Follow These 3 Cycles to Balance Feng Shui’s Five Elements

According to Feng Shui, five elements exist, and each of these partakes a big part in how we run each other’s personal life. The five elements are—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Each element cannot stand alone but rather depends on each other to bring balance and harmony into our lives. If you currently feel out of control with your life, this article is meant to find you! Learn how to keep your life within the palms of your hand by playing around with these three cycles.

In order to make all of these easy for you to understand, it is best for me to compare this process with a simple human activity. The most straightforward illustration would be; if you left your coffee sitting for a while so that it turns cold for you to enjoy it, then you would probably want to heat it up with Fire. By doing so, you will be able to enjoy your coffee again. Easy, right?

However, the five elements of feng shui would include three cycles, but technically, it does the same with the coffee situation—it helps you live your life in accord. Since this consists of three processes, it might take a while to master it.

Another example is when you have undergone acupuncture treatments in a Chinese clinic. If you have done this kind of treatment, then you have probably heard about the meridians and networks of your body. In harmonizing the networks of your body, your acupuncturist stimulates the proper points by releasing stagnant Qi blockages. This counteracts the imbalances and allows the Qi to flow properly throughout your body. It will even solve health issues like loose bowels, low appetite, bloating, and many more. 

Now, let’s move on not just to your body’s balance but to your whole life. In order to take charge of your life, you need to be familiar with the feng shui element’s three cycles: Productive Cycle, Controlling Cycle, and Weakening or Destructive Cycle. 

The Productive Cycle

From the name itself, this Cycle refers to elements nourishing or creating one another. The rule in this Cycle is that all of the elements are interconnected and that one procreates the other.

The arrangement of the elements in this Cycle is relatively simple to remember with your logical or imaginative reasoning. Refer to the diagram below:

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• Water Nourishes/Creates Wood

You can remember this by the logic that without water, trees will die. Thus, the water element is essential to produce, create or nourish the wood element.

• Wood Feeds/Enhances Fire

You might be familiar with the saying, “One cannot put out a fire if he keeps feeding it .”If you love camping, this is very easy to recall since we usually use Wood to keep the Fire burning in a bonfire. Likely, Feng Shui’s wood element feeds and strengthens the fire element. 

• Fire (when it turns to ash) Creates Earth.

This is much more difficult to remember, but when we think of Fire, we are reminded of ashes. Thinking of ashes, we might all know it blends into the wind as if it disappears in the vastness. All there is to look at is the beautiful greeneries and lands of the Earth. You can also think of another logical reason as long as you remember this part of the Cycle!

• Earth (as it condenses over time) Turns to Metal

A more accessible approach is to consider the Earth a mining place to get metals! 

• Metal Enhances (the life-giving properties of) Water

Another logic to this is when metal melts, it runs like water. That made it easier!

The Controlling (or Exhaustive/Weakening) Cycle  

 This Cycle is about the order of the elements where one is controlled by the other element.

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• Wood Controls Earth

Talking about nature, the Earth highly depends on trees and woods. The roots keep the Earth’s soil intact.

• Earth Controls Water

The Earth separates the water and maintains it on its banks.

• Water Controls Fire

Do I really need to say more? Of course, nothing puts out the Fire better than the water.

• Fire Controls Metal

We can melt metals by using Fire.

• Metal Controls Wood

Cutting materials like swords or saws are made from metals. Metals can cut wood.

The Destructive Cycle

This Cycle is the complete opposite of the productive Cycle. This Cycle is also coined as the draining Cycle because the element that creates or strengthens the other is also exhausted and drained through the process.

• Wood Drains Water
• Fire Burns Wood
• Earth Exhausts Fire
• Metal Depletes Earth
• Water Destructs Metal

The 3 Cycles in a Single Diagram

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This diagram shows the three cycles in one picture. At first, you might be confused, but when you get the hang of it, it’ll be easy to read. Amidst everything, how can we apply these three cycles in balancing our feng shui? It’s easy!

Applying The 3 Cycles

Think about what is wrong with your life or your home. Do you have any trouble sleeping in your bedroom? If yes, this might be an indication that there is a dominant water element in your bedroom. If getting rid of it is inevitable, then weakening or draining it by placing a wood element in your bedroom might help. Some wood elements include fresh and silk flowers, plants, cotton, natural fabrics, or wooden furniture. See the photo below as a reference:

   

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The color black is a very known water element, creating active energy of wisdom and insightfulness. This might be the reason why most people with black-dominant rooms overthink at night. In the photo above, the water element in the walls is drained down by the wood elements in the floor, chairs, and fabrics. Since the earth element also controls the water element by absorbing it, then you can also place this in your bedroom.

There are a lot more ways to use these three cycles to bring harmony to your life and your home. Surely, after learning these cycles, it is much easier to apply this. To learn more about bringing balance to your home, you may read more articles about decorating and placement advice at our blog. 

Takeaways

When you learn how to apply the 5 Feng Shui Elements’ 3 cycles in your daily events, then it means that you are way more intelligent in life than before. A balanced and harmonious life indeed gives us happiness and satisfaction; thus, you must learn how to play around with the feng shui elements to attain that balance.