ABSTRACTA new conceptual diagram is presented that aids in visualizing glacial processes, their effects and, hopefully through its use, may help us improve our understanding of glacial systems. Subglacial processes and products are emphasized in this paper. Ice, water, and till-forming processes including meltout, flow, deformation, and lodgement occupy the six corners of the octahedron. Symbols plotted within the octahedron represent the relative importance of the various processes/products involved. A bent arrow within the diagram traces the history of processes/effects at a site or in an area. Thus, the octahedron emphasizes glacial processes/products as transitional, interrelated phenomena within a continuum rather than as end-members. Two examples demonstrate contrasting uses of the octahedron. In the first, a triple patterned arrow traces the subglacial history of two grounded, competing lobe complexes along the south-central margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. In the second, a double patterned arrow depicts changing depositional settings during cyclic marginal grounding of a tidewater glacier. The octahedron is flexible and can be modified to emphasize other glacial systems, depending on the interests of the investigator.