Marrying Maidens

[gene]

Hi, everyone.

Everyone is talking about the marrying maiden so I thought I would talk about it too. Actually, I lied. I'm going to talk about nuclear hexagrams, at least at first. And not doing any readings for anyone. Not going to tell you how lucky you are to be the marrying maiden, or how wonderful it is to get this hexagram, so tune out if you care to, but...now about nuclear hexagrams...

The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th line of the primary hexagram form a trigram that is considered the lower nuclear trigram. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th lines form the upper nuclear trigram. Together they form a hexagram just like the primary one. When we consider the meaning of a hexagram, it helps to look at the nuclear trigram. To a certain extent one might say, but the commentary already takes that into account so why bother? Well, even so it gives us a little more information. There are sixty four combinations of lines that are lucky enough to call themselves hexagrams, but when it comes to nuclear hexagrams, only sixteen get that distinction. They are as follows: 1,2; 23,24; 27,28; 37,38; 39,40, 53,54, 63,64. (As you can see the marrying maiden is one of them.) Now, as we take the nuclear hexagrams of the nuclear hexagrams guess which ones you get? If you don't already know, I bet you can guess. They are, 1,2; 63,64. No other hexagram gets to be a nuclear of a nuclear. Now isn't that peachy? Well, so inherent in every hexagram we have the creative, or the receptive, or after completion, or before completion. It all boils down to those four. Makes it really simple right? Well, at least you would think so. So, when we look at a hexagram and we boil its nucleus down to the bare basics we have a hexagram that is inherently stable yang, a hexagram that is inherently stable yin, or one that is starting a task, or one that is completing a task. And if we take hexagram one or two, their nucleus is the same as the primary. It doesn't change. If we take the nucleus of hexagram 63 or 64, it changes into the other, so the final two are inherently unstable and are always alternating.

So, you might ask, why should we care? I just want to know when my wedding date is. Well, I ain't a gonna tell you. But I might add here that the nucleus of #54 is 63 so we have a task that has a hidden possibility of completing itself. I suppose I'll actually talk about #54 next time, when I get around to it.

Gene

 

[anita]

Hey Gene, That's wonderful! Thanks for helping me learn more and more about the Yi and 54. One thing -- do you still consider nuclears when you have moving lines? I suppose you do.

Best for your Quest

Anita

 

[gene]

Hi Anita

Yes, I do consider nuclears. However, the answer to the question is usually somewhere either in the translation or the commentary when there are moving lines, but it still gives an added perspective. It depends on how deep you want to go with the answer. The nuclear hexagram is basically a hidden possibility within the hexagram itself. In 54, the hidden possibility is hexagram 63, after completion. So the hidden possibility within the hexagram is that an action has the potential of being completed. Wilhlem Baynes version has three sections. The first is the commentary of the lines, the section is a treatise on the trigrams, and the third also gives commentary on the lines, and how the lines relate to other lines. He also talks alot of how they come up with the meaning of the lines by the nuclear trigrams that are involved. All the trigrams have a number of meanings besides just the ones that are normally used. As of line two, for example, in the book it says "this line is in the lowest place of the nuclear hexagram li, which means eye. It stands in relationship to the 5th line which is weak, (a yin line). This gives rise to the idea of a one eyed man." Since the fifth line is weak, it cannot help much. It is considered weak and not good. It is also under the nuclear trigram water, which means a gloomy valley. Even though the second line is disappointed, it is in the gloomy valley, it does not change its attitude, and remains faithful to its duty...or its mate.

Whether it should remain faithful, requires further analysis. Since the second line is yang, and the fifth line is yin, they do correspond. However, the proper order is for the second line to be yin, and the 5th line to be yang. Since they are opposite, and this is the hexagram of the marrying maiden, the 5th line being normally royalty, this line can represent a high ranking princess or even a queen who is unmarried. The second line being male, she is marrying somebody beneath her rank, her social status. This for the most part covers my knowledge of the interaction of these lines, except for one thing I will email you privately about.

Gene

 

[gene]

Before I get into this any further, just a short list of possible meanings for this hexagram (54), I am sure there are many more, and I will probably think of a few more as I go along.

1. One who rises from obscurity to power.
2. Should stay close to home and not go far.
3. A maiden who marries.
4. One who is in a disadvantageous position.
5. A conversion from one form to another.
6. An improper match or a mismatch.
7. A ceremony or contract entered into for show.
8. Being pushed into something not in our will.
9. Marrying beneath our station.
10. A marriage meant for political aliance.

Now I've got everybody good and confused, good, good.

Gene

 

[gene]

Often when we ask the I Ching a question, the I Ching throws the question right back at us. This is especially true when we receive hexagram 20. But it is true at other times as well. There is a natural tendency for most people, when they are plagued with serious doubts, to ask others, those they trust to help them come up with an answer. Nothing wrong with this per se. But there is a hidden motive sometimes in asking the question, for if the advice doesn't work, we have someone else to place the blame on. It is not impossible to approach the I Ching this way too. Sometimes it is wise to give our friends a hint without coming right out and giving them straightforward advice, for we all ultimately have to fend for ourselves, and ultimately, we are alone, totally alone. No matter how much our friends or our teachers care, they have the responsibility of taking care of themselves first. The same is true of the Sage. He/she cannot live your life for you. So often when we consult the I Ching, it appears to be just describing the situation for us. We may ooh and awe over the perspicacity of the answer, but ultimately, we haven't been given the advice we need so later on we ask again. Actually, we have been given the answer but it is in veiled form, so that the reader will learn to use his/her own intuition, and ultimately be responsible, for him/her self.

We may receive line one for example, and the text speaks of a lame man who is still able to walk. We think, huh, but how does that answer my question? Well, I am feeling a little bit of a disadvantage here, but what does that have to do with whether I will get married or not? The I Ching is saying, "This is how you feel, but why do you feel that way? See, it throws the question back at us. It is also saying, "Are you the lame person, or is it someone else involved in the reading." So we have to identify. Well, one way to do that is to look at the corresponding lines. We only got line 1, but by the law of correspondence, line one has or should have a relationship with line four, if not, then possibly line 2. Guess what happens in this hexagram. Line 2 and line 4 are just like line 1, all yang. So what does this tell us? Possibly that it is not a good match? A lot here would depend on the circumstances that you already know about...and your intuition already available about the situation...

Gene

 

[tashiiij]

gene,

i hit the "print" button on this one....

*ear to ear.*

tashiiij

 

[gene]

Often for the one who gives advice too, it is so easy to be free with advice with the ego desire to save somebody. To help them. It is so nice to be able to say, I saved so and so's marriage, or their friendship, got them out of debt, showed them how to do this, showed them how to do that, and now they are going to be grateful to me forever. And boy, am I ever smart, to be giving all this good advice to everyone and helping everybody's lives. But for the sage it is not that way. In hexagram 4 he/she says first of all, it is not I who seek the inexperienced, but the inexperienced seek me. There is no ego desire on the part of the sage to be the savior of the world. The same with the well, the well is there for all, but if you do not draw from the well...and to the well it matters not. And yet at the same time, in hexagram 19, it says the sage is "inexhaustible in its will to teach." For both the seeker and the one sought there is a protocol that applies.

Gene