what corresponds?

[rabiticide]

I have been thinking for a long time that the lines that corresponded were

1/4
2/5
3/6

but apparently I have been wrong because I read something about 1&3 and 3&5. Which lines correspond with which?

 

[bradford]

The first system you mentioned is correspondence or Ying.
I don't know what the second one is.
But just so you know, correspondence is a minor dimension, invented much later than the original Yijing, and will likely prove more of a distraction than anything else.

 

[roman67]

I am also confused about these lines.

 

[tuckchang]

For your reference

Correspondence (or correlation) means that there is an access available between these two related lines; they might influence and interact with, or even conflict against each other.

For further info and understanding, please see "how to read line" and Hex 31.

Regards
Tuck
www.iching123.com

 

[meng]

I have been thinking for a long time that the lines that corresponded were

1/4
2/5
3/6

but apparently I have been wrong because I read something about 1&3 and 3&5. Which lines correspond with which?

The simplest correspondence I've been able to make, and not entirely on my own, is: 1 is to earth what 4 is to heaven. The lower trigram represents the body, the physical realm, while the top trigram represents heavenly realms, or realms of thought, of consciousness, or commonly called spiritual realm.

While I don't often consciously exercise these distinctions, I'm sure they are quite often playing in the background of my mental interpretation process. I think I make those distinctions subconsciously, and I think they are implied by the text of the lines themselves.

But to moderate this free-wheeling way of dealing requires a certain strictness and setting boundaries, because really, our mind is such that we can find meaning in anything, anywhere. Whether that amounts to be reliable enough to follow over an adult lifetime, is a personal gamble, if one is to believe anything.

 

[meng]

Was just kicking this can down the road. A typical guitar has six strings. A solo may be performed with just one note at a time, or a complex array of combinations may form chords and progressions. Having names for each of those things makes communicating much easier within a band, but that's where their usefulness ends. You have to feel it to play it well. But if all you're doing is expressing feeling, well.... I once heard Yoko Ono "sing" in a session; it was the day that music died. But that's just my interpretation.

What corresponds is what corresponds. That's why we cast coins rather than tell the IC what's goin' on, so it can tell us what corresponds, each time anew. I really believe the best we can do is to be open to what it says. Don't start the inner chatter going right away, let it make its impression on you; not just explain it but impart it.

 

[gene]

In book three of the Wilhelm/Baynes version he gives us the laws of correspondence, which is a lot like what meng said about lines one and four etc. There is also a secondary law where each line relates to its neighbor, the first to the second, the third to the fourth, etc., although the second can relate to the third as well. Finally any line can relate to any other, but they may not relate as efficiently as when the rules apply.

The basis for this is that the hexagram is made up of two trigrams. Each trigram has a certain type of energy. This energy is in many ways the basis for the sugar plum method, but it is built into the meaning of the lines in the yarrow stick method. If the lower trigram has an energy that is not in harmony with the upper, or vice versa, there is a tendency for the lines to be a little bit more negative, (for want of a better word) than the lines of trigrams that have harmonious energies.

Now, it gets even deeper in the sense that a more positive (for want of a better word) relationship between trigrams leads to more promising results in the world of persons. But that is not enough because in a more positive reading there should generally speaking be a balance of yin and yang, both with changing and non changing lines. So... in a relationship reading a second line yin changing and a fifth line yang changing might bode well. The rule is that odd numbered lines should be yang and even should be yin. This understanding seems to be missed in a lot of the readings I have encountered. The commentary on the lines seems to be all that is taken into account. With a second line yin and a fifth line yang we have a potential for good relationships. However, once they have changed, we have a situation where the relationship, or marriage has already taken place, i.e. hexagrams eleven and hexagram fifty four. The concept is that when a man is courting a woman, he should support her with his energy, (yang under yin) but when they are married, he should be the leading force and guide the woman. (Perhaps older concepts, but one's that base the I Ching non the less.) When the changing lines are the second and the fifth, and one is yang and one is yin, there is a certain amount of balance in the relationship. If both are yang however, far reaching speculations can be made and it can depend on the interaction of the two trigrams once again. I recently did a reading for a friend with lines two and six of hexagram forty four. I won't go into details, but both lines being yang, and the commentary on line six of hexagram forty four, indicated that there was a locking of horns within the relationship, and there was too much yang energy, and not a balance. There are other ways this could be read too.

If a reading produces for example a line one and a line three, it is not that they don't correspond, it is a matter of how they correspond, and it is not likely in the best way. Both are in the lower trigram, and both are in yang positions, but how much they do not correspond, depends once again on the interaction of the trigrams and the meaning of the lines. Then again, it gets even deeper if one is yin and one yang, or both yang or both yin. There is an excess of information that can be drawn, and the information coming from the interaction of lines, and the laws thereof, is extremely important.

Gene

 

[gene]

Actually, my analogy about the man supporting the woman is a little bit backwards. Before marriage, the yang is in the fifth place in a position of leadership. The status and position of the male attracts the female. After marriage, the yang line drops below the yin line as now he supports her, and gives her status within the relationship. This is the Confucian ideal anyway. When the second and fifth lines of hexagram 63 change, (the perfect hexagram) we have hexagram eleven which is peace on earth and in heaven, and is in many ways the "more perfect hexagram," As the 'marriage' between heaven and earth is completed.

Hexagram sixty one takes a little different tack on this as in this hexagram it is a matter of the heart, and here like attracts like, so you have a yang second line and a yang fifth line. A lot of this is incorporated into the meaning of the line anyway, but it helps to know these correspondences. In other cases, when two corresponding lines are both yin or both yang, they can still be in harmony, but it is a different kind of harmony, it is one often of leader and follower, or two people working together for a common cause. It is also an indication of "like mindedness" as in hexagram sixty one.

Gene