Blog post: Fire above wood: Hexagram 50

[hilary]

Fire above wood: Hexagram 50
This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Light outside

The trigram picture of Hexagram 50, the Vessel, is a dynamic one: wood in the fire, burning. The wood is becoming fire; the food in the vessel is cooking for the ritual meal.

‘The vessel.
From the source, good fortune.
Creating success.’

Hexagram 50, the Oracle

This is an exceptionally fortunate beginning, because everything is where it needs to be to invite and nourish the spirits – to foster a successful relationship with them, and hence a prosperous, peaceful realm.

The Tuanzhuan (commentary on the oracle) casts more light on the trigrams:

‘The Caldron is the image of an object. When one causes wood to penetrate (xun) fire, food is cooked. The holy man cooks in order to sacrifice to God the Lord, and he cooks feasts in order to nourish the holy and worthy.’

The Tuanzhuan, Wilhelm/Baynes

Nourishing the holy and worthy suggests not just certain people, but these qualities (Bradford Hatcher has ‘nourishing wisdom and excellence’.) And so the next phrase follows –

‘Through gentleness (xun) the ear and eye become sharp and clear…’

In other words, xun is nourishing and creating li. But of course we know this: wood makes fire, and so also gentle penetration makes for clear understanding. This could be a picture of an enlightened culture, or a fully-conscious individual.

I think that helps explain the Image –

‘Above wood there is fire. The Vessel.
A noble one sets her situation straight and makes her calling solid.’

This can sound very staid, no matter who translates it:

• ‘Applies principles of positioning to manifest higher purpose.’ – Hatcher
• ‘Consolidates his fate by making his position correct’ – Wilhelm.
• ‘Keeps his stance correct, making his orders hold’ – Rutt
• ‘Rectifies positions and makes his orders firm’ – Lynn. (Wang Bi reckoned the noble one is putting noble and base people in their right places.)

What does the noble one do? As always, the Chinese is more economical –

正 位 凝 命​

正 – zheng – right, correct, straight, rectify. The character shows a foot stopped, coming to its right place.
位 – wei – place, position, status, court office
凝 – ning – to congeal, freeze, become solid. The character includes the component ‘ice’, and this seems to be especially about a liquid becoming solid.
命 – ming – mandate, destiny, or simply ‘orders’.

Perhaps she isn’t so much setting the world to rights as she is specifically coming to her own right place, finding where she stands.

How does this connect with the trigrams of wood and fire? Not with the kind of direct correspondence you find in – for instance – Hexagram 21:

‘Thunder and lightning. Biting through.
The ancient kings brought light to punishments and proclaimed the laws.’

Hexagram 21, the Image

‘Bringing light’ is the action of li, and punishing or proclaiming is the action of thunder: trigrams map to verbs. Nothing so clear happens in Hexagram 50: instead, the Image seems to derive from the picture as a whole: wood in the fire is in its right place, and so is the noble one. You don’t need to find a trigram to correspond to ‘setting straight’ or ‘consolidating’.

Still… wood becomes fire. Penetrate in, and you see clearly. So maybe getting to your right place is the action of xun: gently penetrating into the situation and accepting the seals that give you your place; xun also means submitting, complying. And the original form of the character ming shows a mouth giving a command, speaking downward to someone who kneels submissively below, along with a second mouth oriented upward, as if responding.

​

Perhaps this is about bringing yourself into a living, responsive relationship with your own calling. Then that calling ‘consolidates’: it goes from liquid to solid, becomes real and has its place in the world, is no longer just an idea. The wood catches light. Unlike the Vessel, wood and fire won’t last forever, but then that’s not what they – or we – are for.

 

[my_key]

Hi Hilary
You paint a picture of Hex 50 that is perhaps not a full representation of the true nature of the masterpiece on display

Perhaps this is about bringing yourself into a living, responsive relationship with your own calling. Then that calling ‘consolidates’: it goes from liquid to solid, becomes real and has its place in the world, is no longer just an idea. The wood catches light. Unlike the Vessel, wood and fire won’t last forever, but then that’s not what they – or we – are for.

Following on from Hex 49 'Skinning' it can do little else other than finishing the job of transformation. The sacred nature of 'The Vessel' is not to be overlooked, and you haven't, and from one perspective can be readily linked with the alchemical process of of 'solve et coagula': the process that turns lead into gold. You allude to this when you use the term ‘consolidates’ (coagula = a coagulation of new matter) and 'bringing yourself into a living, responsive relationship with your own calling' speaks to the rebirth that starts with the dissolving (Latin - solve: loosening / unfastening) of ones old outmoded lead-like characteristics.

The path from line 1 to line 6 clearly maps the liquid to solid direction of the hexagram and the new reality that underpins everything. A direction clearly mirroring the process of 'solve et coagula'.

50.1 - dissolving what is and the expectations that might come from tipping out 'last weeks stew' albeit while being very aware that we have no clear idea and no way of really knowing where the next meal is coming from.
50.2 - not sure which path to travel along. Everything is strange and falling apart but we stay true to the quest.
50.3 - perhaps now even wobbling a bit more but somewhere recognise that the quest has not yet been fulfilled and trusting (blind faith in the sacred process?) that in the end all roads lead to Rome.
50.4 - everything we have relied upon is broken; the wheels have well and truly come off. Plus the old stew is covering everything. The dissolving stage is well and truly over, now we start the rebuild.
50.5 - The focus turns to how we can best carry ourselves going forward: after all we now have a new golden handle to help us carry all before us. We can't wait to encounter what the new jigsaw is depicting as it is slowly pieced together. New foundations underpin and beckon forth a fresh, more vibrant version of our power and virtue.
50.6 What we had been calling out to in the dark, is now calling out from within us. The new light shines on the inside and on the outside. This signifies great good fortune. Nothing is unfavourable.

The Vessel / The Cauldron is the ultimate conduit for our Great Work; spiritual and sacred beyond measure. The Vessel along with the fire and wood are not simply providing a container and a flame to reheat last weeks stew. The essence of 50 is not just based in transformation but more deeply it creates a beautiful, spiritual transfiguration. Perhaps this is one reason why the image texts you called 'staid' are as they are. No words, no image exist that can accurately describe the true glory of what is / has been occurring. Perhaps, it is those great masters and the ancient Chinese ancestors acknowledging something akin to 'The tao that can be named is not the Tao'. Realising this they just dressed it up firmly nestled in the mundane and made the best they could of an impossible task - describing something beyond the realm of words.

One point I would question is the one you make about when you say "Unlike the Vessel, wood and fire won’t last forever, but then that’s not what they – or we – are for".

Another perspective might be that the thing that won't last forever is our mortal coil; our body, This is the vessel of choice for our soul and it's journey: travelling at it's own pace along the undulating road of alchemical enlightenment. The wood and the fire perhaps are more representative of that which is everlasting. In my world they do exactly that: they last forever in one form or another. The energy in the the Universe is constant, after all.

One disposition of the Clinging flame is not only to shine brightly and to nourish, but also to nourish and to be nourished by that which it is clinging to. Nourishing and being nourished at the same time sounds like this is a recipe for a perpetual motion that will never die. Wood provides the fuel for the perpetual motion of everlasting transformation, and the wind-like properties of subtle penetration that it imbues into situations through its invisible dexterity underpin the transformative qualities in this hexagram. The breath of the sacred wind perhaps provides the fuel for the motivational and inspirational sparks that allow / promote / prompt / nurture the individuation and maturing of the nature, the qualities and the brightness of our light. Or, to use your words "this is about bringing yourself into a living, responsive relationship with your own calling"

All that said, I'm certain that we are singing from the same hymn sheet here. The melody is recognisably the same; perhaps we are just singing in slightly different keys.

Take Care

 

[Hans_K]

‘Bringing light’ is the action of li, and punishing or proclaiming is the action of thunder: trigrams map to verbs. Nothing so clear happens in Hexagram 50: instead, the Image seems to derive from the picture as a whole: wood in the fire is in its right place, and so is the noble one. You don’t need to find a trigram to correspond to ‘setting straight’ or ‘consolidating’.

You don't have to find it, because it is already there
Trigram Fire is also discernment, setting things straight, implementation of rules and laws*, conditioning, attachment, relationships.
Trigram Wind (or Wood) is also the inner blueprint, the force that shapes mind and body and puts the character into one's actions.


* trigram Heaven represents the rules and laws themselves, trigram Fire is their execution/application.

 

[hilary]

Interesting, thank you! I'm familiar with all the associations you mention in your post except li as the implementation of rules. Do you know a source for that?

Zheng, setting-straight, doesn't appear in any other Image texts, but 位 wei 'situation' is also in Hexagram 52, where we can be fairly sure it has something to do with mountains .

Any thoughts on 'consolidating'?

 

[Hans_K]

except li as the implementation of rules. Do you know a source for that?

No I know no source for that*, but as I see it, it is a logical consequence of bringing things to light, bringing clarity. One could argue that by enforcing laws and regulations, things are brought to light, truth is done justice, things are and remain clear and unambiguous, etc.
Fire distinguishes between light and dark and thus the link to good and bad is quickly established => justice
Another explanation can be found in the fact that trigram Fire is located (along with Wind and Earth) in the SHEN/Heaven line in the Loshu map. The SHEN line includes problem-solving, hence trigram Heaven is seen as the laws and rules themselves and Fire as their implementation.

* trigrams, of course, have no fixed outlined meaning. There is some kind of basic general meaning, but in principle you can develop your own imagery as long as it remains in the nature of the trigram.

Any thoughts on 'consolidating'?

The text of the Image talks about

...
Thus the superior person consolidates his fate
By making his position correct

Consolidates his/her fate I would see as trigram Wind.
Trigram Wind, as indicated earlier, is about one's blueprint, one's intrinsic nature and thus indirectly about one's destiny/fate (my understanding of the english language is insufficient to understand the difference between these 2 terms).
I think this ties in with what you wrote earlier.

Perhaps she isn’t so much setting the world to rights as she is specifically coming to her own right place, finding where she stands.

So the first line shows a "quality" of trigram Wind and the second line one of trigram Fire.

By the way, it is interesting to note that when the trigrams swap places, H37 arises.
The Commentary on the Decision says:

The women obtain the proper place within;
The men obtain the proper place without.
When men and women obtain their proper places,
They fulfill the great norm of Heaven and Earth.
In a household there are authoritative rulers,
They are the parents.
When a father is in truth a father and the son a son,
When the elder brother is in truth an elder brother
And the younger brother a younger brother,
And the husband a husband and a wife a wife,
Then the way of that family is in proper state.
When every family is in proper state,
Then all under Heaven is in a stable condition.

Although in some ways an old-fashioned conception of a family structure, in general this is again about holding one's own place, knowing where you stand.

 

[Liselle]

Another explanation can be found in the fact that trigram Fire is located (along with Wind and Earth) in the SHEN/Heaven line in the Loshu map. The SHEN line includes problem-solving, hence trigram Heaven is seen as the laws and rules themselves and Fire as their implementation.

Any chance you could explain this system, or link to things already written, in our Explanations thread? (Link is in my signature.) Thanks!

The 50-37 thing is interesting, not that I'd really know since I've spent only about 10 seconds of my life swapping trigrams...should look at it more, probably.

 

[hilary]

Consolidates his/her fate I would see as trigram Wind.
Trigram Wind, as indicated earlier, is about one's blueprint, one's intrinsic nature and thus indirectly about one's destiny/fate (my understanding of the english language is insufficient to understand the difference between these 2 terms).

Yes... at least, yes with regard to fate/mandate/destiny. That seems to me close to the idea of the trigram as blueprint and 'seals received'. It's the 'consolidating' part that is odd/interesting, as the word does seem literally to mean going from liquid to solid: other dictionary definitions are 'congeal' and 'freeze'. It's hard - for me, anyway - to connect that with these trigrams.

 

[my_key]

Hi Hans

Trigram Wind, as indicated earlier, is about one's blueprint, one's intrinsic nature and thus indirectly about one's destiny/fate (my understanding of the english language is insufficient to understand the difference between these 2 terms).

I really like the use of the concept of blue print: the plan of the Grand Design. Echoing, for me, themes of Magnus Opus. (The Great Work).

At times i think your English is better than mine. So I don't think that your understanding of the English language is at fault here. Here is how I have come to differentiate destiny from fate ( perhaps I'll hold a different view tomorrow)

Destiny: We can aspire to our destiny as something that we live out or possess in the future throughout either our own efforts or the unseen support of a godlike power; or indeed both. It is perhaps held in positive esteem.

Fate: As a point of differentiation - I see this more as something we resign ourselves to - it carries a negative charge for us. There is nothing we can do about this.

The ancient Greeks believed mankind lived out their destiny as it was assigned to them by the laws of the universe. Destiny / fate was held fast in an invisible web woven by the 3 sisters of fate: the spinner of the threads; the measurer and the cutter of the threads and the custodian of the inevitability of the path towards each small point of death.

Destiny and fate occupy the same space and it is only the power and virtue that each soul can muster that decides what they will carry with them along path that is preordained and spun for them. Man is alone on/in his own path / space. How he travels the path is his Great Work. What colours will he bring to the blueprint of his personal Universe?.

He provides the spark or the vessel, or both, that together invoke either a sense of aspiration or resignation. Depends heavily on how the fire and wood is burning at any moment. The proportionate balance of each element is what is injected into the blueprint. He determines the colour, or the changing colour, as he singularly or repeatedly "rectifies his position and fulfils the will of Heaven" (Huang - image). Basically he dissolves his old position and consolidates or solidifies his new position: each time producing a different colour. A different position manifests, each time he enters and exits the sacred vessel, as one of perspective relativity between Fate or Destiny. What is able to be dissolved changes the balance of his fate in favour of destiny.

And yet, paradoxically, in the long run, even ones destiny, despite all of the aspirations and how many times one engages with the cyclic wringer of 'solve et coagula', will always remain solidly and inevitably as your fate and vice versa.

 

[my_key]

Yes... at least, yes with regard to fate/mandate/destiny. That seems to me close to the idea of the trigram as blueprint and 'seals received'. It's the 'consolidating' part that is odd/interesting, as the word does seem literally to mean going from liquid to solid: other dictionary definitions are 'congeal' and 'freeze'. It's hard - for me, anyway - to connect that with these trigrams.

Hi Hilary

Retsima and Sabbadini use the word 'solidify' in their translation for 'consolidating' but also list translation options as congeal, freeze, curdle, stiffen, coagulate, make solid or firm.

Coagulate is way down the list, I know, but certainly provides milage for further exploring the 'liquid to solid' as 'solve et coagula'.

The only other place they say NING is used is in line 2.1, this time as 'solidification'. The same alternative definitions apply, however here there is a closer association with the actual process involved around hoar frost becoming solid ice. Liquid water, barely without any substance, little more than a frozen mist becomes solid water under the initial guidance of the Great Mother.

The alchemists of old always started by dissolving the 'lead' and creating a liquid. Liquid is a form of matter better suited for further work and more open to transformational reactions. Once they had transformed the 'lead' held in the liquid with their various and at times complex alchemical potions and processes they were left holding another liquid that then had to be made into a more usable form of the new 'gold'.

Often the'gold', or as close to it as they had reached, was held in solution in the resultant liquid and therefore unusable or unreachable. The need for a final stage of coagulation that turned what was liquid into a more consolidated form of solid matter was vital to reap what they hoped would be the ultimate rewards of their alchemical endeavours. It is only in the solid that they would know to what extent the potential for transformation of leadinto gold had been realised.

 

[Hans_K]

It's the 'consolidating' part that is odd/interesting, as the word does seem literally to mean going from liquid to soli

In the Dutch language, consolidate (in Dutch: consolideren) also has the meaning of perpetuate, confirm, make permanent and strengthen. I don't know if this is the same in English?
When you take those meanings then I can relate comsolidate again to trigram Wind/Wood. This is because Wind/Wood is also about the long term, about planning and executing it accurately. It is the seedling growing into its potential of a tree.

So, from this "view", "consolidates her fate" is the process you yourself described earlier.

Perhaps she isn’t so much setting the world to rights as she is specifically coming to her own right place, finding where she stands.

She is growing into her potential self.
The aspect of time associated with this process is also consistent with the process that takes place in the cauldron. The various components that go into the cauldron must combine and integrate into a new form: a meal. Again, you can see the potential of something (the idea of a meal) being realised over time.

 

[Hans_K]

Any chance you could explain this system, or link to things already written, in our Explanations thread? (Link is in my signature.) Thanks!

I will write an explanation for the Explanations Thread, I just don't know if this is interesting as a separate section, as it is part of YiJing Astrology and about the separate trigrams.

The 50-37 thing is interesting, not that I'd really know since I've spent only about 10 seconds of my life swapping trigrams...should look at it more, probably.

It can provide interesting insights.
This is because, seen from the trigrams, each trigram switches from the inner position to outer position and vice versa. Another interesting example is H49 Revolution and H38 Opposition.

 

[Hans_K]

The ancient Greeks believed mankind lived out their destiny as it was assigned to them by the laws of the universe.

In Taoism, this comes under the concept of the Dao.
Trigram Wind is about that which is inseparable from someone, as mentioned earlier someone's blueprint. Just as the seed of an apple cannot produce anything other than an apple tree, each person has a unique essence that is reflected in everything they do.
Perhaps one difference from what you write is that this is a force/influence that comes from within, but that depends on how you interpret "the laws of the universe".

 

[my_key]

I will write an explanation for the Explanations Thread, I just don't know if this is interesting as a separate section, as it is part of YiJing Astrology and about the separate trigrams.

Your method deserves a wider airing than being tucked away in the rarely visited backwater of the Explanations Thread.

My vote goes for it being in its own magnificent dedicated thread in the vastly more popular Exploring Divination Forum with a hyperlink to your ED thread placed in the Explanations Thread.

This also allows for greater discussion or comment.

 

[my_key]

In Taoism, this comes under the concept of the Dao.
Trigram Wind is about that which is inseparable from someone, as mentioned earlier someone's blueprint. Just as the seed of an apple cannot produce anything other than an apple tree, each person has a unique essence that is reflected in everything they do.
Perhaps one difference from what you write is that this is a force/influence that comes from within, but that depends on how you interpret "the laws of the universe".

Yes I agree that is the same concept.

Yep - each seed when planted and grown will produce it's own unique tree that flowers uniquely and produces its own unique fruit. I'm yet to find two apples that are identical.

Hermetical philosophy speaks of something like “As within, so without, as above, so below, as the universe, so the soul.” which seems to render superfluous any discussion around whether the wind blows from out to in or from in to out. Up to down or down to up, or around and around in some multi dimensional or all encompassing other directional kind of way are on the same equal footing.

But that is Hermetically speaking. The Taoists from what you are saying adopt a perspective of a one way system being in operation. That is OK too.

Just a thought! Maybe there are two or more one way systems in operation. Who knows?

 

[Trojina]

Your method deserves a wider airing than being tucked away in the rarely visited backwater of the Explanations Thread.

My vote goes for it being in its own magnificent dedicated thread in the vastly more popular Exploring Divination Forum with a hyperlink to your ED thread placed in the Explanations Thread.

This also allows for greater discussion or comment.

When you say the 'vastly more popular Exploring Divination Forum' you miss the fact that the Explanations threads is in ED already. So the Explanations thread is in Exploring Divination section and is made into a sticky so that it doesn't ever sink to the bottom. Over time therefore a great many more people see a thread that is stuck than one that isn't, that is the whole point of sticking them.

And the point of the Explanations thread is that it is fixed for reference, it's not there for discussion anyway. No problem in Hans posting his thread wherever he would most like nor in linking from the Explanations thread if he chooses to post there but I think you may have missed both the point and the location of the Explanations Thread. Threads do sink and the entire point of the Explanations thread in ED is as a reference point so that if someone is discussing their methods somewhere they can easily just link to their explanation without needing to repeat themselves.

The Explanations Thread isn't a whole different forum in it's own right it is a sticky within ED


Also check the views perhaps before deciding the Explanations thread is a 'rarely visited backwater'. That thread has 3, 000 views so far so it's somewhat more visited for example than some ED threads. For example your Imagery thread in ED has had 185 views and might sink. So which is the 'backwater' really? Your Entropy thread which is mostly your own input is 641 views as it stands. If no one else replies it will sink and so that could end up as far more obscure than the Explanations thread and end up harder to find. Hence if a person wants to have a place to leave their explanations of methods that won't sink and get lost it is a good idea to use the Explanations thread as something they can link back to when needed.

 

[my_key]

When you say the 'vastly more popular Exploring Divination Forum' you miss the fact that the Explanations threads is in ED already. So the Explanations thread is in Exploring Divination section and is made into a sticky so that it doesn't ever sink to the bottom. Over time therefore a great many more people see a thread that is stuck than one that isn't, that is the whole point of sticking them.

And the point of the Explanations thread is that it is fixed for reference, it's not there for discussion anyway. No problem in Hans posting his thread wherever he would most like nor in linking from the Explanations thread if he chooses to post there but I think you may have missed both the point and the location of the Explanations Thread. Threads do sink and the entire point of the Explanations thread in ED is as a reference point so that if someone is discussing their methods somewhere they can easily just link to their explanation without needing to repeat themselves.

The Explanations Thread isn't a whole different forum in it's own right it is a sticky within ED

Thanks for correcting my misconceptions of the relationship between ED and the Explanations thread. My vote still goes for a unique thread in ED, but where it ends up or even if it gets started, well that's all in the hands of Hans.

While the views may be high in Explanations thread, I suspect they do not put a dent in the viewing figures for the rest of ED. The posts in it are few and far between too. One recently, earlier in November, and then a long gap back to 2022 and hardly any comments or discussion. That is what gives me the impression that it is a backwater despite being pinned and I do recognise now that it serves a different purpose: one of reference rather than active exploration.

Comments and discussion, I see, is the glittering bonus prize that comes from posting in ED. The hyperlink would give us the best of both worlds.

I agree with you that there is a risk that when others will not or do not contribute the consequence is the thread will fall off the face of the earth. There is a sadness to that.

As you so rightly point out I have done what I can to keep some threads alive because they were important points of exploration for me. It is clear though with respect to these topics, others do not share my zeal for the subject matter. You do fail to cite, though, the Headless Dragons thread that has received over 1000 views in a matter of weeks. Supportive of the idea that the Explanations thread with 3000 views over a number of years is hardly a hive of activity.

Take Care

 

[my_key]

Hi Hilary
My curiosity has been lit around looking a bit deeper into 凝 - ning. I agree with you that there is both an oddness and interesting element tugging at me from the depths of The Vessel.

Uncle Hanzi on his Chinese Etymology web page ( https://hanziyuan.net/#home ) indicates coagulate is indeed representative of the original meaning and features at the head of shortlist of English meanings. I'm sure though that other scholars will, and do offer different perspectives.

Original meaning 本义: Meaning coagulate.

English senses 英语理解: coagulate; congeal; freeze

and that elsewhere on the page ice is shown as a crucial component in the make up of the glyph.

Similarly in the Chinese Text Project dictionary ( https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=en&id=25895 ) 凝 - the one from last glyph - when hovered over with the cursor reveals 'coagulate; congeal; freeze' as it's definitions of choice.

When exploring another online dictionary - MDBG Chinese Dictionary - coagulate features prominently.

I didn't see any 'ice' in the decomposition analysis that is available on this website. They are too many to show here is screen shots but can be accessed by clicking on the 3 vertical dots for those interested.

Bradford in his comprehensive Word by Word analysis of Yijing offers

ning2 4732 02.1x F (to) realize, manifest, consolidate, coagulate

He further states

50.T, Tuan Zhuan
The cauldron
(is) a model
With wood submitted to flame
The offerings (are) transformed
The wise ones (are) fulfilled with offerings to the highest divinity
And (there is) great fulfillment (in) nourishing wisdom (and) excellence
Reaching in with ears (and) eyes, quickening (and) clarifying
The flexible advances with elevated conduct
Gaining the center and resonating with the firm
And so this is, accordingly, supreme fulfillment

Perhaps this can be read as the offerings representing the 'lead, and the supreme fulfilment being represented by 'gold'. Equally his choice of adjectives such as 'highest', 'elevated' and 'supreme' are maybe pointers that this is not just any common or garden transformation. Also, it is only the wise ones that benefit fully from the excellence and nourishing wisdom that is reflected back from the 'highest divinity' after making the sacrifice i.e. relinquishing your tight hold on your 'lead'.

An alchemical perspective of 50 is kept afloat in my mind by seeing 'coagulate' appear in a number of dictionary definitions. While Bradford's comments can be cut and diced in many ways his description of the outcomes is certainly showing a connectivity to that which the alchemists were looking to achieve through their physical / chemical / mystical / sacred efforts.

 

[surnevs]

An Oriole sits high on a branch singing so delightfully.
8-7-7-7-8-7
8-7-7: Wood
7-7-7: Heaven (High)
7-7-8; Joy
7-8-7: Oriole
_____________

A pictorial view...
_________________
About the Oriole's connection with a Ding, read John Minford's I Ching, Part II, pg. 631 (Nine in Top place)

Add. The very (very) first hexagram interpretation in my life I was met with was in my very first book, R. Wilhelms, the foreword by C.G. Jung where he analyzes this hexagram Ding, so to mention that I'm aware that hexagram 50 is a Ding (and not a blackbird sitting on the top of... )

 

[my_key]

An Oriole sits high on a branch singing so delightfully.
8-7-7-7-8-7
8-7-7: Wood
7-7-7: Heaven (High)
7-7-8; Joy
7-8-7: Oriole
_____________

A pictorial view...
_________________
About the Oriole's connection with a Ding, read John Minford's I Ching, Part II, pg. 631 (Nine in Top place)

Add. The very (very) first hexagram interpretation in my life I was met with was in my very first book, R. Wilhelms, the foreword by C.G. Jung where he analyzes this hexagram Ding, so to mention that I'm aware that hexagram 50 is a Ding (and not a blackbird sitting on the top of... )

Hi surnevs
It has taken a few days for my Enigma machine to chug through the numbers and reveal the hidden backdrop of colour that you have so carefully daubed here.

I haven't been able to locate John Minford's book that you cite but did find some useful background reading in Wilhelm; other works by Jung and in Thomas Cleary's 'Taoist I Ching' both in the introduction and his final commentary on Hex 50.


Thanks

 

[surnevs]

For my part, it was spontaneously written as seen. I'll risk quoting the passage from John Minford's book, Book of Songs, Song 168:
"Orioles sing in chorus,
In crowds
We gather southernwood,
We take captives
for questioning,
We return home ...
Awe-inspiring
Was our General Nanzhong;
The Xianyun barbarians
Were brought to heel. "

Though John Minford writes that "... it is fascinating to compare this Hexagram's (Hex. 30) brief mantic reference to a Military Triumph with the grand ceremony described in an Inscription on the Duo You Ding Bronze Cauldron discovered in 1980, dating probably from the reign of the Zhou King Li (857-842 BC.)....... " and only mentions this and another case saying: "Compare this with..." this and another Song from the Book of Songs - I'll not state that he in any way has compared the Oriole with the Hexagram 50, but that I pictorially in this hexagram saw this, ie what I wrote. I must confess that a while after I commended this thread came into doubt about whether it was out of relevance.

 

[my_key]

For my part, it was spontaneously written as seen. I'll risk quoting the passage from John Minford's book, Book of Songs, Song 168:
"Orioles sing in chorus,
In crowds
We gather southernwood,
We take captives
for questioning,
We return home ...
Awe-inspiring
Was our General Nanzhong;
The Xianyun barbarians
Were brought to heel. "

Very symbolic of the transformation process described by 50, I fancy.

I must confess that a while after I commended this thread came into doubt about whether it was out of relevance.

My Enigma machine reckons it is smack bang on target. These trigrams display the symbolic qualities and tints that are seen by many as major players in the transformational process enwrapped within 50.
Kun:

Qian:

Gen:

&Li:

 

[surnevs]

Another thing is that if it should give meaning, the pictorial view on hexagram 50 should be turned around so that fire (Li) is underneath, I mean you do not light a fire on the top of a cauldron to heat it... Then we'll end up with hexagram 49, Abolishing the old * (which happens if you turn a cauldron upside down: the old meat falls out of it) and here the attributes of the trigrams fit, fire beneath together with wood under a compact metal body with an opening on it... To make the hexagram for the number 50 fit with a cauldron, I think Sakis Totlis has a good point in his book 'The True Eye of the Tiger' (% attached). I'm also thinking about the line statement 50.1 (in his translation):
"A caldron with legs upturned.
It is good for the caldron to remove periodically the stagnating residues,
as it is good to benefit an unmarried woman for the sake of her son. No blame! "
- maybe a hint toward emptying the cauldron / Abolishing the old * ???
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* This tag, from Alfred Huangs 'The complete I Ching'