For many people, the only thing they know about feng shui is the bagua. For some reason, it’s the one element of feng shui that really sticks with people (maybe because it’s pretty fun to say). At Your Digital Essence, the bagua map is only one tool of many that we use to assess what may or may not be working for a person in their space. But we also know it’s a confusing topic that can be a bit hard to understand. So if you read the title of this blog post and are currently asking yourself, “Huh? What are you talking about?”, then you’ve come to the right place! Read our four part series to learn what the bagua is and how you can incorporate it into your space.
So...What the **** is the Bagua?
In short, the bagua is an energy map that guides us in how to enhance different areas of our lives that need attention. Feng shui divides all that is important in life into eight categories:
Self
Wisdom
Community
Empowerment
Future
Relationships
Descendants
Compassion
The bagua is a visual tool or grid that helps us to focus on each of these areas of our lives through our physical environment in order to reach optimal health. It is a physical map that can be placed over an area (the most common being a room, but you can also apply it to a desk or even an entire house) and assigns each of the above categories to a specific physical area. When we can determine which part of a physical space is connected to each of these categories, we can help correct any imbalances or draw attention to things that might be preventing someone from achieving their goals.
The bagua is about metaphors and symbolism. The idea behind it is that what we see in our environment impacts the choices we make and how we look at the world. So when we use the bagua, we're really looking to see what things (objects, paintings, furniture, plants, structural elements) are in each area and if they are aligned with the category representing that area.
The bagua that we use is shown below, with the ninth zone, the middle section, representing health:
We use a modified form of the bagua that is based on older teachings but has a more flexible concept to account for our current time and place in history. Although slightly different from traditional forms of the bagua, the names assigned to each sector and their interpretations are more aligned with contemporary, Western thinking.
Still unsure of what we're talking about? Read on to Part 2 to learn what each section of the bagua represents!