Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese method of achieving harmony through the arrangment of items and space. The objective of Feng Shui is to enhance the chi in your personal space through color, light, touch, smell, taste, living things, pictures/art, and movement. Feng Shui is litterally translated as "wind water” and has been practiced for more than 3,000 years.

The practice of Feng Shue begins by writing out your current status and future goals for nine defined areas of life - wealth/abundance, health, family, children, knowledge, travel, fame, career, and personal relationships. The nine life areas are situated on a pakua grid. The location of each area is based on the eight compass directions and the center point.

Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood are the Five Elements utilized in Feng Shui. Each element has a color, direction and number associated with it.

Each of the five elements is represented by furniture and dйcor within the home. The strength of the element is increased when the natural element is used rather than a representation or color.

Wood
Wood is represented by plants and wood, the color green, and the numbers 3 and 4. Decorative plants, floral arrangements, furniture and books serve as a wood element,

Fire
Fire is represented by light and flame, the colors red and purple, and the number 9. Candles, fireplaces, stoves and lamps serve as a fire element.

Earth
Earth is represented by rock and earth, the colors brown, yellow and beige, and the numbers 2, 5 and 8. A terracotta pot, a clay statue and stone tiles serve as an earth element.

Metal
Metal is represented by metal and reflective surfaces, the colors gray, white, gold and silver, and the numbers 6 and 7. Iron railings, mirrors and white rugs serve as a metal element.

Water
Water is represented by water, the colors blue and black, and the number 1. A fountain, an aquarium and a painting of the sea serve as a water element.

These elements increase and decrease each others energies. In the productive cycle - water feeds wood, wood feeds fire creating earth, earth creates metal and metal holds water. In the destructive cycle - water douses fire, fire melts metal, metal cuts wood, wood covers earth and earth muddies water.

Placing these elements correctly creates balance and harmony and increases chi. Balance can be determined by creating a scaled outline of your home or office floor plan. Then, using colored markers, pencils or crayons, go to each room and place a mark of the appropriate color on the scaled drawing for corresponding item in the room – for example a potted tree may get four green marks while a painting of a tree may get only one, or red couch may get four red marks while a red pillow may get only one. If an area is unbalanced, bring in the missing element, remove excess elements, or bring in an element that will feed or lessen an out of balance element.