Vāstu — the science of dwelling · door 5 of 10
The five elements in the site
Water, fire, earth, air, and the space at the centre
Match the sky
0 of 5 matchedTap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
Three questions to seal this door
1. Which element belongs to the north-east?
2. Space (ākāśa) is placed —
3. Do the four cardinal directions carry an element in the classical scheme?
The rishi's scroll — read more, if you wish
The five mahābhūtas sit in the four corners and the centre: water in the north-east, fire in the south-east, earth in the south-west, air in the north-west, and space (ākāśa) in the centre. The four cardinal directions belong to their guardians and are not given an element.
The reasons are physical before they are mystical. The north-east gets only the early sun and stays the coolest: the place for water and for prayer. The south-east takes the strong morning sun that warms and dries: the place for fire. The south-west takes the hot afternoon sun on its walls: build it heavy and solid, as earth. Vāyu's north-west is, in the tradition, the corner of movement: guests, grain and things that come and go.
The centre is ākāśa, space, kept open so the house can breathe around it. The old courtyard house, with open sky at its middle, is this teaching built in brick.
The tables on this page are drawn from the same data VEDAUM reads charts with.