In Feng Shui, it is believed that the world is composed of five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. All of these elements have their own points of focus and mood but nevertheless need each other in order to create a harmonious environment. Among these five elements, this article will be talking about the wood element and everything you need to know about it.
Wood and Growth
Accordingly, the wood element signifies growth, expansion, birth, and fertility. With all of these traits, the wood element is a good option if you have any intentions of growing your financial status. The wood element is also your friend if you are thinking of having a child and a family. Another way to make use of the energy from wood elements is when you feel as if your career life is stagnant, as this element represents an energy that always moves upward. The wood element also signifies new beginnings, so it will be ideal to give an item that represents this element to a friend who is starting a business or moving into a new house.
Wood Element in its Extremities vs. Absence
Despite all the benefits you can get from the wood element, too much of it in a certain space can make you feel overwhelmed, unyielding, and restless since the overflowing amount of growth energy does not allow you to pause for a while and breathe. It is similar to getting burned out from your work or education. No matter how much we crave excellence, we still need to take it at a certain pace. Meanwhile, having little to no earth element in a space makes you feel stagnant, uncreative, and demotivated. Thus, it is indeed true that anything that is too much is bad, while the absence of it makes you feel unwell. Make sure that the wood element in your environment is just adequate so that you are able to achieve balance.
Colors and Shades of the Wood Element
The colors and shades that represent the wood element are what you will commonly see in forests and gardens. Any green, whether it be moss or pastel, is a wood element. Brown is also a powerful color that contains the energy of the wood element. Using these colors will help you add a wood element to any space. Just like the element it represents; the color green helps stimulate our brain to be in a condition that allows it to welcome new ideas. That is why many people will tell you that if you feel like you do not understand anything that you are trying to work on, relax and look at anything that is green. On the other hand, the color brown depicts an energy of grounding and stability. This color gives you a feeling of being stable and supported.
Objects that Represent the Wood Element
Plants represent the wood element, whether they are real-life plants or artwork. Tall furniture or light fixtures also represent the wood element, as they look like trees that sprouted from the ground. A bowl of fruit in the kitchen also contains the energy of a wood element. Flowers are also a good representation of this element and are a wonderful way to add the presence of wood to a space. With that said, items that have botanical prints are also members of the wood element.
Its Shapes and Forms
Anything that has a tall and vertical shape represents the wood element. This includes but is not limited to vertical panels (like in the photo above), lamps, curtains, and plants. Anything that has this form is basically part of the wood element group.
Wood Element in Bagua Map
The family sector and wealth sector of the bagua map are both represented by the wood element. If you map this out in your house, these areas will be the southeast and east areas. Draw out a box outside your floor plan, then divide it into nine equal boxes by drawing two vertical lines and two horizontal lines across the box. The wealth sector will be the leftmost box in the last row, while the family sector will be the middle box in the first column. Both of these areas are encouraged to have plenty of wood elements to provide energy that can assist in your wealth and family life aspects.
The Wood Element in Feng Shui Cycles
According to the productive cycle of the feng shui elements, the wood element is nourished by the water element. This means that if you are trying to strengthen the energy of the wood element, then you should incorporate the water element with it. However, you would likely want to avoid pairing the wood element with the fire element, as wood feeds fire according to the destructive cycle. In this scenario, the energy of the wood element will be depleted. Moving forward to the controlling cycle, the wood element controls the earth element. Thus, if you are trying to minimize or maximize the energy of any earth element, you may want to manipulate the wood element, as the earth highly depends on it. On the other hand, the wood element is controlled by the metal element because it is believed in feng shui that swords made of metal can cut wood. Therefore, the metal element has the power to minimize or weaken the energy of the wood element.
Feng Shui Your Home with Wood Elements
The wood element makes a great addition not just to your home’s yin and yang energy but also to its beautification. It is very easy to incorporate this element into your home since the objects that represent it usually give life to any space. Keep the wood element in your home by regularly having a fresh bouquet of flowers on your table tops. Also, add real-life plants to your space, as they can make the air in your house fresh and purified. Adding the colors green and brown to your house also helps it look more at home. You can use green if you are looking forward to having yin energy in a space, like your bedroom or living space, and brown if you want to add yang energy for stability and support. In addition, botanical arts and fruit paints are good to have in your kitchen space as they support a healthy appetite. Not only will you have a beautiful home to stay in with this element, but you will also have healthy energy flowing around it.