Every single thing that you see (or don’t see for that matter) is actually just one thing: energy, arranged into different vibrating patterns to create all matter in space. And it is this energy and, more specifically, the arrangement of it that makes a huge difference in the quality of our lives. If it is organized well, you live well. It’s that simple. But in order to organize it well, you need to know a bit more about it. The first thing to know is that energy has five distinct characteristics. Now, back in the old days they kept things simple. They named the five characteristics, or “elements,” after the ever-changing natural phenomena that they saw around them. Some people called the five elements, “five energies going,” because it more clearly defined its ever-changing personality. There’s no getting around it or trying to fight it. It is just nature: the nature of energy. Cells divide and die off. Apple peels and coffee grounds turn into fertilizer when composted, and so on. Your body was slightly different yesterday than it is today. Nothing stays the same. The five distinct movements/qualities that make up the five elements are:
- Downward
- Expanding
- Upward
- Horizontally moving
- Contracting
These five movements were given names or descriptions to make conversing about them easier. (Imagine what you’d think if your feng shui consultant said this to you: “What you need here is some upward-moving, molecular energetic mass to bring this room into balance!” What would you grab for a cure?) The first movement consists of downward moving molecules. It is referred to as water, because it is reminiscent of the rain falling from the sky and the water running to the lowest topographical spot in a stream. Water is free flowing and takes the shape of the container holding it. Therefore, water’s shape is considered free form. Next, just like the tree in spring bursts forth with new expanding buds that outwardly open into leaves, the expanding chi is referred to as wood. The columnar shape of a tree trunk (with its expanding rings) is also considered a wooden-shaped energy force. Fire is the name given to the upward forces as its movement copies how flames climb skyward and smoke goes up. Triangular and pointy objects mimic fire’s shape. The horizontal, back-and-forth movement of energy is described as earth or soil, likening it to the movement along the surface of the ground. And finally, metal element is associated with the compressing and contracting movement forces. It has an inward-moving, “collecting” nature, and little space between molecules. The earth compresses energy (much like you would compact snow to create a snowball) to create the metal within it. Not surprisingly, round or mounded shapes exhibit a metal quality. Remember: we are breaking down one thing — energy — into five stages. Sometimes things may be exhibiting clear signs of one specific element. And sometimes it may be going to the next element in the “circle of life,” and appear to be a mixture of two. In order to apply this information to your house, I will first give you an idea of what elements the common things in your home usually display. What Element Is All Your Stuff? Here are some common items found in and around homes, and the elements they most often represent: WATER equals water itself (in vases, fountains, or symbolically in art); mirrors; black and deep dark colors, especially dark blues; plastics; glass; crystal; and free-form-shaped objects (like a mid-century boomerang table, for example). WOOD equals plants, textiles and fabrics (that come from plants), green colors, upright or columnar-shaped objects, and wooden furniture and floors. Books are considered “dead wood.” FIRE equals fireplaces and candles (lit or unlit); reds, oranges, pinks and purples (if they look or give a warm or hot feeling or attitude); animal print fabric; animals (except water animals like fish, etc.); and triangular or pointy-shaped objects. EARTH equals tile, pottery, ceramics, brick, dirt in potted plants, earth tones and yellows, flat or square-shaped objects. Heavy, still, weighty-feeling objects are earthen too. A mountain is a great earthen symbol in your art. METAL equals wrought iron, brass, chrome, silver, gold, pewter, nickel, aluminum, tin, stainless steel, steel, white and pastel colors, and round or mound-shaped objects. Cool-to-the-touch items and shiny things like satin sheets can be metallic in their feel. Outdoor items include metal fencing and furniture, sun dials, gazing globes, mounded land forms, white flowers, and weather vanes. So, if I ask you to add upward moving stuff to a particular part of your home for balance, would you have an idea of what to use now? There’s something special about a room that is balanced with the five elements. I often say that balanced elements are the difference between a room that looks beautiful but you wouldn’t want to live there, and a room where you say “Wow! I could move in there right now and love it exactly the way it is!” And believe it or not, for those of you motivated for still deeper insight into feng shui, there are four more cycles that can be of use. They are the creative cycle, controlling cycle, destructive cycle and the reductive cycle. More information on each of these cycles can be found in my book, Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life! How to Practice Seeing the Five Elements Here’s a good way to practice seeing the five elements in rooms and spaces so you can decide if element balancing is necessary. Go to an office supply store and find one of those stacks of post-it notes that has several colors in it. Use the pink ones for fire, the green for wood, the yellow for earth and blue for water. And use white paper or whatever other color you have left for metal. Now, go around the room and figure out what elemental stage every item in the room is depicting and stick the corresponding colored notepaper to it. Remember, some items may be “between stages” or changing and moving from one element to another. When deciding, first consider shape, then material, and then color as a rule of thumb. Once every item in the room has a post-it stuck to it, step back and gloss over the room. Is every element fairly represented? Are the elements in an order that works according to the bagua? Do this a few times and you’ll quickly learn how to see a room with your “five-element eyes” and be able to quickly correct any element imbalances.
