Ba Gua

The Early Heaven and Later Heaven versions of the Ba Gua are at the heart of both systems.


This page reveals a remarkable correlation between the Early Heaven and Later Heaven versions of the Ba Gua, which literally means "Eight Figures" (or Symbols/Tokens) and refers to the circular arrangement of three-line figures composed of yin and yang lines.



Early Heaven Ba Gua Later Heaven Ba Gua


The two diagrams below show lines linking the pairs of gua that, were you to transform yin into yang, would become identical.




Early Heaven yin=yang symmetry Later Heaven yin=yang symmetry


It is obvious that Early Heaven offers a high degree of symmetry (inviting philosophical contemplation of the transformation of one thing into its opposite), whereas Later Heaven appears to be a meaningless jumble (note however, that the relative lengths of the lines may indicate an intentional sequence).

But Tracy Valleau pursued the transformation one stage further and arrived at an intriguing insight: if you also reverse the position of the lines in the individual gua (i.e. swap the line closest to the centre with the line furthest from the centre), a new set of links is produced.



Early Heaven yin=yang symmetry, mirrored Later Heaven yin=yang symmetry, mirrored


I wish I had known a long time ago about this link between these two very different systems. And I owe my current acquaintance with it to Tracy Valleau who published his own "re-discovery" of the relationship on his website. Without his insight, who knows how much longer this important connection would have remained lost?



Early Heaven home



© Ken Taylor 2004-2006