The Shapes and Colours referred to during a consultation and in the written report are grouped into five basic types known in Chinese philosophy as the "Five Elements". To help you choose your own colour scheme and décor, here are some guidelines as to what represents an example of the element referred to in the report.

The five elements are Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal.

Representatives of these elements are not always made of the material as named. We use the shape and colour of an object to define its element, not the material.

Look at the colour you have in a room, or consider the colour you want to use. It should have some of the "elemental" colour as an ingredient. If a fire colour is specified, then red is ideal but you could also use purple or orange as they both contain red. The other colours present may be harmless or have an effect. For example, beige is a mixture of the colours white & brown and so represents both metal and earth elements. If a metal colour is specified and no mention is made of earth, then the colour is OK. If metal has been prescribed, but earth is to be avoided, then beige should not be used.

The same goes for shapes. A square object is clearly an earth element, but if something is basically square with a round section then both the earth and metal elements are present.

Judgement is needed to determine how much of each element makes up the object or colour and if an undesirable one is only there in small quantities, then it can be ignored. Generally, one element will dominate and that is the one to consider. A second may be important, but attempting to work with a third or fourth would become far too confusing to be practical.

Water
Colours: Dark blue, Black or Grey
Shapes: Wavy or irregular
Examples - Dark blue curtains or fabric, black objects, grey walls or ceiling.

Wood
Colours: Green, Blue/green
Shapes: Long & thin, rod shaped
Examples - Plants, shrubs, trees, poles

Fire
Colours: Red, Pink, Orange, Purple
Shapes: Triangular
Examples - Real fire, candles, strong lights

Earth
Colours: Brown, Yellow, Beige
Shapes: Square, Rectangular
Examples - Wooden tables or furniture, Square ceramic plant pots

Metal
Colours: White, Silver, Gold
Shapes: Round, Oval, Spherical
Examples - Metal objects, Spherical or round objects

Wind chimes have been used as a metal element, in this case it is the sound of metal that is important. A wind chime in a quiet corner is fairly useless as it won't have any wind to operate it. A chiming clock is a better remedy, the round white face is a good metal example and the regularity of the chime is helpful in certain cases. The #5 star is particularly well cured by this, a swinging round metal pendulum makes things even better.

The calabash or Chinese bottle gourd, is often used to cure the #2 star. It's double spherical shape and golden colour are excellent metal examples and in this case the vessel should have a hole in the top.