The Yijing mentions rain several times – in Hexagram 9, and then in 38.6, 43.3, 50.3 and 62.5. What does it represent? Wilhelm, writing about 50.3, has a succinct answer: ‘The fall of rain symbolizes here, as in other instances, release of tension.’ Wilhelm is (here, as in other instances)… Read more »Rain
This is by way of a follow-up to my ‘Dispersing Nourishment‘ reading. I thought I’d share as it’s another reading that shows how Yi helps with the small stuff, and on multiple levels. Besides, I appreciate the eloquence of the trigrams in this one. Background, reading… My joints ache –… Read more »Out of the gate
There are just two ‘outer mountain’ hexagrams in the Upper Canon: 41, Decreasing, and 52, Stilling. Hexagram 41, Decreasing The Oracle Hexagram 41 is Sun 損: decrease, damage, harm, weakening. So the words of the oracle that define it are startling – ‘Decreasing has truth and confidence.From the source, good… Read more »Mountain above: hexagrams 41 and 52
Two more hexagrams with mountains on top, two more intriguing trigram pictures… Hexagram 26, Great Taming Hexagram 26 is ‘Great Taming’; ‘taming’, chu, originally means simply to rear domestic animals. Great Taming – rearing big animals, like the horse, bullock and boar in the moving line texts. By extension, it… Read more »Mountain above: hexagrams 26 and 27
I talked in a previous post about gen, mountain, as the outer trigram of Hexagrams 4 and 18. There, it ‘nurtures de‘, with a dual obstructing and protecting function that feels something like mentorship. The next appearances of mountain outside come in the 20s, a series of hexagram pairs with… Read more »Mountain above: Hexagrams 22 and 23
When you’re looking at a hexagram through the lens of its trigrams, I think it’s important to see how they work together, as a trigram picture rather than a dry list of attributes. However, it’s still interesting to single out a trigram and a position (inside or outside), to compare… Read more »Mountain above
There’s more than one way to engage with the trigrams that make up the Yi’s hexagrams. The one that I find most engrossing – that most often shows me hidden beauties of the book, and most often makes for powerful, transformative readings (not unconnected!) – is to look at them… Read more »Trigram pictures
