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Progression of energy through the lines
- Thread starter marcos
- Start date
Thanks. It's certainly a beautiful story, and a beautifully coherent one.
I'm still pursuing this thing about energy, and how might the energy be understood in terms of the advice in each line.
In our example of Hex 53 (Gradual Progress), how do you guess for example line 1, which is yin in a yang place, ties up with the advice? Being yin in a yang place means what actually? It's not what Wilhelm says is 'correct', so does that mean there's a tension, or there's going to be harmony, or what? (I've noticed that some translations make an incomprehensible leap in thia area and say, for example: Line 4 in yang in a yin place. Hence...such and such.) This is the part that is intriguing me at the moment. Has anyone spotted any general rules, or am I to continue to study each hexagram individually?
And if say line 1 were to be a moving line, and so change to yang, does this mean at all that the advice might be that the future situation is going to be yang, and therefore in order for me to be in harmony with the tao, I should expect that and be ready to be yang (act in some way) rather than continue to be yin (rest)? Or is this trying to find patterns where there are none? Thanks again, Marcos
I'm still pursuing this thing about energy, and how might the energy be understood in terms of the advice in each line.
In our example of Hex 53 (Gradual Progress), how do you guess for example line 1, which is yin in a yang place, ties up with the advice? Being yin in a yang place means what actually? It's not what Wilhelm says is 'correct', so does that mean there's a tension, or there's going to be harmony, or what? (I've noticed that some translations make an incomprehensible leap in thia area and say, for example: Line 4 in yang in a yin place. Hence...such and such.) This is the part that is intriguing me at the moment. Has anyone spotted any general rules, or am I to continue to study each hexagram individually?
And if say line 1 were to be a moving line, and so change to yang, does this mean at all that the advice might be that the future situation is going to be yang, and therefore in order for me to be in harmony with the tao, I should expect that and be ready to be yang (act in some way) rather than continue to be yin (rest)? Or is this trying to find patterns where there are none? Thanks again, Marcos
hilary
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Hi Marcos,
The theories about lines being correct, or not, hence... (whatever) are post-hoc rationalisations, attempts to find a system that would account for the content of each line text. There are certainly ideas for 'general rules', though whether they're any use in divination is another matter. At all events, this is not a wheel I'd recommend you try to re-invent.
The 'rules' involve -
'correctness': yang lines 'should' be in odd-numbered places
'correspondence': lines in equivalent places in each trigram 'should' be of opposite kinds, ie if 1 is yang, 4 should be yin, etc.
'holding together': adjoining lines tend to connect if they're of opposite nature, and I think it's generally 'better' for yang to be underneath yin.
There are also considerations from the 'neighbourhood' of the lines - the ones between two correspondents and which may influence their relationship. 44, line 4 would be an example of this. A quote from the 'Tao of Organization':
'The 4th and 1st lines are proper complements, and should get together, but the first is already meeting with the second, so the fourth has lost the one it was supposed to meet. This is likened to having no fish in the bag, losing what one has.'
(The passage continues with more detailed analysis of which line is responsible for this.)
In practice, the analysis seems to work out subtly differently in just about every case, and different people often find different reasons within the same system for a given line meaning. At times it might be better to be yin in a yang place in order not to be excessively forceful.
(Somewhere I have read an essay by someone who really studies these things which gave that as an example. Does anyone know where this was? Mick?)
That book I mentioned, the Tao of Organization, could be the best and most detailed account of these things. Full review on the translations page.
Regarding advice from moving lines, I'd say just take notice of what the text says - much easier and more practical. Not that looking for patterns here isn't yet another fascinating way to spend time...
The theories about lines being correct, or not, hence... (whatever) are post-hoc rationalisations, attempts to find a system that would account for the content of each line text. There are certainly ideas for 'general rules', though whether they're any use in divination is another matter. At all events, this is not a wheel I'd recommend you try to re-invent.
The 'rules' involve -
'correctness': yang lines 'should' be in odd-numbered places
'correspondence': lines in equivalent places in each trigram 'should' be of opposite kinds, ie if 1 is yang, 4 should be yin, etc.
'holding together': adjoining lines tend to connect if they're of opposite nature, and I think it's generally 'better' for yang to be underneath yin.
There are also considerations from the 'neighbourhood' of the lines - the ones between two correspondents and which may influence their relationship. 44, line 4 would be an example of this. A quote from the 'Tao of Organization':
'The 4th and 1st lines are proper complements, and should get together, but the first is already meeting with the second, so the fourth has lost the one it was supposed to meet. This is likened to having no fish in the bag, losing what one has.'
(The passage continues with more detailed analysis of which line is responsible for this.)
In practice, the analysis seems to work out subtly differently in just about every case, and different people often find different reasons within the same system for a given line meaning. At times it might be better to be yin in a yang place in order not to be excessively forceful.
(Somewhere I have read an essay by someone who really studies these things which gave that as an example. Does anyone know where this was? Mick?)
That book I mentioned, the Tao of Organization, could be the best and most detailed account of these things. Full review on the translations page.
Regarding advice from moving lines, I'd say just take notice of what the text says - much easier and more practical. Not that looking for patterns here isn't yet another fascinating way to spend time...
hilary
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... more from Cheng Yi (Tao of Organisation) on 53,1...
'The first yin is at the very bottom, and being yin is very weak. Furthermore, it has no complementary assistance above....'
(He explains that to advance under these circumstances is dangerous for the 'small ones', the unenlightened.)
'It is because of not knowing to stay at the bottom that there is advance. Because this advance is done with gentleness [yin line] therefore it is not hasty. Having no complement, it can therefore be gradual. It is right that there is no fault. If strength [yang in yang place] were used at the beginning of gradual progress, the sense of gradual progress would be lost by hasty advance - unable to go forward, one would surely be at fault.'
In other words, it's OK for it to be yin at a yang place here because the nature of the Time of the hexagram requires a slow, cautious and gentle beginning, not a yang-ish charge for the line.
'The first yin is at the very bottom, and being yin is very weak. Furthermore, it has no complementary assistance above....'
(He explains that to advance under these circumstances is dangerous for the 'small ones', the unenlightened.)
'It is because of not knowing to stay at the bottom that there is advance. Because this advance is done with gentleness [yin line] therefore it is not hasty. Having no complement, it can therefore be gradual. It is right that there is no fault. If strength [yang in yang place] were used at the beginning of gradual progress, the sense of gradual progress would be lost by hasty advance - unable to go forward, one would surely be at fault.'
In other words, it's OK for it to be yin at a yang place here because the nature of the Time of the hexagram requires a slow, cautious and gentle beginning, not a yang-ish charge for the line.