Memorizing the I Ching Hexagram 8. Holding Together

[rosada]

8.6
He finds no head for holding together.
Misfortune.

 

[ewald]

He finds no head for holding together.

My personal preference is for sentences that are self-explanatory.

 

[lightofreason]

IC+
Line 6
"Without a solid centre of attraction (head), unity fails. There is no 'completion' in that things end through dispersion; Blown away in the wind."

with/from uniting comes admiring (setting an example. being made an example of) - emotionally, the dark nature of 20 covers from fear comes anticipation (of wrong doing - and so the sense of being made an example of and so to put off such thoughts). The positive form is in devotion to another/others comes cultivation (anticipation of right doing and so the admiration serves to motivate).

The pair of 08, 20 represent attraction overall, -8 is unconditional (the king/ruler/court) whereas 20 is particular ,conditional.

The line comment covers the added nature of line position 6 of being 'past' the moment - the peak position as such is line 5. Thus the attraction/admiration is present but the person is not - and so the focus is to 'wind'.

Note that hexagram 08 is the strongest descriptor of , source of analogy for, the universal nature of line position 5 in all hexagrams.
rotate it and we have hexagram 07 as being the strongest source of analogy for the universal nature of line position 2 in all hexagrams.
The sum of 07 and 08 is represented in hex 29 where we combine containment (water in lower) and control (water in upper).

Chris.

 

[rosada]

I'm really getting a lot out of your line by line explanations, Chris. Thanks!

ewald, are you saying there is a translation of this line you prefer? And that would be...?

 

[ewald]

Rosada - Actually I'm not. I intended to just comment on the incomprehensibleness of that phrase. (I don't see why I'd need to publish all my text here, just to be able to point out something problematic with Wilhelm/Baynes.)

But since you ask, I have:

Associating with people without a leader.
​

首 which primarily means head, is hard to translate here. The options are head, start, for the first time, leader, coming forward. I've actually had almost all of them at one time or another, but eventually decided on "leader," the only translation that really seems to make sense.

 

[lightofreason]

IC+
The pair of 08, 20 represent attraction overall, -8 is unconditional (the king/ruler/court) whereas 20 is particular ,conditional.

to add some more - the overall focusin the 08,20 pair of attraction/admiration is passive when compared to the invigoration in the 14,34 pair - and so an active form.

From the 'dark' form of interpretation, admiration maps to humiliation/contempt - and so the link to 20 allowing for someone to be made an example of, to be publically humilitated and so influence others (wind in top) to avoid any thoughts of breaking free of the control.

Thus in 20 we see being humiliated - having to passively 'take it' - and in 34 we see the sadistic side of being the humiliator as part of one's need for power.

The focus on power comes from two sources, one of strength and one of weakness, the latter manifesting a neurosis where failure in getting reassurance against anxiety through affection is replaced by trying to get it through power, prestige, possession. (for good coverage of this sort of 'stuff' see:

Horney, Karen (1964) "The Neurotic Personality of Our Time" Norton - also see her "Neurosis and Human Growth" )

Note here the 'cooperative/competitive' dynamic at work where both come out of the more generic focus of REPLACEMENT - one seeks to replace 'something' with something 'better'.

08,20 pair is rooted in a coexistence context such that replacement is in a form of neutralising things rather than eradicating them - humilitation does this - it does not 'kill' the person, it just neutralises them (from the perspective of the humiliator)

Chris.

 

[Sparhawk]