How to Use the Feng Shui Five Elements with Colors | in5d.com | Esoteric, Spiritual and Metaphysical Database

One of the basic principles of feng shui is the principle of five elements, which are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water

How Do the Feng Shui Elements Work To Create Good Feng Shui?

by Rodika Tchi

The easiest way to get your life moving by using feng shui is to bring the energy of specific feng shui colors in order to achieve the desired results. Color is very powerful, as it is an expression of light, and many, way too many homes and offices are starved for light. So, bring on vibrant light energy with beautiful feng shui colors!

One of the basic principles of feng shui is the principle of five elements, which are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. These feng shui elements interact between themselves in certain ways, generally defined as the Productive and Destructive cycles.

Each feng shui element is represented by a specific color, and color is the easiest way to use the five elements principle to bring more harmony into your home with feng shui.

Here is the color correspondence of each of the five feng shui elements:

WOOD: Green, Brown

FIRE: Red, Strong Yellow, Orange, Purple, Pink

EARTH: Light Yellow, Sandy/Earthy, Light Brown

METAL: White, Gray

WATER: Blue, Black

One of the basic principles of feng shui is the principle of five elements, which are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water Knowing how to use color to strengthen and balance the energy of your home is a complex feng shui subject, but there are always basics to it. The right placement of feng shui colors is defined by the Bagua, or the feng shui energy map of your space.

To help you understand how to best express the five feng shui elements in your home or office, let's look at the South feng shui bagua area.

The energy of the South feng shui bagua area is connected to your Fame & Reputation energy. A better translation, actually, is the Light, or Fire Within. The energy of the South feng shui bagua area is connected to the image you project to other people, or your identity in the eyes of others, as well as to how well you are able to maintain your own Light - your identity and values.

The feng shui element of South is Fire, and the feng shui colors that express it are Red, Purple, Pink, Yellow and Orange. Obviously, you want to keep your fire energy strong, which means it is best to avoid many blue or black color decor items in the South feng shui bagua area of your space.

Why would you avoid blue and black color scheme in the South bagua area? Because blue and black colors have the energy of the Water feng shui element, and Water puts down the Fire element of the South in the destructive cycle of the five feng shui elements.

Feng Shui Five Elements: How to Use the Feng Shui Five Elements with Colors

Here Are Some Easy Feng Shui Color Tips For Your Home:

Color Green is excellent for improving health and balancing family life when used in the East feng shui bagua area of your home.

Color Blue is a very good feng shui choice in the North bagua area to support the energy of your carrer growth or in the East (Health/Family) and Southeast (Wealth/Money) to water and nourish the Wood feng shui element.

Have some strong Yellow in the South feng shui bagua area for happy gatherings and good times.

Pure White in the West feng shui bagua area (Creativity & Children) will bring supportive energy for all your creative endeavors.

Before using specific colors in your home as feng shui cures, be sure to study the light patterns throughout the day in the room. Would the color feel good in the morning? How about at night with artificial lighting?

Be sure the chosen feng shui color has a good relationship with the other "inhabitants" of your home, such as your furniture pieces, decor objects, art, etc. You would like all of them to have a good time, rather than argue and continuously fight for your attention!

You can also bring the five feng shui elements with specific shapes, and here is how the feng shui elements are expressed in shapes:

WOOD: Rectangular

FIRE: Triangular

EARTH: Square

METAL: Round

WATER: Wavy

When you start applying the feng shui theory of five elements, you might be confused as to the feng shui element representation of a specific piece of furniture or a decor item.

In between color, shape and material, how would you define the feng shui element of a specific object?

Let's take the example of a coffee table - blue color, square shape, made from wood. Blue being the color of the water feng shui element, would your table be bringing the water element into your home or would it bring the wood element, as the table is made from wood? And how about the square shape, does it bring the earth feng shui element?

Generally, when you have difficulty defining the feng shui element of a specific decor item, the color will be used as the first criteria. Second comes the shape, and then the material from which the item is made.

Of course, when the element is obvious, such as a metal staircase (metal element) or a plant (wood element), there is no guesswork! In most cases, though, you will see that each decor item brings two or more elements, and in time you will find it easier to sense, or understand, the feng shui element expression of various items in your home.

Once you know how to balance the five elements in your home by using simple decor items, as well as various feng shui cures, a harmonious home is truly yours to enjoy!

We need the presence of all five feng shui elements in our home or office space in order to thrive and feel healthy.

While it is very important to understand the Bagua and know how to bring the required feng shui elements for each specific bagua area, be it with colors, shapes or specific images; it is equally important to know how to strengthen or weaken the presence of a specific feng shui element.

Let’s look at an example of a fireplace in the East feng shui area of a home.

From studying the Bagua - the feng shui energy map of a home or office - you know that the East area is governed by the Wood feng shui element. The fireplace, being a Fire element item, is too strong for the Wood because Fire burns the Wood, which makes the fireplace an undesirable design feature in the East.

Does this mean that the house has bad feng shui because it has a fireplace in the East?

No, it doesn't. What it does mean, though, is that there is a potential for burnout and stress for people living in this house. East feng shui area is the area connected to health & family relationships, and the governing feng shui element of East is Wood.

It is important to have a strong and vibrant Wood element in order to bring the desired quality of energy to a home. When the Wood element is weakened, or destroyed by a strong Fire in the East, the quality of energy needed to maintain good health for people living in this home is weak.

As a fireplace is not easily removed or repositioned, what type of feng shui cures can you apply? This is where the knowledge about the two main cycles of the five feng shui elements is very helpful, as you need to know how to weaken the Fire element and bring the desired strength to the governing Wood element.

There are two main cycles of interaction between the five feng shui elements: Productive (cycle of creation) and Destructive (cycle of destruction.)

Here is the summary of the Productive cycle

Water nurtures -> Wood nurtures -> Fire nurtures -> Earth nurtures -> Metal nurtures -> Water

You will use the Productive, or Creative cycle, when you need to strengthen a particular feng shui element. For example:

Let’s say, you need to strengthen the Wood feng shui element in a specific area. Besides the obvious step of bringing more Wood energy (with plants, wood décor items, colors green and brown, etc); you will also focus on bringing more of the Water element because it nourishes the Wood. You can do that with an actual water feature, such as an aquarium or a fountain, with images of water, mirrors, as well as décor elements in deep blue or black colors in fluid shapes.

Here is the summary of the Destructive cycle

Water weakens -> Fire weakens –> Metal weakens -> Wood weakens –> Earth weakens –> Water.

You would use the Destructive Cycle when you need to weaken a particular feng shui element in your home or office. For example:

If the Water element in a specific area is too strong and you cannot remove the decor element that brings the Water energy - such as, for example, mirrored closet doors in the West area - then you need to weaken the Water element. In order to do that, you will bring the Earth element to put down/absorb the excess Water energy.

Decor-wise, you can do any (or all!) of the following: bring several big to medium size earthenware vases, have a beige rug with a predominantly square pattern, paint the walls in a light yellow or beige color and/or bring feng shui art with a strong earth element presence.)

Now that you understand the basics of the productive and destructive cycles of the five feng shui elements, let’s get back to our example of a fireplace in the East area. Let's see how we can remedy the situation by using the newly acquired knowledge about the two main cycles of feng shui elements.

Our goal: To strengthen the Wood element and weaken (destroy) the Fire element in the East feng shui area of a home.

Our feng shui design strategy: We need to bring the Water element as Water nurtures the Wood and at the same time puts down the Fire. You can hang a big mirror above the fireplace, which will bring the desired energy of the Water feng shui element. Choose a round or oval shape mirror (Metal element shape), as Metal nurtures Water, or go for a frame in a blue or black color (these are the colors of the needed Water element.)

You can also choose to bring the Water element with strong water energy art, an actual water feature or paint the East wall in a water element color.

The optimum feng shui solutions are always the ones that work best with your decor and compliment it, rather than detract from it. You can create a harmonious feng shui home in any decor style and for any taste as long as you understand the feng shui element energy that each decor item adds to your home.

The best way to bring feng shui elements into your home is in their natural state. For example, if you need more Wood, a lush green plant would be the best cure. Second best would be a piece of wood furniture or artwork with lush green colors. Buying items from your community and knowing where they come from will bring you even better energy.

The more you play (yes, play!) with the five feng shui elements theory and see how it applies to each area of your home, the sooner you will know how to decorate your house in a way that nurtures and supports the health and well-being of your loved ones.

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