Finding Your Feng Shui Birth Element and Its Meaning

Knowing your feng shui birth element can help you better understand how to use the feng shui elements in your life and home.

Updated May 17, 2024
Relaxing spiritual Feng Shui altar set with nature, water and fire element

You may know feng shui as a way to organize your home for better energy, but it can also provide insight into how certain influences shape your life. It's kind of like numerology or astrology, only using a traditional Chinese philosophical framework. Sound intriguing? We can help you calculate your feng shui birth element and discover how it affects you. 

Calculator to Find Your Feng Shui Birthday Element

Fill in your birthday to find your feng shui element and what it means.

How to Determine Your Birth Element Without a Calculator

It's easy to determine your birth element. You simply use the last digit of your birth year. For example:

Birth Element
Element Last Digit of Birth Year Last Digit of Birth Year
Metal 0 1
Water 2 3
Wood 4 5
Fire 6 7
Earth 8 9

Elements and Range of Dates Based on Chinese New Year

You can also use a chart that provides the range of dates to determine your birth element. Below is a chart of the Chinese New Year for every year based on the lunar calendar. Your birthdate must follow the year listed. For example, if your birthdate is 2-20-1981, you'll select the Chinese New Year 2-5-1981, since your birthdate fell after the Lunar New Year. If your birthday is 1-22-1974, your birth year will be 1973 (2-3-1973) because your birthdate fell before the 1974 Chinese New Year (1-23-1974). 

Birthdate Chart and Elements

Using Your Feng Shui Birth Element 

Your feng shui birth element is one part of your Chinese zodiac. The other half is the Chinese zodiac animal from the year you were born. You can make adjustments in your home to enhance your birth element energy for better luck and energy in your life. The bagua map below shows which sectors of your home best align with the different feng shui elements. 

Feng Shui Bagua Elements

Related: 10 Traditions That Invite Luck & Good Fortune for the Lunar New Year

If You Have the Wood Birth Element

wood elements in a room

If your feng shui birth element is wood, your strongest sectors are wealth & prosperity and family & new beginnings. In these sectors, use wood décor objects to enhance your natural element of wood, such as using wood furniture or other wooden objects. In addition, the water element nourishes the wood element, so you can add a tabletop water fountain or fish aquarium in one of these sectors, except for the kitchen or bedroom. You will also find living in a forest or wooded area and/or near water enhances your personal element power.

Personality and Feng Shui Traits for the Wood Element

You can also learn about your personality as it relates to this element.

  • You are interested in most health-related topics and enjoy good health.
  • You are very happy being out in nature, especially surrounded by trees and forests.
  • People born with a wood element have a tendency towards great prosperity and wealth.
  • Brown and green are your best fashion colors. You can use these to enhance personal element power in both attire and home décor.

If You Have the Water Birth Element

Water fountain with stones

The water element guides you and can be used to your advantage. Your best sector is the career sector. To strengthen this, you can add a water feature, such as a tabletop fountain or fish aquarium, in the career sector. You can also live near water to further enhance your personal element power.

Personality and Feng Shui Traits for Water Element

Learn more about your personality as it relates to the water element.

  • You are a calm person with fresh new ideas.
  • You love being around and in water.
  • Water brings a sense of calmness to you like no other element in nature. This is where you feel most at home.
  • Your best colors are blue and black. Use these colors to decorate your home. You can also select clothing in these colors for elemental power dressing.

If You Have the Fire Birth Element

Fire burning in a fireplace

The fire element can empower you. Your best sector is the fame & reputation sector. Add things that represent fire to this sector to boost your luck even further in this area, such as a fireplace or candles. You may prefer to add table lamps and floor lamps along with recessed ceiling lights, since lighting is always a powerful feng shui enhancer and represents the fire element. You can further enhance this sector with wood since wood feeds fire.

Personality and Feng Shui Traits for the Fire Element 

Personality traits that relate to the fire element include:

  • This element brings passion, impulsiveness, and very high energy.
  • A warm climate is a good fit for you.
  • Fire elements have everything they need to support careers and achieve goals.
  • Colors are red, pink, and purple. Use these colors in decorating your home and choosing your fashion style. Green and brown wood element colors will further support the fire red colors.

If You Have the Earth Birth Element

Rose quartz in bowl with flowers

If the earth element guides your birthdate, you can use this element to increase all areas of your life. As you can see on the bagua, many aspects of your life are enhanced by the earth element, including love & marriage, health, and knowledge & self-cultivation. You can further strengthen these areas using earth symbols like crystals, gems, and stones. Earthenware will ground the earth energy when used in home décor in earth element sectors. The fire element creates the earth element and is a way to enhance it, so you can also use fire elements in these sectors. 

Personality and Feng Shui Traits for the Earth Element

Earth element-related personality traits include:

  • Home is an important haven where strength and harmony reign.
  • There is a need for stability, and relationships flourish under this element. Reinforce these attributes by adding the earth element to your home décor.
  • Colors are yellow and tan. Use these colors in your home décor and your wardrobe choices. Since fire generates earth, add fire colors to your décor and wardrobe, too.

If Your Birth Element Is Metal

silver bracelets and rings

The metal element rules the helpful people & travel and children & creativity sectors of your space. You can activate these by introducing metal artwork, furniture, and various metal objects into your home décor. Metal also attracts water, so a water element can also be used to further enhance the properties of the metal element.

Personality Traits & Feng Shui Traitsfor Metal Birth Elements

Metal-related traits include the following.

  • Mountain regions with ore deposits are ideal locations for you to live.
  • Metal brings the element of vision and clarity. Precision and efficiency follow this energy and help to create balance in your life.
  • Your best color choices are black, gray, and white.

Birth Elements by Month

Unlike traditional astrology, where your birth month plays a key role in important aspects of your life and personality, in feng shui and Chinese Astrology, these factors are determined by the year in which you are born.

Birth Elements Are Important

Elements are important because they help define the energy they attract. The feng shui elements based on birthday calculations can assist you in a better feng shui design for your home. But more importantly, it can provide you with a life map so you can take advantage of opportunities. You can also gain a better understanding of the challenges you will face throughout life based on your strengths and weaknesses, as well as how to correct them using colors and symbols.

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Finding Your Feng Shui Birth Element and Its Meaning