The Eight Trigrams (Ba Gua)

The Eight Trigram School of Feng Shui is the most basic of all feng shui schools. Most feng shui practitioners use it as a complement to other schools of feng shui. It is one of the easiest to learn and is thus ideal for beginners. In this school, each sector of a house (or room) is represented by a trigram (Ba Gua) according to the Post Heaven Trigram arrangement. Each trigram is represented by three lines which can either be solid or broken. A solid line is considered as yang while a broken line is considered as yin.

Northwest is represented by the Chien trigram. The Chien trigram has three solid lines. It symbolizes the male, father, patriarch or chief. It also signifies the sky, heaven or brightness. Its element is yang metal.

Southwest is represented by the Kun trigram. The Kum trigram has three broken lines. It symbolizes the female, mother or yielding. It also signifies the earth or darkness. Its element is yin earth.

East is represented by the Chen trigram. The Chen trigram has two broken lines and a solid line at the bottom. It represents the dragon, eldest son and thunder. Its element is wood and is considered as yang.

West is represented by the Tui trigram. The Tui trigram has two solid lines and a broken line on top. It represents the youngest daughter, mouth and the lake. The element associated with it is yin metal.

North is represented by the Kan trigram. The Kan trigram has two broken lines and a solid line in the middle. It symbolizes the middle son, danger and craftiness. The element associated with it is water and is considered as yang.

South is represented by the Li trigram. The Li trigram has two solid lines and a broken line in the middle. It represents the middle daughter, sun, and heat. The element associated with it is fire and is considered as yin.

Northeast is represented by the Ken trigram. The Ken trigram has two broken lines and a solid line on top. It symbolizes the youngest son, mountain and stillness. Its element is yang earth.

Southeast is represented by the Sun trigram. The Sun trigram has two solid lines and a broken line at the bottom. It symbolizes the eldest daughter, gentle and wind. Its element is yin wood.

The key to remembering which trigram represents which member of a family lies in knowing the yin and yang lines in the trigrams. Top line represents youngest and bottom line represents eldest. Yang (solid) lines represent male while yin (broken) lines represents female. For example, the Tui trigram has one broken line on top and thus represents the youngest daughter. Similarly, the Chen trigram has one solid line at the bottom and thus represents the eldest son. The Kun trigram has only broken lines and thus represents mother.

How to use the Eight Trigram School

The simplest usage of this school is allocate the rooms of a house such that the residents in that room located in a particular sector is also represented by the trigram symbolizing the sector. For example, if a bedroom lies in the South sector of a house, the room might be occupied by the middle daughter. Some practitioners of this school also believe that it is not auspicious to have the toilet located at the northwest of a house. This is because the northwest sector of a house represents the father or the breadwinner. Thus, if a toilet is located at northwest, the fortune of the breadwinner (and the household) will be badly affected.

The eight trigrams have several representations and interpretations also vary. Therefore, the application of this school is very wide and varied. The above only illustrates the more common interpretation and usage.