I Ching - The Hexagrams
The hexagrams are the language of the I Ching. They are an attempt to capture the quintessential nature of the ebb and flow of Time, as characterised in a finite number of archetypal situations.
The order in which the hexagrams are arranged corresponds with both a straightforward numerical sequence and a deeper organic structure.
The lines of the hexagram represent the forces of yin or yang which are operating within a given situation.
The trigrams are the three-line elements which, when combined in pairs, form the characteristic structure of the hexagram. All possible combinations of these paired trigrams make up the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching.
Taken together with their constituent trigrams and individual lines, the hexagrams symbolically express the nature and character of every possible aspect of existence, including its context in place and time.
Ch'ien
Chên
K'an
Kên
K'un
Sun
Li
Tui