This is another post about the differences between hexagrams: this time, Hexagrams 23, Stripping Away, and 41, Decreasing. Both are about loss, about ending up with less, and – given human nature – we tend not to be pleased to receive either one. But how are they different? Names and… Read more »Losses
Hexagram 23, Stripping Away, is not generally much fun. Of course, we all know there is no such thing as a negative hexagram. But it’s a rare reading when the sight of 23 fills one with joy. Stripping away means loss; usually, it means having something taken from you that… Read more »Stripping Away, no mistake
A podcast reading with two radically contrasting hexagrams: 23, Stripping Away, changing to 42, Increasing: changing to Maria’s question: ‘How should I lead my spiritual life to know the truth?’ In this reading, she and Yi trace a path through what seems like an impossible situation. Links I mention in… Read more »Finding spiritual direction
Make hay while the sun shines Hexagram 35 is one of the sunniest in the Yijing: ‘Advancing, Prince Kang used a gift of horses to breed a multitude.In the course of a day, he mated them three times.’ Look, it says, you are recognised, you have wonderful gifts, and now… Read more »35 as relating hexagram
The Xugua – its scope and limits As you may know, I’m a huge enthusiast for the Sequence of Hexagrams: its hidden patterns, the ways it creates meaning, its big reflections and arcs and the way it adds depth to readings. The Xugua, the 9th Wing… is not really about… Read more »Telling the story
In my last post, I talked about how the Daxiang paints pictures of individual hexagrams, as a whole. In this one, I’d like to try a change of perspective, zooming in and zooming out, to see what comes into focus. Commentary on the lines The Image builds on and humanises… Read more »The genius of the Daxiang (part 2)
Introducing the Image Sometimes we explain things to ourselves by comparing and contrasting – like the Zagua. Sometimes we tell stories, like the Xugua (Sequence of Hexagrams). And often, we paint mental pictures. The Yi is overflowing with pictures, of course – not least the ones created by its component… Read more »The genius of the Daxiang (part 1)
