Collective Wisdom Blogs

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 TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD this hexagram consists of four strong lines inside and two weak lines outside. When the strong are outside and the weak inside, all is well and there is nothing out of balance, nothing extraordinary in the...

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 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 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 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 CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER The hexagram Chên represents the eldest son, who seizes rule with energy and power. A yang line develops below two yin lines and presses upward forcibly. this movement is so violent that it arouses...

above KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN The image of this hexagram is the mountain, the youngest son of heaven and earth. The male principle is at the top because it strives upward by nature; the female principle is below, since the...

above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN The mountain, Kên, stands still; above it fire, Li, flames up and does not tarry. Therefore the two trigrams do not stay together. Strange lands and separation are the wanderer’s lot. THE JUDGMENT The...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD below SUN THE GENTLE, WIND, WOOD Sun is one of the eight doubled trigrams. It is the eldest daughter and symbolizes wind or wood; it has for its attribute gentleness, which nonetheless penetrates like the wind or like growing wood with...

above TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE this hexagram, like sun, is one of the eight formed by doubling of a trigram. The trigram Tui denotes the youngest daughter; it is symbolized by the smiling lake, and its attribute is joyousness. Contrary to...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER Wind blowing over water disperses it, dissolving it into foam and mist. this suggests that when a man’s vital energy is dammed up within him (indicated as a danger by the attribute of the lower...

above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE A lake occupies a limited space. When more water comes into it, it overflows. Therefore limits must be set for the water. The image shows water below and water above, with the firmament between them as a...

above SUN THE GENTLE, WIND below TUI THE JOYOUS, LAKE The wind blows over the lake and stirs the surface of the water. Thus visible effects of the invisible manifest themselves. The hexagram consists of firm lines above and below, while it is open in the center. this...

above CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER below KêN KEEPING STILL, MOUNTAIN While in the hexagram Ta Kuo, PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT (28), the strong lines preponderate and are within, inclosed between weak lines at the top and bottom, the present hexagram has weak lines...