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Interpreting hexagrams

Comments on whole hexagrams, individual lines and so on

A picture of Hexagram 44 from Paulo Coelho

:||||| Hexagram 44 seems to be the most-debated hexagram of the lot. Should we be afraid of what the yin line in the first place represents? Of encroaching evil, temptation, the thin end of the wedge? (Not to mention the unspeakable horrors of ‘a bold girl who lightly surrenders herself’.) Or should we be nurturing a new life, welcoming it with respect? Much discussion ensues.

When I read good books, I sometimes find myself wanting to pencil in a hexagram in the margins. These excerpts from Paulo Coelho’s Veronika decides to die seem to me to paint a vivid picture of Hexagram 44 – an aspect of it, at least.

The Image of Hexagram 62

‘Above the mountain is thunder. Small overstepping.
Noble one in actions exceeds in courtesy,
In loss exceeds in mourning,
In using resources exceeds in economy.’

The heart of the Home: Not Yet Across

Hexagram 37, People in the Home, defines a safe space. Within it we can find our place with one another, and become confident enough in our own identities that we can eventually reach out beyond its walls.

The first line of the hexagram sets up those all-important walls:
‘With barriers, there is a home.
Regrets vanish.’
It’s a very clear line: walls create a home; they separate ‘inside’ from ‘outside’, so there can be a secure, close-knit group within. In readings, this line very often points to the need to set limits, to have ground rules, without which there can be no mutual understanding. Fences, as Wu Jing Nuan comments on this line, make good neighbours.

Hexagram 57, in here and out there

The name of Hexagram 57 – Subtle Penetration, the Wind – shows imperial seals on a stand. LiSe describes them as a personal inner blueprint, something that penetrates everything you do. Some influences flow in steadily and shape you, as wind following wind sculpts trees, or rock.

No Doubt

Found at Luminous Heart: “Being without doubt has nothing to do with accepting the validity of a philosophy or concept. Absence of doubt comes from trusting in the heart, trusting yourself. Being without doubt means that you connect with yourself, that you experience mind and body being synchronized together. When… Read more »No Doubt