Collective Wisdom Blogs
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...
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...
14. Hexagram: Great Possessions
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...
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...
17. Hexagram: Following
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,...
18. Hexagram: Decay
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...
19. Hexagram: Approach
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...
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...
23. Hexagram: Splitting Apart
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...
26. Hexagram
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...
27. Hexagram
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...
29. Hexagram
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...
30. Hexagram
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...
31. Hexagram
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...
32. Hexagram
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...
34. Hexagram
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...
36. Hexagram
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...
37. Hexagram: The Family
above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE The hexagram represents the laws obtaining within the family. The strong line at the top represents the father, the lowest the son. The strong line in the fifth place represents the husband, the yielding second...
FEATURED AUTHOR: JACK CROSS
The Polemics of Jack
by Jack Cross
