A 5-element pagoda is a highly protective energy tool for the home, especially if it is used correctly. For serious feng shui practitioners, it is the first item placed in the home or office. Most people who have heard a little about feng shui tend to focus on the wealth aspect; they tend to buy a ‘money toad’ and then wonder why it doesn’t work. Feng shui is the study of the movement of energy (chi) through our homes and grounds. The energies are called ‘auspicious’ and ‘inauspicious’. An analogy would be the flow of blood in the body, where the blood circulating from the heart carries oxygen and nutrients to the cells and the blood returning to the heart is deoxygenated and has waste products that must be removed from the body. Good chi transmits positive energies, good luck and health. The residual chi is stagnant, toxic and dangerous. Both occur as a normal course of life in the third dimension. Everything circles around the earth and sometimes bad or inauspicious chi comes in and wreaks havoc in our lives.
One of the most powerful tools to prevent unfavorable chi from harming us is the 5 element pagoda. The five elements refer to earth, wood, fire, metal, and water; these are represented by the five shapes of the pagoda. The most common type is about five inches tall, made of hollow brass that pulls apart to reveal three sections. The bowl-shaped top section can be used as an incense burner. The middle section is a nifty little thing in case the bolt-on base slot gets lost inside the pagoda (yeah, ask me how I know). The base has a threaded slot, you know, one of those things you use to spin a coin, and it’s the access used to fill the pagoda. There are certain elements that must be included in the interior; these increase the protective power of the item.
While some items placed inside the pagoda may be more personal, such as things the owner considers protective, there is one thing that should always be included: dirt. A tablespoon or two of soil from around the house or business is used to “lock in bad chi.” The pagoda usually contains a protection mantra, engraved into the brass, but including a small scroll of the Ten Protection Mantras can add a layer of security. Stone chips, usually crystal, as well as some type of grounding stone such as hematite or tiger iron, pyrite, or copper, may be added in the form of spheres. Add a charged crystal and you’re done. To charge the crystal, hold it in your hands and focus on it acting as your guardian, program it to serve as a repellent for any negative energy. The final step is to add a red ribbon or tassel and place it in place, telling her to always be on guard to protect the house and its occupants from now on.
The location of the 5 element pagoda varies depending on which school of feng shui it adheres to; the Flying Star school is my personal favorite (for more information on this fascinating branch of feng shui, see my previous articles and my website). Placing the device wherever the yellow misfortune star #5 resides during the year (Southwest in 2010) pretty much takes care of those wandering energies that could cause big problems in life. Since that particular star brings “sickness, injury, and death,” it seems prudent to guard against that. The 5-Element Pagoda is a handy little device that packs a big enough impact to remove those bad energies immediately.
©2010 Dr. Valerie Olmsted All Rights Reserved