Month: December 2021

44 – Forty-Four  Kou / Compulsion

A playful Zephyr dances and delights beneath indulgent Heaven:
A Prince who shouts orders but will not walk among his people may as well try to command the four winds.

A strong, addictive temptation, much more dangerous than it seems.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are ignoring a clear and present danger to your well-being.
If this threat emanated from a heavy-handed oppressor, you would see it coming.
But this danger comes to you in the form of a seduction, an amusement, a diversion, an indulgence that is eating away at the fiber of your secure little world.
You are too cocksure.
You underestimate the tribute this dalliance will demand.

Nine in the third place means:

They flay the skin from his thighs then toss him in the wasteland to struggle home.
He will live to remember this hideous lesson, and will avoid any more painful mistakes.

There is no skin on his thighs,
And walking comes hard.
If one is mindful of the danger,
No great mistake is made.

‘Walking Wisteria tree with white blossoms’

There is a temptation to fall in with the evil element offering itself-a very dangerous situation. Fortunately circumstances prevent this; one would like to do it, but cannot. This leads to painful indecision in behavior. But if we gain clear insight into the danger of the situation, we shall at least avoid more serious mistakes.

6 – Six  Sung / Conflict

The high Heavens over a yawning Deep chasm:
An expansive void where nothing can dwell.
Even though he sincerely knows he is right, the Superior Person anticipates opposition and carefully prepares for any incident.

Good fortune if your conflict results in compromise.
Misfortune if your conflict escalates to confrontation.
Seek advice.
Postpone your crossing to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Conflict is a necessary part of life.
Tension upon the strings of a violin can make majestic music.
The critical mass of two hydrogen atoms trying to occupy the same space fuel the sun that nourishes our solar system.
Most conflicts you face in life are the result of your Path converging with another’s.
Your Path is not his, and one Path is not necessarily more right than the other.
Can you work together to remove the blockage?

14 – Fourteen  Ta Yu / Great Treasures

The Fire of clarity illuminates the Heavens to those below:
The Superior Person possesses great inner treasures — compassion, economy, and modesty.
These treasures allow the benevolent will of Heaven to flow through him outward to curb evil and to further good.

Supreme success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You have become an instrument of Heaven’s will, offering a balance in the world around you.
It is not swashbuckling prowess or uncanny talent that qualifies you for this office, but your simplest gifts — your modesty, your compassion, your economy.
Because you can see clearly who most needs a miracle, Heaven’s bounty is being put at your disposal.

Six in the fifth place means:

His sincerity attracts and inspires others whom gold could not.

He whose truth is accessible, yet dignified,
Has good fortune.

Ven. Ananda in the first Buddhist Council

The situation is very favorable. People are being won not by coercion but by unaffected sincerity, so that they are attached to us in sincerity and truth. However, benevolence alone is not sufficient at the time of POSSESSION IN GREAT MEASURE. For insolence might begin to spread. Insolence must be kept in bounds by dignity; then good fortune is assured.

1 – One  Ch’ien / Creative Activity

Heaven above and Heaven below:
Heaven in constant motion.
With the strength of the dragon, the Superior Person steels himself for ceaseless activity.

Productive Activity.
Potent Influence.
Sublime Success if you keep to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The time for action has come.
You now have the focus and the stamina necessary for accomplishing great tasks.
The path before you is being cleared and reward lies ahead.

32 – Thirty-Two  Hêng / Durability

Arousing Thunder and penetrating Wind.
Close companions in any storm:
The Superior Person possesses a resiliency and durability that lets him remain firmly and faithfully on course.

Such constancy deserves success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Endurance is the key to success in this situation.
However, durability is not synonymous with stone-like rigidity.
True resilience requires a flexibility that allows adaptation to any adverse condition, while still remaining true to the core.
Can you maintain your integrity under any circumstance?
Can you influence the situation without giving opposing forces anything to resist?
Then you will endure to reach your goal.

Six at the beginning [yin at bottom] means:

He pledges his love too hastily, and awaits her promise in return.
This stunts the natural growth of affection.

Seeking duration too hastily brings misfortune persistently.
Nothing that would further.

Lao Tzu

Whatever endures can be created only gradually by long-continued work and careful reflection. In the same sense Lao Tzu says:
“If we wish to compress something, we must first let it fully expand.”
He who demands too much at once is acting precipitately, and because he attempts too much, he ends by succeeding in nothing.

34 – Thirty-Four  Ta Chuang / Awesome Power

Thunder fills the Heavens with its awful roar, not out of pride, but with integrity; if it did less, it would not be Thunder:
Because of his Great Power, the Superior Person takes pains not to overstep his position, so that he will not seem intimidating or threatening to the Established Order.

Opportunity will arise along this course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

The Awesome Power available in this hexagram stems from what the Taoists call your Te, a term not perfectly translated into English.
Roughly, it is your Integrity — not in the Western sense of honor — but more in the psychological definition of a full integration of Who You Are.
This Awesome Power is achieved only by fully embracing both the good and the bad, the strong and the weak, the masculine and the feminine — all polarities within you.
Such self-knowledge spawns a Mastery tempered with the humility necessary to rein in and harness this Awesome Power.

17 – Seventeen  Sui / Following

Thunder beneath the Lake’s surface.
The Superior Person allows himself plenty of sheltered rest and recuperation while awaiting a clear sign to follow.

Supreme success.
No mistakes if you keep to your course.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Thunder from the Lake — the lulling, rhythmic roar of the faithful tide, eternally wearing away the stone of the shoreline, forever obedient to the phases of the moon.
The pull of the moon on the tide is the Following called for now.
As mighty as the tide is in its own right, it is ever the puppet of the invisible, irresistible gravity of the moon.
What cyclical forces pull you along?
Are you futilely attempting to resist a natural attraction?

Nine in the fourth place means:

Following for dishonorable reasons.
Pause for clarity and a return to integrity.
Once actions are sincere, you may move forward blamelessly.

Following creates success.
Perseverance brings misfortune.
To go one’s way with sincerity brings clarity.
How could there be blame in this?

‘Flattery’ – Juan Gris, 1908 – Pencil, color pencil and watercolor on paper

It often happens, when a man exerts a certain amount of influence, that he obtains a following by condescension toward inferiors. But the people who attach themselves to him are not honest in their intentions. They seek personal advantage and try to make themselves indispensable through flattery and subservience. If one becomes accustomed to such satellites and cannot do without them, it brings misfortune. Only when a man is completely free from his ego, and intent, by conviction, upon what is right and essential, does he acquire the clarity that enables him to see through such people, and become free of blame.

64 – Sixty-Four  Wei Chi / The End In Sight

Fire ascends above the Water:
The Superior Person examines the nature of things and keeps each in its proper place.

Too anxious the young fox gets his tail wet, just as he completes his crossing.
To attain success, be like the man and not like the fox.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Resist the rush to completion.
Anticipation of fulfillment may cause you to be careless before you have fully absorbed the lessons of the journey.
The endpoint of this Quest will only prove to be the threshold for another.
You are short steps from Mastery on this plane, yet you stride toward Ignorance of the challenges lying beyond.
Savor this accomplishment.
Fully Become.
Take full possession of your world before embarking to discover the next one.
That voyage begins soon enough, and you will reminisce about this one.
These are the Good Old Days.

13 – Thirteen  T’ung Jên / Social Mechanism

Heaven reflects the Flame of clarity:
The Superior Person analyzes the various levels and working parts of the social structure, and uses them to advantage.

Success if you keep to your course.
You may cross to the far shore.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a matter of Positioning — not only yourself, but others as well.
There are niches to be filled, potentials to be realized, right livelihoods to be found.
You are not building a new organization, but shoring up an existing infrastructure.
It’s worth the effort, because it will provide union, community, and an ironclad alliance.

Six in the second place means:

The clan holds tightly, armed against outsiders.
This inbreeds fear and cruelty, which can only give birth to strife and extinction.

Fellowship with men in the clan.
Humiliation.

Harvard Club – London’s top private club

There is danger here of formation of a separate faction on the basis of personal and egotistic interests. Such factions, which are exclusive and, instead of welcoming all men, must condemn one group in order to unite the others, originate from low motives and therefore lead in the course of time to humiliation.

14 – Fourteen  Ta Yu / Great Treasures

The Fire of clarity illuminates the Heavens to those below:
The Superior Person possesses great inner treasures — compassion, economy, and modesty.
These treasures allow the benevolent will of Heaven to flow through him outward to curb evil and to further good.

Supreme success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You have become an instrument of Heaven’s will, offering a balance in the world around you.
It is not swashbuckling prowess or uncanny talent that qualifies you for this office, but your simplest gifts — your modesty, your compassion, your economy.
Because you can see clearly who most needs a miracle, Heaven’s bounty is being put at your disposal.

16 – Sixteen  Yü / Enthusiasm

Thunder comes resounding out of the Earth:
Similar thunder roars up from the masses when the Superior Person strikes a chord in their hearts.

Whip up enthusiasm, rally your forces, and move boldly forward.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There is a rhythmic force, a world music, that lives deep in the Unconscious of each of us.
It’s a primitive drumbeat, a shaking rattle, a tribal chant that invokes the primal self to rise up and join the dance.
This is the enthusiasm that is generated now.
Not rhetorical persuasion, not a play on the emotions, but a charismatic, irresistible Call of the Wild.
Confucius said that the person who could comprehend this could ‘rule the world as though it were spinning in his hand.’
This is a time for instinct, not intellect — the Thunder from the Beneath.

Six in the fifth place means:

Thorough self-diagnosis of his own affliction keeps him safely from the brink of fatal error.

Persistently ill, and still does not die.

Here enthusiasm is obstructed. A man is under constant pressure, which prevents him from breathing freely. However, this pressure has its advantage – it prevents him from consuming his powers in empty enthusiasm. Thus constant pressure can actually serve to keep one alive.

8 – Eight  Pi / Bonding

Deep Waters on the face of the Earth:
Surface waters flow together.
The Superior Person recognizes the situation calls for joining together.
Thus he cultivates friendly relations with all.

Good fortune is possible.
Cast the coins again to discover if you have the qualities needed to lead such a group.
Then there will be no error.
Those uncertain will gradually join.
Those who join too late will meet with misfortune.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

This is a time of connection with another or others — not just an alliance, but a melding of parts into a new whole.
Such a connection may be too close, too intense for some.
Consult the oracle again to see if you have the qualities needed to strengthen and withstand such an intense synthesis.

38 – Thirty-Eight  K’uei / Estrangement

Fire distances itself from its nemesis, the Lake:
No matter how large or diverse the group, the Superior Person remains uniquely himself.

Small accomplishments are possible.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are working at cross-purposes with another.
The distance between you is very wide.
The gap can be closed, however, with no compromise of your integrity.
You are not adversaries in this case — just two persons addressing individual needs.
Ask yourself: are these needs mutually exclusive?
Is there common ground here?
Must there be one winner and one loser?
Could you become partners in seeking a solution that would allow for two winners?

Six in the third place means:
One sees the wagon dragged back,
The oxen halted,
A man’s hair and nose cut off.
Not a good beginning, but a good end.

Sphinx Giza

Often it seems to a man as though everything were conspiring against him. He sees himself checked and hindered in his progress, insulted and dishonored.¹ However, he must not let himself be misled; despite this opposition, he must cleave to the man with whom he knows he belongs. Thus, notwithstanding the bad beginning, the matter will end well.

50 – Fifty  Ting / The Caldron

Fire rises hot and bright from the Wood beneath the sacrificial caldron:
The Superior Person positions himself correctly within the flow of Cosmic forces.

Supreme Accomplishment.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Your needs are coming into harmony with the requirements of the Cosmos.
Blending brilliantly with the Dance of Life, you are becoming an actual element of Cosmic Law.
Your goals will now be realized because you no longer cut against the Cosmic grain; you are no longer swimming against the flow of the Tao.
You are acquiring an intuitive sense of what can and cannot be, and aligning your efforts accordingly.

1. Cutting off of the hair and nose was a severe and degrading punishment.

14 – Fourteen  Ta Yu / Great Treasures

The Fire of clarity illuminates the Heavens to those below:
The Superior Person possesses great inner treasures — compassion, economy, and modesty.
These treasures allow the benevolent will of Heaven to flow through him outward to curb evil and to further good.

Supreme success.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You have become an instrument of Heaven’s will, offering a balance in the world around you.
It is not swashbuckling prowess or uncanny talent that qualifies you for this office, but your simplest gifts — your modesty, your compassion, your economy.
Because you can see clearly who most needs a miracle, Heaven’s bounty is being put at your disposal.

Nine in the third place means:

A Prince gives his treasures freely to those who can better use them.

A lesser man could not do this.

A prince offers it to the Son of Heaven.
A petty man cannot do this.

Lakshmi – Goddess of Wealth

A magnanimous, liberal-minded man should not regard what he possesses as his exclusive personal property, but should place it at the disposal of the ruler or of the people at large. In so doing, he takes the right attitude toward his possession, which as private property can never endure. A petty man is incapable of this. He is harmed by great possessions, because instead of sacrificing them, he would keep them for himself.¹

51 – Fifty-One  Chên / Thunder

Thunder echoes upon Thunder, commanding reverence for its father Heaven:
In awe of Heaven’s majestic power, the Superior Person looks within and sets his life in order.
Thunder mingles with startled screams of terror for a hundred miles around.
As the people nervously laugh at their own fright, the devout presents the sacrificial chalice with nary a drop of wine spilt.
Deliverance

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

A thunderbolt of Cosmic judgement crashes to earth.
For the common person, it’s just a momentary fright soon forgotten, its warning unfathomed and unheeded.
But to one who understands its significance, this thunder is a signal to awaken.
Centering the Self, seeking balance, the enlightened person will respect and align himself with this Higher Power, while his fellows remain subject to the whims of every passing storm.

1. This offers the same dictum about possessions as that found in the words of the Bible: “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it” [Luke 17:33].