Feng Shui and the Elements

In a previous article, we introduced the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui and gave you some idea on the tools needed to make your home feng-shui friendly.

In a nutshell, feng-shui aims to balance the positive chi in your environment (and dispel negative energies), so that you can attract peace, success, health and happiness.

Feng shui practice believes that when an item, location, day or position brings positive energy, it is "auspicious" for you or your family. Simply put, auspicious means "favorable" and it is the opposite of "inauspicious."

Here are some things you can do to surround your home with auspicious items.

Feng shui revolves around the principle of the five elements, wood, fire, earth, metal and water. Practitioners believe that these elements, when placed in the order above, bring about harmony and balance.

In the list, adjacent elements are used in combination with another to also create balance. When there is an imbalance, this means that there is either too much or too little of a particular element in a given space.

The presence of the actual element in a particular room determines the energy associated with that area. For instance, the presence of a fountain representing water, is ideal in the front of the house as it symbolizes the flow of wealth. Wood panels are great in a study area as wood represents innovation and creativity.

A candle, representing fire, is ideal in a married couple's bedroom as it represents passion.

Earth features such as rocks and crystals are often placed in the area that corresponds to family (in a bagua map) because earth is all about stability and honesty.

Finally, the metal element is represented by the presence of steel, coins, electronic items and the like in areas where business is conducted. The elements can also be represented by colors as shown in the chart below:

WOOD: brown, green

FIRE: red, orange, purple, pink, dark yellow

EARTH: pale yellow, beige, sand

METAL: white, gray

WATER: blue, black

Working the color schemes of the areas in your home around the colors of the elements can bring in the specific energies you want in those areas. Having too much of a particular element brings in the destructive side of its energies.

For example, too much fire represents anger and is best tempered by the presence of water. A bagua map can help you determine where the best locations are for each element.

A feng shui practitioner can draw up a bagua map for your home and match specific areas with their locations. These areas are called life areas. When those knowledgeable in feng shui build a home, they make sure that certain rooms match the life areas designated in the bagua map. Specifically, a kitchen, for instance, may be best placed in the area which corresponds to "Health and Family" while a master's bedroom is ideal in the rear right of the home.

Below is a commonly used bagua map:

All in all, remember that the goal of feng shui is to find BALANCE. Too much of good things may sound good but what it really is, is an IMBALANCE. Ideally, it's good to only have 20% of each element in your home, spread out across spaces where they will do much good.

It is also advisable to set aside newly purchased items that are specifically intended for feng shui use. As an example, a newly purchased candle or water fountain will not have any residual negative energy and will bring in new, fresh energy to a space.

The thing is, we've barely scratched the surface of all the knowledge about feng shui out there. As we always recommend, the best thing to do would be to consult a reputable, licensed practitioner who can give you a more thorough reading and the appropriate recommendations.