Bagua

The Ba Gua () are eight trigrams related to Ba Xian and used in Daoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts. Each consists of three lines, each line either "broken" or "unbroken," representing yin or yang, respectively. Due to their tripartite structure, they are often referred to as "trigrams" in English.
The trigrams are related to taiji philosophy, taijiquan and the wu xing, or "five elements".CHEN, Xin (tr. Alex Golstein). The Illustrated Canon of Chen Family Taijiquan, INBI Matrix Pty Ltd, 2007. page 11. (accessed on Scribd.com, December 14, 2009.) The relationships between the trigrams are represented in two arrangements, the Primordial (先天八卦), "Earlier Heaven" or "Fu Xi" bagua (伏羲八卦), and the Manifested (後天八卦), "Later Heaven," or "King Wen" bagua. The trigrams have correspondences in astronomy, astrology, geography, geomancy, anatomy, the family, and elsewhere.TSUEI, Wei. Roots of Chinese culture and medicine Chinese Culture Books Co., 1989.ZONG, Xiao-Fan and Liscum, Gary. Chinese Medical Palmistry: Your Health in Your Hand, Blue Poppy Press, 1999.
The ancient Chinese classic, I Ching (Pinyin: Yi Jing), consists of the 64 pairwise permutations of trigrams, referred to as "hexagrams", along with commentary on each one.
==Trigram Relationship==
Ba Gua 	Sun 	Moon 	Thunder 	Wood 	Water 	Fire 	Volcano 	Cyclone
7LeftUpYang~YinDownRight8 	777 	888 	788 	778 	878 	787 	887 	877
Position 	Full Yang 	Full Yin 	Yang Above 	Yin Below 	Yang Middle 	Yin Middle 	Yang Below 	Yin Above
Ba Xian 	Han Xiang-Zi 	Lan Cai-He 	Cao Guo-Jiu 	He Xian-Gu 	Li Tie-Guai 	Lü Dong-Bin 	Zhang Guo-Lao 	Zhuang-Li Quan
Ba Xian Personality 	Philosopher 	Emotioner 	Emperor 	Tao Yin 	Pilgrim 	Leader 	Warrior 	Peacer
Name 	Qian 	Kun 	Zhen 	Sun 	Kan 	Li 	Ken 	Tui
Millennial Instrument 	Flute 	Basket Flower 	Castanet 	Lotus Flower 	Calabash, Iron Crutch	Sword 	Drum 	Hand fan
Hour 	10h30 ~ 13h30 	22h30 ~ 1h30 	13h30 ~ 16h30 	1h30 ~ 4h30 	16h30 ~ 19h30 	4h30 ~ 7h30 	19h30 ~ 22h30 	7h30 ~ 10h30
Season ( 45 Days ) 	Mid Summer 	Mid Winter 	Summer ~ Autumn	Winter ~ Spring	Mid Autumn 	Mid Spring 	Autumn ~ Winter	Spring ~ Summer
Chinese Zodiac Sign 	Sheep 	Tiger 	Cat 	Phoenix 	Mouse 	Snake 	Monkey 	Dog
8 Mai Mantis Links 	Du Mai 	Ren Mai 	Yang Wei Mai 	Yin Qiao Mai 	Dai Mai 	Chong Mai 	Yang Qiao Mai 	Yin Wei Mai
Family 	Father 	Mother 	Old Son 	Old Daughter 	Middle Son 	Middle Daughter	Young Son 	Young Daughter
Feng Shui Number 	9 	1 	2 	8 	7 	3 	6 	4
Cardinal direction (Arctic~Antarctic)	S ~ Equator Line ~ N	Pole North ~ South Pole	SW~NW 	NE~SE 	West Sunset 	East Sunrise 	NW~SW 	SE~NE
==Relation to other Principles==
There are two possible sources of bagua. The first is from traditional Yin and Yang philosophy. This is explained by Fuxi in the following way:
:無極生有極、有極是太極、太極生兩儀、即陰陽;兩儀生四象: 即少陰、太陰、少陽、太陽、四象演八卦、八八六十四卦Translation:The Limitless (無極; wuji) produces the delimited (有極; youji), and this demarcation is equivalent to the Absolute (太極; taiji).The Taiji produces two forms, named yin and yang (陰陽; yinyang);These two forms produce four phenomena: named lesser yin (少陰, shaoyin), greater yin (太陰; taiyin, which also refers to the Moon), lesser yang (少陽, shaoyang), and greater yang (太陽; taiyang, which also refers to the Sun).The four phenomena (四象; sìxiàng) act on the eight trigrams (八卦; bagua).Eight 'eights' results in sixty-four hexagrams.
Another possible source of bagua is the following, attributed to King Wen of Zhou Dynasty: "When the world began, there was heaven and earth. Heaven mated with the earth and gave birth to everything in the world. Heaven is Qian-gua, and the Earth is Kun-gua. The remaining six gua are their sons and daughters".
The trigrams are related to the five elements of wu xing, used by feng shui practitioners and in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Those five elements are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The Water (Kan) and Fire (Li) trigrams correspond directly with the Water and Fire elements. The element of Earth corresponds with both the trigrams of Earth (Kun) and Mountain (Gen). The element of Wood corresponds with the trigrams of Wind (Xun) (as a gentle but inexorable force that can erode and penetrate stone) and Thunder (Zhen). The element of Metal corresponds with the trigrams of Heaven (Qian) and Lake (Dui).
There are eight possible combinations to render the various trigrams (八卦 bāguà):
 	Trigram Figure	possible Binary Value	Name 	Translation: WilhelmWilhelm, R. & Baynes, C., (1967): "The I Ching or Book of Changes", With foreword by Carl Jung, Introduction, Bollingen Series XIX, Princeton University Press, (1st ed. 1950)	Image in Nature (pp.l-li)	Direction (p. 269)	Family Relationship (p. 274)	Body Part (p. 274)	Attribute (p. 273) 	Stage/ State (pp.l-li) 	Animal (p. 273)
1	☰ 	111 	乾qián 	the Creative, Force 	heaven, sky天 	northwest 	father 	head 	strong 	creative 	馬horse
2	☱ 	110 	兌duì 	the Joyous, Open 	wind澤 	west 	third daughter 	mouth 	pleasure 	tranquil (complete devotion)	羊sheep, goat
3	☲ 	101 	離lí 	the Clinging, Radiance 	fire火 	south 	second daughter 	eye 	light-giving, dependence	clinging, clarity, adaptable	雉pheasant
4	☳ 	100 	震zhèn 	the Arousing, Shake 	thunder雷 	east 	first son 	foot 	inciting movement 	initiative 	龍dragon
5	☴ 	011 	巽xùn 	the Gentle, Ground 	wood風 	southeast 	first daughter 	thigh 	penetrating 	gentle entrance 	雞fowl
6	☵ 	010 	坎kǎn 	the Abysmal, Gorge 	water水 	north 	second son 	ear 	dangerous 	in-motion 	豕pig
7	☶ 	001 	艮gèn 	Keeping Still, Bound 	mountain山 	northeast 	third son 	hand 	resting, stand-still 	completion 	狗wolf, dog
8	☷ 	000 	坤kūn 	the Receptive, Field 	earth地 	southwest 	mother 	belly 	devoted, yielding 	receptive 	牛cow
===Hexagram lookup table===
Upper →
Lower ↓	☰乾 QiánHeaven 	☳震 ZhènThunder 	☵坎 KǎnWater 	☶艮 GènMountain 	☷坤 KūnEarth 	☴巽 XùnWood 	☲離 LíFlame 	☱兌 DuìWind
☰乾 QiánHeaven 	01 ䷀ 	34 ䷡ 	05 ䷄ 	26 ䷙ 	11 ䷊ 	09 ䷈ 	14 ䷍ 	43 ䷪
☳震 ZhènThunder 	25 ䷘ 	51 ䷲ 	03 ䷂ 	27 ䷚ 	24 ䷗ 	42 ䷩ 	21 ䷔ 	17 ䷐
☵坎 KǎnWater 	06 ䷅ 	40 ䷧ 	29 ䷜ 	04 ䷃ 	07 ䷆ 	59 ䷺ 	64 ䷿ 	47 ䷮
☶艮 GènMountain 	33 ䷠ 	62 ䷽ 	39 ䷦ 	52 ䷳ 	15 ䷎ 	53 ䷴ 	56 ䷷ 	31 ䷞
☷坤 KūnEarth 	12 ䷋ 	16 ䷏ 	08 ䷇ 	23 ䷖ 	02 ䷁ 	20 ䷓ 	35 ䷢ 	45 ䷬
☴巽 XùnWind 	44 ䷫ 	32 ䷟ 	48 ䷯ 	18 ䷑ 	46 ䷭ 	57 ䷸ 	50 ䷱ 	28 ䷛
☲離 LíFlame 	13 ䷌ 	55 ䷶ 	63 ䷾ 	22 ䷕ 	36 ䷣ 	37 ䷤ 	30 ䷝ 	49 ䷰
☱兌 DuìLake 	10 ䷉ 	54 ䷵ 	60 ䷻ 	41 ䷨ 	19 ䷒ 	61 ䷼ 	38 ䷥ 	58 ䷹
==Fu Xi "Earlier Heaven"==
卦名Name 	自然Nature 	季节Season 	性情Personality 	家族Family 	方位Direction 	意義Meaning
 	 	Summer 	Creative 	父 Father 	南 South 	Expansive energy, the sky. For further information, see tiān.
 	 	Summer 	Gentle 	長女 Eldest Daughter 	西南 Southwest 	Gentle penetration, flexibility.
 	 	Autumn 	Abysmal 	中男 Middle Son 	西 West 	Danger, rapid rivers, the abyss, the moon.
 	 	Autumn 	Still 	少男 Youngest Son 	西北 Northwest 	Stillness, immovability.
 	 	Winter 	Receptive 	母 Mother 	北 North 	Receptive energy, that which yields. For further information, see dì.
 	 	Winter 	Arousing 	長男 Eldest Son 	東北 Northeast 	Excitation, revolution, division.
 	 	Spring 	Clinging 	中女 Middle Daughter 	東 East 	Rapid movement, radiance, the sun.
 	 	Spring 	Joyous 	少女 Youngest Daughter 	東南 Southeast 	Joy, satisfaction, stagnation.
==King Wen "Later Heaven"==
卦名Name 	自然Nature 	季节Season 	性情Personality 	家族Family 	方位Direction 	意義Meaning
 	 	Summer 	Clinging 	中女 Middle Daughter 	南 South 	Rapid movement, radiance, the sun.
 	 	Summer 	Receptive 	母 Mother 	西南 Southwest 	Receptive energy, that which yields.
 	 	Autumn 	Joyous 	少女 Youngest Daughter 	西 West 	Joy, satisfaction, stagnation.
 	 	Autumn 	Creative 	父 Father 	西北 Northwest 	Expansive energy, the sky.
 	 	Winter 	Abysmal 	中男 Middle Son 	北 North 	Danger, rapid rivers, the abyss, the moon.
 	 	Winter 	Still 	少男 Youngest Son 	東北 Northeast 	Stillness, immovability.
 	 	Spring 	Arousing 	長男 Eldest Son 	東 East 	Excitation, revolution, division.
 	 	Spring 	Gentle 	長女 Eldest Daughter 	東南 Southeast 	Gentle penetration, flexibility.
==Bagua used in Feng Shui==
The Bagua is an essential tool in the majority of Feng Shui schools. The Bagua used in Feng shui can appear in two different versions: the Earlier Heaven Bagua, used for burial sites and the Later Heaven Bagua, used for the residences.
===Xiantian Bagua===
In Xiantian Bagua, also known as Fu Xi Bagua or Earlier Heaven Bagua, the Heaven is in the higher part and the Earth is in the lower part. The trigram Qian (Heaven) is at the top, the trigram Kun (Earth) is at the bottom (in the past, the South was located at the top in Chinese maps). The trigram Li (Fire) is located on the left and opposite to it is the trigram Kan (Water). Zhen (Thunder) and Xun (Wind) form another pair, while being one opposite the other, the first on the bottom left next to Li while the second is next to Qian on the top right of the Bagua. Gen (Mountain) and Dui (Lake) form the last pair, one opposite the other, both in balance and harmony. The adjustment of the trigrams is symmetrical by forming exact contrary pairs. They symbolize the opposite forces of Yin and Yang and represent an ideal state, when everything is in balance.
===Houtian Bagua===
The sequence of the trigrams in Houtian Bagua, also known as the Bagua of King Wen or Later Heaven Bagua, describes the patterns of the environmental changes. Kan is placed downwards and Li at the top, Zhen in the East and Dui in the West. Contrary to the Earlier Heaven Bagua, this one is a dynamic Bagua where energies and the aspects of each trigram flow towards the following. It is the sequence used by the Luo Pan compass which is used in Feng Shui to analyze the movement of the Qi that affects us.
===Bagua of the eight aspirations===
Feng shui was made very popular in the Occident thanks to the Bagua of the eight aspirations. Each trigram corresponds to an aspect of life which, in its turn, corresponds to one of the cardinal directions. Applying feng shui using the Bagua of the eight aspirations made it possible to simplify feng shui and to bring it within the reach of everyone. The Masters of traditional feng shui call it Neo Feng Shui, for its simplicity, because it does not take into account the forms of the landscape or the temporal influence or the annual cycles. The Bagua of the eight aspirations is divided into two branches: the first, which uses the compass and cardinal directions, and the second, which uses the Bagua by using the main door. It is clear that, not taking into account the cardinal directions, the second is even more simplified.
===Bagua map===
A bagua map is a tool used in modern forms of feng shui to map a room or location and see how the different sections correspond to different aspects in one's life. These sections are believed to relate to every area or aspect of life and are divided into such categories as: fame, relationships/marriage, children/creativity, helpful people/travel, career, inner knowledge, family/ancestors/health, and wealth/blessings.
In this system, the map is intended to be used over the land, one's home, office or desk to find areas lacking good chi, and to show where there are negative or missing spaces that may need rectifying or enhancing in life or the environment.
For example, if the bagua grid is placed over the entire house plan and it shows the toilet, bathroom, laundry, or kitchen in the wealth/blessings area it would be considered that the money coming into that particular environment would disappear very fast, as if to be 'going down the drain.'
==References==
==External links==
* Malaysia Iching Net
* The Spiritual Feng Shui
* Kheper.net on the trigrams
* Bagua
* The oirigin of Bazhai Feng Shui based on the Bagua
Category:Taoism
Category:Symbols