The second chapter*of David Pankenier’s lovely book,*Astrology and Cosmology in Early China – Conforming Earth to Heaven – rejoices in the title, ‘Watching for dragons.’ In it he talks in detail about the dragon of Hexagram 1, and also proposes*a whole new idea about*why the dragons are fighting in 2.6.
For a long time (since 1930 in the West and earlier than that in China), the*scholarly consensus has been*that Hexagram 1 describes the Cerulean Dragon. This was a vast constellation whose journey across the sky described the growing season in old China. Of course, the dragon is not only in the sky; rain dragons falso sleep in mountain lakes and must be woken at the right time in springn, as Steve Marshall wrote*in*The Mandate of Heaven. Also,*Chinese alligators had remarkably dragon-like seasonal habits, and alligator-skin drums were*the preferred way of imitating thunder and inviting rain. But the dragon that flies in the heavens is made of stars.
You can see illustrations of its flight in Pankenier’s book*(page 49). It’s invisible in winter, in the watery abyss under the earth (‘submerged dragon’, line 1). In spring, its horn appears above the horizon at dusk, and you gather to conduct a great rain sacrifice in the month before the summer solstice (line 2 zhi 13). (Pankenier thinks line 3 isn’t part of the story, but wouldn’t farmers now have*to work hard all day*and*still watch the sky at nightfall to check the dragon’s position?) The whole body of the dragon becomes visible, climbing vertically into the sky (‘dancing’ or ‘leaping’ in line 4), and levels off and soars over the fields in summer, spanning the sky (line 5). By mid-August, its horn is already dipping below the horizon again.
(Pankenier suggests that the dragon of 1.6*seems to be lingering too long or too high because the lunar month and stellar calendar have fallen out of sync – as they do, over time – and we need to interpose an intercalary thirteenth month to restore order. This would necessitate rethinking the translation a bit: not ‘an overweening dragon has regrets’ but ‘the dragon rising high, there will be regret.’ It doesn’t have to*be the dragon who experiences regret; it could be the people who realise from this sign that their farming is not in harmony with the seasons.)
This dragon is an unmistakable, unfailing sign of when to work and when to rest – of how to ‘conform earth to heaven’ and bring the rhythm of your own life into harmony with the celestial power. For modern Westerners talk of being ‘in harmony with heaven’ or ‘in*dao‘*can sound either esoteric, or a rather fluffy abstraction. But ‘riding the dragon’ is*utterly different: you must plant and work at the right time; if you are too early or too late, your crops won’t grow and you won’t eat.
So the dragon belongs with Hexagram 1, the Creative, Heaven, as an active, celestial*creature, bringer of growth and sign of the coming of summer.
Only… the dragon also appears in hexagram 2, line 6:
‘Dragons battling in the open country.
Their blood dark and yellow.’
…and hexagram 2 is associated with winter:* Stephen Field describes it as ‘a “works and days” that narrates the agricultural activities of fall and winter,’ beginning with frost underfoot in line 1 as a sharp reminder that it’s time to prepare.
So why are there dragons fighting in hexagram 2 – and*why would they appear there in the first place?
In my book I suggested that one of the dragons was*fighting for the earth quality of openness to all possibilities – to the point of*‘sheer inertia, resisting the creative impulse that would give a new and specific shape to things.’ (I also unfortunately betrayed my ignorance by calling it an ‘earth dragon’… ah, well…)
Well… dragons are not just heavenly*creatures; they’re also*water creatures, followed by clouds as they*rise from and return to the watery abyss under the earth. And the celestial Dragon actually*doesn’t disappear throughout the winter. Pankenier:
Rather, the dragon would disappear below the horizon by September, but its horns would re-emerge above the Eastern horizon by mid-October, in the hours before dawn (as opposed to the spring/summer dragon who’s first seen at dusk).
And this means that come February,
So the dragons fight: one for the persistence of winter stillness, the other for the return of spring.
In my book I drew on experience to suggest*that one of the dragons was*fighting for the earth quality of openness to all possibilities – to the point of*‘sheer inertia, resisting the creative impulse that would give a new and specific shape to things.’ (I also unfortunately betrayed embarrassing*ignorance by calling it an ‘earth dragon’… ah, well…) These celestial dragons*seem to fit the same idea: if the winter-dragon won (calling it a*yin dragon as Pankenier does is anachronistic), the earth would stay quiet and open, spring would not come and nothing would grow. Quiescent potential vs active growth: in practice, 2.6 can mean someone is digging in her heels against changing times, against having something definite*happen.
I find the*zhi gua*(23) and*fan yao (23.6) of this line pretty interesting too. 23 is Stripping Away, the last of the old solid lines leaving the field of open lines. It’d be hard to talk about this in readings without mentioning*clearing the ground for planting – which is also an agricultural task for the cusp of spring.
And the*fan yao:
‘A ripe fruit uneaten.
Noble one gets a cart,
Small people strip their huts.’

The difference between noble one and small people parallels the conflict between the two dragons. One is forward-looking, one is not; one moves, one stays put. (You would have spent*winter shut up in your hut, using up your food stores – but it’s time to come out.)
What about the ripe fruit uneaten, that contains the seed of potential for future growth? Well… here’s Pankenier again:
Could the uneaten fruit be this first full moon?
Spring dragon and pearl – or uneaten fruit?It’s about to be spring; everything is preparing to grow. Where are you? Travelling with the change, or fighting it?
Tracing this line pathway all the way round takes us full circle back to autumn:

Now it’s time to find a partner and move into your hut for the winter. The pathway overall isn’t about a*single time of year, but rather the moment – spring or autumn – when a new*season is ‘not far away, returning’, and it’s time to respond and move.
The post Why dragons fight in hexagram 2 appeared first on I Ching with Clarity.

Hi Hilary:

For those interested, Pankenier's book is freely downloadable in Academia.edu with only registering for free.

Here can see the book Astrology and Cosmology in Early China, there are also many articles by Prof. Pankenier(1) and some books by other authors.

All the best!

Charly
___________________________
(1)

Prof. David Pankenier
Ch.

I see it as one dragon saying, “Time to wake up!” and the other says, “Oh please let me sleep just a little bit longer...”

The dragons make a few appearances in Hex. 1 and again at the top line of Hex. 2 ...

Dragons at war in the wild
They bleed indigo and golden (Hatcher)

One way I might see this is that things have gone too far, are too excessive and now need some restraint!

I have heard the dragons described as ancient, mythical beings whom were also ancestors .... And I read one author explain that dragons fighting created rain, which I think could be them not just sending a creative idea from Heaven down to Earth, but a create and fertile idea, one that Earth can then make use of .... And I read one explanation of this line where blue represents Heaven (or the water or rain from heaven), and the golden is the brown fields of Earth.

So putting this altogether ....

Here the dragons are at war in the wilds, and their warring has gotten too excessive - so instead of a fertile rain we have a deluge, a flood - things have gone too far ...

This is reflected in the trigram imagery and movement. With the top line of Hex. 2 you have the Earth trigram 'moving to' Mountain. So here the imbalance of things being too much needs to be balanced by Mountain's stopping, containing the situation.

All the best ....

hilary said:

The second chapter*of David Pankenier’s lovely book,*Astrology and Cosmology in Early China – Conforming Earth to Heaven – rejoices in the title, ‘Watching for dragons.’ In it he talks in detail about the dragon of Hexagram 1, and also proposes*a whole new idea about*why the dragons are fighting in 2.6.

Click to expand...

@hilary

Here's a very basic question I wondered as I strolled yesterday. I walked along thinking about hex 1 and hex 2. I looked at the sky then the earth. The earth is full of things, the sky isn't but the sky brings us all we need. Then I wondered what it would be like to not know that the earth is round, that we are one small planet circling a sun in a galaxy of stars amongst many galaxies. As I have never experienced how it would be to not know the earth is round (except as an infant) I simply can't imagine how it would feel to think there was just earth and heaven with earth under heaven like a continuous earth and sky.

We didn't know for sure, for a fact, that the earth was round until comparatively recently. How then did the ancient chinese 3000 years ago perceive earth's relation to heaven without knowing that and how much would not knowing that affect their view. I realise astrology was created by people who didn't have the astronomical insights we now have so I could easily extend the question way beyond this. I guess they saw the earth at the centre of creation, the fact we know it isn't I realise makes quite a big difference.

They must have known without any proof the world was round by observing the rotation of the season and of the stars I guess ?

Perhaps I should read the book but I imagined it would be terribly dry ?

Not dry, but big, long and expensive.

This seems absolutely basic, but I'm just realising I don't know what shape the planet was for the early Chinese. I know there is the traditional view that the earth is square, the heavens are round, and it's put together something like a turtle shell, with the dome of the heavens corresponding to the dome of the shell, and us all walking round on the plastron. The sun travels across the sky - or ten suns travel across the sky, one for each day of the week. Presumably stars do, too. (A much simpler explanation for what we see than a spinning earth, which is really quite counter-intuitive*.) Under their feet, there's a watery underworld (I think). But did the people who watched the skies actually, literally believe this? Don't know.

Pankenier's idea about the two dragons might suggest they did. They're seeing two parts of the same asterism in different parts of the sky, morning and evening, and assuming these are two separate things. No sense of the heavens wrapping around the earth, as it were.

*For instance... you're absent-mindedly associating the rotation of the globe with the seasons. And how many people have the idea that the seasons are caused by the elliptical shape of earth's orbit? We've seen all the diagrams and stuff and still have trouble picturing it all.

Hmm interesting, early 'western' astrologers had the same idea of us under the dome of the sky I think. They did a pretty good job nonetheless of knowing all about the planets, signs, constellations. Mind boggling given they didn't know we were revolving around the sun.

Imagine thinking there were 10 different suns a week...

Projecting a modern day view of the cosmos and the stars onto the ancient world and saying this is what they knew from their observations can be a risky business. Pythagorus did the early work on showing the world was round, however, the science and understanding that developed in the west may not be reflective of the science and understanding of the ancient Chinese.

Hex 2 is the archetypal progression of receptivity and can be seen as gaining a growing pespective of acceptance.
At 2.5 the sacrifice to the earth and her ways has been accomplished. There is supreme good fortune predicted and the lower garment of humity is donned: beauty shines from within. At 2.6 the fullness of the yin hexagram is apparent: there is no place for yang.

When I've looked at the Chinese text for line 2,6 I wonder if the translation of two dragons fighting could actually be read as the culmination of the journey of the dragon of Hex 1. The inspiring force of creativity is not diminished but through increased acceptance now has a defined place and a defined way in which to be creative and plant his seed.

Perhaps the translation could read

" The dragon battles his way towards the open countryside
His blood a profound yellow"

At 2.6, this extreme / ultimate position of receptivity. the dragon of Hex 1 who we last saw as an arrogant dragon returns having been relieved of his arrogant nature. Humility has been gained at 2.5 so arrogance can now be overcome. He is deeply changed - even his blood has turned earthly yellow - and heads as best he can towards the space of the open countryside. Here working in union in the place beyond Father and Mother bring forth the beauty of another of the myriad things.

"There is heaven and earth, and so the ten thousand things are born
Overflowing the space between heaven and earth, the ten thousand things.
And so Sprouting follows:
Sprouting means filling to overflowing;
Sprouting means the beginning of things’ birth.’'"
(Hilary Hex 3).

....or it may be nothing like this at all.

rosada said:

I see it as one dragon saying, “Time to wake up!” and the other says, “Oh please let me sleep just a little bit longer...”

Click to expand...

Dear Rosada:

I love it! You've made me remember a love story like this:
Of coursse that dragons can be playing, among a variety of games, that of "MINGLING BOODS" at the town OUTSKIRTS, say, performing the old ritual of GAO MEI. Even if they were not KING and QUEEN, the performance itself bears its own reward.

Don't you think so?

All the best,

Charly

Maybe Time and Space are arguing about which of The Creative's intentions to manifest first. This of course leads to Confusion.