The Chinese believe that the five elements, earth, wood, fire, metal and water are the forces of nature that make the earth what it is today. Both the Form and Compass Schools in Feng Shui hold these same beliefs and use the Five Elements Theory in their Feng Shui practices and interpretations.

These five elements have two different cycles in nature. One is Productive and the other is Destructive. In the productive cycle, fire produces earth, earth produces metal, metal produces water, water produces wood and wood produces fire. In the destructive cycle, wood destroys earth, earth destroys water, water destroys fire, fire destroys metal and metal destroys wood. The destructive cycle is not necessarily bad - it can be used as a cure for imbalance.

Each element is symbolized by color and material and can be found on your pakua in different directions.

Fire is represented by the color red. Candles and oil burners are good items to symbolize fire.

Earth is represented by brown and tan colors. Terra Cotta planters with potting soil, ceramics and rocks are excellent items to symbolize the earth element.

Metal is represented by white and silver and gold colors. Using metal objects made of copper, silver gold and bronze will enhance a metal sector.

Water is represented by blue hues and the color black. Water can be symbolized by aquariums, ponds or water fountains. It is important that the water is not still and stagnated but free flowing.

Wood is represented by the color green. Live plants, bushes or shrubs are excellent items to symbolize wood. Dead wood - such as furniture does not apply here - the wood must be living.

When deciding how to activate certain sectors, always use the breadwinner's element to determine what to use and what not to use in excess in your home. For example, if the breadwinner's element is wood, you don't want a lot of metal elements/objects in your home because metal destroys wood. By the same token, you DO want to have plenty of water element symbols because water produces wood. Other members of the family can have their elements enhanced in their own personal spaces such as a bedroom or an office.

If there is a situation where there is an element in your home that you can't get rid of - but is a bad element for the breadwinner, THEN you use the destructive cycle of the elements by placing whatever element will destroy the unwanted element in that area. Let's say for example that you heat your home with a wood burning stove and the breadwinner's element is metal. Since fire destroys metal - this is NOT good. So, if you cannot stop using the stove - then you need to find a cure that will destroy fire. The element that destroys fire is water. So, in this situation, you would put water element colors and objects on and around the wood burning stove in order to "downplay" the fire element.

Using the five elements of Feng Shui in the right way should bring a positive flow of chi into your home or office.

Judy Gunderson is a Feng Shui practitioner and has helped many clients over the years with consultations and supplying them with Feng Shui products on her website at http://learnaboutfengshui.com