04. Hexagram: Youthful Folly
above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER Youthful folly is the natural extension of difficulty at the beginning. Whenever we venture into the unknown or new circumstance we are vulnerable to the folly of our own inexperience. In this...
05. Hexagram: Waiting
above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN All beings have need of nourishment from above. But the gift of food comes in its own time, and for this one must wait. this hexagram shows the clouds in the heavens, giving rain to...
08. Hexagram: Unity
above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH The waters on the surface of the earth flow together wherever they can, as for example in the ocean, where all the rivers come together. Symbolically this connotes holding together and the...
11. Hexagram: Peace
above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The Receptive, which moves downward, stands above; the Creative, which moves upward, is below. Hence their influences meet and are in harmony, so that all living things bloom and...
12. Hexagram: Stagnation
above CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH this hexagram is the opposite of the preceding one. Heaven is above, drawing farther and farther away, while the earth below sinks farther into the depths. The creative powers are not in...
13. Hexagram: Fellowship with Men
above CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below LI THE CLINGING, FLAME The image of the upper trigram Ch’ien is heaven, and that of the lower, Li, is flame. It is the nature of fire to flame up to the heaven. this gives the idea of fellowship. IT is the second...
15. Hexagram: Modesty
above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below KEN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN this hexagram is made up of the trigrams Kên, Keeping Still, mountain, and K’un, Earth. The mountain is the youngest son of the Creative, the representative of heaven and earth. It...
20. Hexagram: Contemplation
above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH A slight variation of tonal stress gives the Chinese name for this hexagram a double meaning. It means both contemplating and being seen, in the sense of being an example. These ideas are suggested by...
21. Hexagram: Obstructions
above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER this hexagram represents an open mouth (cf. hexagram 27) with an obstruction (in the fourth place) between the teeth. As a result the lips cannot meet. To bring them together one must bite energetically...
22. Hexagram: Grace
GRACE above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE this hexagram shows a fire that breaks out of the secret depths of the earth and, blazing up, illuminates and beautifies the mountain, the heavenly heights. Grace, beauty of form, is necessary in any...