8 Trigrams of the Yi Jing
& What They Mean to You!
Are you tired of practicing the "Goldie Locks" method of locating your most restful sleeping direction? That's what I call it when you keep moving your bed position until you find the direction where you get the best night's rest. Or have you tried to figure out why your infant turns to a certain direction during the night? The answer is... your infant is naturally turning the top of their head toward the direction that is most restful for them, because they haven't been taught to be concerned with the shape of the bed. They're actually turning toward the direction of their Personal Trigram from the Yi Jing (old spelling was I Ching). So to sleep like a baby, you want the head of your bed towards a wall in the direction of your Personal Trigram or at least in one of your Trigram's 3 other supportive directions./p>
Each trigram of the Yi Jing not only corresponds to a direction, but it's also associated with a number, a symbol, an element (including the colors that represent that element), a familial relationship, parts of the body and illnesses related to those body parts. When you position the eight trigrams of the Yi Jing in their corresponding directions in a tic-tac-toe shaped grid with the South direction at the top, they create a magic square. A magic square is a mathematical grid that results in the same sum when you add the numbers in each square in any direction. As seen in the diagram below, the magic square used in Feng Shui has 5 in the center square, which added to two of the opposing trigram numbers results in the number 15. Since this magic square has eight outer boxes it is often called a BaGua Map, because BaGua in Chinese simply means eight portions or sides. The term BaGua is used in many things Chinese, such as BaGua Tai Chi, which has eight movements that are continually repeated. However, there's nothing really magical about a BaGua grid.
'MAGIC SQUARE' DIAGRAM
Feng Shui isn't mystical... it's a sister science to Acupuncture, with the same 5,000 year history of improving peoples lives. Both of these ancient Chinese sciences work with the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, which are represented by the eight trigrams. The colors that represent the element of your Personal Trigram are supportive colors for you to wear. However, they are not necessarily good for the Feng Shui energies in your home, because those energies are not influenced by your personal element. Your building's energy blueprint is created when the energy is captured under the roof according to the exact 15° orientation of your building.
As mentioned above, each trigram relates to a familial relationship, which has nothing to do your actual gender. In other words, if you're the trigram of the eldest daughter (which I am) you many not be the oldest or even a female. It's more how your personality relates to the familial relationships as they were in the ancient Chinese culture. In addition, sometimes your personality reflects aspects of the symbol that relates to your trigram, such as a ZHEN person who can be loud and moving like their thunder symbol.
Your trigrams original or home 45° direction (as shown above) needs to be kept clean, uncluttered and well lit... both on the inside and outside of your home and office for your entire lifetime to avoid creating a negative influence on your health, relationships and/or finances. In every building there are Feng Shui energies that create delays and procrastination, which can lead to clutter. Those same energies bring accidents and major health problems, so those areas are the most important remedies I go over with clients during an on-site consultation. However, if you need help getting organized or staying organized... I leave that up to the organizing professionals. Feel free to email me if you would like to be referred to a qualified professional organizer in your area.
Your best sleeping direction is also the original or home 45° direction of your Personal Trigram. The eight trigrams are split into East group trigrams and West group trigrams. As you can imagine, the supportive directions for East group trigrams are the sabotaging directions for the West group trigrams. Therefore, when an East group person is sharing a bed with a West group person they must compromise when it comes to their bed's headboard direction, because their supportive directions don't match. Since, the house sitting direction (darker, heavier, private side) will automatically support either the East group or West group person... it is only fair that the headboard would be placed toward a wall in a direction that supports the partner who isn't supported by the house direction. This way one person is supported by the house direction while the other is supported by the bed direction.
Which Trigram Are You?
Your gender and date of birth determines which of the eight trigrams is your Personal Trigram. Feng Shui uses the Chinese SOLAR calendar that begins on the 4th or 5th of February each year, which is the half-way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.
See if you can determine your Personal Trigram from the following trigram descriptions.
QIAN trigram -
Northwest, 6, Heaven, Hard Metal (white, gray, gold, silver), Father (husband, head-of-household, owner, leader or boss)... Head & Lungs (headaches, pulmonary diseases); QIAN people are natural born leaders and authority figures, however they can be headstrong. A client's QIAN grand-daughter has the other children in daycare following her lead, even though she isn't doing anything to cause it.
KUN trigram –
Southwest, 2, Earth, Soft Earth (yellow, brown, earth tones), Mother (wife, female owner, older lady)... Abdomen, Stomach, Reproductive organs (digestive & reproductive disorders); KUN is the equivalent to Mother Earth. They are gracious caregivers and nurturers at heart. I have several KUN clients who are doctors, nurses and chefs. Sometimes they need a little push, just like when you plant something and you need to move the soil up around the plant to hold it is place until it takes root.ZHEN trigram –
East, 3, Thunder, Hard Wood (green to represent leaves), Eldest Son... Legs, Feet, Throat (hysteria, convulsions, leg/feet/throat problems); ZHEN relates to thunder, which is loud and moving. ZHEN people like to be moving and would hate a job where they had to sit still for long. They are also enthusiastic.
XUN trigram –
Southeast, 4, Wind, Soft Wood (green to represent leaves), Eldest Daughter... Hips, Thighs, Buttocks (colds, rheumatism, hip/thigh/buttock problems); XUN is the eldest daughter whose marriage into a family in a nearby town would be arranged from the time of her birth. Knowing she would move like the wind, she would be restless and crave variety. She would also love to travel since, when she married, she would travel back and forth between her two families.
KAN trigram –
North, 1, Water, Water (blue, black), Middle Son (middle aged man)... Ears, Blood, Kidneys (earache, blood or kidney ailments); KAN people are flexible, yet focused and determined like water. Water is soft, but the most powerful element on earth... since it can erode a mountain and corrode metal.
LI trigram –
South, 9, Fire, Fire (red, purple, burgundy, violet), Middle Daughter (middle aged woman)... Eyes, Heart (eye & heart disease); LI people are like the "Energizer Bunny," because they keep going & going & going, sometimes until they burn themselves out. Most LI people only rest when they are ill. They are very passionate and can have a hot-temper that can blow like a tea kettle.
GEN trigram –
Northeast, 8, Mountain, Hard Earth (yellow, brown, earth-tones), Youngest Son (youth / children in general)... Small Bones: Arms, Hands, Fingers, Spine (arthritis, broken bones); GEN relates to the mountain, which is hard earth. It takes forever for a mountain to age, so a GEN person is very youthful. Mountains are not easily moved so GEN people are stable, however they can become stubborn.
DUI trigram –
West, 7, Marsh, Soft Metal (white, gray, gold, silver), Youngest Daughter (young girls)... Mouth, Teeth, Chest (mouth & chest related diseases); DUI is the youngest daughter who was the more artistic, sociable and talkative in the traditional Chinese family. Therefore, you won't find a DUI working as a librarian or any other profession where they need to be quiet.
To confirm which is your personal trigram… Send me an email with TRIGRAM in the subject line. In the body of that email list your first name, gender and date of birth (yes, including the year) to PK@FengShuiAdvantage.com.I’ll send you an email confirming your personal trigram, along with all its supportive 45˚ directions.
Your Personal Trigram directions are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how you're affected by Earth's magnetic pull. From your gender and date of birth there are also 15° Feng Shui Personal Directions, which barely 5% of Feng Shui consultants can determine. These more powerful 15° directions can over-ride your general 45° trigram directions. For instance, I'm a XUN person, so SE is my trigram's home direction and my most restful sleeping direction. However, my personal 'Lonely Pillow' direction is 15° of SE, so I sleep in my second best sleeping direction to avoid any interference with my love-life.
All of your Feng Shui Personal Directions have beautiful Chinese names that would confuse most of my readers, so I refer to all of your Personal Directions as your 'Lifetime Keys,' because they are with you from the moment of your birth and they're the key to how you're influenced by Earth's magnetic pull for your entire lifetime. After working with clients much like you for 12 years, I've fine tuned the process of explaining how to locate... then avoid or activate ALL of your 'Lifetime Keys / Personal Directions' including your 15° directions for:
- Prosperous vs. Consuming
- Valued Friends vs. Lonely Pillow
- Creativity vs. Analytical Abilities
- Injury vs. Robbery
- Luck or Romance
During an on-site Feng Shui Advantage consultation you'll learn how to manage your building's energy patterns using the 5 elements as beautiful accessories that blend with your décor and you'll also receive 2 pages for each resident's Feng Shui Personal Directions. One page describes all of their 'Lifetime Keys' and the second is a diagram that can be used to find those directions anywhere in the world. For those of you too far away for an on-site consultation, you have the opportunity to learn to manage all of your Personal Directions... by ordering your personalized 'Lifetime Keys Personal Directions Self-Mastery Toolbox.' The only thing the toolbox doesn't include is instructions on how to manage your building's energies. To learn more about how your 15° Feng Shui Personal Directions are affecting your life or to order your toolbox visit... Personal Directions.
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© 2007 P.K. Odle. All rights reserved.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
P.K. Odle is a celebrated classical Yi Jing Feng Shui consultant and the Executive Director of the world-renowned American Feng Shui Institute®, where she has taught since 1998. She created The Feng Shui Advantage's "Lifetime Keys Personal Directions Self-Mastery Toolbox." To learn more about using the ancient Chinese science of Yi Jing Feng Shui to improve your Health, Relationships and Finances... through 16 weeks of FREE TIPS subscribe to her award-winning eNewsletter, The Feng Shui Advantage MONTHLY, at http://www.FengShuiAdvantage.com. The next issue could change your life!