What is a trigram?
A trigram is a set of three horizontal lines stacked one above another — some solid (yang), some broken (yin) — and it is the smallest complete symbol in the I Ching. The definition carries its own arithmetic: three lines, each in one of two states, allow exactly eight combinations. In ancient Chinese cosmology this set of eight became the organizing alphabet of the Yijing — every one of the 64 hexagrams is simply two trigrams stacked on top of each other. That is why learning eight small figures is the fastest way to read any hexagram at a glance, and why two of them take shape in front of you whenever you cast a reading.
The trigram chart
Treat the table below as your working chart: find the symbol you drew, then read across the labeled columns for its name, image, and attributes. Lines are always counted from the bottom up — the bottom line is the first line, the top line is the third.
| Symbol | Name | Image | Lines (bottom → top) | Family role | Element | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ☰ | Qián 乾 | Heaven | solid · solid · solid | Father | Metal | Northwest |
| ☱ | Duì 兑 | Lake | solid · solid · broken | Youngest daughter | Metal | West |
| ☲ | Lí 离 | Fire | solid · broken · solid | Middle daughter | Fire | South |
| ☳ | Zhèn 震 | Thunder | solid · broken · broken | Eldest son | Wood | East |
| ☴ | Xùn 巽 | Wind | broken · solid · solid | Eldest daughter | Wood | Southeast |
| ☵ | Kǎn 坎 | Water | broken · solid · broken | Middle son | Water | North |
| ☶ | Gèn 艮 | Mountain | broken · broken · solid | Youngest son | Earth | Northeast |
| ☷ | Kūn 坤 | Earth | broken · broken · broken | Mother | Earth | Southwest |
The trigram symbols above are real text characters, not images — ☰ is the Unicode character for Qian, ☷ for Kun — so you can copy them straight out of this chart. Directions follow the Later Heaven (King Wen) arrangement; the older Fuxi layout is covered below.
Yin and yang lines, read from the bottom up
Every trigram is written in a two-letter alphabet: yang, drawn as one solid stroke, and yin, drawn as a broken stroke in two parts. Counting those lines is not enough to identify a figure — position is what matters, and positions are always read from the bottom upward. Zhen ☳, Kan ☵, and Gen ☶ each hold exactly one yang line, yet the line pattern differs — bottom, middle, or top — and that single placement makes them three different trigrams (in the family symbolism, the eldest, middle, and youngest son). Water ☵ and Fire ☲ show a second kind of kinship: flip every line of one and you get the other. When a line in your cast is marked as moving, it flips in exactly that way and the figure changes shape — that mechanism has its own walkthrough in our guide to changing lines.
The meaning of each trigram
Each entry below gives the trigram's lines, its attributes and associations from the traditional commentaries, and the hexagram produced when the trigram is doubled — all eight of those pure hexagrams link to full guides.
Qián ☰ — Heaven (乾)
Three solid lines, bottom to top — the only trigram made of pure yang. Qian is pure creative drive: force, persistence, initiative, the sky in ceaseless motion. Its attributes in the traditional tables are the father among family members, the horse among animals, the head in the body, and Metal as its element, with a season leaning toward late autumn. In a reading, Qian brings drive and authorship — the pressure to lead rather than wait. Doubled, it becomes Hexagram 1 — Heaven, the first hexagram of the I Ching.
Duì ☱ — Lake (兑)
A broken line resting on two solid ones: strength below, an opening at the top. Dui is joy in company — exchange, conversation, the pleasure of being heard. It stands for the youngest daughter, the mouth in the body, the sheep among animals, and Metal as its element. The image is a lake or marsh: still water that gathers life at its open surface. Dui favors words, trade, and shared enjoyment, with the caution that ease can slide into indulgence. Stacked on itself it forms Hexagram 58 — Lake.
Lí ☲ — Fire (离)
Solid, broken, solid: a yielding line held between two firm ones, the way flame clings to what it burns. Li is the light-giver — clarity and visibility, paid for by a constant need for fuel. Its associations are the middle daughter, the eye, and the pheasant; its element is Fire and its direction is south, the bright side of the compass. Li asks what your clarity is attached to, because fire without fuel goes dark. Two Li trigrams together make Hexagram 30 — Fire.
Zhèn ☳ — Thunder (震)
One solid line pushing up from beneath two broken ones. Zhen is shock and arousal: spring growth, the first movement that breaks the quiet. It is the eldest son, the foot that takes the first step, and the dragon rising from below; its element is Wood, its season spring, its direction east where the day begins. Zhen marks beginnings that arrive with noise rather than warning. Its doubled form is Hexagram 51 — Shock.
Xùn ☴ — Wind (巽)
A broken line beneath two solid ones: openness at the root, steadiness above. Xun is gentle penetration — influence that works gradually, the way wind and roots both enter through small gaps. It answers to the eldest daughter, the thighs, and the rooster, with Wood as its element and southeast as its direction. Xun succeeds by repetition and patience rather than force. When it repeats above and below you get Hexagram 57 — Wind.
Kǎn ☵ — Water (坎)
A single solid line held between two broken ones: substance surrounded by softness, the current inside the gorge. Kan is the abyss — depth, danger, and the skill that only difficulty teaches. Its table entries are the middle son, the ear, the pig, the element Water, the direction north, and the season winter. Kan does not promise comfort; it promises that going through is possible. Doubling it yields Hexagram 29 — Water.
Gèn ☶ — Mountain (艮)
Two broken lines capped by a solid one at the top. Gen is stillness itself: rest, boundary, meditation, the stopping point that gives a shape its edge. It corresponds to the youngest son, the hand that holds still, and the dog that guards; its element is Earth, its direction northeast. Gen is the pause between movements — the trigram of knowing when something is finished. The doubled figure is Hexagram 52 — Stillness, the mountain repeated.
Kūn ☷ — Earth (坤)
Three broken lines — pure yin, the mirror of Qian. Kun is receptivity: devotion, carrying capacity, the ground that supports whatever is placed on it. It is the mother, the belly, and the ox; its element is Earth, its direction southwest, its season the ripeness of late summer. Where Qian initiates, Kun completes; nothing grows without both. Repeated, it opens Hexagram 2 — Earth.
From trigrams to 64 hexagrams
Stack any trigram over any other and you get a hexagram: 8 × 8 = 64, the complete set. The lower trigram is read first — it describes the inner situation, the part you are standing in — while the upper trigram describes the outer world moving toward you. Lake over Mountain, for example, is Hexagram 31 — Influence; swap the pair and Mountain over Lake gives an entirely different reading. Our index of all 64 hexagrams names the upper and lower trigram on every card, so once you know the eight symbols on this page you can find any hexagram without memorizing a number.
Bagua: the two arrangements of the trigrams
The Chinese name for the set of eight is bagua (also written ba gua). Two classic diagrams arrange them in a circle, and they answer different questions. The Early Heaven arrangement, attributed to the legendary Fuxi (Fu Xi), places the trigrams in mirrored pairs — Heaven opposite Earth, Fire opposite Water — as a map of ideal balance, and it numbers them in a fixed sequence: Qian 1, Dui 2, Li 3, Zhen 4, Xun 5, Kan 6, Gen 7, Kun 8. That Fuxi numbering is still used by later divination methods such as Plum Blossom numerology. The Later Heaven arrangement, credited to King Wen, orders the same eight around the compass of the working world — Li south, Kan north, Zhen east, Dui west — and it supplies the direction column in the chart above. It is also the layout that Taoist practice and feng shui borrowed for the bagua map of a home; that application belongs to feng shui rather than to casting the I Ching, so we leave it to its own tradition.
The five elements and the trigrams
Chinese cosmology maps all eight figures onto the five elements, so three elements claim two trigrams each: Metal takes Qian and Dui, Wood takes Zhen and Xun, and Earth takes Kun and Gen, while Water belongs to Kan alone and Fire to Li alone. These element associations matter less for casting than for the wider I Ching worldview — they tie the trigrams to seasons, directions, and the cycle in which each element feeds the next.
Trigram questions, answered briefly
What are the eight trigrams?
The eight are Qian (Heaven ☰), Dui (Lake ☱), Li (Fire ☲), Zhen (Thunder ☳), Xun (Wind ☴), Kan (Water ☵), Gen (Mountain ☶), and Kun (Earth ☷). Each one pairs a natural image with a family member, a compass direction, and an element, and the chart on this page lists all eight side by side.
What does the ☰ symbol mean?
☰ is the trigram Qian — three solid yang lines standing for Heaven: creative force, leadership, and persistence. It is also a text character (Unicode U+2630), which is why you can type and search it directly; all eight trigram symbols exist as text, from ☰ through ☷.
What is the difference between a trigram and a hexagram?
Size and role. A trigram has three lines and there are eight of them; a hexagram has six lines and there are 64, because every hexagram is two trigrams stacked together. When you cast, you build a hexagram line by line and then read it partly through the two trigrams inside it.
Are the bagua and the eight trigrams the same thing?
Yes — bagua is simply the Chinese name for the eight figures as a set. The same word also appears in feng shui, where it names a map laid over a space, and in martial arts. On this page it refers to the trigrams of the I Ching and their two classical circular arrangements.
Do you read trigrams on their own, or only inside hexagrams?
In classical I Ching practice a cast always produces six lines, so trigrams are read as the halves of a hexagram rather than consulted alone. Knowing the eight figures still pays off directly: the moment you recognize the upper and lower trigram, you know roughly where a hexagram lives before reading a word of commentary.