Collective Wisdom Blogs

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...

above  LI  THE CLINGING, FLAME below  CH’IEN  THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The fire in heaven above shines far, and all things stand out in the light and become manifest. The weak fifth line occupies the place of honor and all the strong lines are in accord with it. All...

above  CHêN  THE AROUSING, THUNDER below  K’UN  THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH The strong line in the fourth place, that of the leading official, meets with response and obedience from all the other lines, which are all weak. The attribute of the upper trigram, Chên, is...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER The trigram Tui, the Joyous, whose attribute is gladness, is above; Chên, the Arousing, which has the attribute of movement, is below. Joy in movement induces following. The Joyous is the youngest daughter,...

above Kên KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below Sun THE GENTLE, WIND The Chinese character ku represents a bowl in whose contents worms are breeding. this means decay. It has come about because the gentle indifference of the lower trigram has come together with the rigid...

above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE The Chinese word lin has a range of meanings that is not exhausted by any single word of another language. The ancient explanations in the Book of Changes give as its first meaning, “becoming...

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...

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH The dark lines are about to mount upward and overthrow the last firm, light line by exerting a disintegrating influence on it. The inferior, dark forces overcome what is superior and strong, not...

above CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER Ch’ien, heaven is above; Chên, movement, is below. The lower trigram Chên is under the influence of the strong line it has received from above, from heaven. When, in accord with this,...

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN The Creative is tamed by Kên, Keeping Still. this produces great power, a situation in contrast to that of the ninth hexagram, Hsiao Ch’u, THE TAMING POWER OF THE SMALL, in which the...

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER this hexagram is a picture of an open mouth; above and below are firm lines of the lips, and between them the opening. Starting with the mouth, through which we take food for nourishment, the thought...

above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER this hexagram consists of a doubling of the trigram K’an. It is one of the eight hexagrams in which doubling occurs. The trigram K’an means a plunging in. A yang line has plunged in...

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 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...

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 KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE This hexagram represents a decrease of the lower trigram in favor of the upper, because the third line, originally strong, has moved up to the top, and the top line, originally weak, has replaced it. What is...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER The idea of increase is expressed in the fact that the strong lowest line of the upper trigram has sunk down and taken its place under the lower trigram. This conception also expresses the fundamental idea on...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN This hexagram signifies on the one hand a break-through after a long accumulation of tension, as a swollen river breaks through its dikes, or in the manner of a cloudburst. On the other hand, applied...

above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD The lower trigram, Sun, represents wood, and the upper, K’un, means the earth. Linked with this is the idea that wood in the earth grows upward. In contrast to the meaning of Chin, PROGRESS...