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the hexagrams and the yearcycle

jilt

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There is a use for the hexagrams to depict the energy-cycle of the year. Sometimes there is a reference to this cycle in the yi, and perhaps hex 19 is most known for this. In it you are urged to take advantage, go with thi energy of the time. But then is said, that when you get 19 in the 8th mont the energy is reversed and the learning and the going with the flow gets something not fitting with the time. Doing like early spring in autumn is not the right thing to do, in autumn when energy has reversed aspects, like in hex 20, energy should be more observing.
In the old latin calender september stands for the 7th month, october for the 8th, november for the 9th and december for the 10th month. This counting can be seen in the names from the months. That way of using calender comes close to the old chinese ways. So, in october the energy is opposite from that in february and march.

When we decide that the year-cycle starts on the 21st of december, we begin with total yin for 21-12 midnight. The new coming of the light starts on the next day, with hex 24. The return of the light, as is celebrated in christianity with christ and about everywhere with new-year. For practical reasons we could say that junuary is aasociated with hex 24, then february with 19, march with 11, april with 34, may with 43, june with 1 und the summersolstice on june 21st, july with 44, august with 33, september with 12, october with 20, november with 23 and december with 2.
This is the energy-cycle of the sun on the northern hemisphere. A good observer knows that the formal calender is not completely in tune with this cycle.
 
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maremaria

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you mentioned hex 19 . The judgements text says

When the eighth month comes,
There will be misfortune.

The 8th month starts on Sept 22 ?
 

jilt

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yes, in terms of energycycle it must start on sept 22
 
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maremaria

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yes, in terms of energycycle it must start on sept 22

thank you Bert. I had a reading at the past , a when question and Yi ,with your confirmation was very accurate. Sorry about the irrelevant question though :blush:

Now , how can one use this energy cycle to understand better Yi. Its something not very clear in my mind. Could you give an example on how it enhances one understanding of a reading.
 

jilt

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Well, this is a question that gives rise to a multi-facetted vision, and after that more questions of course.
In the first place I give some literature where you can find an eloboration on this vision:
An anthology of the I ching; W.A. Sherril and W.K. Shu (routledge&KeganPaul 1977/83)
Astrology of the I ching; W.A. Sherril and W.K. Shu (routledge&KeganPaul 1976)
and of course 'the book of changes and the unchanging truth" from Ni,Hua Ching.
the author Jaap Voigt recently has written a very good book on this in Dutch, and unfortunately it hasn't been translated yet. dutch title: 'leven en werken in het ritme van de sizoen', in English it would be "living and working in rhythm with the seasons"
isbn 978-90-8131965-1-4

I will work out some things in the coming days, be patient.

In the yi there are many refences to the yearly energy-cycle, e.g. in hex 21 that peaple should not travel and be quiet around the 21st of december. Our culture is not very conductive with this vision and neither are the chinese nowadays. In spite of bad weather and short days people travel as mad and perform all kinds of anti-ritual like consuming a lot to avoid the feeling of the low flowing of energy.
this cycle also stand for the growth-decay cycle, living and dying etc.
 
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fkegan

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This is the energy-cycle of the sun on the northern hemisphere. A good observer knows that the formal calender is not completely in tune with this cycle....
In the yi there are many refences to the yearly energy-cycle, e.g. in hex 24` that peaple should not travel and be quiet around the 21st of december. Our culture is not very conductive with this vision and neither are the chinese nowadays. In spite of bad weather and short days people travel as mad and perform all kinds of anti-ritual like consuming a lot to avoid the feeling of the low flowing of energy.

Hi Bert,

If you want to be in tune with the energy cycle, it is best not to use a calendar but a sundial or more exactly yet a vertical stick whose shadow will mark out clearly the Cardinal points of the Solstices and Equinoxes. It is also a lot of fun to play with especially near the equinox when the shadow is truly perpendicular. The application of the traditional Chinese 8 foot stick to the Taiji is noted here:
http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/yinyang.htm

Although some folks suffer depression from the lack of sunlight in winter, the tradition of feasting from the time of the harvest, through Christmastime and on until Mardi Gras arose in Europe from the lack of good food storage or preservation technique. Folks could best store the harvest surplus as body fat from all that feasting, then Lent they were to fast so they could resist eating the seed grain they would need for the Spring planting.

The calendar got out of whack with the seasons (and the astrological signs) as political folks needed to honor themselves. Julius and Augustus needed extra days for their months so February got whittled down to only 28. December 25 is the Victory of the Light (Roman Saturnalia) three days after the Solstice when it is possible to observe that the nights are getting shorter finally (just in time for the cold and storms of Jan and Feb).
The new year is six days later or at least it's Jan 1st. The English didn't change their year numbers until the Spring Equinox, so Jan1 to March 20th were part of the old year but that got inconvenient about the 17th or 18th century.

The calendar and the mechanical clock became more important as factory work took over from agriculture that depends upon the solar cycle much more.

Frank
 

pocossin

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In the yi there are many refences to the yearly energy-cycle, e.g. in hex 21 that people should not travel and be quiet around the 21st of december.

Hex 24, Bert. By my understanding hex 24 refers to the return of plant growth at the spring equinox, and not to the winter solstice.
 

sergio

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Hello everybody;
Dr. Andreas Schoter posts "The waxing and waning of yin and yang' for every year since 2003,I believe.Here is the link:
http://www.yijing.co.uk/
Check the what's new section (click on the words on top right corner),it will be the very first two files on display.I think it is very well done and will clear some doubts around here.
Sergio
 

fkegan

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How does anyone confuse the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox?

Hex 24, Bert. By my understanding hex 24 refers to the return of plant growth at the spring equinox, and not to the winter solstice.

Hi Pocossin,

I already corrected the minor typo when I quoted Bert's entry. The Vernal equinox is not really very relevant to farmers in ancient China, it is the occasion of the great thunderstorms (hex 3). Making a holiday at the time when the Spring planting is ON would be interfering in the harvest at seed sowing time.

It is the winter Solstice, the thing just before the victory of light or Christmas when it makes sense to stay home and gird yourself to face the long winter months. The Wilhelm is quite clear. Common Sense is quite Clear. The Winter Solstice and the Victory of the Light is the Return of the Sun from its long decline, days getting shorter and all that. Plain as the Nose on your face.


Frank
 
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fkegan

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(Sends final pm to Frank.)

Hi Hilary,

Sorry it took so long to receive your PM. I edited out my remarks that gilded the lily by pointing out the obvious. I will see if I can find a smaller image, I guess just < 100 k is not sufficient. We live and learn. :)

All best,
Frank
 

neegula

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thanks jilt and sergio,
may one "use" correlations to hexs for meditating about the quality of the current month?, let's say "the meditation of the month".
or it is preferable only to observe harmony between Questions (or Answers) and Periods?
 

jilt

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sergio, I would emphatically say yes. For this month it would be 34, gradually going into 43. I will elaborate on this in my next post.
 

fkegan

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It's All about hexagrams 34 and 43 this month...

sergio, I would emphatically say yes. For this month it would be 34, gradually going into 43. I will elaborate on this in my next post.

Hi Bert,

Fascinating pair of hexagrams you cite as relevant to this month. I asked two questions to the Yi recently about the current partisan political campaigns in full swing here in the U.S. for the major national elections in November. One oracle was hex 34 with 2 moving lines. The other hex 43 with two moving lines. Small Universe, eh?

Frank
 

fkegan

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And I am eagerly awaiting word of how hex 34 and hex 43 come to be the Oracles of this month.

Frank
 

jilt

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Dear Frank,

can you please make those images from Obama and his friends a bit smaller? Their repetition makes them rather obtrusive and propagandistic and makes me dislike them. I preferred that delacroix-painting (no 49, more like 64-5)

The cycle as I explained is very well known of course and I feel a bit silly to explain what so many others explained so much better then I can.
So, the energy-cycle is not only a way of explaining the year-cyle, also the day can be explained like that: total yin is midnight, total yang is middday. Then 24 would be 2 o'clock, 19 4.00 am, 11 6 am, 24 8 am, 43 10 am, 1 12 oclock midday, 44 2 pm (siesta-time), 33 4pm, 12 6pm, 20 8pm, 23 10pm and 2 for midnight. Of course this is all about the sun-clock, not the formal time of a time-zone. As you may well understand, the yi has nothing to do with a 24-hour economy.
It is said that the energycycle is also relevant for one's life, but that is a bit more difficult to fit.

In the yi-world knowledge has grown slowly and organically into the field as we know it today, and it is still growing. Recently Jaap Voigt has written a book about this energy-cycle. His words are in dutch and i will try to outline his visions in english.

The energy-cycle is about the world of energy and is best associated with the original cycle of trigrams from Fu Hsi, that is symetrical and represents the world of ideas. Ideas work out differently in the "real" world, as shown in the sequence of king Wen. Then you see that trigram heaven works out as fire in the real world, something like thinking of the powe and energy of heaven gives us the image if the sun and fire to work with. The energy of heaven, midday and highlife are best associated with the sun, trigram fire, li. The energies of the earth are best associated with midwinter, midnight and death, going with the flow of dreams, cold waters and enclosed souls: k'an, the trigram water.
So the idea-hexagram hex1, heaven, works out in real life, comes to shape in hex 30, and hex 2 comes to shape in hex 29.
24 goes to 39
19 goes to 48
11 goes to 63
34 goes to 22
43 goes to 37
etc.
Working like this you get 2 hexagrams to describe the month. For now, april, it would be about hex 34/22: the ground-energy is about big energies giving shape to spring and we see it and experience this in the beauty of spring, the first flowersm trees becoming green, the forming of knobs. Thanks to the generating of warmth and light from the sun, growth is getting pace, working to the 43-situation next month, the bursting out of the abundence of spring in all it's horny smells, visions, sex, flowerings, deflorations, young lifes (and all the dying and getting rid of the old to give food for new life). Parents are busy to raise their children, there is enough food and energy to do so.
 

jilt

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blackthorn (prunis spinosa) flowering in early spring:
aprilwine-2.jpg


kingcup (caltha palustris)
aprilwine-3.jpg


sun. water, cat (olmo) and butterbur (petasos)
aprilwine-4.jpg


new leaf. new life
aprilwine-1.jpg


everything very april, most growing and life is still hidden but pushing to go out. A lot of old growth is still predominant in appearance, but not under the surface. Big, big promise.
 

fkegan

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can you please make those images from Obama and his friends a bit smaller? Their repetition makes them rather obtrusive and propagandistic and makes me dislike them. I preferred that delacroix-painting (no 49, more like 64-5)


Hi Bert,

You are intriguing in your strange notions of proper size to images in posts. Other folks objected to the Delacroix, perhaps you and Trojan can work out your differences. I just stay with "De Gustibus..."

As to my new image, you apparently are confusing your personal problems or subjective issues with my objective photo of the current Government of the United States as illustrated in its human simplicity and Glory, by its leadership.

As Buddha teaches, change is painful, and the change from the prior sad U.S. governments to this new and glorious era known as the Age of Obama does take some getting used to and re-organizing of expectations.

I will continue to use this photo as it is (far smaller than your own images to illustrate that size or difficulty is a subjective and personal matter without objective reality at all) at least until you have the opportunity to adjust your prejudice and come to grips with the wonder that is NOW available to all the world. You are welcome! Glad to share with you and offer you a better world through American ingenuity and export once more.

I have a personal connection to this new and wonderfully triumphant government: the honest leader at center, in the pose of an Egyptian pharaoh is my own Senator from right here in NV. And the woman behind him, perhaps not known to you as her face is a bit obscured is another of our local Las Vegas Representatives in Congress. Life is very good! (and we have no Volcanic Ash this week).

Returning to the details of this thread. I did not quite catch how you came to associate hexagrams 34 and 43 to this current month or what interpretation you make of them as insightful NOW?

All Best,
Frank
 

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