Feng Shui Basics - The Feng Shui Wu-Xing Or Five Elements

Much of Feng Shui is concerned with the relationships between the forces of nature, which are symbolized by the Five Elements, or Wu-Xing. The Five Elements are the essence of nature and they symbolize the life force of the Universe.

In Western tradition there are said to be four Elements: Earth, Air, Fire and Water, but for the Chinese who generally favour the luck number five, they are Wood (Mu), Fire (Huo), Earth (T'u), Metal (Chin) and Water (Shui).

The Chinese do not believe that the universe is literally made up of these materials, but that they represent States of Change - one constantly creating the next in the sequence.

Determine Which Element Are You:

First you need to know your chinese zodiac sign before you can know your element.

Below is a concise description of the Wu-Xing or 5 Elements in Chinese Astrology: To know about yourself, kindly refer to your own element.

WATER

Characteristics: Full of wisdom, liberal

Shape: Wavy

Colors: Blue, Gray, Black

Direction: North

Flying star: Star 1 - angel of life (good star by nature)

Animal Branch: Rat , Pig

Season: Winter

Hour: 21:00 PM to 1:00 AM

Careers: Broadcaster/communication, tourism, laundry business, transportation/shipping, teachers, nurses, doctors

WOOD

Characteristics: Kindness, flexible

Shape: Beam like (grows upward)

Colors: Green

Direction: East, Southeast

Flying star: Stars 3 & 4 - misfortune stars (bad stars by nature)

Animal Branches: Rabbit, Tiger

Season: Spring

Hour: 3-7 AM

Careers: Pharmacist, law and order, hair stylist, fashion/apparel designer, writer/publisher, furniture business, modeling, educator

FIRE

Characteristics: Vibrant, Hot, talker

Shape: Triangle

Colors: Red, Pink, Orange, Purple

Direction: South

Flying star: Star 9 - Angel of Luck Star

Animal Branches: Horse, Snake

Season: Summer

Hour: 9 AM to 1:00 PM

Careers: Restaurant/food industry, service and promotion, performing arts/entertainers, electrical engineers, radiotherapist, fuel/gas station, chemicals

EARTH

Characteristics: Stable, Trustworthy, Stubborn

Shape: Square or cubic

Colors: Yellow, Brown, Beige

Direction: Northeast, Southwest

Flying star: Star 2 (Sickness Star), Star 5 (Death/Disaster), Star 8 (Wealth Star)

Animal Branches: Ox, Dragon, Goat, Dog

Season: January, April, july, October

Hour: 1-3 AM, 7-9 AM, 13:00-15:00 PM, 19:00-21:00 PM

Careers: Realtor, insurance agents, accountant, human resource/personnel, consultants, lawyers, sculptor, construction, manager

METAL

Characteristics: Sharp, Rightheous, loner

Shape: Spherical

Colors: White, Gold, Silver

Direction: West, Northwest

Flying star: Star 6 (Angel of Travel, Luck), Star 7 (Robbery, Solemnity)

Animal Branches: Monkey, Rooster

Season: Autumn

Hour: 3:00-7:00 PM

Careers: Jeweler, automobile business, mechanical engineers, gold/silver traders, financial specialist

Next, I will want to teach you the basics of the Wu-Xing and let you know how five elements influence one another. As mentioned earlier, we call this the States of Change - one constantly creating the next in the sequence.

The Creative Cycle

Beginning with the Water Element, the sequence of the Creative Cycle (see box below) is as follows:

Water feeds Wood

Wood fuels Fire

Fire creates Earth (in the form of ash)

Earth creates Metal

Metal can flow like Water

WATER ====> WOOD ====> FIRE ====> EARTH ====> METAL

The Destructive Cycle

However, the Elements bring dangers, too, because if the next stage in the creative sequence is missing then the cycle will become one of destruction (see box below).

Water quenches Fire

Fire melts Metal

Metal cuts Wood

Wood exhausts Earth

Earth pollutes Water

WATER ====> FIRE ====> METAL ====> WOOD ====> EARTH

The Elements & Directions

Each Element is associated with a compass Direction (see box below), therefore your home will be governed by one main Element (indicated by the Direction of your front door), but it will also have all the other Elements distributed about the house or aparment.

Water governs the North

Wood governs the East and South East

Fire governs the South

Earth governs the Centre, the North East and the South West

Metal governs the West and North West

The Five Elements & Their Associations
Element
Symbolic Colors
Direction
Animal
Shape
Water
Black, Deep Blue
North
Tortoise
Wavy Lines
Wood
Green, Light Blue
East, Southeast
Dragon
Rectangle
Fire
Red, Purple
South
Phoenix
Triangle
Earth
Yellow
Centre, Northeast, Southwest
Emperor
Square
Metal
White, Metallic tints
West, Northwest
Tiger
Circle, Oval

The Five Elements can be helpful if they are in harmony or troublesome if they are in conflict. For example, the kitchen, which is governed by Fire and Water, can be harmful to health and prosperity if these two Elements, which are part of the Destructive Cycle (Fire quenches Water), aren't made harmonious by the introduction of the Element Wood which lies between them in the Creative Cycle.

Similarly, this is the reason that having a bathroom in the middle of the home isn't a good idea. The bathroom is governed by the Water Element, so if it is positioned in the centre of the home it would be ruled by the Earth Element. Since Water and Eart are in conflict in the Destructive Cycle (Earth pollutes Water), the addition of Metal is necessary to restore the balance.

So, we can deduce that if there is an Elemental conflict the solution lies in adding another Element which will harmonize the warring factions.

If Water conflicts Fire, add Wood

If Wood conflicts Metal, add Water

If Wood conflicts Earth, add Fire

If Fire conflicts Metal, add Earth

If Earth conflicts Water, add Metal

Using the Elements

Apart from governing compass Directions, the Five Elements also have symbolic colors, images and shapes associated with them.

For example, if you were having trouble in the Metal sector of your home (West or North West), possibly because you had a fireplace or stove there (both are ruled by Fire), then the addition of a square, yellow rug would symbolize the Earth Element and harmonize the affected area. It would not be a good idea to add more of the Metal or Fire Elements, such as red, white, triangular or circular objects, because that would only empahsize the original imbalance.

Of course, this example is only one solution. Feng Shui is constrained only by the creative imagination. A stone might be placed in the affected Metal sector with equal effect, as could painting the whole area yellow or adding any object which suggests the Element Earth.

So, in essence, it is easy to change negative, destructive forces into harmonious and positive ones with a little Elementary thinking.

To complicate matters further, you too will have a ruling Element which may or may not be in tune with your home. To assess this, we will need to work out your Lucky Star Number. Feng Shui is a Science and you need to keep learning before you are able to apply them correctly. One way to improve your basic understanding and how to use feng shui to your benefits is to download the "The 26 Feng Shui Secrets" e-book below!

Credit to Jonathan Dee.

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