We need the presence of all five feng shui elements in our home or office space in order to thrive and feel healthy. It is very important to understand the Bagua and know how to bring the required feng shui elements for each specific Bagua area, be it with colors, shapes or specific images. It is equally important to know how to strengthen or weaken the presence of a specific feng shui element.

From studying the Bagua, you know that the east area is governed by the wood feng shui element. The fireplace, being a fire element item, is too strong for the wood because fire burns the wood, which makes the fireplace an undesirable design feature in the east.

Does this mean that the house has bad feng shui because it has a fireplace in the east? No, it doesn't. What it does mean, though, is that there is a potential for burnout and stress for people living in this house. East feng shui area is the area connected to health & family relationships.

It is important to have a strong and vibrant wood element in order to bring the desired quality of energy to a home. When the Wood element is weakened, or destroyed by a strong Fire in the East, the quality of energy needed to maintain good health for people living in this home is weak.

As a fireplace is not easily removed or repositioned, what type of feng shui cures can you apply? This is where the knowledge about the two main cycles of the five feng shui elements is very helpful. There are two main cycles of interaction between the five feng shui elements: Productive (cycle of creation) and Destructive (cycle of destruction.)

Water nurtures > Wood nurtures > Fire nurtures > Earth nurtures > Metal nurtures > Water.

You will use the Productive, or Creative, cycle when you need to strengthen a particular feng shui element. For example, let’s say, you need to strengthen the wood feng shui element in a specific area. Besides the obvious step of bringing more wood energy (with plants, wood décor items, colors green and brown, etc), you will also focus on bringing more of the water element because it nourishes the wood. You can do that with an actual water feature such as an aquarium or a fountain, with images of water, mirrors, as well as décor elements in deep blue or black colors in fluid shapes.

Water weakens > Fire weakens > Metal weakens > Wood weakens > Earth weakens > Water.

You will use the Destructive Cycle when you need to weaken a particular feng shui element in your home or office. For example, if the water element in a specific area is too strong and you cannot remove the decor element that brings the Water energy—such as mirrored closet doors in the west area—then you need to weaken the water element. In order to do that, you will bring the earth element to put down/absorb the excess water energy.

Decor-wise, you can do any of the following: bring in several big to medium-size earthenware vases, have a beige rug with a predominantly square pattern, paint the walls in a light yellow or beige color and/or bring feng shui art with a strong earth element presence.

Now that you understand the basics of the productive and destructive cycles of the five feng shui elements, let’s get back to our example of a fireplace in the east area. Let's see how we can remedy the situation by using the newly acquired knowledge about the two main cycles of feng shui elements.