What Is My Feng Shui Element? Finding Your Personal Element
Finding your personal element from your birth year, and what the methods disagree on.
Hub ยท Your Element, Kua & Seasons
Your element, Kua number and the seasons
Some feng shui advice is personal. Your Kua number, worked out from your birth date, gives four directions the Eight Mansions school considers favourable for you. Your birth-year element suggests colours and materials that feel supportive.
The seasons matter too: many people adjust their homes through the year using the five elements. Use the calculator, then read the guides for the reasoning behind it.
Start with these
How to Use Your Feng Shui Element at Home
Using your birth-year element in colours, materials and objects at home.
Which Direction Should Your Bed Face? Feng Shui Sleeping Directions
What each compass direction is traditionally said to bring, and how to pick yours.
Chinese Zodiac and Feng Shui: Animals, Directions and Allies
How the twelve zodiac animals connect to directions and feng shui at home.
Spring Feng Shui: A Seasonal Reset for New Beginnings
Wood-element ideas for spring: fresh air, growth and a lighter home.
Winter Feng Shui: Balancing Water With Earth, Warmth and Light
Warming a home in the dark months by balancing water and earth.
Free tool
Kua number calculator
Enter your birth date to see your Kua number, East or West group and favourable directions.
Quick reference
Your element by birth year
| Last digit of birth year | Element |
|---|---|
| 0 or 1 | Metal |
| 2 or 3 | Water |
| 4 or 5 | Wood |
| 6 or 7 | Fire |
| 8 or 9 | Earth |
Born in January or early February? You may belong to the previous year. Check the date of Lunar New Year (or 4 February, if you follow the solar calendar).
More guides
Reviewed and updated articles on this topic.
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Feng Shui Beyond the Home: Towns, Streets and Public Spaces
How feng shui applies to towns, streets, parks and public spaces, from the four celestial animals to roads and water, and how to use it when house-hunting.
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Is Vastu Shastra the Same as Feng Shui? Similarities and Differences
How Vastu Shastra and feng shui compare: origins, elements, maps and directions, where they agree, where they differ, and whether you can use both.
Explore related guides
Other hubs that pick up where this one leaves off.
Bedroom & SleepWhere the bed goes, what to do about mirrors, and calm colours for the room you rest in.
Feng Shui BasicsChi, yin and yang, the five elements and the bagua map, explained without the jargon.
Wealth, Love & BaguaFinding the wealth and relationship corners, and what tradition suggests putting there.