The 5 Yellow

If you are strongly affected by negative information, easily manifest the things you know and think about or suffer from anxiety, please do not read this article. Just do these two things: remove all Fire and Water elements from the SW of your home and add some moving metal. And if you are a woman or Mother Earth element, wear metal colors and metal jewelry this year.

I am often asked about the number 5 as it relates to The 8 Elements.  Each personal element is associated with a number.  And among the other aspects of personal energy, this number determines how many people you need to be complete.  When we make the jump from a Soft Wood 4 to a Hard Metal 6, the question arises: What about the number 5? 

The truth is: one-third of Earth elements are a 5. However, depending on their male or female gender (sex at birth), this Earth energy is converted either to a Mother Earth or Mountain Earth element.  And their completion numbers are a 2 and 8 respectively.

In feng shui, there are nine guas or areas within any space.  And each area is assigned a number based on the 8 directions and center gua. The home of the 5 Yellow is the center.  However, each year all nine numbers, including the 5, play a game of musical chairs.

Among the many challenges the 5 Yellow can bring into a gua of your space or area of your life, is the energy of “obstacles and delays”. I call it the disaster and death energy because it can really make a mess of things and bring areas of life to a final end. It can also bring misfortunes and cause misunderstandings between people. There is a potential for disease, especially cancer, job loss and bankruptcy, destruction of property through earthquakes, floods and fires, divorce and broken families, emergency medicine and broken bones and all manner of tragedies, including major accidents.

This energy can affect everyone with a front entrance, bedroom or home office that has this annual visiting energy.  It can also affect that area of the Western feng shui bagua.  Most importantly, it can affect the members of the East or West House Group and specifically the areas of life associated with one of their four best directions. 

If you know how this energy might affect you and what to do, you can minimize these potentials with great success. Avoid rough sports and risky business. Have insurance on everything. Take really good care of your health. Let relationships go that don't work for you anymore. Plan to stay home more and travel less. Practice caution. Think before you act. Be intentional with everything you choose.

It's a good year to gain clarity and conserve your energy for greater things ahead. Do the inner work. Rest. Heal thyself. Master self-care. Learn life lessons at deeper levels.

And find the blessing in the challenge. Some relationships aren't meant to be forever. Some illnesses help us regain our health and renew our appreciation for life. Some experiences show us who people really are so we can make good decisions going forward. A car accident or theft provides the money for you to get a new car. A bankruptcy gives you a clean slate. A divorce creates space for someone who will appreciate you and receive your love. The death of a dream makes it possible for you to choose something that sparks even greater joy.

In 2018, the 5 Yellow visited the North.  Employing protective feng shui, I cautioned everyone, especially Water elements, not to sleep North last year.  A 5 Yellow in the North also created obstacles and delays in the areas of Career & Life Path for everyone, which could have translated into reduced income and lack of career growth or success.  The 5 Yellow had a potential negative effect on all East Group (Water, Fire, Hard Wood & Soft Wood) personal elements.  Specifically, it could have negatively influenced the inner peace and restful sleep of Water elements, the marriage and family harmony of Fire elements, the wealth and helpful people of Hard Wood elements and the fame and fortune of Soft Wood elements.  And because the 5 Yellow visited the North gua in 2018, the potential for Water elements to experience great disappointment and many difficulties, even disasters was increased exponentially. 

By the way, as a Water element, I just came through my personal 5 year. Except for the first (and last) car accident of my life, with very minor damage and no injuries, I came out of 2018 pretty unscathed. I've never been happier to have paid more than the daily rate for the rental car insurance.

In 2019, the Yellow 5 moves to the Southwest.

In terms of feng shui, you will want to remove all water and fire elements and their colors and add real metal and lots of it and some moving metal to the SW of your home.  If you enter your home through the SW, you will want to use another entry door this year, if possible.  If you sleep in the SW bedroom, you will want to move into another bedroom in the house for 2019, if possible.  If your bed is currently positioned on the SW wall of your bedroom, you will want to move it to another wall, ideally on one of your personal element’s four best directions.

Read 2019 Feng Shui for free advice on remedying the annual 5 yellow in the SW. The 2019 DIY Feng Shui Guide provides even more specific recommendations, on how to feng shui your entire home and office.

In terms of the Western feng shui bagua, the SW is represented by Love & Partnership.  It’s important to be mindful of the kind of partner you want to be and intentional about embodying love in all of your relationships.  Consider the possibility that this energy could contribute to ending relationships that you've outgrown and creating space for new ones, next year.  Set boundaries, honor them yourself and reinforce them when they are challenged.  Raise your own personal energy vibration and let those who aren’t a vibrational match and don’t resonate at your frequency, naturally fall out of alignment with you.  For spouses who use the status of marriage or the financial security of a husband or wife, the exploitation of the partner will be exposed and the utility of the relationship will expire.

The SW is also represented by the woman and the important roles of wife and mother, in the family.  Last year women enjoyed the queenly energy of the Hard Metal 6 and the potential to come into some BIG money and travel internationally.  This year, women will be inspired and empowered to take an active role in safeguarding their personal well-being and honoring their need for self-care to recover or maintain good health.  Protecting women’s health and safety will be of paramount importance.

The SW is also associated with the digestive and reproductive systems. To avoid digestive discomfort, eat clean and light. Fast or intermittent fast. Heal your gut. Take probiotics and digestive enzymes. Drink herbal tonics and teas. Find holistic practitioners to help you heal from any sexual abuse, birth trauma or reproductive health concerns. If you are a woman, schedule a well woman exam. If you are a man, get your prostate checked.

The 5 Yellow is called the "bone breaker". Because it is a Mountain Earth energy year, women and Mother Earth elements, everyone with an activated SW, those with a SW sitting or facing home or those sleeping or working in the SW, are susceptible to issues related to the back and small bones of the body like the vertebrae, fingers and toes and wrists. I recommend avoiding lifting heavy things and extreme sports. Take your time and be overly cautious with your physical activity. Wear your seat belt, helmet, back brace, steel toed boots and other protective gear. Also, get regular chiropractic adjustments.

Each of The 8 Elements goes through a 5 Yellow year, once every 9 years.  2017 was a trial by fire year for Fire elements, that inspired them to focus on self-healing.  In 2018, Water elements were subjected to a series of unfortunate events and guided to do the inner work of self-mastery. 

In 2019, it is the Mother Earth elements who will be asked to pay extra special attention to their self-care.  Do the self-work.  Integrate their shadow. Protect their energy.  Honor their needs.  Ask for help.  Practice self-love.  Be vigilant about their personal safety. Be proactive about their financial security. And do NOT honor your SW peaceful sleep direction.  Instead, move your bed to another wall, ideally the NE.

Feng shui gives us insight into the unseen energy affecting your living and working spaces, so we can remedy and enhance it. It also allows us to see the potential effects this annual energy can have on our personal energy, so we can maximize the auspicious energy and minimize the inauspicious energy.

If you are a woman or Mother Earth element, make 2019 your Zen year. Go within. Meditate. Contemplate. Do less. Move slower. Wear metal colors - white, gray, silver and gold. Wear metal jewelry. Wear jade jewelry or put some jade in your pocket this year. And make your daily mantra, "I am safe and well."

In the upcoming series of blogs about the 2019 annual energy, you will be given vital information about the energy affecting YOU and how to support your personal energy, so you can enjoy a healthy and happy year. 

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