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The theory of the five elements is a major foundation stone of Compass feng shui. In Chinese this is known as Wu Xing, which conveniently translates as five elements. However, it actually means more: the word wu means five but the word xing is a way of saying “five types of chi dominating at different times.” This has been shortened to the word “elements” which seems to have become conventionally accepted into the language of Chinese feng shui and divinition. The five elements are water, wood, fire, earth, and metal.

Water dominates in winter, wood in spring, fire in summer, and metal in autumn. The intersection between two seasons, the transitional period, is dominated by earth. The names of the elements refer to substances whose properties resemble the respective element and help us understand the different properties of the five types of chi.

The properties of the five types of chi are summarized as follows:

Water runs downwards. Water always signifies wealth and success related with money but there is always a danger of overflow. The element of water can therefore bring enormous wealth luck or it can cause great misfortune. Water is a powerful element that cuts both ways. In the Compass formulas water is extremely important and special attention must be paid to it if you want extra income or to improve your monetary lifestyle. Water thus is always symbolic of a money flow. The key is to get the direction of money flow correct!

Wood grows upwards and is an excellent representation of life and growth – so wood always suggests growth and expansion. Think of a seed growing into a tall and luxuriant tree, filled with blossoms and flowers. The chi of wood is pushing upwards. So if success and expansion is what you need and want, look at the best ways to activate the wood element. For this reason a luxuriant growth of plants in the east and southeast is always beneficial.

Fire spreads in all directions. It is radiant and hot, and needs to be controlled. Fire has the potential to suddenly become so big and hot that it can get out of control. Fire brings fame, recognition, and luminosity, the kind of success that can become a double-edged sword; the kind of success that can also burn itself out. Think of it brightening the sky with its flashing red and yellow, but also make sure it keeps burning. Make sure the fire is controlled.

Fire, like water, is powerful and is a double-edged sword. It can be so hot that it burns chi to ashes. Fire is for success, recognition, and popularity.

Metal pierces inwards, is sharp and pointing. It can be deadly and powerful but metal is also the easiest element to control. This is because as an element it is deemed to be unbending and true to type. Metal does not surprise anyone. It is a cold type of chi which, when properly harnessed, brings enormous power. So metal chi stands for power and authority. The danger with metal lies in its unbending nature. The metal element, when energized, can be relentless in its strength. Always have fire energy ready nearby to ensure that metal is always under your control.

Earth The chi of the earth is very warm and embracing. It nurtures and nourishes. Earth energy is protective energy – it embraces and takes care of the home when it is properly energized and balanced. Of the five elements earth is the friendliest and also the most important to have. The earth element must be steady and strong and then the essence of good fortune is present.

Earth is also representative of the center of any home so do remember the importance of this element. At the same time, however, one must also realize that the earth element has a darker side – for instance when it appears as a result of flying star numbers that bring illness, loss, and accidents – and then it becomes dangerous.

In terms of attributes, the five elements are also associated with seasons, directions, numbers, and so forth. The following table gives a quick summary of the different things indicated by each element.

	WOOD	WATER	FIRE	METAL	EARTH
SEASON	spring	winter	summer	autumn	between
DIRECTION	east/SE	north	south	west/NW	SW/NE
COLOR	green	black	red	white	ocher
SHAPE	rectangle	wavy	triangular	round	square
ENERGY	outwards	descending	upwards	inwards	sideways
NUMBERS	3, 4	1	9	6, 7	2, 5, 8
BODY	liver	kidneys	eyes	lungs	stomach

The five elements hold the key to unlocking the meanings of the different plates of the Luo Pan. In addition to the elements allotted to each of the eight cardinal and primary directions, each of the 24 mountain directions in the different plates also has a different set of elements. All the elements assigned to the directions are used to analyze the quality of chi under the different methods of feng shui. In Eight Mansions and Flying Star feng shui, as you will see later, knowing the elements well is a great help in interpreting natal charts and knowing how to cure, how to activate, and how to energize.

Feng shui analysis requires total familiarity with the five elements. But even more important is an understanding of the three cycles of relationships between the elements. There are two primary cycles of interaction that govern the relationship of the elements – these are cycles of either production or destruction. When any two elements are in a productive cycle they give rise to harmony, and when they are in a destructive cycle they give rise to disharmony. The productive cycle is where wood produces fire, fire produces earth, earth produces metal, metal produces water, and water produces wood, and then the cycle starts all over again. The destructive cycle is when water destroys fire, fire destroys metal, metal destroys wood, wood destroys earth, earth destroys water, and the cycle starts again.

The third cycle is the exhaustive cycle. In this cycle basically the productive cycle reverts backwards. Thus fire exhausts wood, earth exhausts fire, metal exhausts earth, water exhaust metal, wood exhausts water, and the cycle starts again. It is this cycle of the five elements that is so useful for designing powerful cures to overcome the afflictions of space caused by the intangible forces of bad flying stars or afflicted directions.

The cycles of the five element relationships are shown in the illustration above.

To apply element enhancement to your rooms, first commit to memory the element categorization of shapes, seasons, numbers, directions, objects, and so forth. Then, at the most elementary level of the practice, systematically identify the elements in each corner of your home, and move them around to achieve harmony by making sure no conflict of elements occurs in any corner of your home. Instead try introducing symbolic and element enhancers that strengthens the chi of every corner. This is a dimension of Symbolic feng shui practice using the compass.

Some examples of element enhancement:

1 Refrain from having too much water in the south because water destroys the fire element of the south. However, when the flying stars indicate it is auspicious to place water here you can do so because the water will then be energizing special water energy here. Nevertheless the water feature should never be so big as to overwhelm and conquer the fire completely. Otherwise wealth will be attained at the price of your good name.

2 Try not to place round extensions, semi-circular windows, or anything circular in the east or southeast part of your home. This is because round is the shape that symbolizes metal and metal destroys the wood element of the east. Instead, the east is best activated by the presence of water. A lily pond filled with live guppies is an excellent way to bring out the best of the chi of this corner. This is because water produces wood and is thus good for the east.

3 In the north it is an excellent idea to have round and circular structures as the element of this shape is entirely harmonious with this corner of the home. Round is metal, which produces water. What is bad, however, are earth element objects like stones, pebbles, and boulders. It is definitely not a good idea to build a Zen garden made predominantly of stone objects in the north part of the home.

4 In the west or northwest, which are metal corners, placing earth element objects is extremely auspicious. Thus stone sculptures, stone pathways, crystal decorative trees, and natural crystal geodes are auspicious. Avoid fire element objects like bright lights and excessive amounts of red in these corners.

5 In the southwest and northeast use objects that belong to the fire element. These will activate and strengthen the chi here – anything red is gloriously auspicious, bright chandelier lights are also excellent, as are crystals.