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.
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