Comments on whole hexagrams, individual lines and so on
One of the strangest things about conversations with Yi is how immediately relatable most of its imagery is. Life is a journey; we walk our paths (Hexagram 24). We can be stressed and over-burdened to breaking point (Hexagram 28) – it’s actually next-to impossible for us to talk or think… Read more »Making offerings?
Robbers show up a few times in the Yijing. In 4.6 you’re advised to ward off robbers, not act like one; in 5.3 and 40.3 you’re in danger of inviting them; in 53.3, once again, it’s useful to ward them off. There are also three lines (3.2, 22.4, 38.6) where… Read more »Robbers?
Where they are in the Yijing There are three mentions in the Zhouyi – the oldest layer of the Yijing text – of ‘establishing feudal lords’: in the Oracle of Hexagram 3, and its first line, and in the Oracle of Hexagram 16. (Then they’re also mentioned in the Image… Read more »Feudal lords
Some Yijing imagery is immensely straightforward to relate to. I was having the ‘What do you do?’ conversation a few weeks ago, and a friend asked me what kind of thing readings said, and how they answered questions. ‘Imagine,’ I said, ‘you’re asking about taking on a new voluntary role,… Read more »Crime and punishment
Hexagram 36, Brightness Hiding, might be one of the easiest to connect with. Isn’t there a story in the Sorrells’ I Ching Made Easy of someone in an abusive relationship who received Hexagram 36 and broke down in tears of recognition and relief when she heard the story of Ji… Read more »Hexagram 36: Hidden Pheasant?
Tradition tells us that Hexagram 63, Already Crossing, has its trigrams in the right places: water is above fire, like the pan on the stove; things are cooking; everything is in good working order. And then by contrast, Hexagram 64, Not Yet Crossing, with the same two trigrams in reverse… Read more »Fire on the river: Hexagram 64
There’s a well-established tradition that these trigrams portray fast-moving fire burning through mountain vegetation.Kong Yingda (574-648AD) wrote, ‘When fire is on top of the mountain, it races through the grass and shrubbery, a condition that does not leave it in one place for long. Thus this provides the image for… Read more »Fire on the mountain: Hexagram 56
