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Which hexagram fits?

hilary

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I have a creative puzzle for you. A friend is setting up a company called 'Ethical Lets For Students' (ELFS). As she describes it...

"We are obviously going to be letting houses to students but we are wanting to create something a little different. Unlike most student houses we are wanting to create comfortable, safe, clean, simply but trendily furnished houses, in natural materials where possible, at a fair rent and using service providers who are into alternatives etc etc. In return we are hoping to attract a student who cares about such things and as a result will, hopefully, treat the house with respect.

We are wanting a simple logo and when looking through a book of symbols I was attracted to:-

'The Square. This form represents solidity: a perfection that is static, earthly and material. It connotes dependability, honesty, shelter, safety.
As the most frequent shape in Hindu symbology, it stands for order in the universe and the balance of opposites.'"

Then she started wondering if there was a hexagram that would be especially fitting for a logo. I thought this was a good one to throw open for everyone's input. Any creative (and aesthetic) suggestions?
 

bfireman

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Hmmm... First hex that comes to mind is 45. I looked at Hua Ching-Ni's commentary. He says the literal translation of T'sui(H45) means "to gather together the essence", or to gather those of harmonious spirit in order to unite their minds for a virtuous purpose. Maybe there's an animal that would work really good as a symbol? I know there are good books on the symbolic nature of animals and what these mean to various cultures around the world. Can't really think of a pertinent animal at the moment, though I will ponder this a bit. Ohhhh! just now I remember a show on t.v. I once saw about these birds, I think they are called Bower birds, who build their nests out of natural as well as found(recycled)objects. They are true architects. I was blown away how cool their nests were. They would collect all kinds of colorful little berries and leaves and make huge stacks of these at the entrance to the nests. Now, the purpose of all this, by the male birds, was to put on such a display as to attact a very picky female Bower bird... yet still just the fact that such care and attention was given to the building of this environment, maybe the Bower Bird would be a good symbol? Well there, my two cents. Peace - Brian
 
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candid

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Hi Hilary,

2 is a given. At least to me. Spatial reality, natural, devotion to, primal, compliment to creativity, nourishing, solidity and extension in space, accommodation and receptivity.

Line 2 expresses:

Straight, square, great. The symbol of heaven is the circle, and that of earth is the square. Thus squareness is a primary quality of the earth. In mathematics, when we discriminate between lines, planes and solids, we find that rectangular planes result from straight lines, and cubic magnitudes from rectangular planes. Thus a square develops out of a straight line and a cube out of a square. This is compliance with the laws of the Creative; nothing is taken away, nothing added.

K'un definately.
happy.gif


Candid
 
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candid

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Hmmm.. that changes to 7. Organized discipline. Perhaps this relates to those who lease or rent? They would be responsible economically and socially, and work together as a unit or team.
 

louise

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Hmm I used to work for a company called UNITE who do exactly what your friend is intending to do Hilary - they have taken over halls of residence and also bulit new properties with wardens, all clean, safe etc etc. Their logo is a blue square.
They are pretty big, does you friend know of this competition.
 

hitchhiker

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Hi Hilary

I'm not really answering your question but asking you for the contact as I hope to be in the UK by the end of the year to complete my postgraduate studies.

Where's your friend based? I'm definitely interested......

zen2.gif
hh
 

willow

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LiSe has this to say about #64, & in a sense, the housing is for folks who are Not Yet Across.

1 Is a point, the sun, old yang, hexagram 1
2 Is a line, a distance, old yin, hexagram 2
3 Is a triangle, form and order, young yang, hexagram 63
4 Is a cross or a square, encompassing the trinity together with the dark, deep and unconscious chaos.
But only when darkness too is involved can there be creativity. Only where no form exists, all forms are possible, all is open.
In a real work of art, it is the hinted at, but not spoken out, which gives the illusion, the beauty. It takes form in the beholders eye. Every time a different form, every time a new creation.
The fruits of art have to be ?not yet?, the abundance of summer, before the harvest.
 

lindsay

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Dear Hilary,

Considering the meaning and aesthetics of the hexagrams, I think four logical possibilities might be 8, 13, 37, and 45.

Hexagram 8 portrays a situation involving union or grouping. Bringing people together. The shape of the hexagram is pleasing, but there are a few disadvantages. For example, the tuan emphasizes that things will not go well for the late man, which in the context of rent-payers seems a bit heavy-handed. Line 3?s suggestion that one may have thrown in with the wrong people is also unsettling. Line 5 has the famous royal hunt with beaters on three sides, an image that also has (as mentioned before in this forum) unfortunate marketing connotations. Finally, the nuclear hexagram 23, Stripping, could leave prospective residents wondering about the landlord?s intentions.

Hexagram 13, Fellowship with Men or Concording People, sounds hopeful with its notion of gathering people together for a shared purpose. The tuan speaks of gathering in the countryside, country living always being a plus for realtors. But there is an alarming sense of instability in the lines. Line 2 speaks of shame and confusion, Line 5 has people crying and laughing. In Line 3 the tenant hides his arms and is unable to rebel for 3 years. Long-term leases sometimes lead to resentment. The emotional turmoil is only exacerbated by the nuclear hexagram 44, Coupling, which suggests a lot of brief, intense encounters of the kind that might not enhance the building?s reputation or please the community.

Hexagram 37, Family or Dwelling People, represents people living and working together. The tuan says the woman?s way is advantageous, which seems promising, but Line 3 has tempers flaring and women and children giggling. Not the ideal atmosphere for quiet contemplation and profound study. Perhaps Hex 37 is a little too focused on the domestic implications of family life.

Like Brian, I favor Hexagram 45, Gathering Together or Clustering, which has a very striking linear form. It would make a good logo. The general message of uniting people for a common purpose fits neatly, although the tuan?s advice to use large sacrificial victims should probably be ignored. The lines indicate all the benefits and trials of living in common, and the nuclear hexagram (53 Gradual Advancing) seems especially appropriate for students. I think Hex 45 in its general meaning may be the best of the lot, although I would not spend a lot of time glossing the line texts for your friend.

Lindsay
 

lindsay

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I like Willow?s suggestion. If 63 stands as the perfect hexagram for completion and accomplishment, hexagram 64 represents the perfect hexagram for incompletion and unfulfillment. The best of all possible symbols for people who are somewhere on their way between the beginning and the end, the intention and the goal, the idea and its manifestation. The worm dreaming of being a butterfly. The egg visualizing a hen. The tadpole feeling froggy. Everything is all wrong in the being, but everything is all right in the becoming. So if your friend sees her housing units as incubators for students, hexagram 64 would be a good choice. Symmetrical, too.

L.
 

hilary

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Hitchhiker, I think that ELFS will be in the north of England, ultimately serving Sheffield, Manchester and Leeds universities. At least, that's what it was when I last heard.

Thank you for all the ideas!

I like the 2 suggestion. The open field of possibility, without that 'argh, just as I thought it was working, everything's all gone completely pear-shaped' sense you can get with 64... I will send her a link to the page, and let you know which hexagram ELFS choose, if they do.
 

angel

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Hi everyone,

I see at least two problems here:

1) Shouldn´t a logo be simple and easy to recognize?. Most hexagrams are very similar and lines would be difficult to differentiate when printed in DIN4 for instance. A trigram could be better.
2) Can someone register a hexagram or trigram as logo?. If someone can, everyone can.

Besides I don?t like the idea of the hexagrams being commercialize.
My two eurocents.
A.
 

binz

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remembering what the shared house was like that I was in when a student, can I suggest the biohazard symbol?

or more seriously. I know the tai chi / yin-yang symbol is overused, but this also makes it familiar to the students so is a good thing. This contains everything, and could be combined within the square that you mention in the original post.
 

heylise

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2 changing to 7 sounds great. The army means also teacher. One of its meanings is specialist: having a host of knowledge, organized into a profession. Other meanings: model, example, master, teacher, tutor, to imitate; a specialist (med., music, paint or divining), local administration chief, high functionary, superior in rank. The nature of 2 and the discipline of 7.

I think 2.2 is the same idea as wu wei. ?Straight, square, great. Without skills (or knowledge of training) there will be harvest?. Must be an ideal place for students, where studying is not a question of studying, but of being.

As for 64, I learned most about its meaning from an artist, who always removes the toilet, he refuses to live in a house which has one. For good Feng-Shui, it is the best thing one can do, but it is not what your friend wants, I guess. Hex.64 is about no forms, nothing fixed yet, all is still open.

Hex.45: the ideogram is a soldier´s jacket, and a host of soldiers is not good for dwellings. Uniforms seem to remove much of the individual responsibility.

Hex.13, being all alike. It is not especially about being nice to each other, but being of one kind. The noble one reads the tracks ? if they all leave a tidy house behind, OK, but if they all are the common kind of students, and all leave the usual mess behind ..

LiSe
 

willow

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>As for 64, I learned most about its meaning from an artist, who always removes the toilet, he refuses to live in a house which has one. For good Feng-Shui, it is the best thing one can do, but it is not what your friend wants, I guess. Hex.64 is about no forms, nothing fixed yet, all is still open.

great! I recently had a child ask me, "Do people go to the bathroom in War?" I explained that everyone goes to the bathroom, whatever their situation, then used the example of an earthquake - explaining that if there was an earthquake and all the houses were destroyed, then, right after people made sure that everyone was ok, and realized they were going to have to live outside for a while, then the first thing they would do would be decide where the bathroom was going to be. Something about that imagined bathroom appealed to me, and now I see why!
 
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maze

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Thank you to all who replied to the question put on my behalf by Hilary - some interesting points one or two of which I'll respond to.
1) The company will remain small and the logo will to some extent secondary to the name.
2) I understand concerns for using hexagrams as a logo which is why I put the question in the first place as I don't want to upset anyone or the I Ching!! Having said that if we were to use a TRIGRAM as someone suggested which would you use?
3) Can you tell me more about UNITE - I have tried to find info on the web to no avail. We don't consider it as competition but working alongside to improve house-let conditions whilst of course making an income.
Thank you for your imput!
 

louise

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Hi Maze I am trying to email you with the address of UNITE, but can't so here it is 103 Temple St Bristol BS1 6EN. Their no is 0117908100. They do have a website. The Bristol address is their head office, though they have properties all over the country. Louise.
 
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maze

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Hi Louise! Thanks for the info - I'll give them a ring! Odd that you couldn't get through on email!
 

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