Why This Spot Matters |
|---|---|---|
| The Tulsi Plant | North / North-East | Tulsi is sacred and linked to purity, healing, and protection. Lighting a diya here is believed to bless the entire household and invite grace from Lord Vishnu, consort of Lakshmi. Many people do this daily in Kartik month - on Diwali it’s essential. |
| Main Entrance / Doorstep | Entrance zone (varies by home) | Place at least one diya on each side of the main door. This is how you “guide” Goddess Lakshmi in and keep negativity out. The doorway is the mouth of the house - it decides what energy gets to enter. |
| Kitchen | South-East (Agni corner) | The kitchen is ruled by the Fire element. Lighting a diya here keeps health, nourishment, and vitality strong. It’s a symbolic prayer that every meal in the coming year carries abundance, not stress. |
| Near Water Sources | North / North-East (Water zones) | Keep a small diya near the drinking water area, matka, RO filter, or water pot. Fire near water balances these elements and helps stabilize finances and emotions. This is especially powerful if money feels unstable. |
| Living Room | Center / North | A diya here harmonizes relationships, keeps conversations peaceful, and attracts positive social opportunities. This is especially good if you entertain guests or do Lakshmi Puja in this space. |
| Balconies & Windows | All directions (outer boundary) | Diyas on balconies, windowsills, and the outer ledge act like protective beacons. You’re radiating your positive frequency outward while also telling external negativity: do not enter. |
| Dark Corners, Staircases & Store Rooms | Varies per home | This step is often ignored, but it’s extremely important. Don’t leave any area in total darkness - even bathrooms and under-stair storage. Darkness is where low, stagnant energy hides. A single tea light or small diya here “flushes out” that heaviness. |
| Under a Peepal Tree (if accessible) | Outside, near ancestral / karmic energy | Lighting a diya near a Peepal tree on Diwali night is traditionally believed to soothe ancestral energies and reduce financial blockages. It’s like saying, “Bless us, protect us, guide our prosperity.” |
How Many Diyas Should You Light?
There’s no strict maximum - light as many as your heart, safety, and patience can maintain. But some numbers carry powerful symbolism:
Sets of 4 diyas: Four represents the four aims of human life - duty (dharma), prosperity (artha), desire (kama), and liberation (moksha). Placing diyas in groups of four is considered deeply auspicious for a balanced life.
9, 27, 108 diyas: The number 9 is linked to divine energy and completion. Lighting 9 diyas - or multiples like 27 or 108 - is believed to amplify blessings and spiritual protection for the entire household.
11 / 21 / 51 diyas purchased: Buying diyas in sacred counts (11, 21, 51) is considered lucky. The act of purchasing itself becomes a calling-in of abundance.
Modern Lights, Candles & Decor - Do They Count?
Short answer: Yes, if used with intention.
Traditional Earthen Diya (Best Choice)
• Use ghee or sesame (til) oil for spiritual purity and protection.
• Place them in all the key Vastu zones listed above.
• Keep wicks upright and flames steady - a steady flame is said to indicate steady fortune.
Candles
• Candles can work like diyas if they’re clean, unscented or naturally scented, and placed with intention.
• Choose warm colors (gold, soft yellow, deep red) for wealth and devotion.
• You can also use aromatic Vastu candles with calming essential oils to soothe tension before Lakshmi Puja.
Electric / Fairy Lights
• Use them generously at the main door, balcony railings, windows, and entrance gate. This visually signals “light lives here.”
• Make sure there are no fused or flickering bulbs - broken or dying lights send the wrong energetic message.
• Gentle yellow/gold tones suit the South and West (stability, recognition); cooler white or soft green/blue lights sit well in the North and East (growth, healing, new beginnings).
Floating Diyas or Candles
A stunning (and very high-vibration) option is to float small diyas or candles in a wide urli or bowl filled with clean water and fresh petals, then place that bowl in the North-East of the living room or near the entrance.
You can use floating diyas / candles to combine three powerful energies at once: fire (Agni), water (Jal), and fragrance (prana uplift).
Let Every Flame Be a Prayer
This Diwali, don’t just “decorate.” Consecrate.
Light the first diya in devotion (North-East / Puja space). Then send that light - calmly, intentionally - to your wealth zone, your health zone, your entrance, your shadows. Let no corner be spiritually unlit.
Because according to Vastu, you’re not only removing darkness from your house… you’re removing it from your path.