The five feng shui elements: what they are and how to use them when decorating your home
If you’ve been experimenting with creating good feng shui in your home (or office or garden), you must have heard many times about the five feng shui elements. What are the five feng shui elements and why should you bother learning about them? Well, the five elements are very important because honestly, there cannot possibly be good feng shui in any space, be it your bedroom or your office, if these elements are not represented. And, represented in just the right amount, and in the right bagua areas of your space.
I know this might sound complicated and difficult to apply, but I am here to help you easily grasp this complex subject, as well as help you enjoy its application in your home decor. Why am I speaking of enjoyment when there is so much superstition and even fear surrounding feng shui? Because creating good feng shui in your home can only come out of joy, not fear. This is how you will keep applying it, and this is how your home will be saturated with good energy. So, let’s start. With a basic theoretical foundation first. We need a bit of theory in order to understand why feng shui elements are such a foundational powerhouse in this ancient body of knowledge.
Part 1: What Are the 5 Feng Shui Elements?
Going back many thousands of years (some say 3,000 years, some go as far as 5,000 years); the wise and beautiful feng shui masters of ancient times were exploring the unseen, mystical dimensions of the Universal energy called Chi. Their goal was to map the influence of this energy on humans’ well-being. Delving into the very depths of cosmic knowledge, these masters were studying the intricately connected patterns between the Universal and the personal expressions of energy.
No stone was left unturned by these brave warriors of Spirit — they studied with absolute dedication the expressions of this Universal energy in various land formations, in the flow of water, the geometry of man-made structures, and the endless patterns in the relationship of time and space. What they came to clearly understand — and define as a foundation for good feng shui — is that in order for any indoor environment to replicate the potency of Chi, or Universal energy and promote human health and vitality, specific natural elements must be present.
These vital for our well-being elements were defined as Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Each of these elements has a unique quality of energy that is expressed in specific colors, sounds, body organs, compass directions, planets, flavors, etc. It can get really complex here, and even confusing, because feng shui, as you know, is part of a bigger and very layered and complex Daoist body of knowledge, along with the Traditional Chinese Medicine, and such ancient healing arts as Qi Qong and Tai Chi.
However, we do not need to go that deep in order to understand how to use the 5 elements to create good feng shui in a space. Let’s just trust the ancient ones because I know for a fact this theory is so incredibly powerful. I have been consulting for over 20 years and I can assure you that the five feng shui elements theory, when applied correctly, brings tangible improvement to any space.
Simply stated, the feng shui elements are specific universal forces, or archetypal energies, that are expressed as Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water elements. They can be viewed as building blocks, or feng shui tools to help one create potent, vibrant and alive energy in any space, an auspicious quality of energy full of vital force to sustain the health, happiness, and wealth of people living in that space. Now let’s look at the social life of the 5 feng shui elements (meaning the element cycles, or their ways of interacting with each other), this is very important.
Go to Part 2: The Social Life of the 5 Elements
Image: anthropologie.com
