WHAT IS THE BA-GUA OR LIFE AREAS MAP?
The Ba-Gua (or Bagua) Map is the 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.
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"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.
In Feng Shui we arrange the trigrams in this pattern:
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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.
