Memorizing the I Ching 30. Li / The Clinging, Fire

rosada · Jul 25, 2007

30. Li / The Clinging, Fire
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-- -- above LI THE CLINGING, FIRE
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-- -- below LI THE CLINGING, FIRE
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This hexagram is another double sign. The trigram Li means "to cling to something," "to be conditioned," "to depend on something," and also "brightness." A dark line clings to two light lines, one above and one below - the image of an empty space between two strong lines, whereby the two strong lines are made bright. The trigram represents the middle daughter. The Creative has incorporated the central line of the Receptive, and thus Li develops. As an image, it is fire. Fire has no definite form but clings to the burning object and thus is bright. As water pours down from heaven, so fire flames up from the earth. While K'an means the soul shut within the body, Li stands for nature in its radiance.

Sparhawk · Jul 25, 2007

bruce_g · Jul 25, 2007

View attachment 430

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Sparhawk · Jul 25, 2007

Not sure why, but I feel like having some brick-oven pizza now...

bruce_g · Jul 25, 2007

mmm, with fire roasted tomatoes..

bruce_g · Jul 25, 2007

Just some references:

http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/friends/hexresults.php?nr=30
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ddiamond/h30.html
http://www.fortunecity.com/business/influence/1805/the_page_of_li__the_middle_daughter.htm
http://www.rightreading.com/yi-jing/yi-jing-pages/30.htm (I liked line 2 on this one: "Weap a river, howl a storm".
http://208.109.67.174/iching/hex30.html
http://www.yijing.nl/i_ching/hex_17-32/hex_e_30.htm (a treasure)

I nearly always check Bradford's now. There's only a couple I don't yet sync with, but there's an awful lot of great insight in his translation and commentaries throughout. Lot of subtly funny stuff, too. No specific hex. links to post, but in case you want to download Brad's work, if you haven't already: http://www.hermetica.info/

lightofreason · Jul 26, 2007

bruce_g said:
Just some references:

[http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ddiamond/h30.html

No. that site/page is historic and not formally referenced since 2001+

use

http://members.iimetro.com.au/~lofting/myweb/lofting/x101101.html

click on the hexagram for another page of details.

The current IC+ website is:

http://members.iimetro.com.au/~lofting/myweb/newindex.html

The 'online help' page only for internet explorer:

http://members.iimetro.com.au/~lofting/IChingPlus

Chris.

rosada · Jul 26, 2007

THE JUDGEMENT
THE CLINGING. Perseverance furthers.
It brings success.
Care of the cow brings good fortune.

What is dark clings to what is light and so enhances the brightness of the latter. A luminous thing giving out light must have within itself something that perseveres; otherwise it will in time burn itself out. Everything that gives light is dependant on something to which it clings, in order that it may continue to shine.
Thus sun and moon cling to heaven, and grain, grass, and trees cling to earth. So too the twofold clarity of the dedicated man clings to what is right and thereby can shape the world. Human life on earth is conditioned and unfree, and when man recognizes this limitation and makes himself dependant upon the harmonious and beneficent forces of the cosmos, he achieves success. The cow is the symbol of extreme docility. By cultivating in himself an attitude of compliance and voluntary dependance, man acquires clarity without sharpness and finds his place in the world.

Sparhawk · Jul 26, 2007

Click image above. From here: Have a Cow

bradford · Jul 27, 2007

Watch the flame on that Bar-B-Que -
Care of the cow brings good burger

rosada · Jul 27, 2007

THE IMAGE
That which is bright rises twice.
The image of FIRE.
Thus the great man, by perpetuating this brightness,
Illumines the four quarters of the world.

rosada · Jul 28, 2007

I seem to be unexpectedly meeting friends in the super market, out walking etc. as we take up this hexagram.

lightofreason · Jul 28, 2007

30 The Clinging, Fire
Guiding, Directing (an Ideology)
From guidance comes direction

"LI : glowing light, spreading in all directions; light-giving, discriminating, articulating; divide and arrange in order; the power of consciousness. The ideogram: bird and weird, the magical fire-bird with brilliant plumage."ERANOS p353

Image :
"[With guidance comes (a sense of) direction] Brightness doubled generates radiance. One uses continuous brightness (guidance) to illuminate (become aware of) the direction of the four point of the compass."

In the natural binary sequence, where difference is only in the top line, 30 shares space with 55 and is the particular form of what the pair represent - thus as 55 covers a general abundance of things (including ideologies), 30 covers the particularisation of one to become the 'guiding light'. This gets into XOR where the 23-ness of 30 is expressed by analogy to 55 (as is the 23-ness of 55 described by analogy to 30).

In the binary NUMBER sequence, also known as the variations on a theme sequence, hexagram 30 shares space with hexagram 56. The difference in this pairing is in the bottom line that means 30 follows on from 56 (the yang bottom line follows on from the yin bottom line of 56 - the association being of loyalty from afar leading to formal support for an ideology.)

From the XOR/wave model of IC interpretations, the adding of a yang line 1 to 56 represents 24-ness and so the beginning or re-beginning nature of 24 is expressed through 56 in the form of 30; 56 starts with this sense of some ideology - here in the remaining loyal to it and so keeps coming back to such issues.

Chris.

rosada · Jul 30, 2007

THE LINES
Nine at the beginning means:
The footprints run crisscross.
If one is seriously intent, no blame.

rosada · Jul 31, 2007

I was talking with a friend this morning who is feeling stressed due to her unpredictable income. Some days money appears, somedays nada and she wanted to know what it is she does that brings prosperity in so she could do it more conciously. That is, she knows all the new age tricks but no affirmation or feng shui cure has been seen to normalize her erratic life and she was looking to the I Ching in hopes of getting some clarity about her pattern. So she asked,

"How do I make money?"

She received 30.1.3.6>16

I think of Hexagram 30 as two balls of fire, like the Sun, and with the one coming right next to the other it is saying, One Day Follows Another, or Taking Things One Day At A Time. So getting 30 suggests to me the I Ching is advising her to start by looking at her life and money situation One day at a time. Then Wilhelm's translation for 30.1 sounds like very good advice for getting the day off to a good start. Basically 30.1 says that at the start of the day all sorts of various impressions pour in and that it is important one be clear and focus at this time else one will be swept along by the bustle of life. So basically IC is reminding my friend to start the day with focus. Interestingly, this is what she does do - usually. I bet those days when she hasn't made her list or done her affirmations are the days things go screwy. 30.3 Then talks about the end of the day, seems to be saying one should review what worked and what didn't, but not get to excited or depressed about either. 30.6 then recommends rooting out any bad habits but not being too hard on oneself. Hexagram 16 seems to be encouraging a sence of enthusiasm when it comes to making money, which I take as meaning my friend will always do better in jobs she feels excited about.

rosada · Aug 1, 2007

0 Six in the second place means:
Yellow light. Supreme good fortune.

Midday has come; the sun shines with a yellow light. Yellow is the color of measure and mean. Yellow light is therefore a symbol of highest culture and art, whose consummate harmony consists in holding to the mean.

The supreme good fortune of yellow light lies in the fact that one has found the middle way.

This line is the middle one of the lower trigram, hence "the middle way." Yellow is the color of the middle, here specifically mentioned because the line originates as the middle line of the trigram K'un, the Receptive.

rosada · Aug 1, 2007

What a wonderful line! How does it actually manefest? Seems to me to be saying that if one first plans their day as instructed in line one then one can follow the flow with great success.

laylab · Aug 1, 2007

I still do not fully understand this hexagram. Because the I ching has told me in no uncertaint terms over and over again that a certain man wants to woo me, I asked plainly WHY??

And got 30 unchanging. Other Hexagrams make sense to me pretty much immediately, but this one..I just do not understand what it is saying. And I have got this same hexagram regarding the man before.

I can understand that it might be referring to consciousness. But, whats that got to do with my WHY question?

I also got this hexagram with changing line one when I asked if we would see each other again and by the "footprints crisscrossing" I took that to mean, "yes"

bruce_g · Aug 1, 2007

Regarding 30.2 and the mean, let me share a visual of how I see it.

If the mean is seen as horizontal lines, stacked on top of each other, then the middle of those lines is only the average, which is not the mean. There is low and high, inferior and superior, and that is all relative and measured according to the average. The mean is not a linear concept.

If the mean is a circle with a dot in the center, that has nothing to do with average. That is the mean. Moving centrally, authentically - the way the sun in the sky (yellow/golden light) shines equally in every direction; or the way a candle lights a room.

Tohpol · Aug 1, 2007

bruce_g said:
Regarding 30.2 and the mean, let me share a visual of how I see it.

If the mean is seen as horizontal lines, stacked on top of each other, then the middle of those lines is only the average, which is not the mean. There is low and high, inferior and superior, and that is all relative and measured according to the average. The mean is not a linear concept.

If the mean is a circle with a dot in the center, that has nothing to do with average. That is the mean. Moving centrally, authentically - the way the sun in the sky (yellow/golden light) shines equally in every direction; or the way a candle lights a room.

Yeah. 30's a pretty profound hex - the fire that ignites all at the deepest level. There's an air of mystery to it. I often get this hex when the Yi is asking me: "Are you sure that this is going to renew your inner flame? Are you certain that this is something that forms part of your resource, your essence? Maybe this is going to deny the oxygen it needs..." Got that a lot. This inspiration can so often turn to need, moving into undue dependency.

2 seems to be a way to keep that balance so that it is never buried, so those sparks can be sent out and recognised. This fire can give us strength and will, self-reliance but it can also burn us up and burn others with it's intensity. We can drain the resource or support if we are not careful to keep to the centre. It's really like the power of the flame has to be known and steadied lest it go to one extreme or another.

Topal

bruce_g · Aug 1, 2007

Yeppers, Topal. It's pretty tricky. On one hand, as you say, "this inspiration can so often turn to need, moving into undue dependency". On the other hand, inspiration needs to be caught or it passes you by, hence the net image. In addition to being caught, inspiration and brightness must have fuel to cling to. Playing with fire can burn you, and even consume you, but without it there is nothing luminescent in your life. Hence the need to regulate it, and hence the mean of line 2.

Trojina · Aug 1, 2007

topal said:
Yeah. 30's a pretty profound hex - the fire that ignites all at the deepest level. There's an air of mystery to it. I often get this hex when the Yi is asking me: "Are you sure that this is going to renew your inner flame? Are you certain that this is something that forms part of your resource, your essence? Maybe this is going to deny the oxygen it needs..." Got that a lot. This inspiration can so often turn to need, moving into undue dependency.

2 seems to be a way to keep that balance so that it is never buried, so those sparks can be sent out and recognised. This fire can give us strength and will, self-reliance but it can also burn us up and burn others with it's intensity. We can drain the resource or support if we are not careful to keep to the centre. It's really like the power of the flame has to be known and steadied lest it go to one extreme or another.

Topal

Yes i can relate to what you've said here - its like is this going to keep your flame alive or burn you out ? Its come up for me a few times when I've been involved with fiery types (astrologically) that burn me out, that I can't sustain - and also close relations that suck out the oxygen so to speak. I also associate it in its negative aspect with addiction.

I'm not yet clear on why 'caring for the cow' is such a good idea ? Wilhelm says its a symbol of cultivating extreme docility - how can i tie that in with images of flames burning ? Fire consumes ferociously - takes what it needs - tending or accumulating cattle ?? how does that fit - why is being docile good here ? Is it saying passive dependence is good if it is the right source for you ?

lienshan · Aug 1, 2007

trojan said:
I'm not yet clear on why 'caring for the cow' is such a good idea ?

I read the judgement as "to milk the cow" is better tactics than "to eat the cow" in the situation of hexagram 30

bradford · Aug 2, 2007

Care of the cow is identical to the zen saying "chop wood, carry water"
Reality goes all the way down. Take care of the sources that you depend upon,
no matter how humble - they are the precursors to higher consciousness.

rosada · Aug 2, 2007

Random thoughts..
As to what 30 has to do with relationships. I think it's about being a strong independant person and how to accomplish your mission in a world of equally strong independant people (the two trigrams are both fire, so two equally energetic souls). So I think it's not about romance with another person at all, rather it's about survival and not getting one's needs run over in a world where everyone else is looking out for their needs. The "crisscross" in 30.1 suggests a person might cross paths with another but that in itself isn't enough. Paths cross because people are going in different directions as in John is heading North and Mary is going East. The counsel is not about how to connect, but how to avoid being pulled off one's own path by the other. The change line leads to hex.56, The Wanderer, so again the feeling that this meeting is not meant to be long term.
"Care of the cow brings good fortune." I'm looking at 30 as guidance for how to get through life one day at a time. In this world where every day we are bumping up against others whose goals and needs and schedules can seem to run so contrary to our own, it's good to remember to be gentle. We saw in 29 how pursuing one's interests like a boat shooting the rapids goes against the tao, which meanders and backtracks and takes time. By recognizing that the tao will carry us in its own way we can be gentle and allow the day to flow. Also the cow represents one's source of income. As Leinshan has pointed out, by caring for the cow one can eat for many days. By caring for one's friends, job, source of income, one has good fortune. Just being a warm hearted soul isn't enough. One needs a cow.

Focusing on the mean today has been tricky. It's not so easy to follow the mean when you think about it! What is enough? What is too much? What is early? What is late? Very interesting to look at the world this way. Interesting experience right at noon, the time refered to in 30.2. Mom was suddenly tired so we popped into a restaurant. It was simple and clean and the portions were not huge. A very nice example of the mean at mid-day.

lightofreason · Aug 2, 2007

"LI : glowing light, spreading in all directions; light-giving, discriminating, articulating; divide and arrange in order; the power of consciousness. The ideogram: bird and weird, the magical fire-bird with brilliant plumage."ERANOS p353

IDM - expansive bounding doubled - guidance doubled gives us a sense of solid direction, an ideology. In emotions this is associated with the feeling of acceptance - being one of the 'gang' etc. As the boundary moves outwards the 'fire' converts difference (outside the boundary) to sameness (inside the boundary) - thus reflects the making of maps, strategists, scientists, generals (mapping reality, divide and arrange in order) etc etc etc

hexagram set of fire is 36,22,63,37,55,30,49,13

30 shares space with 55 and so covers the particular, conditional, form of abundance, some particular expression of all of the expressions present (abundance covers diversity etc)

29,30 share space in the traditional sequence with their focus on bounding, contractive (29) or expansive (30).

Line 1
"One has a tendency to gloss-up the path that one follows [especially if new to it.] This enhances one's attitude towards it (another gloss-up). No harm in this." Line position 1 is controlled by hex 24 and so the focus on beginings/returns/born-again etc Thus the 24-ness of 30 is reflected in 56 with its focus on issues covering loyalty - the attempt to 'gloss up' the path brings out this loyalty focus in beginnings - we exaggerate our association to all who will listen etc

Line 2
"One is the source of radiating power. Advantageous." Line controlled by 07 and so brings out the uniformity, socialisation through hierarchy focus. Thus the 07-ness of 30 is covered in the dynamics of hex 14 with a central core directing (we are all 'one') as a commander in the army does.

maremaria · Aug 2, 2007

Here is a Greek tale about Daedalus and Icarus. (might be relevant to 30.2 )Daedalus, a famous artist of his time, built feathered wings for himself and his son so that they might escape the clutches of King Minos. Daedalus warns his son to "fly the middle course", between the sea spray and the sun's heat. Icarus did not heard his father; he flew up and up until the sun melted the wax of his wings. The wings went down and Icarus get drown in the sea called Icarean pelagos.

“yellow is the color of measure and mean.”
A greek philoshoper Aristotelis talked about the golden mean, the middle way between too much and too little. To our mentality has to do with beauty ( symmetry, proportion and harmony)

bruce_g · Aug 2, 2007

Maria, it is very relevant, imo. Life repeats itself in many forms.

Trojina · Aug 2, 2007

bradford said:
Care of the cow is identical to the zen saying "chop wood, carry water"
Reality goes all the way down. Take care of the sources that you depend upon,
no matter how humble - they are the precursors to higher consciousness.

This makes alot more sense than just cultivating docility, thanks

rosada · Aug 2, 2007

I didn't get around to posting Wilhelm's thoughts on the image and so thought I'd do that now...

That which is bright rises twice:
The image of FIRE.
Thus the great man, by prepetuating this brightness,
Illumines the four quarters of the world.

Each of the two trigrams represents the sun in the course of a day. The two together represent movement of the sun, the function of light with respect to time. The great man continues the work of nature in the human world. Through the clarity of his nature he causes the light to spread farther and farther and to penetrate the nature of man ever more deeply.
-Wilhelm

I think the comment, "Through the clarity of his nature..." is note worthy. What is Wilhelm saying here? What is the clarity of one's nature? Is he saying that it's when one's thoughts, words and deeds are in sync "..he causes the light to spread farther and farther and to penetrate the nature of man ever more deeply." Is he saying that as one's own nature is clear others also become clear? Is 30 about networking?

Memorizing the I Ching 30. Li / The Clinging, Fire

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