A plain-language definition for anyone researching bagua (eight trigrams), what it is, where it comes from, and how practitioners use it.
85 plain-language definitions · Cited sources · Persona-authored
By Master Wei Lin · Updated August 3, 2026
Chinese Metaphysics Scholar
What is bagua (eight trigrams)?
The Bagua (八卦 Bā Guà, 'Eight Trigrams') is the eight-fold diagram at the heart of the I-Ching and classical feng shui. Each trigram is a stack of three Yin or Yang lines, and the eight trigrams together describe every fundamental configuration of qi.
The eight trigrams are Qian (☰ Heaven), Kun (☷ Earth), Zhen (☳ Thunder), Xun (☴ Wind), Kan (☵ Water), Li (☲ Fire), Gen (☶ Mountain), and Dui (☱ Lake). Combining any two trigrams produces a hexagram, and the 64 hexagrams of the I-Ching are the complete combinatorial set. The classical sources frame the Bagua as the alphabet of cosmic patterns.
In feng shui, the Bagua maps eight life domains onto eight directions of a space: Wealth (Southeast), Fame (South), Love (Southwest), Family (East), Center (Tai Ji), Children (West), Knowledge (Northeast), Career (North), and Helpful People (Northwest). The Compass School and BTB feng shui schools disagree on how to align the Bagua with a building, Compass School uses cardinal directions, BTB uses the front door, but both rely on the same fundamental diagram.
The Bagua is traditionally attributed to the mythic emperor Fu Xi (伏羲), with the Pre-Heaven (Xiantian 先天) Bagua. The Post-Heaven (Houtian 後天) Bagua used in feng shui is traditionally attributed to King Wen of Zhou (around 1100 BCE). The I-Ching itself, compiled over centuries, sits on top of this diagram. The classical sources for hexagram interpretation include the Ten Wings (十翼), commentaries traditionally attributed to Confucius.
Classical feng shui consultants use the Bagua to map a floor plan into eight sectors. Each sector relates to a life domain and a Wu Xing element. Strengthening a sector, adding water features in the Career sector, plants in the Family sector, lights in the Fame sector, is one way classical practitioners shift the qi of a space.
Most modern English readers encounter the Bagua through feng shui books, Lillian Too's Total Feng Shui, Master Raymond Lo's writings, and Stephen Skinner's Living Earth Manual are widely cited. The classical sources observe learning the Bagua before attempting specific remedies.
These glossary terms are closely connected to bagua (eight trigrams):
Eight (八 bā): Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui. Each is a stack of three lines, either Yin (broken) or Yang (solid).
A trigram is three lines; a hexagram is six lines (two trigrams stacked). The Bagua is the eight trigrams; the I-Ching is the 64 hexagrams made by combining them in every possible way.
Compass School (理氣 Lǐ Qì) aligns the Bagua to a building's actual cardinal directions using a luopan compass. BTB (Black Hat Sect Tantric Buddhism) feng shui aligns it to the front door regardless of compass direction. Both are valid lineages.
No. The Bagua is the underlying diagram of every classical Chinese metaphysics system. The I-Ching uses it for divination; BaZi uses it for chart construction; classical Chinese medicine uses it for organ correspondences.
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