‘Bā guà’ (Eight Trigrams) refers to a foundational concept in classical Chinese philosophy and cosmology, consisting of eight symbolic arrangements of three broken or unbroken lines. Each trigram represents natural forces—such as heaven, earth, water, fire—and combines to form the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching (Book of Changes). The character 八 means ‘eight’, and 卦 means ‘divination symbol’ or ‘trigram’; together, they denote this specific set of eight archetypal symbols used for interpreting change, guiding decisions, and understanding cosmic patterns.

While rooted in ancient divination and Daoist thought, bā guà appears widely in traditional Chinese medicine, feng shui, martial arts (e.g., Baguazhang), and even modern pop culture as a symbol of balance and transformation. It is rarely used in casual daily speech but frequently appears in academic, spiritual, or cultural contexts—especially when discussing traditional philosophy, architecture layout, or energy flow in space.