The Eight Trigrams (Bagua): Quick Reference

Every hexagram in the I Ching — the Book of Changes — is built from two trigrams. These eight three-line figures, collectively known as the bagua, are the building blocks of the entire system. The lower trigram describes the inner situation; the upper trigram describes how that energy meets the outer world. Understanding them is the foundation of reading any I Ching hexagram.

Each trigram has a name, a natural image, an elemental association, a direction, and a set of qualities describing how its energy operates.

☰ Qián — Heaven

Lines: Three solid yang lines
Element: Metal
Direction: Northwest
Image: The sky, the dragon, the father
Qualities: Creative force, strength, leadership, persistent movement upward. The energy of pure yang, undivided, expansive, initiating. Qián above indicates a situation calling for creative action, strength, or engagement with authority. Qián below indicates inner creative drive or the force generating the situation.

☷ Kūn — Earth

Lines: Three broken yin lines
Element: Earth
Direction: Southwest
Image: The earth, the mare, the mother
Qualities: Receptivity, nourishment, support, yielding strength. The energy of pure yin, receptive to what heaven initiates, vast enough to contain anything, strong through accommodation rather than assertion. Kūn indicates a moment calling for receptivity, patience, or working with what is rather than against it.

☵ Kǎn — Water

Lines: Broken, solid, broken
Element: Water
Direction: North
Image: The gorge, the moon, flowing water
Qualities: Danger, depth, penetration, consistent movement through difficulty. Water finds its way around any obstacle. It does not force; it persists. Kǎn in a reading often signals a period of real difficulty where the message is movement and adaptability, not strength or waiting.

☲ Lí — Fire

Lines: Solid, broken, solid
Element: Fire
Direction: South
Image: The flame, the sun, brightness
Qualities: Clarity, illumination, attachment, beauty. Fire gives light but also clings to its fuel; it cannot exist independently. Lí in a reading often signals a moment of clarity or recognition, alongside the need to attend to what sustains you.

☶ Gèn — Mountain

Lines: Broken, broken, solid
Element: Earth
Direction: Northeast
Image: The mountain, stillness, the youngest son
Qualities: Stillness, stopping, consolidation. The mountain does not move. Gèn signals a moment calling for rest, for holding one's position, for inner consolidation before outer movement. Deliberate stillness, not stagnation. Gèn above suggests an outer situation that is settled or stopped. Gèn below suggests an inner quality of stillness or resistance to movement.

☱ Duì — Lake

Lines: Solid, solid, broken
Element: Metal
Direction: West
Image: The lake, the marsh, joy
Qualities: Joy, pleasure, exchange, persuasion. The lake reflects what is above it and nourishes what surrounds it. Duì is associated with pleasure but also with communication and the ease that comes from genuine exchange. In a reading it often signals a social dimension, an opportunity for connection, or a moment where communication matters more than action.

☴ Xùn — Wind/Wood

Lines: Broken, solid, solid
Element: Wood
Direction: Southeast
Image: Wind, wood, gentle penetration
Qualities: Gentle persistence, penetration, flexibility. Wind gets through every opening, not by force but by finding the gaps. Xùn signals a moment calling for gentle, consistent pressure rather than direct confrontation, and the capacity to work through indirect means.

☳ Zhèn — Thunder

Lines: Solid, broken, broken
Element: Wood
Direction: East
Image: Thunder, arousal, shock
Qualities: Shock, arousal, initiating movement, the sudden. Zhèn is the trigram of beginnings, the first movement, the startling arrival, the energy that sets something in motion. In a reading it often signals a moment of significant change or disruption, and counsels presence and groundedness in response to the unexpected.

How Trigrams Build Hexagrams

Every one of the 64 hexagrams is a pair of trigrams. When you receive a hexagram in a reading, identifying its two trigrams, lower (inner situation) and upper (outer situation), is the first step toward understanding what it is saying. The relationship between the two trigrams, and whether they are in harmony or tension, shapes the overall character of the reading.

The elemental associations of the trigrams connect directly to the five element framework that runs through Ba Zi. This is part of why the two systems read well together: their elemental vocabulary is shared.