45 – Forty-Five  Ts’ui / Gathering

17 – Seventeen  Sui / Following

59 – Fifty-Nine  Huan / Dissolution

Six in the fourth place means:

6 – Six  Sung / Conflict

27 – Twenty-Seven  I / Providing Nourishment

颐
		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 leads to nourishment itself. Nourishment of oneself, specifically of the body, is represented in the three lower lines, while the three upper lines represent nourishment and care of others, in a higher, spiritual sense. THE JUDGEMENT THE CORNERS OF THE MOUTH. Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment And to what a man seeks To fill his own mouth with. In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way. If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes. Nature nourishes all creatures. The great man fosters and takes care of superior men, in order to take care of all men through them.       Mencius Mencius says about this: If we wish to know whether anyone is superior or not, we need only observe what part of his being he regards as especially important. The body has superior and inferior, important and unimportant parts. We must not injure important parts for the sake of the unimportant, nor must we injure the superior parts for the sake of the inferior. He who cultivates the inferior parts of his nature is an inferior man. He who cultivates the superior parts of his nature is a superior man.1

44 – Forty-Four  Kou / Compulsion

Nine in the third place means:

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’

6 – Six  Sung / Conflict

58 – Fifty-Eight  Tui / Empowering

Nine in the second place means:

Sincere joyousness. Good fortune. Remorse disappears.

‘The Temptation of St. Anthony’, 1946 – Salvador Dali Musée Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels Belgium

45 – Forty-Five  Ts’ui / Gathering

31 – Thirty-One  Hsien / Attraction

Nine in the third place means: The influence shows itself in the thighs. Holds to that which follows it. To continue is humiliating.

‘The Three Graces’ – Peter Paul Rubens c.1636-1638 Museo del Prado, Madrid Spain

45 – Forty-Five  Ts’ui / Gathering

40 – Forty  Hsieh / Liberation

62 – Sixty-Two  Hsiao Kuo / Lying Low

1 – One  Ch’ien / Creative Activity

1 – One  Ch’ien / Creative Activity

53 – Fifty-Three  Chien / Gradual Progress

28 – Twenty-Eight  Ta Kuo / Critical Mass

The Flood rises above the tallest Tree:
Amidst a rising tide of human folly, the Superior Person retires to higher ground, renouncing his world without looking back.

Any direction is better than where you now stand.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

Several high-priority concerns demand immediate attention.
All are crucial.
None will be denied.
Yet some demand the denial of others.
Like two atoms seeking to occupy the same space, these irresistible forces and immovable objects threaten to ignite a cataclysm that could irreversibly alter your world.
This is no time for fatal heroics.
You are at Ground Point Zero.
Remove yourself from this situation without delay.
Find sanctuary.
Later you may deal with these concerns on your own terms, from a position of strength.

		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 situation. Here, however, the opposite is the case. The hexagram represents a beam that is thick and heavy in the middle but too weak at the ends. This is a condition that cannot last; it must be changed, must pass, or misfortune will result. THE JUDGEMENT PREPONDERANCE OF THE GREAT. The ridgepole sags to the breaking point. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. Success. The weight of the great is excessive. The load is too heavy for the strength of the supports. The ridge-pole on which the whole roof rests, sags to the breaking point, because its supporting ends are too weak for the load they bear. It is an exceptional time and situation; therefore extraordinary measures are demanded. It is necessary to find a way of transition as quickly as possible, and to take action. This promises success. For although the strong element is in excess, it is in the middle, that is, at the centre of gravity, so that a revolution is not to be feared. Nothing is to be achieved by forcible measures. The problem must be solved by gentle penetration to the meaning of the situation (as is suggested by the attribute of the inner trigram, Sun); then the change-over to other conditions will be successful. It demands real superiority; therefore the time when the great preponderates is a momentous time.