above K'AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN The hexagram pictures a dangerous abyss lying before us and a steep, inaccessible mountain rising behind us. We are surrounded by obstacles; at the same time, since the mountain has the attribute of...

above LI THE CLINGING, FLAME below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE This hexagram is composed of the trigram Li above, i.e., flame, which burns upward, and Tui below, i.e., the lake, which seeps downward. These two movements are indirect contrast. Furthermore, Li is the second...

above K'UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE Here the sun has sunk under the earth and is therefore darkened. The name of the hexagram means literally "wounding of the bright"; hence the individual lines contain frequent references to wounding. The...

above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE below K'UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH The hexagram represents the sun rising over the earth. It is therefore the symbol of rapid, easy progress, which at the same time means ever widening expansion and clarity. THE JUDGMENT PROGRESS. The...

above CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER above CH'IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The great lines, that is, the light, strong lines, are powerful. Four light lines have entered the hexagram from below and are about to ascend higher. The upper trigram is Chên, the Arousing; the...

above CH'IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN The power of the dark is ascending. The light retreats to security, so that the dark cannot encroach upon it. this retreat is a matter not of one's will but of natural law. Therefore in this case...

above CHEN THE AROUSING, THUNDER below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND The strong trigram Chên is above, the weak trigram Sun below. this hexagram is the inverse of the preceding one. In the latter we have influence, here we have union as an enduring condition. The two images...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN The name of the hexagram means "universal," "general," and in a figurative sense "to influence," "to stimulate." The upper trigram is Tui, the Joyous; the lower is Kên, Keeping still. By its persistent,...

above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE this hexagram is another double sign. The trigram Li means "to cling to something," and also "brightness." A dark line clings to two light lines, one above and one below--the image of an empty space between...