The five elements, also known as the five phases or transformations, are water, wood, fire, earth and metal. They are correlated to the eight feng shui trigrams. Each trigram relates to a specific compass direction, colour, shape, season, family member and body part. The five elements can be either physical objects or metaphoric representations, used in various ways to strengthen, support, enhance, weaken, manage or control one another, depending upon their relationship and placement. They are introduced to beneficially influence a living space and to support its occupants.