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I Ching

The Image of Hexagram 62

‘Above the mountain is thunder. Small overstepping.
Noble one in actions exceeds in courtesy,
In loss exceeds in mourning,
In using resources exceeds in economy.’

A living tradition

I’ve just been looking at an article by Edward Shaughnessy about the Fuyang Zhouyi: a fragmentary copy of the earliest part of the Yi, dating from 165BC. And what struck me most forcibly was how little has changed. The fragments show hexagram and line texts more or less identical to… Read more »A living tradition

The heart of the Home: Not Yet Across

Hexagram 37, People in the Home, defines a safe space. Within it we can find our place with one another, and become confident enough in our own identities that we can eventually reach out beyond its walls.

The first line of the hexagram sets up those all-important walls:
‘With barriers, there is a home.
Regrets vanish.’
It’s a very clear line: walls create a home; they separate ‘inside’ from ‘outside’, so there can be a secure, close-knit group within. In readings, this line very often points to the need to set limits, to have ground rules, without which there can be no mutual understanding. Fences, as Wu Jing Nuan comments on this line, make good neighbours.

Writing hexagrams in the air

I find it makes a difference if instead of drawing each line of my hexagram as I go, I draw it first in my mind’s eye. Closing my eyes and visualising clear, creamy paper, and drawing on each line with a broad-nibbed pen. Or keeping my eyes open and seeing… Read more »Writing hexagrams in the air