Trigrams are the building blocks of Feng Shui. They are made up of sequences of three lines (solid and/or broken) placed in a vertical row, one on top of the other. They originated in ancient China in ‘The I-Ching’ (also known as the ‘Yijing’ or ‘Book of Changes’) around 2205B.C.E. The meanings associated with each of the 8 Trigrams are complex and fascinating.

Each Trigram corresponds with a compass direction, element, yin or yang, season, emotions,  shapes, patterns, colour, body parts, family member and so on. Xuan Kong (ie flying star time dimensional) feng shui draws upon the various meanings associated with the Trigrams and their combinations within the compass sectors of a dwelling in order to analyse the probability factors of illness, prosperity, romance, quarrelling, litigation and so on affecting the occupants during a particular period of time.

When the Trigrams are combined (ie doubled), they become 8 x 8 different combinations called Hexagrams, which are explored in detail within the I Ching. The various meanings associated with the 64 Hexagram combinations provide a blue print for exploring and understanding the various underlying patterns and cycles in nature and the unseen energy forces around us.

As Lillian Too points out in her book ‘Flying Star Feng Shui for the Master Practitioner’, 2002, (p10), “The broken and unbroken lines correspond to the dots and dashes of the binary code exactly…. Scientists have also discovered that the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching correspond exactly to the 64 DNA genetic code that are the basis of all life on the planet. It is thus possible that in the I Ching lie the hidden meanings to life’s existence.”

You will find below, a general list detailing the fundamental meanings associated with the 8 Trigrams and their corresponding compass sectors.

CHIEN (QIAN): No 6, Northwest, Big Metal, patriarch, father, Heaven, creativity, white, silver, gold, power and authority, universal energy, head and lungs.

KUN: No 2, Southwest, Big Earth, matriarch, mother, Nature, nurturing, yellow, ochre, terracotta, relationships, abdomen.

TUI (DUI): No 7, West, Small Metal, youngest daughter, Lake, joy, white, silver, gold, communication, mouth and chest.

KEN (GEN): No 8, Northeast, Small Earth, youngest son, Mountain, yellow, ochre, terracotta, sagaciousness, spirituality, Karma and hands.

SUN (XUN): No 4, Southeast, Small Wood, oldest daughter, Wind, ideas, concepts, light green, penetrating, lower back and thighs.

CHEN (ZHEN): No 3, East, Big Wood, youngest son, Thunder, growth, arousal, independence, action, dark green and feet.

KAN: No 1, North, Water, middle son, change, abysmal, work and toil, blue & black, kidneys, ears and blood.

LI: No 9, South, Fire, middle daughter, Lightning, flame, dependence, clinging, heat, illumination, heart, small intestine and vision (eyes).

Once you begin to understand the basic interpretations of the Trigrams, you can start recognising the patterns of change around you. When a negative flying star energy (eg 5 or 2) is located within a particular compass sector within a dwelling, we can begin to determine which family member and body part is more at risk from this unseen negative energy force.have a combination of negative earth numbers, you’d add the metal element.  For negative metal numbers, you’d add the yin (quiet) water element and so on.

(Feng Shui Article by Derelle Ball www.fengshui1689.com providing Feng Shui Consultations for Brisbane, Cleveland, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast QLD)