When talking about this ancient art and science, there is usually mention of the five elements of feng shui. Just what are these, and how are they applied? This article will give you a very simple crash course on both these questions.

The Five Elements of Feng Shui Outlined

Fire, earth, metal, water, and wood are the five elements of feng shui. You will notice that these are all natural elements as well. All of these together form a circle of either construction or destruction, as follows:

Creation: : Wood has the ability to give rise to fire; the heat or the power of fire (e.g. sun) is used to nourish the earth; metal is obtained from the earth; constituents of metal can create water; wood is nourished by water.

Destruction: Fire can destroy metal; metal (in the form of tools) destroys wood; wood feeds off of the earth; earth absorbs water; water destroys fire.

How the Five Elements of Feng Shui Harmonize

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.

Now an all white room may have a clean look to it, but can also feel cold and unwelcoming. You can balance this cold sterile feel of the room by bringing in another element. Earth is a good choice here and will bring some warmth to the room. Artwork or even accessories such as towels and bathmats in warm earth tones can bring about the desired effect. Take as another example a den which is entirely in earth tones, which can make the room feel somewhat claustrophobic. Fire is a good element to balance out earth here, such as with red or orange accents.

This concept of balance of the five elements in fengshui has a use in every facet of your life. Lets say you have a very strong persona and a fiery nature. Sounds impressive, but then too much of strength can be overwhelming to people around you. For instance a camp fire looks good within confines and an uncontrolled forest fire can be dangerous.

If you happen to be one of these fiery types, try to bring some earth into your personality. Try to nurture your personal warmth; it will make you a more balanced and all around pleasant person.

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the application of the five elements of Feng Shui to your room or your life. The main concept to remember is that the elements of Feng Shui should be in sync and should balance each other out and take in the finer aspects as much as doable.