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Hexagram Opposites

rosada

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We've been discussing hexagrams and their opposites over on the "Major difference between 25.1 - 25.6" thread. It led me to want to look at all of them as it seems by looking at a hexagram and it's opposite you can get a clearer sense of it's meaning.

So, just writing my thoughts out here...

3. Difficulty at The Beginning - 50. The Caldron
At 3. the man is to begin something.
At 50. the man now wants to consolidate something.

4. Youthful Folly - 49. Revolution
At 4. the man is asking questions and wanting to be through.
At 49. the man is confident and need not ask questions - he is so through and understands cycles so well he can write his own calendar.

5.Waiting - 35. Progress
At 5. the man waits for his connection.
At 35. the man makes a connection and progresses.

6. Conflict - 36. Darkening of The Light.
At 6. the man must resolve a conflict.
At 36. the man must persevere and keep his light hidden.
So 6 seems to be about when a person should bring a grievance out in the open to be resolved and 36 is for when he should keep quiet.

Well, that's enough for one night. Anyone care to continue please jump in.
Rosada
 
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svenrus

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10. Treading (Conduct) - 15. Modesty
At 10. the man discriminates between high and low (The Image, Wilhelm/Baynes).
At 15. the man weighs things and makes them equal (The Image, Wilhelm/Baynes).
So 10 seems to be about watching differences between men and 15 is about equalize them.
 

rosada

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Amazing, svenrus. I would never have caught this subtlety.

My motivation for doing this thread is I still haven't memorized all the hexagrams and I'm finding looking at them in comparison with their opposites really helps lock them in the brain.
 

rosada

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Hexagram 7. The Army - Hexagram 13. Fellowship with Men

Wilhelm writes specifically about the differences:

In 7. The Army, danger (K'AN) is within and obedience (K'UN) without - the character of a warlike army, which in order to hold together needs one strong man among many who are weak.

In 13. Fellowship with Men, clarity (LI) is within and strength (CH'IEN) without - the character of a peaceful union of men, which, in order to hold together needs one yielding nature among many firm persons.

hmm..hadn't really zeroed in on K'UN meaning Obedience before. Interesting..

7. Is about armies, gathering together for war, 13. Is about fellowship and gathering together for peace.
 
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rosada

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Hexagram 8. Holding Together - Hexagram 14. Possession in Great Measure

The Image of hex 8. talks about the different states and the feudal lords. It suggests lots of different pieces fitting together - like a pot luck supper where everyone individually decides what to bring - where as hex 14. Possession in Great Measure seems to refer to the final outcome - the individual dishes (8.) creating one fabulous meal (14.).
Also consider the phrase, "The whole (14) is bigger than the sum of it's parts (8)."

Wilhelm says about this pair, "It might be supposed that "Holding Together (8) would be a more favorable hexagram than Possession in Great Measure, because in the former one strong individual gathers 5 weak ones around him. But the judgement added in the Possession in Great Measure hexagram, "Supreme success," is much more favorable. The reason is that in the eighth hexagram the men held together by the powerful ruler are only simple subordinate persons, while in 14 those who stand as helpers at the side of the mild ruler are strong and able individuals."

Hex. 8. One strong individual gathers 5 weak ones around him.
Hex 14. One mild ruler has 5 strong ones around him.
 

rosada

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9. The Taming Power of the Small - 16. Enthusiasm

Hexagram 9 is comprised of 1 weak line surrounded by 5 strong lines
Hexagram 16 is comprised of 1 strong line surrounded by 5 weak lines.

Somehow seeing this comparison causes me to focus in on just how weak that broken line in hex 9 truly is. I get the impression of a weak diplomate trying to keep two super powers from pouncing on each other. He has no power, no influence, at best maybe he can be a distraction - something the will restrain them for a moment.

Hexagram 16. then with it's strong line in the fourth position is a minister preaching up a storm. He connects everybody, living and dead, they all follow him.

Hex. 9 is aimless wind - Hex. 16 Is Music!

----
After thought:
9. One small step for man..
16. One giant leap for Mankind!
 
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hilary

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I think of 'opposites' as more complementary. The preacher preaches up a storm on Sunday, and on Monday he makes his regular pastoral visit to Mrs Jones, listens to the next installment in the history of her bunions and checks she's got some food in the larder.
 

knotxx

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I like this thread very much.

And I like the idea of them being complements! I've always seen 9 v. 16 as between a farmer who is just doing his daily round of chores vs the balladeer who writes songs and visions of great wonder and power. But of course, these could be the same person, the farmer who sings or writes mad beautiful poetry all night.

rosada I like your reading of 8 v 14, that one has always confused me. I also feel that there's an element of reaching out and seeking in 8, vs just being calm and secure within what you have in 14.
 

knotxx

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Also in 10 & 15 -- I would add to rosada's excellent points that in 15, you are just toiling away in a realistic, self-knowing way at your own work, not striving to reach crazily into the beyond, not asking the most powerful force in the universe to do your bidding, as you are in 10.
 

rosada

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Thanks Knot. Actually it was svenrus who posted about 10 & 15, just to give credit where credit is due...

And thanks Hilary for noting that "opposites" can also be "complements".
That way of looking at the hexagrams also helps with memorizing.
 

rosada

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Hexagram 11. Peace - Hexagram 12. Stanstill

11. Peace. The small departs,
The great approaches.
Good fortune. Success.

Therefore the ruler
Divides and regulates the gifts of heaven and earth and so aids the people.

12. Standstill. Evil people do not further
The perseverance of the superior man.
The great departs, the small approaches.

Therefore the superior man falls back upon his inner worth
In order to escape the difficulties.
He does not permit himself to be honored with revenue.

Here it is very easy to spot the difference between the two hexagrams:
11. The small departs, the great approaches.
12. The great departs, the small approaches.

In 11 the ruler works to aid the people. In 12 he hides his worth and does not take on any work.

In 11 "the Receptive and the Creative meet and are in harmony, so that all living things bloom and prosper."

In 12 "Heaven is above, drawing farther andd farther away, while the earth below sinks farther into the depths. The creative powers are not in relation. It is a time of standstill and decline." -Wilhelm.

So 11. Harmony. 12. Disharmony.
 
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rosada

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Hexagram 17. Following - Hexagram 18. Work on What has Been Spoiled

The Judgements:

17. FOLLOWING has supreme success. Perseverance furthers. No blame.
(Wow, ever notice how similar this is to 1." The Creative work sublime success. Furthering through perseverance" or 14. "Supreme success."?)

18. WORK ON WHAT HAS BEEN SPOILED
Has supreme success.
(Again wow. Has anyone ever gone through the book and listed every hex and line saying "Supreme success"?)

The images:

17.
Thunder in the middle of the lake;
The image of FOLLOWING.
Thus the superior man at nightfall
Goes indoors for rest and recuperation.

18.
The wind blows low on the mountain:
The image of DECAY.
Thus the superior man stirs up the people
And strengthens their spirits.

So 17. recommends sleep and 18. recommends arousing, regenerating.

Personally I see 18 as saying something about the body's ability to heal during sleep as in "17. At night the superior man goes indoors for rest [so as to] 18. Work on What Has Been Spoiled."

Also could be saying that solutions to problems come to us in the night and thus the wisdom in the notion, "I need to sleep on that," before making a major decision.

rosada
 
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rosada

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19. Approach - 33. Retreat

Approach and Retreat - those are certainly perfect opposites!

The judgements say:

19. Approach has supreme success. - 33. Retreat. Success.

Then:
19. Perseverance furthers. - 33. In what is small perseverance furthers.

Hmm...so far pretty similar...
Now the images - here we see opposites!

19. Thus the superior man is inexhaustible in his will to teach,
And without limits
In his tolerance and protection of the people.

33. Thus the superior man keeps the inferior man at a distance,
Not angrily but with reserve.

So Approach tolerates and protects others while Retreat keeps others at a distance.

Rosada
 
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Lilly-La

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How about 17 vs 54? Stripp away the confucius stuff from 54 and much in 54 is about ego and status while 17 is about lowering ego and maturing.

18 vs 53? 18 - stagnation of development and 53 developing?

(Then again to me 53 and 54 is much about women, their possibilities and development.)
 
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svenrus

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lilly: As I see it the opposit to hex. 17 is hex. 27. But maybe You suggest opposits out of texture opposits ?
(Opposit: when all the lines in a hexagram is changing, most clearly seen on hex. 1/2 - 11/12 and 63/64)
 

hilary

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There are lots of kinds of opposite in Yi, no doubt including heaps I haven't noticed yet. But anyway… before we go back to the nice, straightforward structural opposites/complements that Rosada's started this thread for...
svenrus said:
As I see it the opposit to hex. 17 is hex. 27.
...could you explain that one?

17-18 (and 11-12 and 53-54 and 63-64) are special cases, of course: River Crossings rather than Dragon Gates.
 

Lilly-La

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lilly: As I see it the opposit to hex. 17 is hex. 27. But maybe You suggest opposits out of texture opposits ? (Opposit: when all the lines in a hexagram is changing, most clearly seen on hex. 1/2 - 11/12 and 63/64)

ops.. yes i got it false, thanks svenrus, i was indeed talking about texture opposits. I am used to the term 'inverted' for Hex combinations where you change yin to yang lines and vice versa...
 
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sooo

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Is opposite the right word? Is the right foot opposite of the left foot? Or, say, more of a partner? Even to use the popular yin/yang, they aren't exactly best defined as opposites. Each is what makes the other possible, so 'an enabler' or 'catalyst' might be a clearer word than opposite.
 
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sooo

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And for that matter, that's what occurs in every hexagram paradigm.. referring to its trigrams and transitioned hexagram.
 
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sooo

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11/12 is my favorite pair, enlarge because of the visual it creates. Like two space objects that pass through one another, and keep on going. "doobee doobee doo, strangers in the night"
 

rosada

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And the crowd goes wild...

When last I posted I was talking about hexagram 19. Have you ever noticed that when ever someone starts talking about hexagram 19 everybody goes off on their own tangent? I think that's the manifestation of "the superior man is inexhaustible in his will to teach..but when the eighth month comes [or 'inevitably'] there will be misfortune [when the people finally realize he doesn't know what he's talking about]."

Okay, I rearranged that a bit. Anyway, off to a Christmas do (bee doo bee doo),
Rosie
 
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hilary

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And the crowd goes wild...

When last I posted I was talking about hexagram 19. Have you ever noticed that when ever someone starts talking about hexagram 19 ...

Hah. You wait till you get to 44.
:mischief:
 
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sooo

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The skeptics argue that the answers are vague enough to fit any question. If it were not for the steady stream of accuracy and continuity, I'd tend to agree with them.
 
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sooo

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I agree with that part of C. Lofting's view: all hexagrams can contain the answer the person requires at any given time. We will 'flesh it out.'

If I give it up, something else will take its place. And after that, something else.
 
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svenrus

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There are lots of kinds of opposite in Yi, no doubt including heaps I haven't noticed yet. But anyway… before we go back to the nice, straightforward structural opposites/complements that Rosada's started this thread for...

...could you explain that one?
[#16]
17-18 (and 11-12 and 53-54 and 63-64) are special cases, of course: River Crossings rather than Dragon Gates.

SORRY !!! I'm wrong here. The opposit - if opposit is where all the lines are changing - to hex 17 is NOT hex 27. Don't know how I got to that (may have had one of my readings in head then) as the opposit to hex 17, as You state: is hex 18. But thank You very mostly for the link You gave by then (http://www.artsofchina.org/A/Yijing_Wondering_and_Wandering_Online.html)
 

anemos

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Have you ever noticed that when ever someone starts talking about hexagram 19 everybody goes off on their own tangent?

I think it applies to every hex- was a thought expressed earlier in 30un thread influenced by observing the Memorizing threads. Feels like we enter in a certain field of energies and affected by them.

to keep up with the 'spirit" of 19 :cool: :p

was thinking since this thread started the transition from Hex1 to Hex 2 and v.v.
hex: 1 -> 44 -> 33 -> 12-> 20 ->23 -> 2
<- 43 <- 34<- 11<- 19 <- 24<-

From all the sequences I have came across , to me , this ones is of great importance . H1 and H2 are the poles of an energy field , the interplay of light and dark . I have read the objections re the correlation between Yijing and the Taiji ( Yin/Yang) symbol.... but imho there is a correlation, not necessarily direct but as an expression of the Same thing- the "archetype" behind the symbols. Putting aside the "locality" of the symbol, the essence , imho, is the same.

I was trying to draw this sequence on my sketchbook and this morning I encounter the image I was trying to paint - that field
matisseulysses2_zpse0fff6b1.jpg



In Greek language we have for the concept "time" two words : Chronos and Kairos and I can see hues of this concept in Yijing too . That was what I was sketching !! what a sync .

trying to draw the twelve hex sequence I mentioned earlier, I found this at LiSe's site. There is 2dimentional , but I can see it in 3D too.

Maybe its a discussion for another thread in the future, just the ideas about the transition between Yin/Yang.. and the spell of h19 made me post those unpolished thoughts.
 

Trojina

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Have you ever noticed that when ever someone starts talking about hexagram 19 everybody goes off on their own tangent?

No, I can't say I have :confused:



Hah. You wait till you get to 44.

Please keep up to date Hilary ! Didn't you know that hexagram 22 is the new hexagram 44. ;)



What is the complentary hexagram to 22.....it is 47 !

It's quite revealing this excersize isn't it. In 47 you thinks it's all so heavy man, and maybe it is (see new poll) so in 22 , so in 22..... ? What s the complement to a 47 place ? Lightness of heart......like my neice yesterday singing 'jingle bells' to herself whilst playing with Xmas bells decorations.
 

anemos

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22 - 47 pair makes a looooot of sense , in my experience. I was physically 47 and when i asked about a remedy got 22. In retrospect reading 22 as a superficial way to heal the body was a wrong interpretation. more when 22's turn comes ...
 

hilary

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I was listening to a snippet of a talk from the Dalai Lama the other day. He said something along the lines of - if I say 'I am a Buddhist' or 'I am His Holiness the Dalai Lama' or'I am a Nobel Laureate' (his tone of voice implying each of these is more absurd than the one before) thenI create a prison for myself. Better to say I am one of the billions of people.

That sounded to me like 22-47 together.

Of course, the Yi doesn't make it a bad thing, just a thing. It could be useful, too, to be able to take on an identity and have this restrict you, make you dig down and in to find deep reserves.

Anemos, I do especially like the idea of us all coming under hexagram-energy-field spells.

(And here's the Dalai Lama video clip.)
 

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