The Five Elements are Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. These elements have distinct relationships with eachother which are considered either harmonious or destructive. For instance, water destroys fire. But Wood nurtures or feeds a fire.

Water is best represented by real water, but large surface areas of blue or black can vibrate some of the water element.

Wood is best represented by a live plant, but an entire green wall or green carpeting can also work as the wood element.

Fire is the one element where using real fire could be dangerous, although a stove or oven positioned in the right location can work as fire literally. Fire is the one element where the color is usually substituted and that is any shade of red.

Earth is best represented by real earthen objects made of stone or soil, clay, granite, or concrete. Earth colors range from light to dark tones of yellow, orange or brown.

Metal is often represented with decor or furnishings made of copper, brass, bronze, iron or steel. Metal colors are gold, silver, white or gray.

Some colors, like faint pastels, can go virtually anywhere in a house and not have a negative influence. But a large maroon area rug or a burgundy bed spread could qualify as fire. You would want to enlist the services of a highly trained Flying Star feng shui practitioner in order to know where the extreme colors can be a benefit, or at least not cause harm.

As an example, red color in the right location can actually help diminish a legal problem or vulnerability toward theft. But fire put in the wrong location could trigger a miscarriage or sickness.

Colors can also be seen as a bit subjective and a good feng shui consultant will never insist that a person use a color that the client does not personally like. Whenever we have to see something that we don't like, it can make us constrict and eventually depress the immune system.

So, there are no hard and fast rules about good colors or bad colors. They all serve a purpose and play off of eachother. It is the groupings of colors that can create a feeling or mood just as much as an individual color. For example, olive green is a nice color, but most people would find it "ruined" if placed next to hot pink. Olive green placed next to brown or gray can be very warm and relaxing however.

The eye sees certain colors faster than others, such as yellow or red. This is exactly why our "slow down" and "stop" lights are yellow and red. Some of the biggest companies use yellow or orange in their signage and logos because they know there is a universal comfort level with earthy colors. Americans also like blue in particular. It can emotionally represent trust, something stable, and cleanliness. Check out the color of your Tide detergent box and you will see both earth and water colors used in the marketing of that product. Or a big furniture company like IKEA uses the yellow and blue color for their company logo.

Color can also be used to change the yin/yang ratio of a room. If a room is very dark it is categorized as yin. The occupants of that room can become depressed or have low energy. Bringing in more cheerful colors is just one way to remedy that room. For a room that is too bright or overly active, the colors can be brought in to cool off the room and make it more mellow.