The Five Elements of Fengshui

Fengshui  - Relation with Five Basic Cosmic Elements:

We all agree that the whole universe is made up of five basic elements, the Earth, Water, Fire, Wood  and Metal. Our body is also made up of these five basic elements of nature also known as panch-mahabhootas.

The panch-mahabhootas are related to our five senses of smell, taste, hearing, touch and sight. Any imbalance in our external and internal Fengshui translates into unhappy situations. Fengshui teaches the individual to live in balance and harmony with the panch-mahabhootas.

The ancients developed their understanding of five element natural principles when working and harnessing energy many thousands of years ago. Finding that qi and all life evolves from one stage to another, they developed these five elements from natural phenomena that they saw all around them. This is why we now know these five elements as Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal.

Prithvi or Earth Element :- The earth element is an element of caring, stability and calm reserve. When earth is lacking there is a lack of focus and mental clarity. The shape is square. Earth elements help make relationships strong and lasting. Too much earth can create a home that is sluggish and ineffectual. This can manifest with low motivation and apathy.

Human beings have a natural and emotional affinity with the Earth. The Earth revolves around the Sun and has gravitational and magnetic force. Scientists have proved that earth is a huge magnet with two poles-North pole and South pole.

It has also been proved that the human body is a 'magnetisable' object with a large percentage of iron in the blood. As we all know, opposite poles of a magnet attract each other and same magnetic poles repel each other. The Fengshui  principle of placing the head in South direction while sleeping is based on earth's magnetic property.

This is for stability, permanence, solidity, patience, honesty and methodical activities. It is symbolized by the colors beige and yellow.

Jal or Water Element :- After earth, water is the most important element. It is linked to our senses of taste, touch, sight and hearing. It is quantitatively the largest of the five elements, as more than 80% of our body and two-third of earth's surface is water. Most ancient civilizations came up close to rivers and water sources. Water is always in motion, always running, always conveying energy. It is related to life, nourishment, communication, travel and everything that has to do with movement. It is symbolized by the colors blue and black. The water element relates to business, career, and opportunities. It also has an effect on emotions, feelings and intuition. When the water element is correctly placed, career and business function more smoothly and there is progression in the climb up the corporate ladder. Water can also help create insights, make you feel inspired and spiritually connected and refreshed.

WATER element dynamics are that of descending chi. Of all the five elements water is the densest. If you have ever tried scuba diving you will know that barometric pressure doubles after  8 feet. Waters colors are black and dark blue. Shapes are wavy and flowing.

Fengshui  provides important information about the placement of water sources like wells, boring, underground water tank, overhead water tank etc, while planning the house. Positions for drainage of water, septic tanks, sewerage, drains etc. are decided carefully to optimize the benefits of water element.

Agni or Fire Element :- Sun is the most vital source of energy and light. It is the soul of the universe. Fire element "SUN" is related to our sense of sound, touch and sight. It is difficult to imagine life on earth without Sun.

When the Sun rays combine with water, they get additional benefits. It is, therefore, recommended to have a water source in North-East direction.

To block North-East corner of your building is depriving yourself of most beneficial rays of Sun and has adverse results. The ultra-violet rays normalize the metabolism of the body.

The ancient ritual of "Surya Namaskaar" wherein the beneficial rays of Sun become more potent when seen through fresh water offered to Sun god.

The late afternoon and evening Sun with the harmful infrared rays should be avoided. It is recommended by Fengshui  to have tall and big trees in the South so that harmful rays of Sun are blocked.

The element of fire is the one element that is not naturally present in the earth and has to be created. It is powerful and spreads rapidly. It can keep you warm or burn down the house. Fire represents sociability, the family name, good friends, happiness and its presence indicates the success that comes with fame or public recognition.

This element represents warmth, energy, passion and enthusiasm when in balance with the other elements. It is the strongest of all elements, so must be used with caution as it can derive in aggressiveness and destruction. It is symbolized by Colors, as you would expect are red, pink, peach, although colors that have warmth to them are also considered fire. Shapes are triangular.

Wood Element :- The wood element relates to health, growth, and advancement. It is the element that relates to the family, the feet and the oldest son. When wood is correctly placed, the family is happy, growing and health is vibrant. Too much wood can cause arguments and fiery tempers. Wood also Represents creativity and innovation, inspiration, insight and motivation. It is symbolized with the colors brown and green.

When wood is lacking there is little expansion, life feels stalled, stuck. The shape is rectangular, similar to the tall shape of a tree trunk. To add wood energy, use brown and green colors and rectangular shapes. Dried flowers, bonsai trees and cactus are negative wood symbols and should not be used in the house.

Metal Element :-  It relates to harvest, health, business, money and success. It is symbolized by the colors white, grey or gold. The metal element is an element of creativity and represents the manifestation of inward flowing movement, which includes wealth. Adding metallic objects such as Chinese coins, metallic bowls and wind chimes brings more metal energy to a home. Arching, oval and round shapes are associated with the metal element. Metal energy helps bring logic, precise thinking and ability to think analytically. Ceiling fans, white colors, televisions, stereos and computers are associated with metal energy.

The underlying principle of feng shui is chi. Another word for chi is energy. It is an energetic, formative principal that is spontaneously expressed throughout all life. It is the underlying principle of energy linking all things. This principle is common to other traditions as well. The Hindus call it prana, the Japanese call it Qi, and the Catholics call it spiritus. Chi can be of the earth, the atmosphere, or of people. The quality of chi is expressed through form, shape, color, sound and cycles of nature. A lot of feng shui is concerned with ensuring that chi does not get stuck, stagnate, depleted or too concentrated.

There are two types of feng shui to consider in the environments. One is physical, referring to actual visible surroundings, such as landscape, mountains, buildings, waterways and roads, and the interior design of the building. The second type is more abstract, and that is the directional influences, which are invisible, but which have an influence on us as they relate to time and space. When evaluating feng shui influences, it is absolutely necessary to take into consideration both the visible and in invisible energetic qualities of the environment.

Feng shui is a ancient chines scientific art and system of balancing five cosmic elements energy level in the built home-office structure such as wood, water, metal, earth, fire. Feng shui is a scientific system of energy enhancing, balancing and neutralizing in the built house. We are surrounded with subtle cosmic energy forces affecting our health and wealth each and every second and we cannot ignore the negative energy forces existing in the cosmic system but by applying feng shui scientific principles we can always neutralizing or suppressing negative energy force surrounding our environment affecting our wealth luck, career, business prosperity and health.

Plan your home, improve your relationships, and achieve career success with this easy to follow Feng Shui Guide. Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement objects in space to achieve harmony with the environment. The practice is estimated to be more than 3,000 years old. Feng Shui literally means “wind and water” in Chinese. Feng shui is based on the premise.

that people, places and things have energy. Positive energy is called chi and negative energy is called sha chi. According to an ancient Chinese teaching every person is born with four favorable and four harmful directions. To fulfill his/her potential a person should utilize the auspicious directions and avoid unlucky ones. Each of the auspicious directions attracts a slightly different kind of good fortune. For example sleeping in your SHENG CHI [positive energy] direction will bring you money and career luck. It is also the direction that you should face when negotiating or giving an important presentation. If you want to get married or conceive a child you should focus on your NIEN YEN [Marriage direction] direction. Your auspicious direction can be calculated based on your gender and the year you were born.

Feng shui is based on scientific energy harnessing system from cosmic environment rather than any religious beliefs and superstitions. Applying feng shui principles of energy we can enhance our family wealth luck, career, relationship, health, children concentration, memory and creativity etc.

Feng shui does not deal with your heaven luck and destiny but it deals with your earth luck which is 50% and we make our earth luck through feng shui principles home planning by right placements of main door, living room, kitchen, bedroom, toilet, bathroom, water overhead tank, borewell, store room, prayer room, children room, guest room,staircase, wall colors,flooring tiles colors, colors of window curtains, wall paintings and frames etc., Wrong placements result into loss of wealth, career opportunities, marital relationships, children concentration and memory, fertility problem, conceiving problem, difficulty finding new life partner etc.