The 5 Feng Shui Elements

There are five feng shui elements used in this and in many other Chinese arts like acupuncture. These elements are:

Water Wood Fire Earth, and Metal

Applying these elements in the sequence listed above increases the flow of energy. Here’s how the sequence goes:

Water allows plants to grow, the largest plants are trees creating wood;
Wood decays and feeds fire;
Fire creates ash, ash becomes earth;
Earth hardens over time and becomes metal;
Metal promotes condensation and creates water.

Reversing the Flow

There are times when there is too much of any one of the elements, and it must be minimized.

To reverse the flow, the sequence goes: metal, wood, earth, water, fire.

This is like shutting off the valve. Here’s what this sequence looks like:

Metal chops wood
Wood penetrates earth
Earth dams water
Water extinguishes fire, and
Fire melts metal.

To see where the feng shui elements appear in the bagua chart, click here.