Bagua Mirror

The eight-trigram mirror hung outside a door — the tradition's best-known deflecting object. The bagua mirror is an octagonal mirror surrounded by the eight trigrams, hung facing outward. It is the object most associated with deflecting an exposed or opposed position, and the one most often misunderstood in use.

This database documents placement principles, not outcomes. The eight-trigram mirror hung outside a door — the tradition's best-known deflecting object. The three shapes are the tradition's own acknowledgement that a single object cannot do opposite things, which is a rare instance of the sources limiting a remedy rather than extending it.

The classical distinction is between concave, convex and flat, each with a different stated function. The sources are also explicit that the object is an outdoor one and that hanging it inside is a misuse — a rule that is widely ignored. It is grouped under Metal (金) in the five-element system.