The Tools: Ba Gua And Magic Square Maps
The Ba gua, or the 8 gua, are the 8 trigrams of the I Ching. Each one has a name, and a certain energy, with correspondences of direction, season, and color. They represent the movement of chi, the cycles of chi, the changing nature of the universe. The lines represent a movement, and one line is always changing into another. These "moods of chi" manifest in the "moods" of life for humans, and the name and descriptions of the guas represent the different experiences humans have as they move within chi cycles, the nature of life.
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Three
broken (000) K'un, Earth. The sacred feminine, the mother, source,
receptivity, container, womb. In-breath of chi cycle. Family position;
Mother, mature yin.
Broken/broken/unbroken (001) Ken, Mountain. Keeping still,
resting. Family position; youngest son.
Broken/unbroken/broken (010) K'an, Water/Moon. Birth pain.
Spirit trapped in matter, the womb outgrown. Can indicate difficulty,
struggle. Family position; middle son.
Broken/unbroken/unbroken (011) Sun, Wind/Wood. Gentle, steady,
merging. Family position; eldest daughter. Direction; southeast.
Element; wood.
Unbroken/broken/broken (100) Chen, Thunder. Birth, quickening,
arousing, awakening. Family position; eldest son.
Unbroken/broken/unbroken (101) Li, Fire/Sun. Light in darkness.
Spiritual influence around matter. Family
position; middle daughter.
Unbroken/unbroken/broken (110) Tui, Lake/Marsh. Tranquility,
depth, and joy. Family position; youngest
daughter.
Unbroken/unbroken/unbroken (111) Ch'ien, Heaven. Creative movement.
Moving out from source. Seed of life, conception. Out-breath of chi
cycle. Family position; Father, mature yang.
These eight trigrams form the basis of the octagonal tool used traditionally in Feng shui practice. Pictured here is an example of this Ba Gua tool. Look closely to see the design of the gua as they move through chi cycle/moods. Notice also the web-like shape, the gua radiating from the center. The corresponding life-area associations are given for each section of the Ba Gua. When home was designed and built in ancient China with the help of a Feng Shui, or "Dragon" person, it would reflect harmony with the Ba gua map, and therefore with all things. |
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In the West, homes have generally already been designed and already built when Feng Shui is applied, so the application of this practice has been modified to work with what is. First of all, the Ba gua had to be reinvented, and has become the Magic square. With this tool, the square/rectangular shape of houses in the west can be accommodated. Pictured here is an example of the Magic Square.
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To apply this tool to a space, the square is overlaid on the floor-plan. The whole of the structure should fit inside the square, lining up the outermost points with the corners. There may be an area that is not filled out within the square, yet the square still extends all the way out to its four points. There are different treatments for whether these outside area points are in your own yard/space, or in another's yard/space. Ideally, all points will be within the space you are working with, but with many houses, this will not be the case, and that's okay! Missing areas can be addressed through the placement of object which act as a "cure." When positioning the magic square over the floor-plan, the indicated area would align with the front entrance (or whichever entrance is used to enter and leave the space.)
Other
Tools:
The compass is a most important tool in Feng Shui practice. Directional
alignment is considered very important to the Taoists, and each mood
or element of the chi cycle corresponds with a direction. Everything
has its harmonic position in heaven and on earth, everything has its
point of resonance, or power. The compass is used frequently to find
directions/coordinates, in order to find appropriate positions for placement
of beings and objects.
The five element system is used to give information on correspondences
related to one's season of birth.
(also refer to correspondences in the 5 Elements Of Chi section).