The 5 Elements of Feng Shui | Bergen Designs Memorial Benches

In a nutshell, Feng Shui involves the balancing of energies. Developed over 3,000 years ago in China, it can take years to master – but you can take some simple steps to start creating balance in your home and outside spaces.

Feng Shui starts with an understanding of the 5 Key Feng Shui Elements – what these elements are, and how they are translated in various ways depending upon the space.

The 5 Feng Shui Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Each represents certains energy (or Chi) and each element needs to be placed in such a way as to enhance the other elements.

The five elements are usually used to describe the state in nature (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Xing):

Wood/Spring: a period of growth, which generates abundant wood and vitality
Fire/Summer: a period of swelling, flowering, brimming with fire and energy
Earth: the in-between transitional seasonal periods, or a separate ‘season’ known as Late Summer or Long Summer – in the latter case associated with leveling and dampening (moderation) and fruition
Metal/Autumn: a period of harvesting and collecting
Water/Winter: a period of retreat, where stillness and storage pervades

In modern Feng Shui, these 5 Elements can be represented in different ways:

By Color:

Wood – Green or Brown

Fire – Red, Orange, Purple, Yellow (Bright), Pink

Earth – Sandy or Earthy colors, Light Brown or Yellow

Metal – Gray or White

Water – Black or White

By Material:

Wood – Wind, Sound, Moisture, Air, Minerals, Mana,Ink, Acid, Mind, Rubber, Paper, Plants, Poison,Static, Wax, Carbon, Health, Space

Fire – Heat, Light, Lava, Soap, Radiation, Sparks,Plasma, Explosions, Bleach, Stars, Blood,Burn, Blaze, Oil, Glass, Sun, Spirit

Earth – Clay, Rock, Dust, Sand, Mud, Energy, Matter,Powder, Space, Sugar, Darkness, Smoke,Ash, Gravity, Muscle, Quake, Silicon

Knowing how these Elements should be incorporated into your space, the first step is creating a Bagua Map of your area. Click here for more information on how to create your Bagua Map using Black Hat Sect (Western) techniques.