The eight trigrams
Every hexagram is two of these, one over the other. Eight images — sky, ground, thunder, water, mountain, wind, fire, lake — that pair into sixty-four situations.
- 乾HeavenCh'ien · qiánthe creative, strongnorthwest · the father
- 震ThunderChên · zhènthe arousing, movementeast · the eldest son
- 坎WaterK'an · kǎnthe abysmal, dangerousnorth · the middle son
- 艮MountainKên · gènkeeping still, restingnortheast · the youngest son
- 坤EarthK'un · kūnthe receptive, devotedsouthwest · the mother
- 巽WindSun · xùnthe gentle, penetratingsoutheast · the eldest daughter
- 離FireLi · líthe clinging, light-givingsouth · the middle daughter
- 兌LakeTui · duìthe joyous, serenewest · the youngest daughter
In the constellation
The eight images every hexagram is built from, each ringed by the chapters that carry it.