I Ching - Hexagrams

Tony Crisp

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Hexagram Forty Seven

K’un (Pro: Kwên; vowel so short as to be almost non-existent) - Spent

Life is not without its opposites.

Oppression and opportunity exist together in this enquiry.

The situation has used up reserves and left dryness. The beauty and joy that existed are spent. Adverse conditions prevail. Beware. But even in the midst of adversity some people prosper. This can be done if the adversity does not break ones spirit, causing withdrawal into inactivity.

The trouble can bring to the surface treasures of personal strength in choosing the right track through the wilderness. Then, good fortune. But only through great effort and perseverance.

Do not waste words. There is no belief in those who hear and your words are not heeded.

Tiredness or even exhaustion may have arisen, possibly because the life giving enthusiasm and connections - the flow of energy - has gone. The actions of life are still there, but the spirit has gone.

Even in this dry time, attempting to find insight will lead to satisfaction. The perception needs to be one in which a real view of the situation is achieved and acted upon. The hidden difficulty needs to be brought to light and dealt with.

Key words: Oppression leads to spent energies. But gold can be mined if one does not lose heart.

The Moving Lines

1.External adversity often evokes internal gloom. If one remains a victim of this oppressive stimulant, one is trapped interminably. Find inner light despite the outer dark.

2.Despite external well-being, internally despair and gloom exist. But an important offered opportunity can help disperse the gloom - but only if one revitalise ones inner spirit.

3.Trying to exit a room through the wall instead of the door, and feeling confined is foolishness. So too leaning for support on a bending willow cane. This leads to misfortune.

4. The desire to give of oneself to others has been thwarted by connections with those in fortunate circumstances. Strength will emerge to find ways of giving.

5.Faith must support you in this oppression from above and below. But slowly things will change.

6.The results of past actions or encounters bind you like creepers, making it difficult to act with confidence. Learn from past mistakes by acknowledging them as such. Then advance can be made confidently.

Hexagram Forty Eight

Ching (Pro: Jing) - Wellspring

There are deep resources here. The wood of the tree may have great beauty, but unless the carpenter has skill the beauty remains hidden.

Around the wellspring of life build the city of your endeavour. Challenge your resources and bring them to the surface to be used. If not, there follows the misfortune of dryness.

Clarify what you draw your own resources of upliftment from. Clarify what it is that flows over and through your life that acts like water to wash away the worries or hurts that, if left in place would gradually produce a sickness of spirit. Whatever brings the renewal and strength, the freedom to live another day free of defeating emotions, is your wellspring.

Make sure the pitcher with which you draw the precious fluid from this well is sound and cared for. Without it you could not drink.

Without this regeneration your life would be dry. Therefore build your worldly activities around it, like an ancient city around its central well.

Fashions come and go, but the fundamental needs and facts of life remain the same. Human cooperativeness is just such a fundamental. Fit your life into the whole.

Key words: Touching the wellspring. Be sure the pitcher is sound, lest one run dry.

The Moving Lines

1.To forever linger in apathy or indecision leads to eventual isolation. None will consider your life of account.

2.Neglecting the richness of ones own abilities and not putting them to use, leaves them to atrophy. Gradually ones treasure rusts and is gone.

3.Despite having great qualities there has been no call for them. This leads to frustration. It might help if the qualities were offered widely.

4.There are delays occurring in this issue, because positive steps are being taken to renew the source of ones own flow and creativity. Shortly one can drink again of deep waters.

5.All is well! The spring of life is deep and cool. Deep enough not just to drink, but to bathe fully for renewal and cleansing. In a relationship, enjoy now what springs from it.

6.Allow the sources of renewal to be available to all who thirst. Drink deep yourself. The well is inexhaustible, full of the vital spirit that bring life.

Hexagram Forty Nine

Kô (Pro: Ger; but with the final ‘R’ not pronounced) - Shedding An Old Skin

When the situation becomes too restrictive or repressive there must be revolutionary change. Or when two powers strive against each other, one seeks to dominate.

Before the change life is uncomfortable in the old skin, the old way. When the change comes then it can be valued, though the steps to it might not be welcome. Therefore change what is intolerable or tight.

Changes are occurring in life all the time. But occasionally the mounting change builds up slowly out of sight. Only as it completes itself in the final flourishes does it emerge and appear revolutionary. Although difficult, such renewal brings fresh hope and energy.

Success arises from being able to ride the highs and lows of these waves of change without losing balance. When such changes occur, either within oneself or in the world of relationships, work or society, recognise the new order of things and work with it. Let go of what was of no value or a contributor of misery in the old order.

Such change, when revolutionary, needs careful handling. This may arise by recognising the sequence of change, as it occurs, for instance, in the seasons. By understanding what will follow we can prepare for it.

Key words: Shedding the old, meeting the new. Passing through revolution with balance.

The Moving Lines

1.Do not push for change unless it needs to be undertaken. Wrap yourself in quiet patience in order to avoid premature or frantic action.

2.When quiet change has not worked, then revolution is necessary. But prepare the ground well first, and gain as powerful support as is possible. Go to meet the change.

3.Do not act on this issue too soon, nor rush headlong. Wait for demands for change to become general before action.

4.Problems and resistance disappear if confidence in the new direction is established. Press forward now.

5.The changes need to be presented with clear guide lines. You become a strength in forming the new order if this can be done. Support follows.

6.Now there needs to be a shedding of old values and attitudes, to bring alignment with what has arisen. Do what is possible at the moment.

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