Why is Lake Joyous when it is actually Water that is Cautious

[goddessliss]

So why is Lake considered Joyous, even though the lake is a body of Water which is Cautious.

And Heaven is considered Yang (as in male energy) and Earth Yin (as in female energy) when personally for me when I access the HIgher realm I feel gentle in myself but the Earthly realm can make me feel quite agitated.

thks for help
Melissa

 

[pocossin]

So why is Lake considered Joyous, even though the lake is a body of Water which is Cautious.

Lake (dui 兌) isn't just water. The water of Lake does not flow. It's wetland, marsh, or swamp. Wetlands are biologically rich places, full of life and colorful swamp plants. That's why Lake is Joyous.

Water (kan 坎) is water in its dynamic, moving phase. It destructively sweeps all away before it in floods. The character actually means a pit -- that into which water falls.

There are Chinese-using persons in the Exploring Divination forum who enjoy question like this.

 

[elias]

A few more thoughts about Lake vs Abyss

One observes "the unruffled surface" of Lake and appreciates its depth and how it reflects the universe. Wilhelm trans:

THE JOYOUS. Success.
Perseverance is favorable.

The joyous mood is infectious and therefore brings success. But joy must be
based on steadfastness if it is not to degenerate into uncontrolled mirth.
Truth and strength must dwell in the heart, while gentleness reveals itself in
social intercourse. In this way one assumes the right attitude toward God and
man and achieves something. ...


THE IMAGE


Lakes resting one on the other:
The image of THE JOYOUS.
Thus the superior man joins with his friends
For discussion and practice.

A lake evaporates upward and thus gradually dries up; but when two lakes
are joined they do not dry up so readily, for one replenishes the other. It is
the same in the field of knowledge. Knowledge should be a refreshing and
vitalizing force. It becomes so only through stimulating intercourse with
congenial friends with whom one holds discussion and practices application
of the truths of life. In this way learning becomes many-sided and takes on a
cheerful lightness, whereas there is always something ponderous and one-
sided about the learning of the self-taught.

As Pocossin notes, Water is active. Chinese know a thing or two about catastrophic flooding and have a well-founded fear of being swept away, and that's what water portends. Somewhere recently I encountered an observation that the Chinese were culturally suspicious of swimming and the loss of control that entailed. Thus they preferred to wade rivers, or cross by boat if the water was too deep. "Crossing the great water" therefore suggests flirting with the uncontrollable should the boat capsize, sink, etc.

Gentle lakes maintain each other; floods destroy. Water flowing into Lake overtops the banks; Water flowing out of Lake exhausts the possibilities

 

[rodaki]

Not good at using Chinese but that question tickles me . .

I think of Lake as Water gathered in earth, in other words, as a place where water's danger is absorbed by lake's limits (which are her foundations or else see 58.5) . . also think of lake as the womb, a spoon, a hug, a room with windows but also as a savings account, when water is my period, the soup, the heartbeat, the rain, the cash flow . .

As to the Heaven and Earth notions, I think of Heaven as ideas and Earth as reality and their energies manifest in me as in a mirror, ie, in the realm of ideas (Heaven) we, ourselves, embody the earth: open, accepting, receptive, whereas in the realm of reality (Earth), we, ourselves, embody heaven: dynamic, spirited, doers

Trojan also had some great insights on Earth here

makes any sense??
I'm also curious to read others' responses

 

[Trojina]

So why is Lake considered Joyous, even though the lake is a body of Water which is Cautious.

And Heaven is considered Yang (as in male energy) and Earth Yin (as in female energy) when personally for me when I access the HIgher realm I feel gentle in myself but the Earthly realm can make me feel quite agitated.

thks for help
Melissa

well I'm no scholar but I don't take water to be the same as lake....in the I Ching. They are different trigrams. I know lakes are made of water but in the i ching i think the lake is more a containing thing like a bowl of water. A bowl or a lake of water is not the same thing as water which runs as in say 29. oh i just saw elias already explained this.

Not sure where you get the idea water is 'cautious' though ?

Hmm you'd probably get further with these questions by posting in Exploring Divination...or reading some old threads there

 

[goddessliss]

Thankyou, thankyou to all that gave insight here, I was so hoping that would happen as you all have such great perceptions and the way you word things is sometimes a lot easier to understand than some of the text, well for a novice anyway.

Hope you don't mind more questions along the way.

have a beautiful time whatever you are doing at whatever time it is for you in the World. xx