Collective Wisdom Blogs

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...

above K’UN THE RECEPTIVE, EARTH below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER The idea of a turning point arises from the fact that after the dark lines have pushed all of the light lines upward and out of the hexagram, another light line enters the hexagram from below. The...

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 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...

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 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...

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 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 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’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 CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER Here the movement goes out of the sphere of danger. The obstacle has been removed, the difficulties are being resolved. Deliverance is not yet achieved; it is just in its beginning, and the hexagram...

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...