What are the 5 Elements of Feng Shui?
Feng shui handles five main elements in order to achieve harmony and balance in any space. These five feng shui elements are: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Each one of them has its own characteristics and properties, and we will detail them in the following lines.
According to Chinese traditions, everything is constantly changing and interacting and that happens through these five main elements. Feng shui traditional knowledge and all its guidelines are based on these five feng shui elements. Therefore, when wishing to harmonize a place according to feng shui, these elements must be properly employed according to their characteristics and effects. Our first feng shui element is wood, which has the Chinese name of Mu. Wood represents innovation, creativity, personal growth,birth, and it is a sociable element. This element corresponds to the color green and the east direction. By placing this element at a strategic spot in any space, you would be adding all of which it represents.This element encompasses colors that are clear and energizing. These colors are greens associated with growth and purples inviting abundance. Wood represents energy that moves vertically and is therefore associated with cylinders and columns. Another feng shui element is fire, called Huo in China. Fire symbolizes and brings activity, enthusiasm, force and energy to the places where it can be found. It is a warm element that must be treated with measure since too much of it can destroy what surrounds it. Fire is represented by the color red and direction south, and symbolizes the puberty years. The next feng shui element is earth or Tu in Chinese. This feng shui element symbolizes stability, patience and honesty. It is a methodic element that can also become demanding, and is ideal for everything that is related with real estate and inheritances. Earth is symbolized by the colors yellows and browns and is representative of the early youth years. These colors slow the energies. Shapes of the earth energy are squares and rectangles; they are horizontal shapes that encourage the grounding of energy. Changing artwork and windows from portrait to landscape can increase the earth energy in a home. Metal or Jin in Chinese is another main feng shui element. It represents success in businesses and harvesting. It can also represent a knife or cutting metal and be destructive through it. White, silver and gray are the colors that symbolize it, and its direction is west. These colors are sharp and influence intelligence. The metal colors are also represented by the powerful rainbow and bring both healing and creativity. The circle is the shape that brings in the metal element. In a circle, energy is constantly moving in an expanding cycle sending energy outward. This flow of energy often brings individuals into a collective commune. This feng shui element symbolizes the adult years of human life. One last element is water, called Shui in Chinese. It has a very important role among feng shui elements, and actually the name feng shui contains its name in it, meaning water and wind. Water mainly represents release and renewal. The energy of water element is represented by any shape that produces flow. Still water energy is represented by any shape that would holds water and creates a womb like effect. Moving water shapes are drawn as cascades or ripples. This energy flows to the sides and down. Water is elemental for living, not only for humans but also animals and plants. It can be quiet or violent. This element is represented by dark blues and black.
