What is a Ba-Gua? - Circle of Light

A Ba Gua is a tool used by a feng shui master, along with a Luo Pan (feng shui compass) to determine the 9 preferred locations in your home or office. The 9 preferred locations are fame & reputation, love, children & creativity, helpful people & travel, career, knowledge, health, and wealth, .

What is a Ba-Gua?

Other names & spellings – bagwa, pakua, pa kua, & baqua

The Ba-Gua’s nine fields are positioned upon the octagon and utilized by a Feng Shui master to epitomize your destiny. Divided into 8 trigram, each trigram signifies 8 areas of your life, which are individual, yet intertwined; i.e. career, children, knowledge, helpful friends, family, wealth, fame, and relationship. The ninth (9th) position on the octagon is the center; you, life, vitality (Tai Chi). With the use of a

Luo Pan (feng shui compass), these trigrams are adjusted around the center of the Bagua, which represents you. Once the trigrams are adjust you more easily gain attainments about yourself and your destiny.

i ching

“Ba” means eight (8). “Gua” means trigram. The BaGua is divided into 8 Gua (trigrams/sections) consisting of the most original and basic binary form of “Yin” (female – two short hyphens) and/or “Yang” (male – one long hyphen). You should to know one important fact: the Chinese character for number one, is exactly the same as the Yang (male) symbol, one continuous hyphen like line. I do not know if all the historians will agree the ancient Chinese use the Yin (female) symbol to represents ‘zero’. It is definitely appropriate and academically accepted to call it zero today. When the ancient symbols were first put into computer, Yin (female) was represented by zero and one represented Yang (male).

Ba-Gua or eight-Gua is the result of the ancient Chinese binary system. Each of the Gua is consists of three little Yao symbols, which is equivalent to a bit in today’s binary language. Each Yao (section) represents either Yin (0), female or Yang (1), male force of nature. Yin (0), female, is two short little hyphens with a gap in between. Yang, male, is one continuous hyphen-like line. Use some graphic imagination to help you remember the female and male symbols or you can fashionably call them “zero (Yin)” and “one (Yang)”.

Ba-Gua contains eight Gua (from 0 to 7) total. Each Gua contains three bit positions. Read from the bottom to top. This sequence represents the Change occurs from the hidden bottom location. The symbolic meaning of Ba-Gua is not limited to individual Yao (bits). The shape of the entire Gua also plays a strong symbolic role.

If you are graphic oriented, you might be happy to know that certain historians believe the ancient human being noticed the first difference between female (Yin) and male (Yang) from the most direct and important areas of our body. This is supported in many I-ching related ancient literatures and the mating of yin (female) and Yang (male) is related to balance and harmony.

Element: “Fire”
Based King Wen (Later Heaven)
Nature: “Fire”
Personality: “Clinging”
Season: “Summer”
Family: “Middle Daughter”
Meaning: “Rapid movement, radiance, the Sun”
Number: “9”

LI
The image on the left is Li (101), which means fire & the third of eight Gua, shows that the Yang raising from the bottom position to middle. It is also called the “Illumination Area” because fame and/or reputation illumines us. It is the South of the Bagua and represents Fame & Reputation.

XUN
The seventh of Eight Gua is called Xun (110), which means wind. It has strong growth of Yang yet not completed. Although none of the Gua is better than others, many people favor this Gua and believe it is related to Wealth, Opulence, Prosperity. This Gua represents the direction of Southeast.

Element: “Wood”
Based King Wen (Later Heaven)
Nature: “Wind”
Personality: “Gentle”
Season: “Spring”
Family: “Eldest Daughter”
Meaning: “Gentle penetration, flexibility”
Number: “4”

ZHEN
The image on the left is Zhen, meaning thunder. It has Yang (male – 1) on the first bit position and Yin (female – 0) on the second and third position. Translated into binary language, it is (001). It is the second of eight Gua in Ba-Gua. It is the East of the Bagua and represents Health & Family.

Element: “Wood”
Based King Wen (Later Heaven)
Nature: “Thunder”
Personality: “Arousing”
Season: “Spring”
Family: “Eldest Son”
Meaning: “Excitation, revolution, division”
Number: “3”

GEN
The image on the left is Gen, which means mouintain, (100) Gua, the fifth of eight Gua, shows the Yang raising all the way to the top with Yin only at the hidden bottom. Like a mountain with strong Yang outside and Yin inside. It’s direction is the Northeast and represents Knowledge & Cultivation.

Character: “Earth”
Based King Wen (Later Heaven)
Nature: “Mountain”
Personality: “Still”
Season: “Winter”
Family: “Youngest Son”
Meaning: “Stillness, immovability”
Number: “8”

KAN
Have you noticed that the image on the left is exact the opposite of Li (101) Gua? It is the Kan, which means water, (010) Gua. It is the sixth of the eight Gua. It has the exact opposite character and representation of Li Gua. It is the North of the Bagua and represents Career. Unlike the western common belief, the meeting of fire and water is not necessarily a bad thing. It some times represents the climax of mating. Of course, after the peak, it is the declination.

Element: “Water”
Based King Wen (Later Heaven)
Nature: “Water”
Personality: “Abysmal”
Season: “Winter”
Family: “Middle Son”
Meaning: “Danger, rapid rivers, the abyss, the moon”
Number: “1”

QIAN
When the change from Yin to Yang is completed, we come to the last of Eight Gua that is called Qian (111). It has strongest Yang and total opposite of Kun. It is the father, the king, the emperor, the boss, the Alfa male. Again, opposite to western common belief, the Alfa male is very vulnerable. This is because it has all Yang character. Any change will undermine the power of Yang and Change can never be avoid. This Gua represents the Northwest and signifies Helpful People & Travel.

Element: “Metal”
Based King Wen (Later Heaven)
Nature: “Heaven/Sky”
Personality: “Creative”
Season: “Autumn”
Family: “Father”
Meaning: “Expansive energy, the sky”
Number: “6”

DUI
The image on the left is Dui (011) Gua, which means lake, is the fourth of eight Gua. It’s direction West and represents Creativity & Children, which gives us joy, imagination, creating/creative, and even romance.

Element: “Metal”
Based King Wen (Later Heaven)
Nature: “Lake”
Personality: “Joyous”
Season: “Autumn”
Family: “Youngest Daughter”
Meaning: “Joy, satisfaction, staganation”
Number: “7”

�KUN
The image on the left, Kun (000), which means Earth, contains all female or Yin Yao and is the first of eight Gua. It represents the extreme female, mother. Mother is the origin of life. The direction of this Gua is the Southwest and represents Love & Marriage.

Element: “Earth”
Based King Wen (Later Heaven)
Nature: “Earth”
Personality: “Receptive”
Season: “Summer”
Family: “Mother”
Meaning: “Receptive energy; that which yields”
Number: “2”

ICHING
The center of the Bagua is Earth, the character of wood, which in your home, your office or your business signifies YOU.

Element: “Earth”
Character: “Wood”
Family: “You”
Number: “5”

qua numbers all eight Gua

Laying out the Ba-gua with each qua in it’s correct direction creates the concept of a large square with 3 by 3 smaller squares within the larger. These boxes are the ‘building blocks’ of Feng Shui; forming the road map (the ba-gua). Its earliest form appears in the Chinese “Book of Changes” from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220). It was referred to as the Lo Shu Square (the magic square). Looking at the Lo Shu Square you will find each line, whether vertically, horizontally, or diagonally will total 15, which is the number of days in a lunar cycle.

The most important concept is change. Change is the only thing that is constant is the universe. The Yin will become Yang and Yang will become Yin. In the extreme of Yang, Yin is incubated. Within the extreme of Ying, Yang is born. This is the forever change of life, universe and everything.

I send you love.

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