Video
The Bagua: Eight Trigrams
With three lines, the binary system produces eight possible combinations: 2³ = 8. These are the Bā Guà (八卦), the Eight Trigrams — the fundamental building blocks from which all sixty-four hexagrams are constructed. Each trigram is a three-line figure, read from bottom to top, representing a fundamental force of nature. Together they form a complete symbolic vocabulary that has shaped Chinese philosophy, medicine, martial arts, and Feng Shui for over three thousand years.
The eight trigrams are: Qian (乾, ☰) — three solid lines, Heaven, the creative, the father, associated with the head, the horse, the direction northwest in the Later Heaven arrangement. Kun (坤, ☷) — three broken lines, Earth, the receptive, the mother, associated with the belly, the mare, the direction southwest. Zhen (震, ☳) — solid line at the base beneath two broken lines, Thunder, the arousing, the eldest son, associated with the foot, the dragon, direction east. Xun (巽, ☴) — broken line at the base beneath two solid lines, Wind, the gentle, the eldest daughter, associated with the thigh, the fowl, direction southeast. Kan (坎, ☵) — one solid line between two broken, Water, the abyss, the middle son, associated with the ear, the pig, direction north. Li (離, ☲) — one broken line between two solid, Fire, the clinging, the middle daughter, associated with the eye, the pheasant, direction south. Gen (艮, ☶) — solid line at the top over two broken, Mountain, keeping still, the youngest son, associated with the hand, the dog, direction northeast. Dui (兌, ☱) — broken line at the top over two solid, Lake, the joyous, the youngest daughter, associated with the mouth, the sheep, direction west.
There are two classical arrangements of the trigrams. The Earlier Heaven (Xiān Tiān, 先天) arrangement, attributed to the legendary sage Fu Xi (伏羲), places Qian (Heaven) at the top and Kun (Earth) at the bottom, with the other six trigrams arranged in opposing pairs around a circle. This is the cosmic, ideal order — the structure of reality before it manifests in time. The Later Heaven (Hòu Tiān, 後天) arrangement, attributed to King Wen, rearranges the trigrams into the sequence of seasonal change — Zhen (Thunder, spring) in the east, Li (Fire, summer) in the south, Dui (Lake, autumn) in the west, Kan (Water, winter) in the north. This is the temporal, practical order — the pattern of change as we experience it. Feng Shui practitioners use the Later Heaven arrangement to map the bagua onto physical spaces, aligning each trigram with a direction, an element, a family member, and an aspect of life.
Each trigram carries a rich set of correspondences developed over centuries of systematic observation and analogical thinking. Qian (☰) does not merely represent the physical sky; it represents the quality of heavenliness — creativity, strength, initiative, the masculine principle in its pure form. Kun (☷) is not just dirt; it is receptivity, nourishment, the capacity to receive and bring to fruition. When these two trigrams combine — Heaven above, Earth below — they form Hexagram 11, Tai (泰), the hexagram of Peace, because Heaven and Earth are communicating. Reverse them — Earth above, Heaven below — and you have Hexagram 12, Pi (否), Stagnation, because the natural order is inverted. The relationship between trigrams is never arbitrary.
In Chinese metaphysics, the bagua serves as a classification system of extraordinary range. Traditional Chinese medicine maps the eight trigrams to the body: Qian to the head, Kun to the abdomen, Zhen to the feet, Xun to the thighs, Kan to the ears, Li to the eyes, Gen to the hands, Dui to the mouth. The Ba Gua Zhang (八卦掌) martial art, developed by Dong Haichuan in the 19th century, structures its circular walking patterns and palm changes around the eight trigrams. In Feng Shui, the bagua is overlaid on a home’s floor plan to diagnose which areas of life — career (Kan, north), relationships (Kun, southwest), health (Zhen, east) — are supported or obstructed by the arrangement of space.
When two trigrams are stacked, they create a six-line hexagram — 8 × 8 = 64 possibilities. The upper trigram represents the external situation, the outer world, or the culmination of a process. The lower trigram represents the inner disposition, the self, or the beginning of a process. The interaction between these two three-line figures is the primary lens through which the I Ching’s judgments are understood. Master the eight trigrams, and the entire architecture of the I Ching becomes legible.
Corresponds to “The I Ching Decoded” video series.