#bagua

You seem cute haha, thank you for the prompts and the kind words!

Well, as I've mentioned, I've been in the process of finally finding the courage to go through... everything I have on my hard drives. Artwork from high school, notes from animation classes, drawings gifted from colleagues, and obviously all of the unpublished works Monty and I had created together.

I spent a very, very long time feeling like a part of me had died, and even longer spent like I was a ghost. It wasn't just the pain of losing someone so suddenly the way I did, but everything that followed, the things that left a shell of a person behind in the wake of it all. I've looked at old photos, watched old videos where I was so confident, was daring enough to sass my friends, and I wasn't afraid to be myself.

She seems like a completely different person.

In my efforts to reclaim my identity, I've had to face a lot of things I'd been running from; things that have felt too painful to address. My ambitions and dreams had been struck down so violently, and I felt utterly betrayed by the very people I had been told I could trust. I allowed myself to believe that I must not be an artist because I also do costuming, my relevant experience with animation must not be enough to qualify as a professional because I worked in Flash, and maybe I really am just a hysterical widow whose brain chemistry got so fucked up that everything is a delusion--that I must not know who I actually am or what I am capable of.

Revisiting old work has been reminding me not only what I have accomplished in the past but also reacquainting myself with the production process that had been unique to us--and that it had worked. The Volume 2 opening will forever be proof of that, and it's not something anyone can take away from me or tell me otherwise.

For a long time, Monty would regale me with how privileged he felt with RWBY, that he had, "paid his dues bringing other peoples' stories to life," with RvB, and how excited he was to finally have the opportunity to tell his OWN story. He never had the chance to explicitly explain what the, "purpose," behind RWBY was, for lack of better explanation, but I am happy to see that some people still received the message.

My message is the same, and it always has been. As an exhausted teenager dropping down onto the sofa to watch some scheduled programming after another week of full-time school and work, desperately trying to think of anything other than responsibilities, I had an intrusive thought that did not feel like it came from me, but one I wholly agreed with:

Art, in every shape, form and delivery, is our salvation from the stresses of daily life. Neurosurgeons who have to deliver the worst news to the family return home seeking some sort of meditation or escape to get through the grief of loss, so they turn to the art of music, the art of company, the art of language to heal from it. There are more examples, but the sentiment is the same.

So for now, that is what is driving me to work on my story, my characters, the vehicles for my message. I want to teach and remind people how important art is to humanity on every level, from freedom of expression through dance, the lessons and themes sung loudly on stage, to the societal commentary told through cinema.

There is beauty to be found in the tenacity of our souls and the solutions we devise when facing off with limitations and adversity. Like a fingerprint, these are unique acts of art forged in the fires of determination.

My muses--well. I wouldn't want to give away too much now, lest there be nothing left to surprise you with. I am incredibly sentimental, so things may be too obvious. But if anyone would like to discuss Bagua, I am currently neck-deep in research.

If I were Du YueSheng (2) : QuanRongGallery.com

Asian Art Auction 亞洲藝術品拍賣

on 5/3/2026 1PM EST www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/411996_asian-art-auction

Source

The philosophy of the Bagua (八卦, Bāguà, "Eight Symbols") is one of the most profound and enduring cosmological systems in human history. It is not merely a collection of eight trigrams, but a complete metaphysical map of reality—a symbolic language that describes the fundamental patterns of change, the structure of existence, and the relationship between the cosmos, nature, and human life.

Rooted in ancient Chinese philosophy, specifically in the Yijing (I Ching, 易經, "Book of Changes") , the Bagua is a dynamic, relational, and process-oriented ontology.

Core Definition: The Architecture of Change

The Bagua consists of eight trigrams, each composed of three stacked lines (yao). Each line is either:

Broken (⚋): Yin (陰) — receptive, yielding, dark, feminine, the moon.

Unbroken (⚊): Yang (陽) — active, firm, light, masculine, the sun.

Each trigram represents:

Qian (Heaven) – creativity, strength

Kun (Earth) – receptivity, nurture

Zhen (Thunder) – initiation, movement

Xun (Wind/Wood) – penetration, growth

Kan (Water) – depth, danger

Li (Fire) – clarity, illumination

Gen (Mountain) – stillness, boundary

Dui (Lake) – joy, openness

These eight trigrams are not static symbols but moments in a continuous process of transformation. They represent all possible states of being in their relation to one another.

Core Philosophical Principles

1. Binary Code of the Cosmos (The Yin-Yang Foundation)

The Bagua is the first complete formalization of binary logic in human history (predating Leibniz by millennia). All complexity emerges from the interplay of two primal forces—Yin and Yang.

One generates Two: The Supreme Ultimate (Taiji) differentiates into Yin and Yang.

Two generates Four: Yin and Yang combine to form four digrams (Greater Yin, Lesser Yang, Lesser Yin, Greater Yang).

Four generates Eight: One more binary division produces the eight trigrams.

This is combinatorial, generative cosmology. Reality is not a collection of static substances but a continuous, self-differentiating process of becoming.

2. Relational Ontology (No Thing Stands Alone)

No trigram has meaning in isolation. Qián (Heaven) is defined by its complement Kūn (Earth). Kǎn (Water) is defined by its opposite Lí (Fire). This is a radically relational metaphysics.

Implication: There are no substances, only relations. Nothing exists independently; everything is constituted through its relationship with its complement and its position in the sequence.

Parallels: This prefigures structuralism (Saussure: meaning is difference), process philosophy (Whitehead), and dialectics (Hegel).

3. Dynamic Process, Not Static Substance

The Bagua is not a classification of fixed things but a map of transformations.

Each trigram contains the seed of its opposite (the Yin within Yang, the Yang within Yin).

The sequence of trigrams represents temporal cycles (the day, the seasons, the life of a civilization).

Implication: Being is change (Yi). Stability is a temporary equilibrium of dynamic forces.

4. Microcosm and Macrocosm (Correlative Cosmology)

The Bagua is a holistic, analogical system that links all levels of reality:

Cosmic Level: Heaven, Earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain, lake.

Social Level: Father, mother, sons, daughters.

Bodily Level: Head, belly, feet, thighs, ears, eyes, hands, mouth.

Psychological Level: Creativity, receptivity, arousal, penetration, danger, clarity, stillness, joy.

Implication: The universe is a single, integrated, meaningful whole. The patterns of nature are the patterns of the body, the family, and the state. To understand the Bagua is to understand the logic of existence itself.

5. The Two Sequences: Cosmogony and Ontology

The trigrams can be arranged in two fundamental orders, each with distinct philosophical meaning:

A. The Former Heaven (先天, Xiāntiān) Sequence (attributed to Fuxi)

Arrangement: Qián (Heaven) at South, Kūn (Earth) at North. Opposites face each other.

Meaning: This is the a priori, ideal, perfect order of the universe before manifestation. It is the structure of potentiality, the cosmic blueprint. It is balanced, symmetrical, and eternal.

B. The Later Heaven (後天, Hòutiān) Sequence (attributed to King Wen)

Arrangement: Lí (Fire) at South, Kǎn (Water) at North. The trigrams are arranged according to seasonal cycles.

Meaning: This is the a posteriori, actual, dynamic order of the manifest world. It is the structure of actuality, the world of change, time, and human affairs. It is asymmetrical, cyclical, and temporal.

Implication: Philosophy must distinguish between the eternal structure of reality and the temporal process of its manifestation. This is a profound metaphysical insight.

Applications and Extensions

1. Feng Shui (Geomancy)

The Bagua is superimposed on physical space to analyze and harmonize the flow of Qi. The Bagua map is a diagnostic tool: each sector of a home corresponds to a trigram and its associated life aspect (wealth, relationships, career, etc.). This is applied relational ontology.

2. Traditional Chinese Medicine

The trigrams correspond to organs, meridians, and pathological patterns. Diagnosis is the art of detecting imbalance in the Bagua of the body; treatment is the restoration of dynamic equilibrium.

3. Martial Arts (Baguazhang)

The entire martial art of Baguazhang ("Eight Trigram Palm") is based on the philosophy of the Bagua. The practitioner walks in a circle, constantly changing directions and techniques according to the transformations of the trigrams. It is embodied philosophy—the metaphysics of change made flesh.

4. Personal and Spiritual Development

The Bagua is a map of consciousness and the path of self-cultivation.

Gèn (Mountain): Stillness, meditation, stopping the restless mind.

Lí (Fire): Clarity, illumination, discerning wisdom.

Kǎn (Water): Navigating danger, adaptability.

Duì (Lake): Joyful exchange, open communication.

To cultivate virtue is to harmonize the eight forces within oneself.

Conclusion: The Map of Becoming

The philosophy of the Bagua is a complete, coherent, and endlessly generative system of thought. It teaches:

Reality is relational. Nothing exists in isolation; everything is constituted by its position in a dynamic field of forces.

Change is the fundamental principle of being. Stability is a temporary equilibrium of opposing tendencies.

The microcosm reflects the macrocosm. The patterns of the cosmos are inscribed in the body, the family, and the state.

Opposites are complementary, not contradictory. Yin and Yang, Heaven and Earth, Fire and Water—these are not enemies but lovers, generating all of existence through their dynamic interplay.

There are two orders of reality: the eternal, ideal structure of potentiality (Former Heaven) and the temporal, actual process of manifestation (Later Heaven). Philosophy must honor both.

A cycle without spinning

hub and spoke

but the motion’s from within

one calls out

and sees that ear is mouth

there must begin to end

and must end to begin

Thunder in the East

the sound of new beginnings

the birth of change

from unity

Southward there is fire

in the warm bellies

Of my many children

In the West there is an echo

from the lake, my mouth’s reflection

there is laughter, I’ve been merry

I taste iron in my blood

North are the rapids

cut cold through the gorge

come to wash away my home

A cold plunge to shake the world anew awake

Circle of eight indices

pull me hard in all directions

draw me tight like the skin on my drum