The eight trigrams were conceived as images of all that happens in heaven and on earth. They are symbols for continually changing transitional states, one changing into another, just as change is continually taking place in the physical world. The focus is on their movements in change, not on their state of being. Multiple meanings developed for these trigrams. They represented certain processes in nature and the inherent charcteristics of these. They also represented a family consisting of a father, a mother, three sons, and three daughters, not as the people themselves, but as their functions within the family unit. All of the meanings were tools for understanding and mastering the events of a life. Every situation that might arise can be found within the trigrams and their combinations into hexagrams.

The I Ching itself is divided into 64 hexagrams, each one reflecting one of the possible pairings of the eight trigrams. Beginning with Ch'ien, The Creative and ending with Wei Chi, Before Completion, the structure of the book depicts the infinite cycle of life, beginnings to endings to new beginnings, fortune and misfortune along the journey.

Each hexagram is interpreted in a number of ways. First, the meaning of the hexagram as a whole is considered. Then the two trigrams composing the hexagram are examined. Finally, the individual lines comprising the hexagram are studied, from bottom to top. The lines reflect the stages of growth or the sequence of events within each hexagram.

While the overall indication of a hexagram may be that of good fortune, any of the lines may warn of misfortune or danger. A particular line may contain omens for both good and bad, thus illustrating one of the main lessons of the I Ching: One must not be discouraged by misfortune nor overly smug at good fortune. As indicated in the title itself, The Book of Changes, life is a continuous cycle of change. It is how we adapt to these changes that is the most important thing since we cannot stop the cycle and remain stationary, no matter what we desire.