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5. THE I CHING – TRIGRAMS AND HEXAGRAMS

Chinese Compass formula feng shui is based on three basic pillars – the compass, the I Ching, and the calendar. Thus the Luo Pan will also contain rings that show both the trigrams and the hexagrams. It is therefore necessary to have some knowledge of the I Ching if one is to understand these three pillars and their roles. The compass is the tool, the I Ching provides the theory behind the practice, and the calendar provides the basis for time calculation. So it is the I Ching that pulls all three together. The I Ching also provides valuable connections to the Yin and Yang Pa Kua, which leads to an understanding of how the forces of Yin and Yang and the cyclical relationships of the five elements can affect the fortunes of dwelling places.

But first the I Ching …

The seasoned wisdom of thousands of years has gone into the making of the I Ching. It is the most important of China’s ancient books and Chinese philosophy – both Confucianism and Taoism – has its roots in this timeless classic. Known also as the Book of Changes, the I Ching goes back to mythical antiquity. It offers a view on the trinity of heaven, earth, and man, and this trinity underscores a great deal of feng shui theory.

Four legendary personalities are credited with the authorship and evolution of the I Ching: Fu Hsi, King Wen, the Duke of Chou (King Wen’s son), and Confucius – the most famous of China’s great thinkers.

FU HSI, a mythical figure associated with much of China’s ancient wisdom, is said to have observed the heavens and the universe, the changing of the seasons, and the change from night into day, and from his observations invented linear representations which became the three-lined trigrams. The trigrams are the roots of the hexagrams which came later.

KING WEN, the forefather of the Chou dynasty (1105–249 BC), was the man credited with the invention of the 64 hexagrams. He did this by doubling the trigrams from three lines into six lines. King Wen spent a great part of his life in prison before ascending the throne, and during that time he appended judgments to the hexagrams which became the ground work for what was later to evolve into the great wisdom of the I Ching.

THE DUKE OF CHOU, King Wen’s dynamic son, authored the texts which were later to become the individual six changing lines of the hexagrams. He assigned meanings to them as and when they changed from Yin to Yang, thereby manifesting as broken or unbroken lines and vice versa. The Duke of Chou’s contributions were entitled the Changes of Chou, and these subsequently came to be used as oracles. These changes, which are contained in a number of ancient texts, altered the complexion of the I Ching quite substantially and expanded it into a book on divination. This was the status of the book when Confucius come upon it.

CONFUCIUS devoted his life to studying the texts, the judgments, and the images of the I Ching. A great sage, he and his disciples also expanded its scope with a series of masterful commentaries. A great deal of literature about the book flourished during this period, and large portions of this were incorporated into the modern day I Ching.

The I Ching and modern science

There have been major discoveries made concerning the similarities between the lines of the hexagrams and the binary code of numerations. The latter is the foundation of computer technology, so the similarities offer tantalizing potential for speculating on the relationship between the lines and modern technological breakthroughs.

The broken and unbroken lines correspond to the dots and dashes of the binary code exactly. This alone is an amazing discovery and it surely cannot be a coincidence. Scientists have also discovered that the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching correspond exactly to the 64 DNA genetic codes 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.

What has been accepted for hundreds of years, however, is that the I Ching contains many clues to the way energy moves, flows, and accumulates. Hidden within the lines of the hexagrams and their arrangement around a compass of orientations are secrets that explain these flows of energy.

Understanding Yin and Yang

The Chinese have long believed that the creative process goes from one extreme to another, manifesting in endless cycles. So the two extremes of fundamental reality can be expressed as motion (Yang) and quiet (Yin). When one reaches its limit, it becomes the other. So from quiet there is motion, and from motion there is quiet.

It is also written that from this cycle of limits stem the Six, and from the six appear the Five, and then from the five come the Ten Thousand Things. This cryptic sentence is simple to understand when we know what the numbers are referring to. The “Six” refers to the subtle levels of universal Yin and Yang energies. There are three categories that define the qualities of Yin. These are great Yin, balanced Yin, and reducing Yin. Similarly Yang energy can also be classified as great Yang, bright Yang, and diminished Yang. The “Five” are the five elements that express the five manifestations of energy. The Chinese term for energy is chi. These five types of chi are fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. They each have a productive, weakening, or destructive relationship with one of the other elements. Each element also has a Yin as well as a Yang aspect. The “Ten Thousand Things” encompass all the things that make up the material and physical world. The forces of Yin and Yang express the manifest universe from voidness or ultimate nothingness to the material ten thousand things. One becomes two. Motion becomes quiet. Yang becomes Yin and vice versa. This creative process of the universe is illustrated here in sequential order. This is the fundamental origin of how the trigrams and then the hexagrams were discovered.

Yang is described as the vibration, pulse, and movement of the universe – energy rotating, moving, and vibrating at different rates. All of this motion takes place against a background of varying manifestations of Yin. Yin is silence, stillness, non-movement, and quiet. The key to understanding Yin and Yang is to realize that one cannot exist to the exclusion of the other, and that one gives rise to the understanding and manifestation of the other. Yin and Yang are interdependent concepts relative to each other. There is simply no Yang without Yin, and no Yin without Yang. Both must be present, otherwise there is nothing. If you remember this concept alone, you will know about balance, your practice of feng shui will be considerably improved, and your interpretation of the five elements and their symbolic meanings will be incredibly enhanced.

When you understand the concept of Yin and Yang you will understand the theory of relativity and its aggregates. It then becomes easier to understand that everything in the universe exists as interdependent aggregates. Nothing exists of its own accord. When there are no aggregates, things simply cease to exist. Everything exists in relation to something else. It is impossible to completely obliterate either Yin or Yang since this will simply cause both to become nothing.

Yin is said to be denser, less energetic, and more material. Yang is lighter, more energetic, and less dense. In the interplay of Yin and Yang, there are a zillion manifestations and variations. The two forces are primordial and everything on earth is an expression of this interaction between the two forces. Despite this, however, earth is regarded as all Yin and heaven is regarded as all Yang. But the things in heaven are regarded as both Yin and Yang when compared to each other. It is the same with all the things of the earth which can be either Yin or Yang and yet when compared with heaven, things of the earth are all Yin.

The correct appreciation of these two supposedly opposing forces is what gives practitioners of feng shui, Taoism, martial arts and other esoteric practices the real potential to make progress in their practice.

In feng shui a genuine understanding of Yin and Yang forces within any environment is often sufficient to cause good levels of energy to be created. It is the same with the practice of Taoist meditation and in the practice of difficult physical exercises that raise the fire of inner chi. When one understands how Yin and Yang energy flows within the human body one becomes exceedingly healthy. And when one understands their flows in the environment one can arrange things to enjoy exceptional good fortune. Meditation based on a good appreciation of Yin and Yang also creates fertile ground for perfect understanding to grow (referred to as divine realizations by religious meditators).

Yin and Yang cosmology also suggests that idea precedes manifest reality. Nothing exists without it first having been conceived in the mind. So the idea of motion precedes actual motion – just as the idea of quiet precedes actual quiet. The idea comes from the mind, so it is mind that moves energy. It is the mind that makes all things happen. Energy moves the body and galvanizes it into action. Energy is the manifestation of the intangible forces of the world and this can have either a Yin or a Yang aspect. At a practical level, the appreciation of Yin and Yang begins with the ability to know what is Yin and what is Yang, and then from that to appreciate what is deemed to be perfect balance between the two. Identification at the gross levels is not difficult. This refers to knowing that sunlight, bright colors, noise, motion, action, heat, dynamism, and so forth are manifestations of Yang, and moonlight, stillness, darkness, cold, death, quiet, and so on are manifestations of Yin.

What is more difficult to ascertain are the subtle levels of Yin and Yang, or knowing the precise moment when Yin transforms into Yang and vice versa. It is also rather difficult to know when perfect balance of the whole has been achieved. Getting the balance right is something that comes with experience and plenty of practice.

Trigrams and hexagrams

The evolution of trigrams and hexagrams is illustrated on the following page. As can be seen, trigrams are symbolic representations of how Yin and Yang interact and, in the process, manifest in varying densities of energy. These become the four images of old and young Yang, and old and young Yin. By adding a Yin and Yang line above these images the eight trigrams are created. These eight trigrams are then combined with each other to make up the 64 hexagrams. So both feng shui and the I Ching originate from the two energies that make up the universe – Yin and Yang. When you understand this, you will understand the heart of feng shui.

Hexagrams are six-lined symbols that contain surface and veiled meanings that are not immediately obvious. At first reading, these appear terse and abrupt, but sagely wisdom lies just beneath the surface of the words. The I Ching’s hexagrams are each made up of two trigrams, one placed above the other. How trigrams evolved into hexagrams is illustrated in the circular expressions of Yin and Yang shown in The 64 Hexagrams Map.

Trigrams each possess a number equivalent and when these numbers add up to an auspicious combination then the direction indicated by the hexagram is deemed to be auspicious. But in feng shui, the hexagrams of the I Ching that appear on the Luo Pan generally apply to Yin dwellings rather than to Yang houses. Thus when you see hexagrams or two rings of trigrams appearing in a Luo Pan these have been put there to condense the codes for undertaking the feng shui of Yin dwellings i.e. grave sites.

Trigrams, on the other hand, are extremely significant in understanding and interpreting the feng shui of Yang dwellings. Each of the eight trigrams suggests a different symbolism, and their arrangement around the sides of the Pa Kua contain meanings for the specific direction each side represents.

The 64 Hexagrams Map