26

[dobro p]

My understanding of the general meaning of 26 is this: a combination of restraint and accumulating energy, the latter arising out of the former.

What's your take on 26?

 

[lucia]

Nicely put!

Lucia

 

[fkegan]

Hi Dobro,

Hex 26 also called Virgin Land with trigrams of Sunshine or the Creative process under or within The mountain so its the potential within the mountain that would take great effort to bring forth but will offer great rewards from its final product. Once you get the mines dug and the access roads built.

It is the 6th hexagram of the 3rd set of 10 describing Justice, Karma or cause-and-effect/consequences (hex 21 as monad of this set). As the 6th hexagram it represents the end product of the narrative or process of Karma or consequences. This is the final result of the new beginning of hex 24 becoming the expression of Self in hex 26 and the eventual consequence, hex 26 is that you have heaped up and reaped what you sow. This picks up the connotation of restraint since there is a long time delay between activity and Karma; and the connotation of accumulation since it is a reaping of your active harvest.

In terms of structure and line values, it is the hexagram of 4 Yang lines or the process that is being controlled (restrained in its forward momentum) by the open Yin places of the Heart and the mind/overall organization. Thus you are wanting to develop things or move forward but there is no firm plan or goal (4&5) however what is happening is clearly focused upon what will come next (line 6). You are driving all night and day without a map or watching the road signs. When will you get to a destination? What is that destination? Not part of this timing, but it isn't likely to be back home and it will be far away and perhaps exotic. Hex 26.

Frank

 

[dobro p]

Thanks, Frank. I did a toss and got 26 for the primary, and I still don't see what it's saying to me, so I thought I'd get some input about 26 to see if it triggered something for me.

 

[elvis]

Some PAIRINGS of hexagram 26 with other hexagrams:

* In the binary sequence hexagram 26 pairs with hexagram 11.

This pair focuses on issues of balance in a context of exaggeration, the exaggeration being in singlemindedness expressed by the trigram of heaven. Hexagram 11 has a focus on balance through harmonising through integrating. Hexagram 26 covers issues of differentiating where the focus is on retaining the elements of the past, traditions etc,, and so a focus on quality, on values (as reflected in the nature of the top trigram of 26, mountain) BUT with a warning in not becoming the past, the values as such are useful but should not replace or block development.

* In the binary sequence hexagram 26 opposes hexagram 45.

In this pairing the 'big restraint' of 26 opposes the 'exaggeration' in celebration of 45.

At the LOCAL level we are dealing with an octet of hexagrams with the HEAVEN trigram as base. In this sequence hexagram 26, the focus upon holding firm, 'opposes' hexagram 43, spreading the word. More so, the hard core, sharp focus on 'spreading the word' is reflected in a more balanced format by the more 'subtle' focus on holding firm to traditions, a generally integrating nature in 26. ( I say general in that, when we zoom-in further to pairs so 11, 26 form a pair with 11 being integrating, 26 more differentiating).

* In the traditional sequence hexagram 26 pairs with hexagram 25.

This pairing focuses on holding to one's convictions, be it by asserting them regardless of the consequences (25) or on a general sense of 'holding firm' to traditional perspectives (26). As such 25 is more 'personal', 26 more 'social'.

HOLDING FIRM:

25 : holding firm - through expressing personal beliefs, disentangle; 25 disentangling comes from a context described by hexagram 45 - congregating, celebrating

26 : holding firm - through staying with traditional beliefs; 26 hold firm comes out of a context described by hexagram 46 - entangling, pushing upwards

* In the traditional sequence hexagram 26 opposes hexagram 39.

In going against the flow of things we often have to go against traditions (the obstructions of 39) as compared to holding firm to them (26 - and in so doing 'go against the flow of 'mindless' nature).

* The generic properties of hexagram 26 reflect the mixing of the generic properties of hexagram 11 with the generic properties of hexagram 46.

A combination of a focus on harmonising (11) with a sense of becoming more entangled with things (46) is reflected in the 'holding firm' attitude of hexagram 26.

* In the variations on a theme sequence, hexagram 26 complements hexagram 18.

In this pairing the overall focus is on traditions, where in 26 we hold firm to them and in 18 we ensure they are not corrupted.

Using the language element of the IC we can flesh out LOTS of details re 26 - see table in http://www.emotionaliching.com/lofting/bx100111.html

 

[rodaki]

not sure if this is any helpful (if not just ignore it) but 26 reminds me of the method for making pickled fish (also called lakerda). It is quite an elaborate procedure which takes some time and needs periodical checking and changing the water in the container while the fish is always covered with a big stone so that it stays at the bottom . . if all goes well, it makes an intense-flavored delicacy usually consumed with a strong white spirit (like italian grappa)

 

[maremaria]

What's your take on 26?

Hi
Glad you post that question because the reading I got couple of days ago arose the same question. “what is 26 about ?” That reading was 9 > 26 the taming power of the small and the great …. Yet , although the taming seems to be the main theme, have shift my attention to the 26 image and Wilhelm commentaries .

“Heaven within the mountain points to hidden treasures. In the words and deeds of the past there lies hidden a treasure that men may use to strengthen and elevate their own characters. The way to study the past isn't to confine oneself to mere knowledge of history but, through application of this knowledge, to give actuality to the past.”

Have you take into account that ? Is it in your case just accumulation of energy or could be somewhere accumulated past experiences which have not find yet the form to be used ?

 

[dobro p]

not sure if this is any helpful (if not just ignore it) but 26 reminds me of the method for making pickled fish (also called lakerda). It is quite an elaborate procedure which takes some time and needs periodical checking and changing the water in the container while the fish is always covered with a big stone so that it stays at the bottom . . if all goes well, it makes an intense-flavored delicacy usually consumed with a strong white spirit (like italian grappa)

It doesn't help me with my understanding of 26 in relation to my consultation, but I'd love to try the fish and grappa cousin.

 

[dobro p]

Hi
Glad you post that question because the reading I got couple of days ago arose the same question. “what is 26 about ?” That reading was 9 > 26 the taming power of the small and the great …. Yet , although the taming seems to be the main theme, have shift my attention to the 26 image and Wilhelm commentaries .




Have you take into account that ? Is it in your case just accumulation of energy or could be somewhere accumulated past experiences which have not find yet the form to be used ?

That Wilhelm thing about 'heaven with the mountain' is the key to my understanding of it, I think. Thanks, M. (Frank mentioned it, but it didn't click because of the 'karma' ideas he raised.) It's an issue of accumulating an inner energy, for sure. I just didn't see how the 'great restraining' came into my situation, cuz to tell the truth, I *haven't* been restraining anything in this regard. But 'heaven within the mountain' describes the situation perfectly.

Thank you.

 

[fkegan]

Hi Dobro,

The lines of hex 26 tend to change an oracle greatly. The primary hexagram is about a rich or fertile opportunity but requiring great preparation and effort to even get the situation prepared to start work on the project. That is what the not eating at home and crossing the great river are about. The moving lines represent a change from that primary dynamic through that line place so you are no longer at the time of such an oracle still just facing raw land to develop or a project across the great river.

The lower lines 1 and 2 aren't in a position to continue on their project objectively. These lines must deal with the subjective project of getting themselves in order. The third line is in relation to the strong sage in the 6th place so this line can move forward but must be clear about its junior position and train still while moving ahead. The 6th line has the 3rd line to lead so it can and it must move forward for both their good.

The 4th and 5th lines, the heart and mind, are open Yin lines and when moving are developing a clear focus moving closer to their goals by either (4th) long term preparations already done or (5) a quick fix recently done. The long term fix is ready to succeed with the help of major supporters and a humble chief executive. The short term fix is getting closer to success but still must wait for the weather conditions or other intervention beyond your control to go right.

Sorry about Karma, it is also Justice or simple consequences of one's actions. Unrestrained activity brings its consequences from the environment seeming to be external and unrelated, but its all connected in the greater scheme of things...

Hope that helps,

Frank

 

[Sparhawk]

Dear Allium cepa, I never cease to be wondered by you...

Ahem, what was your question to the Yi again?

Have you tried here? There are 265 opinions on 26 there...

 

[maremaria]

That Wilhelm thing about 'heaven with the mountain' is the key to my understanding of it, I think. Thanks, M. (Frank mentioned it, but it didn't click because of the 'karma' ideas he raised.) It's an issue of accumulating an inner energy, for sure. I just didn't see how the 'great restraining' came into my situation, cuz to tell the truth, I *haven't* been restraining anything in this regard. But 'heaven within the mountain' describes the situation perfectly.

Thank you.

glad i could help

I wonder if you or anyone else could explain me what does mean . I"to give actuality to the past."

I'm a little confused how to translate it . There is something in that phrash that I think its the key but don't get it.

 

[Sparhawk]

glad i could help

I wonder if you or anyone else could explain me what does mean . I "to give actuality to the past."

I'm a little confused how to translate it . There is something in that phrash that I think its the key but don't get it.

να επικαιρότητα με το παρελθόν

But seriously, thinks in "actualize" or also a way to make something from the past as important in a present situation and use it appropriately.

 

[dobro p]

Dear Allium cepa, I never cease to be wondered by you...

What'd I do now?

Ahem, what was your question to the Yi again?

It was about some kundalini that's coming up in my system these days. I've been behaving myself, so I'm wondering what the story on it is. I didn't put the question in the Reading Forum, cuz for one thing I should be able to come to terms with this myself, and for another thing, kundalini's not exactly the sort of 'what are his feelings for me?' type of question you get in there.

Have you tried here? There are 265 opinions on 26 there...

Yeah, I'll browse that. But bad me for not dipping into Wilhelm, yeah? You know, there's this thing that goes on with people who do their own versions of the Yi, where they learn to trust their own judgement so much that they sort of ignore other versions sometimes. Chris is like that, Frank's like that, I'm like that, and maybe Bradford. I really admire people who do their own versions and come to their own understandings, but it can become a trap. I think as soon as you think you know what the text of the Yi means, you're sliding downwards in Snakes and Ladders. I've always been trying to figure out what the Yi text means, but I'm thinking that's a minor approach these days. The Yi doesn't have meanings. It has triggers.

 

[maremaria]

να επικαιρότητα με το παρελθόν

.

My Greek translation is a little bit better than that.

Thanks for the serious part

 

[fkegan]

You know, there's this thing that goes on with people who do their own versions of the Yi, where they learn to trust their own judgement so much that they sort of ignore other versions sometimes. Chris is like that, Frank's like that, I'm like that, and maybe Bradford. I really admire people who do their own versions and come to their own understandings, but it can become a trap. I think as soon as you think you know what the text of the Yi means, you're sliding downwards in Snakes and Ladders. I've always been trying to figure out what the Yi text means, but I'm thinking that's a minor approach these days. The Yi doesn't have meanings. It has triggers.

Hi Dobro,

"triggers" assumes you just have to connect to something within yourself to understand the Yi. However, the magic of divination is that it offers objective advice without being limited to your own subjectivity.

The key is not to just look at your own version, but to Grok (cf. Stranger in a Strange Land) a number of different perspectives and versions of the Yi and figure out how they all express some fundamental reality within and beyond them all.

There is a hard, objective, empirically verifiable [though not statistically or computer analyzable] core to ALL versions of the Yi. It is finding our own version of that universal core that matters.

There is a principle in art, taught to me by a family therapy prof who had also been a sculpture student, that if you have one model in class and have each student sculpt their own version of that model, each resulting sculpture will reflect the model, will also be a good likeness of the student, and together they express the whole class in terms of the perspective of the teacher. That is the wonder of the subjective perspective of art which is also the basis of divination.

The process is like identifying a species skeleton from a single bone and then using the knowledge about that species in general to analyze that specific individual from their skeleton. Marc Edmund Jones learned that in his required science course in college in the '30's and applied it to his insights in reading horoscopes. I just expanded that insight to include the I Ching in my work. In general, the structural analysis of the set of 6 lines is like the illustrations in Euclid, it gives a visualization of the general principles of each hexagram that will clarify any and all versions based upon textual analysis. They are not alternatives, they are complements.

Frank

 

[meng]

The Yi doesn't have meanings. It has triggers.

Can you say which specific trigger in 26 you're examining? Or is that the question?

I agree with your trigger idea as part of a larger process. To me, a worthy/accurate text translation is typically that trigger.

I look at it as conditions of loose (or free) and tight (control). A precision mechanical device possesses these two attributes. There's least resistance but tight and true tolerances.

Bradford likes to use archery as a way to describe several things. One could be 26, because the strength which is developed is from pulling back against, restraining, and then releasing the power to accomplish the aim of the archer. The same applies when casting a lure or fly with rod and reel: the power and precision of the cast - the presentation - are determined in exactly how the rod "loads up", that is, flexes in the opposite direction, and then releases its proportioned and directed power, just as the bow does.

Maybe it can be said, 26 possesses finesse as well as power, combining the way (flex, warp, potency, power) of heaven with the steadiness of mountain.

 

[rodaki]

It doesn't help me with my understanding of 26 in relation to my consultation, but I'd love to try the fish and grappa cousin.

lol! ok, i see how my post may have sounded really weird blush and I was going to explain how i came up with it, cause there is a logic connecting it to the texts but I see you've gotten great replies already so . . cheers on tsipouro

 

[fkegan]

glad i could help

I wonder if you or anyone else could explain me what does mean . I"to give actuality to the past."

I'm a little confused how to translate it . There is something in that phrash that I think its the key but don't get it.

Hi Maria,

The Confucian Classic The Book of History was revered since any situation an Imperial bureaucrat faced could have a passage about how the similar situation was handled before and what was the result of each alternative.

This is the reason history was written and studied in the classical liberal arts--to see the past as a factual study of the how the eternal human issues have been expressed and dealt with over and over again.

In terms of hexagram 26 it is all about making what has been learned and passed down from prior Masters and erstwhile students into the current exercises and practices today that will improve human life tomorrow.

That on date A historical figure B did action C with result D only matters if it becomes the example and guide for how today You realize to do what will be of benefit tomorrow following that historical example.

Frank

 

[dobro p]

Can you say which specific trigger in 26 you're examining? Or is that the question?

What I was trying to say was something like this: I've worked at understanding at what the hexagrams and lines mean, but the real value in consultation is not so much knowing what they mean but in what is triggered in my mind when I read the Yi as an answer to my question. If it doesn't trigger some useful association or 'aha!' in you, then knowing 'what the hexagram means' isn't much help, right?

 

[maremaria]

Hi Maria,


In terms of hexagram 26 it is all about making what has been learned and passed down from prior Masters and erstwhile students into the current exercises and practices today that will improve human life tomorrow.

That on date A historical figure B did action C with result D only matters if it becomes the example and guide for how today You realize to do what will be of benefit tomorrow following that historical example.

Frank

Thanks Frank.

I can see the past-present-future in 26. Past experiences as an example to follow or avoid now for a better future.

My Greek translation of Wilhelm, which is not very good imo, translates " to give actuality" as “make alive again” bring in life” and catch my eye because of the context of the situation I asked about.

 

[maremaria]

What I was trying to say was something like this: I've worked at understanding at what the hexagrams and lines mean, but the real value in consultation is not so much knowing what they mean but in what is triggered in my mind when I read the Yi as an answer to my question. If it doesn't trigger some useful association or 'aha!' in you, then knowing 'what the hexagram means' isn't much help, right?

If i have understand well your previous post, the "restraining" aspect of 26 didin't make any sence to you, it didn't resonate witl your case in question. May I ask if you find another "meaning" of 26 and if yes, what was ?

 

[dobro p]

If i have understand well your previous post, the "restraining" aspect of 26 didin't make any sence to you, it didn't resonate witl your case in question. May I ask if you find another "meaning" of 26 and if yes, what was ?

It was the Wilhelm material that you quoted - "“Heaven within the mountain points to hidden treasures" - that was really useful. That was what triggered the 'aha!' for me.

 

[meng]

Ah, yes. There's different forms of aha triggers. There's the bubbling up from the ground aha!, there's magma exploding upward to the sky AHA!, there's quiet and contemplative aha, there's the sun dawning aha, a sun setting aha, the soup tasting aha, the Oh! Oh! Ha! Ha! aha, there's the warm bath aha, and eating the big celery stick from a perfect Bloody Mary aha.

Triggers and aha's, nice topic.

So, if I were to approach an enlightened woman with "So, what triggers your aha's?" you think that might work?

 

[fkegan]

Ah, yes. There's different forms of aha triggers....
So, if I were to approach an enlightened woman with "So, what triggers your aha's?" you think that might work?

Hi Bruce,

It would work to express your interest though it could easily be taken as rude...

I am reminded of the story of the blind men arguing over the nature of an elephant based upon their isolated experience of touching just their own part of it. Dobro isn't so much speaking of the I Ching as his own favorite elephant parts as his only way to understand the Oracle. The Yi is amazing in its ability to express its personal relationship with each of us and to speak to us in whatever metaphors and with whatever elephant parts we need.

Frank

 

[Sparhawk]

So, if I were to approach an enlightened woman with "So, what triggers your aha's?" you think that might work?

Hmmm, that goes with the Kundalini issues of our friend Dobro. You both try it first and report back here. Who knows, it could be a good pick up line...

 

[fkegan]

Hmmm, that goes with the Kundalini issues of our friend Dobro. You both try it first and report back here. Who knows, it could be a good pick up line...

Hi Luis,

It is of course absolutely a pick up line that is effective overall though also generates problems as well as beneficial friction. My thesis adviser in college told the story of his classmate who would simply go up to pretty girls and ask, Do you...[how do I say this politely]... "Are you sexually active?" Many would be shocked or draw back grossed out but eventually he would find one who said, "Well,Yes" and they would go back to his room together to further explore the issue.

Meng basically would be asking the enlightened woman what is her preferred path to climax. Generally rather an intimate conversation, but it is just cutting to the chase in these days when folks are busy. It would be great in a speed dating situation. You only have a few minutes, why not spend them discussing what really matters in your dating.

So exactly what do you want shared with you, Luis in the report back? The relationship attained? The details of the exchange? The ways in which the various Eureka moments are similar and dissimilar between Western philosophy/psychology traditions and Kama Sutra/kundalini scholarship?

Frank

 

[Sparhawk]

So exactly what do you want shared with you, Luis in the report back? The relationship attained? The details of the exchange? The ways in which the various Eureka moments are similar and dissimilar between Western philosophy/psychology traditions and Kama Sutra/kundalini scholarship?

Frank

Wow, seriously? Only you, Frank, can write a three paragraph post on a two line lighthearted joke, addressed to two guys I know will get it without any footnotes. I'm in awe...

 

[fkegan]

Wow, seriously? Only you, Frank, can write a three paragraph post on a two line lighthearted joke, addressed to two guys I know will get it without any footnotes. I'm in awe...

Hi Luis,

In our off-hand remarks we express our Selves and from the obvious when analyzed in depth we find the deep structure and essence of the situation. It is what is meant in the aphorism that the voice of God is heard in the comments out of the crowd and from the naive statements of children.

What can be reflected as merely a lighthearted snicker can be refracted to a spectral analysis of great import.

Isn't the total intent of Buber's I-Thou relationship when established between man and woman to share what it is that triggers the Sufi Al Tajali, Greek Eureka or Tantric Divine Yoga?

Or what three guys together might rib each other about while drinking can in sober reflection expose major insight--In Vino Veritas...

Frank

 

[dobro p]

Wow, seriously? Only you, Frank, can write a three paragraph post on a two line lighthearted joke, addressed to two guys I know will get it without any footnotes. I'm in awe...

+1