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Interpreting hexagrams

Comments on whole hexagrams, individual lines and so on

Hexagram 26: Great Taming

Hexagrams 9 and 26 are ‘Small Taming’ and ‘Great Taming’ – the same activity on a different scale. That activity is xu, 畜: rearing livestock, and farming in general. (Stephen Field actually translates these two hexagrams as ‘Lesser Stock’ – mostly goats – and ‘Greater Stock’, namely the horses, cattle and pigs… Read more »Hexagram 26: Great Taming

sky at night

Hexagram 20: the Tower?

También disponible en español Hexagram 20 is called Seeing – but if your I Ching experience began with Wilhelm, then you’ll be familiar with the idea that the shape of the hexagram itself is a picture of an ancient tower: ‘A tower of this kind commanded a wide view of… Read more »Hexagram 20: the Tower?

Contrasts of Hexagram 6

También disponible en español Hexagram 6 is called Conflict, or Arguing; its name also means bringing to court and calling for justice. Fittingly enough, it’s best understood through contrasts and oppositions. The authors of the oracle seem to have thought so, too: its Oracle is laid out as a series… Read more »Contrasts of Hexagram 6

Yuan heng li zhen

Hexagram 1 says yuan heng li zhen – from the source, creating success, constancy bears fruit. Hexagram 2 says yuan heng li pinma zhi zhen – from the source, creating success, a mare’s constancy bears fruit The remaining hexagrams can be seen as ‘children’ of these two – 62 ways of blending… Read more »Yuan heng li zhen

The elusively simple Hexagram 1

También disponible en español Hexagram 1 is so simple it’s tremendously hard to get to grips with. The simplicity starts with its shape – – six solid, ‘yang’ lines, pure and whole, light with no shade, no nuances, no spaces, no ‘picture’. The significance of those six solid lines is… Read more »The elusively simple Hexagram 1

Hexagram 57 in readings

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Hexagram 57

(Continuing a series on hexagram 57, because it makes sense to approach this hexagram of all hexagrams incrementally!) What does Subtly Penetrating mean in readings? Well… like any hexagram, it means what it says and what it is, and no amount of commentary changes that. But I have noticed a… Read more »Hexagram 57 in readings