In this article
What the bagua is
"Bagua" means "eight trigrams", the eight three-line symbols of the I Ching. In classical feng shui they are arranged around a centre and tied to compass directions, family roles and the elements. In the Western version, the eight areas plus a centre are drawn as a three-by-three grid: wealth, fame, relationships, family, health, children, knowledge, career and helpful people, with the centre standing for balance.
It is a tool for reflection rather than a map of hidden forces. Treat each square as a prompt: if the "career" corner of your home is a pile of boxes, perhaps a few boxes could go, regardless of what you believe about qi.
Western grid vs classical bagua
The classical bagua is fixed to the compass, so the wealth sector sits in the south-east whatever the layout. The Western grid, popularised in the United States from the 1980s by teachers of the Black Sect tradition, is fixed to the entrance instead. Standing in the doorway and looking in, the near-left square is knowledge, the near-middle is career and the near-right is helpful people, and the rest follows from there.
Because the two systems disagree, practitioners argue about which is right. If you are curious, read about the wider background in the overview. For everyday use, pick the entrance grid, since it needs no measuring.
How to place it on your floor plan
Sketch your home or one room on paper, roughly to scale. Draw a rectangle around the outline, divide it into three equal columns and three equal rows, and label the squares. Align the bottom edge with the wall that holds the main door (for a whole home) or the door of a single room (for that room). Irregular layouts leave "missing" corners; the tradition suggests marking them with a light, a mirror or a plant, which in practice means simply paying them some attention.
You can overlay the grid on the whole house, on each floor, or on one room at a time. Start with the area you use most, and do not try to do all three at once.
The nine areas in practice
Career (front centre) is linked with water; keep the entrance clear. Knowledge (front left) suits a reading chair. Helpful people (front right) is a good place for your address book or a note of thanks. Family (middle left) often holds photos, and wealth (back left) is where many people put a plant such as a jade plant or money tree, together with an uncluttered surface.
The middle square stands for balance and should stay open. Fame (back centre) is traditionally warm and bright, relationships (back right) suit pairs of objects, and children or creativity (middle right) is a spot for hobbies. Health sits in the middle in some versions. Choose the version you like, and stay with it.
Using the grid with the elements
Each square has an element and colours attached. Wealth is wood with purples and greens, fame is fire with red, relationships are earth with pinks, children are metal with white, and so on. You can read more about this on the five elements and feng shui colours.
Keep it light. One small object in the right tone is plenty; filling a corner with symbols tends to create clutter, which is the opposite of the aim.
How seriously to take it
The bagua is a framework from a tradition, not a measured fact. It cannot predict or change your finances, relationships or health. What it can do is give you a structured way to walk through the home and ask whether each part is cared for.
If you find the grid stressful, because a bathroom sits in your "wealth" corner, for instance, remember that this is symbolic. The usual advice is to keep that room clean and the door closed, and carry on.
Questions people ask
Which direction should the bagua face?
In the Western method it does not use compass directions: the wall with the main door is always the bottom edge of the grid.
What if my home is not square?
Extend the grid over the largest rectangle that fits, and note any missing corners. Add a light or a plant there if you like.
Do I need to use it?
No. Plenty of people use only the practical room tips and skip the grid altogether.