Whenever people talk about the ancient art of feng shui, inevitably the five elements come up. What are these five elements and why are they important in feng shui? Read on for a quick rundown on the five elements and their uses in the practice of feng shui.
The Five Elements of Feng Shui Outlined
The five elements of feng shui are wood, water, earth, metal and fire. These five elements are all naturally occurring and indicate either construction or deconstruction in some way or another:
Construction: Wood can make fire; the energy of fire (e.g. – the Sun) feeds the earth; metal comes from the earth; water can be drawn from the elements of metal; water feeds wood.
Destruction: Fire destroys metal; metal (such as an axe blade or other instrument) destroys wood; trees or wood feed from the earth; dirt from the earth absorbs water; of course, water destroys fire.
Harmonizing With the Five Feng Shui Elements
The underlying principle of feng shui is that there needs to be harmony and balance; having too much of any one element in your home or in a particular room is counterproductive and can be overwhelming. Most rooms will have one dominant quality of the five elements of feng shui and need another element to bring in some balance. For example, think of an all-white bathroom. White is clean and pure and represents water.
However, when a room, even a bathroom, is completely white, it can feel cold and sterile. By introducing another one of the five elements of feng shui, such as earth, this can tone down that sterile feeling. Towels, artwork, and other items that are a warm brown can do the trick. Or, imagine a living room that is all brown, which is a strong earth tone. You can feel closed in or overwhelmed, as this is a warm color but one that easily smothers you. Another one of the five elements of feng shui, such as fire, can do the trick. Red accents such as pillows or afghans can brighten up the warm brown.
Feng shui’s balancing principles can be applied to much more than home decor however. Think of personality traits. Some people are entirely too fiery; a little fire is good, but someone who is hot tempered consistently can be hard to deal with. Balance in all things is the idea of feng shui.
Hence, you can think of toning down your personality, like the warm and giving earth, your persona can do with some warm and nurturing shades to make it more likeable. This can also make you a more objective and a pleasant human being.
There are really no right or wrong answers when it comes to applying the five elements of feng shui to any room of your home or part of your life. You simply need to remember how these elements are meant to harmonize and balance one another, and try to imitate those fine qualities as much as possible.