What is bagua(八卦)?

So what is bagua (八卦) and how does it comes about?

Bagua (八卦) comes from Yin and Yang.

In the very 1st stage, there was only emptiness. Which is also known as wu ji (无极).

Then it started to have Yin & Yang(a.k.a 太极/两仪).

After Yin & Yang, it started to have the 4 phenomena (a.k.a 四象).

Lastly is bagua (八卦). This is how bagua (八卦) comes about.

There are 2 arrangement for the bagua (八卦). One known as the early heaven bagua (八卦) and the other is known as the later heaven bagua (八卦).

Early Heaven Bagua (八卦)

In early heaven Bagua, also known as Fu Xi (2852 - 2737 BCE) Bagua (八卦), the Heaven is in the higher part and the Earth is in the lower part. The trigram Qian (乾) is at the top, in the South , and Kun (坤) at the bottom, in the North. Li (离) and Kan (坎) on the left and on the right-hand side form a pair. Zhen (震) and Xun (巽) form another pair, while being one opposite the other. Gen (艮) and Dui (兑) form another pair, while being one opposite the other, 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.

Later Heaven Bagua (八卦)

The sequence of the trigrams in later heaven bagua (八卦) , also known as the Bagua of King Wen (1099 - 1055 BCE), 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 used in fengshui to tell us the direction of the place.

Overview

Early Heaven Bagua is like a man standing straight, where the body need the opposition force to create the balance so that man can stand straight. The Later Heaven Bagua is like a man who is starting to walk, the posture needed to balance the body so that there is a balance and will not fall due to lost of balance. So both Bagua is balance just presented in a different form. There is also another way of looking at the early and later heaven bagua. There is a way to derive the later heaven bagua from the early heaven bagua. (Hint: Using latitude and longitude and also the changing of lines in the gua) Try this out yourself, I had shown this to many of my student on how the early heaven bagua can change to the later heaven bagua.

Meanings of the bagua (八卦)