Category Archives: I-Ching

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Hexagram 7 – Shih (the Army)

Shih is the 7th diagram in the I-Ching – Book of changes.

Earth  over water without any changing lines. Earth is receptive allowing water to flow freely.  The image I have is of the water penetrating the receptive earth, filling all its crevices and is kept there like a reservoir from where water can be drawn.  Earth implies the environment must be structured to be receptive and open while water implies that there must be a fluidity within to adapt and change to circumstances. The structure is needed to prevent the water from flowing away or beyond the reach of the community.  Thus structure or earth above prevents risk and calamity – the danger is averted. Structure is not active and it does not act but it guides and directs where the water will be flowing.

For me specifically the hexagram asks from us to ensure that there is enough rules and regulations to ensure a stable future for all that is involved. In essence the hexagram implore the creation of that nurturing reservoir that will benefit all and bring stability to all concerned so that everybody can work together in harmony.  The hexagram create for me the immage of a city developing upon such an underground reservoir and everybody is happy because there is enough for all to live and prosper. Here the earth represents the strenght of character that is needed to maintain the structure and further preserverance for all to prosper.

The hexagram has the promise of a successful conclusion not just for one person but rather for all the people involved.  It requires practically a strenght that relies on clarity and common agreement that will ensure that everybody knows what is expected and what is to be done to maintain the peace for all. In this way it is possible to ensure success without blame – nobody will take credit and nobody will feel that they are lacking. Everybody will be able to attain their goals by working together and pulling in the same direction.

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I-Ching: Diagram 19 – Approach

Approach means acting with prudence.
This hexagram consist of two trigrams: the earth over the lake or being receptive over joy.
Here we sit with the water element beneath or the external environment being one of satisfaction and /or all being well. The world is at peace and it is a joyful time which discourages taking action and yet it is the right time to take action…but what action? The upper trigram is one that is earth or receptivity this is one calling for stability and support. The earth nurtures and gives unconditionally. It can draw its own nurturing from the positive circumstances now in the present moment. Soon this good circumstances will dissapear and it will be too late to take advantage of the moment for the auspicious time is temporal. As a matter of fact if this opportunity is missed then there will be calamity in the furture.
This enneagram says it is now the time to act even though there will be no immediate results. Failure to act will result in difficulty later on. It is like when you have to sow now to reap a crop later and if you do not sow when the time is ripe then that the opportune time will pass. One might be tempted due to circumstances and compliance to be over eager or to want too much. It relates strongly for me with the virtue of prudence e.g. knowing when to do the right thing. Here the action has a clear scope.  The right action is called for rather than the most pleasurable action.
In general this hexagram calls for us to notice when circumstances are ripe for action rather than when we are right for action.  Often this “good” time is before some test of trial that is approaching. When spring comes you must sow for if you do not sow then there will be no harvest in the  summer and when winter comes we will have nothing. Living in the moment means also to see the opportunity that is hidden within the moment. The hexagram “Approach” calls us to do the right thing by considering those to whom we provide stability. We need to understand that there are others dependend on us looking up at us and expecting from us to do the right thing. By doing the right thing we build a solid foundation based sustainable values.
The superior man acts at the right time using the fullness of his knowledge and the depth of his contemplation to do what is needed and to care for those who are dependent on him – That is the superior man accept it when it is his responsibility to act.
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Eleven in divination systems

Today is 11/11 which makes it a special day. I had been thinking about 11 and thought it a worthwhile exercise to relate to the 11 from my own perspective rather than from an numerical perspective alone.
Numerically the number 11 is a prime number which does not make it a very usable number, yet a very unique number. Nothing else can divide into 11. 11 is moving beyond wholeness which is denoted by the number 10.
What do I know about the number 11. In the Tarot the Major Arcana 11 is traditionally Justice, the lady with the scale and a card I have a deep affinity for as a Libra.  Discounting the Fool as card zero judgement is in the middle of the Major Arcana with 10 cards preceding it and 10 cards succeeding it. It depicts 11 as a number of balance which is appropriate for the two one’s making up the 11.  In this analysis the Major Arcana with its 21 cards (discounting the fool) places 11 as an important car for balance. It is also a point of balance between an external and an internal view in the Tarot. The first ten cards are existential and material in nature while the latter ten cards are more essential and cosmological in nature. Thus the number 11 in the tarot represents the touch point of balance in the maxim “As above so below, as below so above.” This is a crucial point of understanding within the Tarot. The number 11 counts to two as one plus one which shows an affinity between the High priestess as Major Arcana II and the Major Arcana XI.  While the High priestess is an initiation into the exoteric Tarot the Justice card associated with Ma’at in the Egyptian pantheon is associated with initiation into the esoteric aspects of the Tarot.
When we turn out gaze to the Elder futhark the eleventh rune is Isa or the point of contraction or stillness. Although this is not the midpoint in the same sense as the Tarot it is a point of stillness like the center point of a wheel turning that is still. This gives to the number 11 a very solid base of stand still which correspond well with the central pillar of a set of scales. The number 11 in this sense calls for a moment of inaction combined with an awareness of the moment. It is not a point for action or progress but rather a turning point moving into a new dimension.
The I-Ching designate the hexagram Tai and relates to harmony or peace. The hexagram itself consist of three unbroken lines at the bottom of the hexagram and three unbroken lines on top of the hexagram. In other words it is the trigram Earth upon the trigram Heavan. Here we see again the idea of balance associated with the number 11 since their is an idea of yielding balancing the firm. It is noteworthy to see that the hexagram is not heaven over earth as what we are used to in our normal experience but it is rather heaven supporting earth.  This is indicative of a turning point, at the 11 th hexagram. It contains an idealistic mystical  perspective where heaven or the ideal becomes the foundation for the earth or the real. That is how harmony or peace is being created. Peace relates here to a similar concept we see in Isa of the Runes and Harmony relates to a similar concept discussed in Justice, major arcana IX, of the Tarot.
Given this short analysis of the role of number 11 in three of the major divination systems it is worth while to say and observe that 11 is a point of stillness calling on a higher awareness, a tipping point that bequest from us to look at life in a new way … that is from an inner perspective of actuality rather than reality. We should find peace, harmony and balance in the number 11 without any effort of making anything happen or desiring anything to happen. It is moment for us to be just fully present and content that life is as it should be in that moment, irrespective of whether it is good or bad times. We also should remember that there is a karmic balance in that good times will not always be good and bad times will not always be bad. Life is a cycle and our peace and harmony we find within. The number 11 reminds us that as above so below the one is reflected in the other.