The old Chinese masters identified 9 Life Areas that need to be tended to for people to be Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Free. Each of these Life Areas resonates with a number (based on the numbers of the Magic Square, which contains nine small squares, each with a number. When the numbers are added horizontally, vertically or diagonally, they always add up to 15)

I found that there is also an intrinsic connection between each of these Life Areas, their number, and the Principle of Traditional Chinese Philosophy that corresponds to that same number.

The Life Areas (also known as Life Aspirations) are:

1. Career, Life Mission and Individuality
2. Marriage, Relationships and Partnerships
3. Health, Family and Community
4. Wealth, Prosperity and Self Worth
5. Center of Good Fortune and Gratitude
6. Spirituality, Helpful People and Travel
7. Children, Creativity and Entertainment
8. Wisdom, Self Knowledge and Calm
9. Fame, Reputation and Social Life

The Ba-Gua (or Bagua) Map is the theoretical basis for life areas theory, it is a chart that combines two graphics: the Ba-Gua and the Magic Square for use in Feng Shui.

The Ba-Gua

"Ba-Gua" means "8 Trigrams" (trigrams are combinations of three lines, some solid or yang and some split or yin). There are only eight possible combinations of trigrams. The bottom line represents Earth or the Physical, the middle line represents Humankind or the Emotional and the top line represents Heaven or Thoughts.

There are two ways to arrange the 8 trigrams in Traditional Chinese Philosophy: the former heaven sequence and the later heaven sequence.

In Feng Shui we use the later heaven sequence:

	The Later Heaven Sequence is the arrangement of the 8 trigrams most used in Feng Shui.

The Magic Square or "Lo Shu"

In antiquity there were 7 magic squares in the Middle East, each associated with one of the seven main heavenly bodies recognized at the time: The Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The simplest magic square was the square of Saturn (3x3= 9 cells) and the most complex was the square of the Moon (9x9 = 81 cells). The "magic" in these squares is mathematical -- when you add up the number in each row, each column, and the diagonals, they all add up to the same number.

The only magic square recognized in China was what is called the square of Saturn, which is the planet related to the earth and agriculture. The Chinese legend says that Emperor Yu (around 2200 BC) saw a tortoise emerge from the river Lo with dots engraved on the shell in a tic-tac-toe arrangement, and each grouping added up to the numbers in the magic square. All the rows, columns and diagonals of the magic square add up to 15.

WHAT FOLLOWS IS A COMBINED CHART OF THE BA-GUA MAP AND THE MAGIC SQUARE AS IT IS USED IN FENG SHUI TO MAP OUT A HOME OR OFFICE BUILDING: