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The Trigrams
The Taoist universe is described by a wide range of symbols,
including 5 elements, 5 planets, 8 trigrams, 10 Heavenly Stems,
12 Earthly Branches, 60 year cycles and the 64 Hexagrams of
the I Ching. Everything is linked to everything else in elegant
numerological formulae.
The Trigrams are developed from the Yin and the Yang which
are represented as lines - Yin consisting of two broken lines,
Yang as a single unbroken line. The Yin and the Yang are combined
in pairs to produce 4 items, and these are then combined again
to create the Trigrams - all the possible combinations of
three lines of Yin and Yang.
Each trigram is related to various aspects of the Taoist
world, such as the Elements, the Seasons and Compass Directions.
They also each have an Archetype or link to a natural phenomena.
| Trigram
|
Icon
|
Archetype |
Element |
Compass |
Season |
| Ch¡¦ien
|
 |
Heaven
|
Metal |
North
West |
Early
Winter |
| K¡¦un
|
 |
Earth
|
Earth |
South West |
Early
Autumn |
| Chen
|
 |
Thunder
|
Wood |
East |
Spring |
| Hsun
|
 |
Wind
|
Wood |
South
East |
Early Summer |
| K¡¦an
|
 |
Moon
|
Water |
North |
Winter |
| Li
|
 |
Sun
|
Fire |
South |
Summer |
| Ken
|
 |
Mountain
|
Earth |
North
East |
Early
Spring |
| Tui
|
 |
Lake
|
Metal |
West |
Autumn |
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