Frameworks of Understanding - Trigrams, Wu Xing, and Taiji

The Plum Blossom (Mei Hua Yi) method, while rooted in numerology and temporal calculations, relies on established Chinese cosmological frameworks for interpreting the derived hexagrams. Understanding these symbolic systems—primarily the Eight Trigrams (Ba Gua), the Five Phases (Wu Xing), and the concept of Taiji—is crucial for unlocking the deeper meanings within a Plum Blossom reading.

1. The Eight Trigrams (Ba Gua / 八卦) - Fuxi’s Early Heaven Arrangement

The Eight Trigrams are the foundational symbols of the I Ching, each representing a fundamental natural force or archetypal concept. In the Plum Blossom school, the arrangement of these trigrams that is primarily worked with is Fuxi’s Early Heaven Ba Gua (先天八卦 - Xiāntiān Bāguà), also known as the “Earlier Heaven” or “Primal” arrangement.

• Origin: This arrangement is traditionally attributed to the mythical sage Fuxi, one of the earliest figures associated with the I Ching.

• Characteristics: The Early Heaven Ba Gua depicts a state of ideal balance and harmony, where opposing trigrams are perfectly counterposed (e.g., Heaven ☰ opposite Earth ☷, Fire ☲ opposite Water ☵). It represents a pre-creation state or the underlying cosmic order before the differentiation of the manifest world.

• Relevance to Plum Blossom: Shao Yong’s system, with its emphasis on underlying principles and cosmic cycles, resonates strongly with the static, balanced perfection of the Early Heaven arrangement. The numerical associations for the trigrams used in Plum Blossom calculations are often derived from this sequence. While the Later Heaven Ba Gua (King Wen’s arrangement) is more commonly used for Feng Shui and understanding dynamic interactions in the phenomenal world, the Early Heaven sequence provides the foundational symbolic map for many Plum Blossom techniques.

The Eight Trigrams and their common associations are:

• ☰ Qian (乾) - Heaven (Creative, Strong, Yang)
• ☱ Dui (兌) - Lake/Marsh (Joyful, Open, Youngest Daughter)
• ☲ Li (離) - Fire (Clinging, Bright, Middle Daughter)
• ☳ Zhen (震) - Thunder (Arousing, Active, Eldest Son)
• ☴ Xun (巽) - Wind/Wood (Gentle, Penetrating, Eldest Daughter)
• ☵ Kan (坎) - Water (Abysmal, Dangerous, Middle Son)
• ☶ Gen (艮) - Mountain (Stillness, Keeping Still, Youngest Son)
• ☷ Kun (坤) - Earth (Receptive, Devoted, Yin)

2. The Five Phases (Wu Xing / 五行)

The theory of Wu Xing, or the Five Phases (sometimes translated as Five Elements), is another cornerstone of Chinese metaphysics and plays a significantly heightened role in the interpretation of hexagrams within the Plum Blossom methods. The Five Phases are Wood (木 Mù), Fire (火 Huǒ), Earth (土 Tǔ), Metal (金 Jīn), and Water (水 Shuǐ).

• Correspondences: Each trigram has a corresponding Wu Xing phase. These correspondences are crucial for analyzing the relationships between the lower and upper trigrams of a hexagram.

• Dynamic Relationships: The Five Phases interact with each other in cyclical patterns of generation (creation/support) and control (overcoming/destruction):

  • Generating Cycle: Wood feeds Fire, Fire creates Earth (ash), Earth bears Metal, Metal carries Water (condensation), Water nourishes Wood.
  • Controlling Cycle: Wood parts Earth, Earth dams Water, Water extinguishes Fire, Fire melts Metal, Metal chops Wood.

• Interpretation in Plum Blossom: In Plum Blossom readings, the Wu Xing phases of the trigrams forming the hexagram are carefully analyzed. The relationship (generating, controlling, or being controlled) between the phase of the lower trigram and the upper trigram, as well as their relationship to the phases associated with the time of divination (year, month, day, hour), provides critical insights into the dynamics of the situation being queried. This focus on Wu Xing interactions is a distinctive feature of Mei Hua Yi interpretation.

3. The Taiji (太極) - The Great Ultimate

The concept of Taiji, the “Great Ultimate” or “Supreme Polarity,” is fundamental to Taoist cosmology and I Ching philosophy. It represents the undifferentiated oneness from which Yin and Yang, and subsequently the Ten Thousand Things (all of creation), emerge.

• The Ninth Gua: In some contexts within Plum Blossom and other numerologically-oriented I Ching schools, the Taiji is considered as a conceptual “ninth Gua.” It’s not a trigram in the same way as the other eight but represents the point of origin and return, the reunification of all eight trigrams back into the primordial Tao.

• Symbolic Significance: The inclusion or consideration of Taiji emphasizes the cyclical nature of existence – the movement from unity to multiplicity and back to unity. In divination, it can represent the underlying wholeness of a situation or the ultimate source from which the answer or insight is drawn.

By understanding these frameworks—the symbolic language of the Early Heaven Ba Gua, the dynamic interplay of the Wu Xing, and the unifying concept of Taiji—the Plum Blossom practitioner can move beyond simple hexagram identification to a richer, more nuanced interpretation of the I Ching’s guidance. These systems provide the lens through which the numerical calculations of Mei Hua Yi are translated into meaningful insights.

Our next article will begin to explore the practical application of these principles in “Article 5: The External Event Method - Deriving Hexagrams from Observation.”