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Nuclear Trigrams

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peace

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Hi everyone:

I have found the nuclear trigrams quite helpful when I get changing lines 2,3,4, and/or 5 of a hexagram.

Does it make sense to go a step further and put both nuclear trigrams together for another hexagram -

For example: With 51 - the nuclear are Ken and K'an - together making 40.

Do you all work with the nuclear trigrams separately, depending on the lines you get - or look at 40 also.

Thanks,
Rosalie
 

bradford_h

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Hi Rosalie-
Nuclear Trigrams or Hu Ti are a very ancient interpretive dimension, dating back at least to the Zuozhuan (4th cent bce). They may even have been used by the Zhouyi authors, but that's pure speculation. Combining these into Hexagrams or Hu Gua came along much later, maybe after the Han dynasty. Only sixteen of the 64 hexagrams can be formed in this way.
The best book on this subject is Charles Ponce's The Nature of the I Ching, a little paperback from the sixties, if you can find it. It's gone pretty pricey on ABE in the last few years.
 
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peace

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Thanks Bradford.
Do you take notice of these in your interpretation?
Wilheim - in his Part III book commentary seems to use these in his interpretation - (the nuclear trigrams, but doesn't talk about a hexagram by putting them together).

Thanks,
Rosalie
 

millie

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i always look at the nuclear because it seems to give an added layer of what's going on. i think that the situation is being influenced by it, whether or not it's obvious. just another point to consider.
 

bradford_h

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Hi Rosalie-
I don't look at them much or regularly in interpretation. I tried to remember to look for them while translating, to see if they might have been sources for some of the Zhouyi images, but I didn't see any consistent patterns there. But when interpreting it's often a good thing to, like Castaneda said, "Use ALL the event".
 
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bruce

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love it

When people make evaluations without engaging ALL their senses and instincts, the fire spirit can't dance, the rain spirit can't rain, and the wind is reduced to waft.
 

hilary

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I always look at nuclear hexagrams, too. They're especially interesting for finding connections between a series of readings. 62, 55, 56... looks like I have some 28 to work out. (Time for a holiday.)
 
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peace

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Thanks.
I find it interesting because it shows how complex these hexagrams are. It seems more valid for me and less arbitrary when I see how profound the structure is - like...how did they know all this so long ago???

I like what you said Hilary about looking at a series. I haven't done that yet. So far I'm just looking at the structure of each hexagram - not necessarily thinking about the question.

Rosalie
 

heylise

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In a trigram, the lines have to do with earth, man and heaven, from the bottom up. Same goes for a hexagram, but now two lines at a time. If you put them next to each other, every line in a hexagram has two qualities. Heaven is mental, Man is social, and Earth is natural.
your_image.gif

The four lines in the center from which the nuclear is made, have all of them the quality 'man'. So I think the nuclear has a lot to do with human affairs or the human view on it. Or maybe those things one has in one's power to do. Not big like heaven and earth, but big enough to make a difference in human respects.

For good interaction, exchange, and for joy (58), one needs the base of a good family (37). Everyone in his right position, all knowing where everyone stands.
For freedom (40) one needs a life which is in order (63). The opposite of war, famine, disasters, which call for strict rules.
In order for something to grow into its true own form (53), the formlessness of 64 is a base, which makes that possible.

It can also be negative. If in an exchange (58) pure Heaven and pure Earth are not invited, then there is the danger of the suffocation you see in a certain kind of movies: a small rural community, everyone controlling everyone else. A human family, but nothing more than just human. Even Heaven is turned into a controlling human father-god. Without Heaven and Earth, human can become very inhuman.
When a couple have 53 together, but leave heaven and earth out, it turns into 64-chaos.
Freedom (40) without big values turns into 63: everything is in its place, all looks fine. But the soul cannot find any myth in this. It is the problem democracy suffers from.

When the nuclear indicates what human base there is to a hexagram, then it shows what you need in order to make a hexagram possible. You cannot make heaven or earth suit your plans, but in the human realm you can do things.

When you look carefully at nuclears, they all have one thing in common. They ALWAYS have lines 3 and 5 both yang or yin, and lines 2 and 4 both yang or yin. So when emotions are yang, the ruler (king, mind) is also yang. Or when social connections (2) are yang, the ability to make decisions (4) is also yang.
Wondering if this is what happens when heaven and earth are not in the equation, when man decides all? Not like "man proposes, God disposes".
Looking around, at people, it sure looks that way. The one who is bold in relations, is also the one who easily decides what has to happen, without that necessarily being the right thing. The one who has strong emotions, is also the one who directs others around, tries to rule over them. And the opposite, the meek ones are meek in both realms. Shy in social interactions (2), not daring to give his opinion (4) even when it would be the best thing to do. Sensitive in emotions (3) ? no authority (5), even when he would be the best leader anyone could wish.
When heaven and earth come in, the nice guy with his soft heart can suddenly get authority from 'somewhere', and lead everyone to safety, or the shy pen-pusher transforms into superman, who knows all the answers to every problem.

LiSe
 

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