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Five Elements Wu Xing and Xuan Kong Feng Shui

elements productive fengshuitime
element fire feng shui time
Feng Shui single elements earth
Feng Shui single elements metal
Element Water, Wu Xing single elements water
Feng Shui single elements wood

In Feng Shui wood is not just “Wood ( 木 ) ” like Metal ( 金 ) , Water ( 水 ) , Fire ( 火 ) and Earth ( 土 ) are seen as types energies ; energies with traits which interact with each other to create Balance or Imbalance.
Five Elements are called Five Phases as one blends into the other. The Five Elements can also be linked with the seasons of the year.
The ways in which these energies interact with each other are called cycles,  Productive , Destructive and Weakening.
If we use the analogy of a tree;

The productive cycle would be watering and caring for it.

The Destructive cycle would be using something to chop it down or deprive it of nourishment and water.

The Weakening cycle would be where you restrict some of the nourishment , gradually over time this would weaken the tree.

Five Elements (wu xing)

Wu Xing is said to mirror the structure of the cosmos through the five elements. Each “element” has a series of associations with different aspects of nature. In Feng Shui it uses the five elements (Wu Xing) system to Balance or repair Imbalance where needed.

All 5 elements are represented within the bagua (eight trigrams), each of the 5 elements are represented as colours, numbers, directions, seasons, etc. etc.

The elements are:
Fire ( 火 )
Earth ( 土 )
Metal ( 金 )
Water ( 水 )
Wood ( 木 )

Each element represents a different type of (Chi), Chee or energy, Wu Xing is the interaction between each element it’s seen as 3 distinct cycles Productive , Destructive and Weakening, knowledge of these cycles and the energy flow between the elements enables Feng Shui practitioners to apply specific cures by rearrangement of energy in a way that’s beneficial to people.C

Feng Shui Water ElementWater Element Properties:

Element: Water
Season: Winter
Direction: North
Condition: Cold
Colours : Black, Blue
Numbers: 1

Water element is the most yin in character of the Five elements.Water element motion is downward and inward and its energy is stillness and conserving.
Water energy is good for enhancing career and for improving communication. Water is the element of the trigram Kan.

Cycles of Wu Xing
Productive Cycle: Water strengthens (nurtures) Wood
Destructive Cycle: Water destroys (puts out) Fire
Weakening Cycle: Water (weakens) Metal

Feng Shui Water Element Feng Shui Water Element

single elements woodWood Element Properties:

Element: Wood
Season: Spring
Direction: East, Southeast
Condition: Wind
Colour : Green
Numbers: 3, 4

Wood element is associated with new beginnings, wood can help you make smooth progress in the projects you undertake. Wood is the element of 2 trigrams Xun and Zhen.

Cycles of Wu Xing
Productive Cycle: Wood strengthens (creates) Fire
Destructive Cycle: Wood destroys (depletes) Earth
Weakening Cycle: Wood (weakens) Water

element wood element wood fengshuitime

single elements fireFire Element Properties:

Season: Summer
Direction: South
Condition: Heat
Colours: Red, Purple, Dark, Orange, Pink
Numbers: 9

Fire is the second phase of Wu Xing. Fire is yang in character. Its motion is upward and its energy is expansive. Fire is associated with summer, the South, the planet Mars, the colour red (associated with extreme luck), hot weather, daylight.

Cycles of Wu Xing
Productive Cycle: Fire strengthens (turns into) Earth
Destructive Cycle: Fire destroys (melts) Metal
Weakening Cycle: Fire (weakens) Wood

element fire element fire fengshuitime

single elements earthEarth Element Properties:

Season: Late Summer
Direction: Northeast, Southwest, Centre
Condition: Wet
Colours: Brown, Yellow
Numbers: 2, 5, 8

Earth is a balance of yin and yang, the feminine and masculine together, it is the element of the central palace. Earth is the element of 2 trigrams Kun and Gen; it is the only element to be represented in 3 palaces. Earth represents grounding, protection, stability, and security.

Cycles of Wu Xing
Productive Cycle: Earth strengthens (produces) Metal
Destructive Cycle: Earth destroys (absorbs) Water
Weakening Cycle: Earth (weakens) Fire

element earth element earth fengshuitime

single elements metalMetal Element Properties:

Element: Metal
Season: Autumn
Direction: West, Northwest
Condition: Dry
Colours: White, Silver, Gold
Numbers: 6, 7

Metal is the element of 2 trigrams Qian and Dui, this element of metal draws and unifies all of the elements together.

Cycles of Wu Xing
Productive Cycle: Metal strengthens (becomes like) Water
Destructive Cycle: Metal destroys (chops) Wood
Weakening Cycle: Metal (weakens) Earth

element metal element metal fengshuitime

productiveelement

The fire element is related with the energy of ascension, with the luminosity, the summer, the earth with the circular movement and therefore with the changing of the cycles, the metal with the inwards movement and the autumn season, the water with the descendent energy representing the winter and the wood with the outwards movement and the energy that appears in spring. These are just a few associations according to the movement and the natural seasons.

An extremely rich range of associations interfere in the 5 elements, such as for example the fire is related to the summer and also to the heart, the red colors, to certain emotions as the stress or impatience, as well as triangular forms, etc.

Each element is part of an extenese decription that allows us to catalogue the spaces weighing up the kind of energies that affect them. This relations allow making a more or less precise lecture of the events that develop or could happen in a space.

The Chinese theory suggests the need for the five elements to be in a mutual balance. Fire as an example serves to give warmth, to cook, to transform raw material but in excess it can be a big destroyer. Or like water that serves as transport and storage source but when is imbalanced can lead to floodings or extreme drought.

Feng Shui as a view of the natural energy can point on this disharmonies by introducing solutions that correct the problem. An example could be represented in a house that abuses of the metal element and its characteristics, using a uniform white color, polished and shiny surfaces, the element material itself, an austere and autumnal decoration, extremely order and cleanliness, and so on, that can facilitate an ambient missing joy and warmth being associated lungproblems, stiffness, or emotional feelings like depression and sadness. All this associations are part of the metal element and were not arbitrarily chosen