56. Lu / The Wanderer

[my_key]

I wonder what caused this man to move from his place of abundance and choose to wander?

TRUE STORY:
Outside Bristol Zoo there is a car park for 150 cars and 8 coaches.There also used to be a very pleasant attendant with a ticket machine charging cars £1 and coaches £5. This parking attendant worked there for all of 25 years , then one day just didn't turn up for work...
"Ho hum", said Bristol Zoo Management, "better phone up the City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant"
"Err no", said the Council, "that car park is your responsibility" ...
"Err no", said Bristol Zoo Management, "the attendant was employed by the City Council, wasn' t he?" .....
"Err NO!"

Living in Spain is a bloke who had been taking daily the car park fees, amounting to an estimated £400 per day, at Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years...

 

[fkegan]

How does hex 56 arise from hex 55?

I wonder what caused this man to move from his place of abundance and choose to wander?

TRUE STORY:
Outside Bristol Zoo there is a car park for 150 cars and 8 coaches.There also used to be a very pleasant attendant with a ticket machine charging cars £1 and coaches £5. This parking attendant worked there for all of 25 years , then one day just didn't turn up for work...
"Ho hum", said Bristol Zoo Management, "better phone up the City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant"
"Err no", said the Council, "that car park is your responsibility" ...
"Err no", said Bristol Zoo Management, "the attendant was employed by the City Council, wasn' t he?" .....
"Err NO!"

Living in Spain is a bloke who had been taking daily the car park fees, amounting to an estimated £400 per day, at Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years...

Hi Mikey,
The hexagrams aren't actually a narrative of one fellow traveling through the various timings of the Yi. Often the lines of one hexagram have a different imagery totally from the overall imagery for the hexagram as a whole.

If you are concerned about hex 56 as part of a set that includes hex 55, that is its KWS decad beginning with hex 51 as Monad which describes the process development of all the hexagrams from 51 through 60.

As a hexagram ending in 6, hex 56 is the final product of the beginning, middle, end process of hex 51. Hex 51 is related to thunder, though not ultimately to the booming acoustic energy set loose by the electrical discharge involved in lightning.

Hex. 51 is composed of only two Yang lines in the 6-place hexagram matrix. Yang lines only in the initial line place of the transition from prior conditions, and the fourth line place of the heart's feeling and one's soul. This is all about the impact of sudden realization of principle or the power of the Divine in human life. cf. Wilhelm comments in his commentary before the Judgment, upon the Judgment and again in the remarks upon hex 51.3.

Thus, hex.56 is the final product of a process of human awareness of sudden thunder strikes in the heart. As a process it starts in hex 54 as being shot with Cupid's arrow, the gentleman who is smitten by love and therefore marries younger sister as a concubine. The development of this process of realizing the Divine power in one's life is like the coming together of common observed celestial bodies, like the sun and moon in their normal courses from rising to setting creating the awesome magic of the Total Solar Eclipse, or to a lesser extent noted only by sundial folks High Noon.

Therefore, this final product in hex 56 is the Rambling Boy who has been struck and smitten with wanderlust or the Siren call of the open road and abandons home, family and ancestral territory to ride off into the sunset seeking his fortune and his adventures.

Or in simple answer to your question, what caused the man to leave abundance and wander was his sudden realization of some lightning bolt from the Divine that shook him loose from his roots and moorings.

As to the entrepreneur of the Bristol Zoo Car Park who created his own business based upon the opportunity offered by bureaucratic Britain where no one would be tasked to audit his books or check what bank account he deposited his daily cash receipts to avail himself of the real estate value of the tourist traffic to pocket GBP 400/day for 25 years (365.4 days/year) which by my checkbook calculator from Harrod's from my honeymoon trip to London comes out to about GBP 3,654,000. (of course, that is 1,000 x the number of days in a year in pound sterling as gross revenues with only the cost of the ticket machine and its supply of tickets as costs). Given the exactly round number involved I suspect the story is not True, but part of a Thatcher era attack upon government bureaucracy and for the private entrepreneur--but if you have the 'bloke's address in Spain I will email him my congratulations.

Which was a quite reasonable career and a quite sufficient for a comfortable retirement in Spain, perhaps including a historical castle to live in and a yacht at Marbella marina and a chauffeured luxury car to travel between them.

That would Not be a hex 56 narrative though. He was totally settled in his career at the car park. He was quite settled in his retirement. No Divine thunder stroke which rocked his inner world and uprooted everything. For it to be a Hex 56 narrative, he would have to have been settled down working for the park service with a wife and children and then have a lovely young tourist hand him the single pound note parking fee--their fingers touch, he falls in love and they drive off together never to return to live on the beach somewhere.

Thanks for the story and the imagery, though.

Frank

 

[meng]

I wonder what caused this man to move from his place of abundance and choose to wander?

TRUE STORY:
Outside Bristol Zoo there is a car park for 150 cars and 8 coaches.There also used to be a very pleasant attendant with a ticket machine charging cars £1 and coaches £5. This parking attendant worked there for all of 25 years , then one day just didn't turn up for work...
"Ho hum", said Bristol Zoo Management, "better phone up the City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant"
"Err no", said the Council, "that car park is your responsibility" ...
"Err no", said Bristol Zoo Management, "the attendant was employed by the City Council, wasn' t he?" .....
"Err NO!"

Living in Spain is a bloke who had been taking daily the car park fees, amounting to an estimated £400 per day, at Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years...

Funny story. Though it p'd off the authorities, I don't think the people would be too mad. I'd have to laugh that he beat the system, for awhile anyway.

25.3
Undeserved misfortune.
The cow that was tethered by someone
Is the wanderer's gain, the citizen's loss.

 

[ravenstar]

Hi Mikey,
The hexagrams aren't actually a narrative of one fellow traveling through the various timings of the Yi. Often the lines of one hexagram have a different imagery totally from the overall imagery for the hexagram as a whole.

If you are concerned about hex 56 as part of a set that includes hex 55, that is its KWS decad beginning with hex 51 as Monad which describes the process development of all the hexagrams from 51 through 60.

As a hexagram ending in 6, hex 56 is the final product of the beginning, middle, end process of hex 51. Hex 51 is related to thunder, though not ultimately to the booming acoustic energy set loose by the electrical discharge involved in lightning.

Hex. 51 is composed of only two Yang lines in the 6-place hexagram matrix. Yang lines only in the initial line place of the transition from prior conditions, and the fourth line place of the heart's feeling and one's soul. This is all about the impact of sudden realization of principle or the power of the Divine in human life. cf. Wilhelm comments in his commentary before the Judgment, upon the Judgment and again in the remarks upon hex 51.3.

Thus, hex.56 is the final product of a process of human awareness of sudden thunder strikes in the heart. As a process it starts in hex 54 as being shot with Cupid's arrow, the gentleman who is smitten by love and therefore marries younger sister as a concubine. The development of this process of realizing the Divine power in one's life is like the coming together of common observed celestial bodies, like the sun and moon in their normal courses from rising to setting creating the awesome magic of the Total Solar Eclipse, or to a lesser extent noted only by sundial folks High Noon.

Therefore, this final product in hex 56 is the Rambling Boy who has been struck and smitten with wanderlust or the Siren call of the open road and abandons home, family and ancestral territory to ride off into the sunset seeking his fortune and his adventures.

Or in simple answer to your question, what caused the man to leave abundance and wander was his sudden realization of some lightning bolt from the Divine that shook him loose from his roots and moorings.

As to the entrepreneur of the Bristol Zoo Car Park who created his own business based upon the opportunity offered by bureaucratic Britain where no one would be tasked to audit his books or check what bank account he deposited his daily cash receipts to avail himself of the real estate value of the tourist traffic to pocket GBP 400/day for 25 years (365.4 days/year) which by my checkbook calculator from Harrod's from my honeymoon trip to London comes out to about GBP 3,654,000. (of course, that is 1,000 x the number of days in a year in pound sterling as gross revenues with only the cost of the ticket machine and its supply of tickets as costs). Given the exactly round number involved I suspect the story is not True, but part of a Thatcher era attack upon government bureaucracy and for the private entrepreneur--but if you have the 'bloke's address in Spain I will email him my congratulations.

Which was a quite reasonable career and a quite sufficient for a comfortable retirement in Spain, perhaps including a historical castle to live in and a yacht at Marbella marina and a chauffeured luxury car to travel between them.

That would Not be a hex 56 narrative though. He was totally settled in his career at the car park. He was quite settled in his retirement. No Divine thunder stroke which rocked his inner world and uprooted everything. For it to be a Hex 56 narrative, he would have to have been settled down working for the park service with a wife and children and then have a lovely young tourist hand him the single pound note parking fee--their fingers touch, he falls in love and they drive off together never to return to live on the beach somewhere.

Thanks for the story and the imagery, though.

Frank

Hi Frank,

First of all I wanted to thank you for your comment

Clearly you are doing very well at this point, congratulations.

I've been waiting for the line's to begin and thought I'd like to see if I understand the 56 personality. Especially from what you wrote.

It also helps to understand the progression of 51 to 60....although we're not quite there yet.

I get the sense that 56's like to dramatize their emotions and actions, especially when someone is around to see. I also get the sense that they love to express their passion, fear, anger and excitement very intensely. I wonder if they thrive when things are out of control...chaos? What I mean is an ordinary and normal day would seem uninteresting and boring to them.

On the other side of the coin, these people can exhaust us. They can drain our energy. I even think they would make their relationships difficult just to make it more exciting. Since they love to heat things up, they can be very outspoken competitive and ambitious. Sometimes they can carry things too far.

When they work on something they go at with all they got, probably accomplishing more than others could in a week. 56 works from alot of intuition and from the heart. If he does attempt something it's cause he believes it's worth it. If not, he won't stick around, why bother?

I think the problem with 56, is they can make more enemies than friends. This may be because they can be extremely bossy and antagonistic. Those that trusted 56 in the beginning now have lost confidence in him and his abilities. I also wonder if at times they can be foolishly trusting??

Although 56 is on the 'path', he is not a warrior....yet.

The self-confidence of a warrior is not the self-confidence of the average man. The average man seeks certainty in the eyes of the onlooker and calls that self-confidence. The warrior seeks impeccability in his own eyes and calls that humbleness. The average man is hooked to his fellow men, while the warrior is hooked only to himself. You're after the self-confidence of the average man, when you should be after the humbleness of a warrior. The difference between the two is remarkable. Self-confidence entails knowing something for sure; humbleness entails being impeccable in one's actions and feelings.

ravenstar

 

[meng]

Ravenstar, I'm really curious how you arrived at such a complex (and troubled, it sounds like) personality profile for 56?

 

[fkegan]

Hi Ravenstar,
I am glad my comment was of help to you.

As for hex 56 I would cite it to the image of the cowboy on the TV Western who shows up in town at the beginning of the show, saves the day and with everyone much impressed he rides out of town at the end of the show with the pretty girl looking lovingly at him.

There is a line in one of the Rambling songs that goes:

If you see me rambling by and you think you like to try, nail your shoes to your kitchen floor, lace 'em up and bar the door and thank your lucky stars for the roof that is over you.

Hex 56 refers to someone who has suffered great trauma from whatever shook his heart so very much that he can no longer keep his roots and must wander like Socrates from his PTSD.

So, Yes he is not a warrior but he is not really on the path--just unable to stay home.

Frank

 

[rodaki]

Mike's story was an interesting one! altho it seemed more like going from 54 to 55 to me

Janice's post made me think of the tragic heroes in romantic novels and 'wanderlust' . . perhaps even Don Quixote . . looks like 56 is full of stories to share!
which makes me think that there are many ways to 56 beyond the familiar -and maybe the shock doesn't have to be traumatic
like when kids gather round grandma to listen to her stories while outside a storm is going strong -living the intensities of the tales and whining when it's time to go to bed . .
or like when one has to go househunting, gets it right but is still saddened for leaving their old place . .
and then there are those travelers that are looking for a home suitable to take along their journeys, like hermit crabs

all sorts of nomads . .

I hope Rosada is enjoying her travel and her father's and Hilary's moving house is coming along fine!

 

[mary f]

Ah, yeah.

chuckling at 'graduation'. doesn't feel at all like graduation. feels like one foot in front of another, and trying not to trip.

Back in my solid Christian daze I used to sing and lead songs. There's one favorite still to this day, which is this wanderer's favorite. If the word "Christ" doesn't feel right, use what feels right: Great Man, Spirit, whatever.

Where do I go when there's nobody else to turn to?
Who do I talk to when nobody wants to listen?
Who do I lean on when there's no foundation stable?
I go to The Rock
I know He's able
I go to The Rock

I go to The Rock of my salvation
I go to the stone that the builders rejected
I go to the mountain and The Mountain stands by me (56)

When the earth all around me is sinking sand
On Christ, that solid rock I stand
When I need a shelter, when I need a friend
I go to The Rock

Great.
It has always worked very well for me.

PS.: one foot in front of the other works too, more than we think.

 

[fkegan]

Mike's story was an interesting one! altho it seemed more like going from 54 to 55 to me

Janice's post made me think of the tragic heroes in romantic novels and 'wanderlust' . . perhaps even Don Quixote . . looks like 56 is full of stories to share!
which makes me think that there are many ways to 56 beyond the familiar -and maybe the shock doesn't have to be traumatic
like when kids gather round grandma to listen to her stories while outside a storm is going strong -living the intensities of the tales and whining when it's time to go to bed . .
or like when one has to go househunting, gets it right but is still saddened for leaving their old place . .
and then there are those travelers that are looking for a home suitable to take along their journeys, like hermit crabs

all sorts of nomads . .

I hope Rosada is enjoying her travel and her father's and Hilary's moving house is coming along fine!

Hi Rodaki,

Nice touch putting current situations into the symbolism of the hexagrams.

The hexagrams of the decad may well express universal human realities, though in the Yi they are clearly seen through the lens of ancient Chinese culture. The wanderer of hex 56 is not seen as a romantic figure, just the end product of the process of having one's heart's desire overwhelm all family or social obligations. America was built by folks who somehow got themselves thrown out or cut away from their roots elsewhere and were set loose to make the best of the situation.

The shock is hex 51 and a TV show or family story or bedtime tale or monster under little sibling's bed scaring them could easily fill that role leading eventually to growing up into hex 56 Lone Ranger or Don Quixote.


The Cupid's arrow or thunderbolt to the heart is hex 51. Marrying a concubine for lust is hex 54 the beginning of the process of adjusting to that thunderbolt--that is, acting upon your heart's desire. Being awestruck by the beautiful moment is hex 55 the inner development of that process. And hex 56 is suffering PTSD or being uprooted by something or like a Westerner taking up the Ideology of Adventure and going off to seek your fortune or the like and the final result of end product.

Frank

 

[my_key]

The Zoo post came to my inbox not long after I'd been pondering the Nigel Richmond view on Hex 56. It seemed on some level an apt story. The guys inner light has been shining outwardly for 25 years, whatever he was getting as fulfillment as the fradaulant car park attendant millionaire is no longer enough and off he goes in search of a new playground.

It's been interesting reading the posts it has prompted. Richmond says in the "I Ching Oracle".....

We make our reality in feeling. We are not involved in the inner reality of our circumstances.This feeling leads to a rejection of our present circumstances and the search for new situations. Our feelings become our feelers searching for something thta would be more real for us. The outer world does not provide a reality we can "get into", so we feel but we do not feel nourished.

We seek to transform our outer reality and find circumstances that feel right fo us so we wander into different situations to find this sense of rightness

A manifestation for humans is ' He goes from place to place making changes in each; searching his death that will enble him to live; searching a change in himself.

Frank - I'd really like to follow more what you were saying about Decads and Monads, the patterns and processes in the IC do sing out at times, but I'm not sure whether I've dropped the ball or you didn't throw it strongly enough. I did like the simple answer though.

Or in simple answer to your question, what caused the man to leave abundance and wander was his sudden realization of some lightning bolt from the Divine that shook him loose from his roots and moorings.

Janice - I liked much ofwhat you had to say. If someone is searching to be whole, looking for different experiences then maybe many of the characteristics / behaviours you stated would be 'deliberately' promoted to invoke that "sense of rightness".

I think the problem with 56, is they can make more enemies than friends. This may be because they can be extremely bossy and antagonistic. Those that trusted 56 in the beginning now have lost confidence in him and his abilities. I also wonder if at times they can be foolishly trusting??

Maybe for the wanderer the making of enemies, being bossy and antagonistic is the experience they are looking for and it's a Hex 52 test for those around them.

Rodaki - Hex 54 to 55? Maybe. Married to the job for 25 years with no favourable direction to go. Then off to live in his abundance, leaving behind a vacuum of confusion.

For me the essence of the wanderer is what sparks the wandering. Frank's Divine intervention seems a good card to play here. How can that be trumped?
One train of thought I have often meandered down is - "Once set into motion, how long is it necessary to wander?" or "Do we ever stop wandering?".

I'm off to get a cold compress.

Mike

 

[fkegan]

Hi Mike,

Frank - I'd really like to follow more what you were saying about Decads and Monads, the patterns and processes in the IC do sing out at times, but I'm not sure whether I've dropped the ball or you didn't throw it strongly enough. I did like the simple answer though.

Thanks for the appreciation. My simplest posts on the Decads and Monads are here in my various posts to various threads. My fluxtome page and others coming off of it, including a page on monads are on my web site in my signature, though my words get simpler after I have written out the full exposition there. I am now starting on my pages on Dyads, Triads, and Tetrads. So, I am getter better as time goes along, towards the ultimate goal of some absolute novice to the Yi, telling me off, "The meaning is in the line structure and context, that's so obvious how could you not see that at once?"

Frank

 

[solun]

I think the wanderer has a hard time being a follower or a conformist to the behaviors of society. Instead, the wanderer is alert to subtle shifts in the environment, he follows a calling, driven by some unseen force of nature, searching for something but not quite sure what it is.

The internal is as we know a drive or need from our core, pressing us from within to change, to grow, take risks and of course evolve. It is felt as a compelling need or desire to become.

- ravenstar

Hi ravenstar,

interesting posts, and questions, which I resonate with very much. I felt this hexagram to be about the unknown, or the unexpected - in the sense of never really knowing people or situations completely, lacking the security of ignorance, having acute abilities and sensitivities can send one off in search and discovery mode, can make one isolated or feel in an alien environment. It can mean a search for the new, or deeper search, not as a restless tendency so much as part of the need to evolve out of circumstances. Although in an extreme sense maybe.
I think people with a lot of master digit energy in their numerology charts (which I have) must feel this hexagram acutley at times. But I usually get this when I am asking about someone or something else. I guess we are all wanderers, but though we walk alone ourselves, we should always walk with the sage so that we are not truly alone.

solun

 

[meng]

I have to say I've never given 56 a personality. Well, not entirely true I guess. I do see a similarity in archetype to the hermit of Tarot, but it's nothing firm. He mostly appears to me as a faceless, ageless figure, who is capable of great humility and also great misjudgment and indiscretion. That's basically how I see everyone.

My dad (God bless him) wasn't a very verbal or philosophical guy, but he always told me "No one lives here, we're just passing through."

 

[ravenstar]

- ravenstar

Hi ravenstar,

interesting posts, and questions, which I resonate with very much. I felt this hexagram to be about the unknown, or the unexpected - in the sense of never really knowing people or situations completely, lacking the security of ignorance, having acute abilities and sensitivities can send one off in search and discovery mode, can make one isolated or feel in an alien environment. It can mean a search for the new, or deeper search, not as a restless tendency so much as part of the need to evolve out of circumstances. Although in an extreme sense maybe.
I think people with a lot of master digit energy in their numerology charts (which I have) must feel this hexagram acutley at times. But I usually get this when I am asking about someone or something else. I guess we are all wanderers, but though we walk alone ourselves, we should always walk with the sage so that we are not truly alone.

solun

Hi Solun,

I love what you wrote. The traveller is truly on a journey to discover who he is and what he wants. This would fit with "the need to evolve out of circumstances".

As far as the master digit energy, I have one too. My lifepath number is 33/6. And yes I do 'feel' this hexagram. It seems to reflect the Way of the Bull.

The way of the Bull takes us as far back as Egypt but was also discovered by a Zen master in the 12th century who described the bull as representing life, energy, truth and action. The Way revealed the 12 steps man might take in seeking insight, himself and his true nature.

Thank you.

ravenstar

 

[rosada]

THE IMAGE cont.

Usually, it is a question of criminal cases when clarity and movement come together (hexagrams 21, BITING THROUGH, and 55, ABUNDANCE). here also we have clarity, in the upper trigram; the calm of the mountain signifies caution in imposing penalties. Dispatch in the settlement of criminal cases is moreover indicated in the mutual relationship of the trigrams. Fire does not linger on the mountain, but passes on rapidly.
-Wilhelm

 

[ravenstar]

Ravenstar, I'm really curious how you arrived at such a complex (and troubled, it sounds like) personality profile for 56?

Hi meng,

It wasn't my intention to make the traveller a somber and troubled human being. I'll try and explain what I mean, I hope!

Within our inner world is a complex of different past relationships starting from our parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, peers, etc. I 'think' that at some point the traveller starts to doubt and question all that he has learned from his family, teachers, etc.. Somehow he knows there's a greater truth than what he has been told. He has to leave, go on an adventure. At this realization he feels, intuits a new surge of emotion. Emotion comes from the Latin meaning "to move out from" and I believe the Traveller constantly moves energy and feelings out of his body and into his environment and vice versa. I think the traveller has a unique ability to express himself, positively or negatively. And at times this can be chaotic, dramatic and with flair.

I think that when a new energy is stimulated within, let's call it Yin, the other energy, Yang is also heightened and swings out of balance. For a time Yang feels emotionally vibrant, proud, boastful, it exudes alot of charm. The Yang is like Leo the King. This energy usually balances itself out, especially when we tune into our higher aspects....then the yin and yang will settle and intertwine and spin with one another.

Does that make sense?

ravenstar

 

[meng]

Hiya ravenstar,

Yup, it does. Thank you. What you describe here sounds a lot like Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey.

"It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure."

"The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure."

"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature."

"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."

"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us."

"When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness."

added: Maybe I should say why it reminds me of your latter description. JC's hero figure must forgo security, certainty and approval, before he can go on to discover his calling, or as Campbell called it, his bliss. The journey is a process of trials and challenges. It is the hard road, and the road less traveled.

I can see these things in the idealized image of 56. But I also see that everyone is 1/64th Wanderer.

 

[ravenstar]

Hiya ravenstar,

Yup, it does. Thank you. What you describe here sounds a lot like Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey.

"It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure."

"The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure."

"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature."

"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are."

"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us."

"When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness."

added: Maybe I should say why it reminds me of your latter description. JC's hero figure must forgo security, certainty and approval, before he can go on to discover his calling, or as Campbell called it, his bliss. The journey is a process of trials and challenges. It is the hard road, and the road less traveled.

I can see these things in the idealized image of 56. But I also see that everyone is 1/64th Wanderer.

WOW!!!!! Rarely do I log on in the morning but obviously I was drawn here for a reason. What you wrote is AWESOME!!! What I was fumbling with you picked up on and drove it! You are very intuitive. :bows:

The treasure you speak of, I believe is our shadow, that part of us we'd love to just sweep under the rug and forget about. What we don't realize is that the shadow, IS the Treasure.

This is a great morning pick-me-upper! Thanks meng.

ravenstar

 

[rosada]

THE LINES

Six at the beginning means:

If the wanderer busies himself with trivial things,
He draws down misfortune upon himself.

A wanderer should not demean himself or busy himself with inferior things he meets along the way. The humbler and more defenseless his outward position, the more he should preserve his inner dignity. For a stranger is mistaken if he hopes to find a friendly reception through lending himself to jokes and buffoonery. The result will be only contempt and insulting treatment.
-Wilhelm

 

[meng]

line 1

No buffoonery? Oh, forget it. Hear that, Luis?

No, but seriously, I don't think humor is as much of what this line refers to as much as being an annoyance. Bradford uses "fussy and annoying". Petty also works. I hope Brad doesn't mind quoting from his text: "They (locals) may look for purpose without a hidden agenda, or dignity without distance, or a sense of humor about the human condition, without the sneering and cynical parts."

 

[Sparhawk]

No buffoonery? Oh, forget it. Hear that, Luis?

My friend, by the looks of it, I appear to be stuck in that line... Although, contrary to what Brad says, I'm mostly annoying and rarely fussy...

 

[ravenstar]

In regard to LIne 1, this quote seems quite fitting, or at least I think it does.

":Siddhartha gave his clothes in a poor Brahmin on the road and only retained his loincloth and earth-colored unstiched cloak. He fasted fourteen days. He fasted twenty-eight days. The flesh disappeared from his legs and cheeks. Strange dreams were reflected in his enlarged eyes. The nails grew long on his thin fingers and a dry, bristly beard appeared on his chin. His glance became icy when he encountered women; his lips curled with contempt when he passed thorugh a town of well-dressed people. He saw businessman trading, princes going to the hunt, mourners weeping over the dead, prostitutes offering themselves, doctors attending the sick, priests deciding the day for sowing, lovers making love, mothers soothing their children - and all were not worth a passing glance, everything lied, stank of lies; they were all illusions of sense, happiness and beauty. All were doomed to decay. The world tasted bitter. Life was pain."
Hermann Hesse: Siddhartha

ravenstar

 

[solun]

As far as the master digit energy, I have one too. My lifepath number is 33/6. And yes I do 'feel' this hexagram. It seems to reflect the Way of the Bull.

The way of the Bull takes us as far back as Egypt but was also discovered by a Zen master in the 12th century who described the bull as representing life, energy, truth and action. The Way revealed the 12 steps man might take in seeking insight, himself and his true nature.

- ravenstar

I, too am a 33/6 life path, with master digits in challenges, pinnacles, address, phone #, SS#, two sets in my first name, one in middle and one in last name. I'm peppered with em ...

The way of the Bull ... sounds interesting. Have to look into it. I love ancient Egypt.
I have many fixed star conjunctions in my astro chart - my midheaven is 22 08 Taurus conjunt Mars 20 46 in Taurus sq Uranus in Leo (12th house)
I have Regulus conjunct ascendant (mark of a royal astrologer) and my part of fortune conj Sirius opp Saturn conjunct Vega, there's more ... but I have LOT of this energy, and it can be quite hard to cope with on this journey. I think retrogrades play into the evolution/involution story too, which retrogrades I have several significant - it just figures into this
Sorry to lay so much out, but the evolution thing - I have Pluto in the first house
(in Virgo (@4 degrees), conj ascendant sq Moon in Gemini in tenth- What is your Chiron sign? mine is Pisces, 7th house
so I do see the wanderer as a loner, very much so.....to walk with the sage - oh, so necessary, no other way

I have to say I've never given 56 a personality. Well, not entirely true I guess. I do see a similarity in archetype to the hermit of Tarot, but it's nothing firm. He mostly appears to me as a faceless, ageless figure, who is capable of great humility and also great misjudgment and indiscretion. That's basically how I see everyone.

My dad (God bless him) wasn't a very verbal or philosophical guy, but he always told me "No one lives here, we're just passing through."

- meng

very nice post, I go along with that

 

[rosada]

THE LINES

Six at the beginning:

a) If the wanderer busies himself with trivial things,
He draws down misfortune upon himself.

b) "If the wanderer busies himself with trivial things":
thereby his will is spent, and this is misfortune.

This is a weak line at the very bottom of the trigram Ken, hence the suggestion of unworthy, trivial things. ken denotes standing still. the line is far away from the trigrams Li, clarity, hence it has no breadth of vision and consumes its will power on trivialities. for this reason its connection with nine in the third place has not an enlightening but harmful effect - just as throughout the hexagram, fire is regarded chiefly as a consuming, injurious force.
-Wilhelm

 

[meng]

Initial 6 : The wanderer is trivial and petty, chopping up his position and seizing calamities.

"..seizing calamities"

That reminds me of something Ravenstar wrote in her original 56 profile post. In so many words: starting fires (re change to 30).

There's something to be said for line 1 as a newbie to a group, slapping people on the back and being presuming and plain annoying. But I perceive this line as being potentially less innocent and harmless than that, too, by seizing calamities through intrigue, rumors, accusations and/or melodrama.

 

[solun]

the vinegar tasters

Last night I encountered the story of the vinegar tasters. It revealed the synoptic philosophies of Confucius, Buddha and Lao t'zu. Since line 1 is a yao, about change, Buddha seems past time and change toward a transcendant place - which may be a wanderer's goal. But Lao t'zu I think, too, has a way through, finding the taste of the vinegar to be sweet - another transcendant reaction ... in a very practical way - it's good advice about life as we travel through it, not to react negatively- openly, which could enmesh even the great goals of rising above. In times of change it's advisable not to entrench oneself in things, which would way you down, keep you from having the lightness of being to move through the changes.
While Buddha renounces, it is the spirit too in which we renounce that truly means we have become detached. I on the other hand have trouble with all that renunciation of desire stuff. Sometimes I fear it means renouncing my humanness. Who and what are we if we can't react, feel, have passion, desire - all of these are part of evolving our identity.
- a solun conundrum - human mixing with divine - oh well, it's a lonely, strange path for all of us at times. But I wonder too, if God thought it was so great to be divine, then why does god incarnate? Submit itself to 'nature' and all of it's dense struggles. To realize itself again, to romance itself again ... ? beautiful!

 

[meng]

The Solun Conundrum, sounds interesting. Does it occur 800 years in the future?

Wilhelm's commentary on 52 has this:
"While Buddhism strives for rest through an ebbing away of all movement in nirvana, the Yi Jing holds that rest is merely a state of polarity that always posits movement as its complement."

I've always seen that as one notable difference between the Buddha and Lao Tzu paths, and within each of those are isms, in which one becomes the other, regardless of the name it assumes. Wanna hear a screwy debate? Ask what Taoism is.

 

[rosada]

Hello Dear Friends,
A week and 2800 miles later...

Some thoughts:
"The Wanderer" is probably the better title for this hexagram, as it directs the attention to consider we are all just passing through, but the experience itself feels to me like it deserves to be called "The Outsider." I mean, if one accepts they are A Wanderer than I think you can understand your role and behave accordingly. "Tourist" might also be a good explanation for this state of consciousness. The trouble starts when you want to be considered something more than a tourist and that simply can't be. The more you try to connect with people at a deeper level, to be an Insider, the more you feel like an Outsider. So the lines seem to be advising how be happy even though you're an outsider.
Line one is the first line of the Mountain trigram, nothing could be more lowly, so if you want to be allowed in, keep quiet.

I became curious to know more about this line position and ended up reading all the hexagrams with Mountain as the first trigram. They all indicate that line one of Mountain is the time to keep still for various reasons:
15.1 Modestly make no demands.
31.1 Keep your Influence invisible.
33.1 Retreat, as in don't start anything.
39.1 There are Obstructions, Wait.
52.1 Keep Still.
53.1 Gradual progress means don't be impetuous.
56.1 You have Wandered into a situation where you have absolutely no clarity as to what you are getting yourself into.
62.1 What Detail of keep still don't you understand???

I think it's interesting that 56.1 changes to 30. The Clinging, Fire. I see 30 as the hexagram depicting two equals. Thus it says to me 56, the Outsider, is wanting to be a 30, an Equal, right from the get go. However the bottom trigram of 56, Ken, Limits, is held back from the upper trigram, Li, Fire, Clarity, so the ego is held back and has no clarity and thus is an outsider. By making an effort to connect without first knowing what's going on he is doomed to rejection.

rosada

 

[meng]

But I wonder too, if God thought it was so great to be divine, then why does god incarnate? Submit itself to 'nature' and all of it's dense struggles. To realize itself again, to romance itself again ... ? beautiful!

Exactly!

Krishna came back to romance the cowgirls and to edjemicate Arjuna.

 

[solun]

The Solun Conundrum, sounds interesting. Does it occur 800 years in the future? -meng

arrrggghhh, leave me alone about my mother!!
"If it's not one thing, it's your mother..." - Robin Williams

The Wilhelm quote is eloquent. I call this rest Maximun Static Potential Energy - and can work it out in fractile geometry and quantum physics in a few well written sentences another solun conundrum - not to be confusd with Fritjof Capra's (sp?)

Wanna hear a screwy debate? Ask what Taoism is. - meng

been there, done that! may do it again in some form or other, intentionally or not