Trigrams and the map of 64

First the eight three-line figures; then how they stack into sixty-four hexagrams; and the orders in which history has arranged them.

The eight trigrams

The 'Earlier Heaven' arrangement, attributed to Fu Xi and systematised by Shao Yong, puts Heaven in the south and Earth in the north; the 'Later Heaven' arrangement, attributed to King Wen, puts Fire in the south and Water in the north and links the trigrams to the five phases and the seasons. The last column is the mapping of 'organisational forces' we use in consulting—our own framework, not traditional content.

Trigram	Image	Quality	Family	Earlier Heaven	Later Heaven	Phase	Body	Animal	Organisational force
☰ 乾 qián	Heaven	strong, creative	father	S	NW	metal	head	horse	Vision & board
☱ 兑 duì	Lake	joyous, open	youngest daughter	SE	W	metal	mouth	sheep	Customers & relationships
☲ 离 lí	Fire	clinging, clarity	middle daughter	E	S	fire	eye	pheasant	Brand & insight
☳ 震 zhèn	Thunder	arousing, moving	eldest son	NE	E	wood	foot	dragon	Innovation & launch
☴ 巽 xùn	Wind / Wood	gentle, penetrating	eldest daughter	SW	SE	wood	thigh	rooster	Communication & reach
☵ 坎 kǎn	Water	abysmal, flowing	middle son	W	N	water	ear	pig	Risk & cash flow
☶ 艮 gèn	Mountain	keeping still	youngest son	NW	NE	earth	hand	dog	Governance & boundaries
☷ 坤 kūn	Earth	receptive, yielding	mother	N	SW	earth	belly	ox	Operations & platform

Trigram builder

Choose a lower trigram, then an upper trigram, to obtain one of the sixty-four hexagrams.

Lower

Upper

The map of 64

Switch arrangement: the King Wen sequence (received order), the Fu Xi square (eight rows by eight) and the Fu Xi circle (the outer ring of Shao Yong's 'square within the circle'). Click any hexagram to open its card; in the card, click a line to see the hexagram it changes into. The address updates with the card, so you can share it.