Other titles: The Symbol of Subaltern Assistance, Union, Unity, Grouping, Alliance, Co-ordination, Leadership, Merging (as with tributaries of a river), Seeking Union, Unification, Accord, Subservience, Individuation, Integration
Judgment
Legge:Holding Together indicates good fortune, but let the querent re-examine himself by divination whether his virtue is great, un-intermitting and firm. If so, there will be no error. Those who are ready will then join him, but those who delay will meet with misfortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Holding Together brings good fortune. Inquire of the oracle once again whether you possess sublimity, constancy, and perseverance; then there is no blame. Those who are uncertain gradually join. Whoever comes too late meets with misfortune.
Blofeld:Unity (or co-ordination). Good fortune! Further consultation of the oracle will provide an omen of great and lasting value. No error! Those whose hearts are troubled assemble. The laggards suffer disaster. [Just as the last hexagram deals ostensibly with military affairs, so does this one largely concern administration. For divination purposes, it should be regarded figuratively -- unless a problem of administration is actually involved in the enquiry.]
Liu: Union. Good fortune. The prediction for one attempting union should be greatness, continuation, and constancy; no blame. If one hesitates, then joins late: misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher:Grouping, significant. Retracing the oracle-consulting: Spring, perpetual Trial. Without fault. Not soothing, on-all-sides coming. Afterwards, husbanding: pitfall. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of how you categorize people and things and how you relate to these categories. It emphasizes that joining people and things through recognizing their essential qualities is the adequate way to handle it.]
Shaughnessy:Alliance: auspicious. The original milfoil divination: prime; permanent determination is no trouble. The un-tranquil land comes; for the latter fellow inauspicious.
Cleary (1):Accord is auspicious. Investigating and ascertaining, if the basis is always right, there is no error: Then the uneasy will come; but the dilatory are unfortunate.
Cleary (2): Accord bodes well. Make sure the basis is always right, so that there will be no fault. Then the uneasy will come. Latecomers are unfortunate.
Wu: Subservience indicates auspiciousness. Seeking to confirm the intent and motivation of allegiance by divination is without fault. Those who seek peace can all come, but those who hesitate and come late will have ill fortune.
The Image
Legge: The image of the earth, and over it water, form Holding Together. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, established the various states and maintained an affectionate relation to their princes.
Wilhelm/Baynes: On the earth is water: the image of Holding Together. Thus the kings of antiquity bestowed the different states as fiefs and cultivated friendly relations with the feudal lords.
Blofeld: The hexagram symbolizes water lying upon the land -- co-ordination. [This is indicated by the nature of the component trigrams. It is by co-operation between the fertile earth and the water which irrigates it that growth is achieved.] The ancient rulers strengthened the realm by being on affectionate terms with the feudal lords. [This may suggest dealing kindly with immediate subordinates.]
Liu: Water over the earth symbolizes Union. The ancient kings established many states and were friendly with the feudal lords.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above earth possessing stream. Grouping. The Earlier Kings used installing myriad cities to connect the connoted feudatories.
Cleary (1): There is water on the earth, in accord. Thus did the kings of yore establish myriad realms and associate with their representatives.
Wu: There is water on the ground; this is Subservience. Thus the late kings founded the states and kept a personal relationship with all the princes.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Holding Together denotes help, and we see in the figure inferiors docilely following their superior. All that is said in the Judgment follows from the position of the dynamic line in the center of the upper trigram. Those who do not respond to him have exhausted their good fortune.
Legge: The idea of union between the different members and classes of a state and how it can be secured, is the subject of Holding Together. The dynamic line in the fifth place of authority represents the ruler to whom the subjects of all the other lines offer a ready submission. Generally, the second line is the proper correlate of the fifth, but here all of the other lines are also his subjects. Harmonious union is secured by the sovereign authority of the ruler, but he is warned to see that his virtue is worthy of his position, and his subjects are warned not to delay in submitting to him. Those who do not seek to promote and enjoy union until it is too late are left out in the cold. The sentiment is the same as that in the lines of Shakespeare about the tide in the affairs of men. In the Image, "water upon the face of the earth" suggests an emblem of close union.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: The success of the Work is determined by the proper integration of intrapsychic forces. Separated and disparate forces are an index of its failure. Unremitting willpower is the catalyst for unity. Do you have the requisite will to facilitate this goal? Ask the oracle.
The Image: Archetypal intelligences (the gods) created many dimensions of awareness (Jung's collective unconscious or objective psyche), maintaining benevolent contact with them all. ("Benevolent" refers to original intent -- Plato's realm of ideal forms -- "The Good." This is the image of an evolving multiverse of awareness – a human psyche.)
Psychologically interpreted,Holding Together depicts the Self as the fifth-line ruler surrounded by its satellite complexes. Astrologically rendered, we see the same image in the solar system with its Sun surrounded by planets -- each symbolizing a faculty within the psyche (e.g., Mercury is intellect, Mars is aggression, etc). Viewed this way, the eighth hexagram portrays the functioning of a divine process. (Whenever the "ancient kings" are mentioned in the I Ching,we can take them as the symbolic architects of a primordial ideal of perfection.)
The Image in Holding Together is an allegory of the Self establishing the various complexes within the psyche (the Sun establishing its planets) so that they can evolve into a reflection of the ideal intent of the Work. (In the timeless realms of hyperspace, the Garden of Eden and the New Jerusalem exist simultaneously, although here in spacetime, as key facilitators in a “work in progress,” we labor somewhere between cause and effect.)
Although the psyche of a functional human being is held together relatively coherently, its inner relationships are continuously orbiting each other in cycles of change. (Astrological transits symbolize such changes.) The Tao of psychic evolution (the Work) is to respond to the changes consciously and coherently so that all forces eventually become synchronized with the will of their source. The ego’s sole responsibility is to do this in the spacetime dimension for the benefit of the Self.
In whatever way one may conceive the relationship between the individual self and the universal Self, be they regarded as identical or similar, distinct or united, it is most important to recognize clearly, and to retain ever present in theory and practice, the difference that exists between the Self in its essential nature -- that which has been called the ‘fount', the ‘center', the ‘deeper being', the ‘apex' of ourselves -- and the small ordinary personality, the little ‘self' or ego, of which we are normally conscious. The disregard of this vital distinction leads to absurd and dangerous consequences.
Roberto Assagioli – Psychosynthesis
The message for the superior man in this hexagram is the only injunction in the Book of Changesto re-consult the oracle. Implicit in this curious challenge is a need to evaluate your competence to further the Work. The answer should tell you the condition of your will.
The will is, curiously, not recognized as the central and fundamental function of the ego. It has often been depreciated as being ineffective against the various drives and the power of the imagination, or it has been considered with suspicion as leading to self-assertion (will-to-power). But the latter is only a perverted use of the will, while the apparent futility of the will is due only to a faulty and unintelligent use. The will is ineffective only when it attempts to act in oppositionto the imagination and to the other psychological functions, while its skillful and consequently successful use consists in regulating and directing all other functions toward a deliberately chosen and affirmed aim.
Roberto Assagioli – Psychosynthesis
The differences between hexagrams number seven and number eight are the differences between a geocentric and a heliocentric frame of reference – emphasizing the fact that the ego and the Self each perceive the psyche from an entirely different point of view.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
my ways not your ways -- it is Yahweh who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as high above earth
as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.
Isaiah 55: 6-9
Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows its subject seeking by her sincerity to win the attachment of her object. There will be no error. Let the breast be full of sincerity as an earthenware vessel is of its contents, and it will in the end bring other advantages.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Hold to him in truth and loyalty; this is without blame. Truth, like a full earthen bowl: thus in the end good fortune comes from without.
Blofeld: Where there is confidence, the work of unification is carried on faultlessly, for confidence is like a flowing bowl. There is a windfall yet to come.
Liu: Union with confidence. No blame. Full of confidence, like a bowl full of water. Good fortune in the end.
Ritsema/Karcher: Possessing conformity, Grouping it. Without fault.
Possessing conformity , overfilling the jar. Completing coming possesses more significance.[Possessing conformity: "Inner and outer are in accord; confidence of the spirits has been captured..."]
Shaughnessy: There is a return. Ally with him; there is no trouble. There is a return; fill the earthenware; when winter comes perhaps it will be harmful; auspicious.
Cleary (1): When there is truthfulness, accord is impeccable. When there is truthfulness filling a plain vessel, ultimately there will come other blessings.
Cleary (2): When there is truthfulness, accord with it is blameless. When there is truthfulness filling a plain vessel, when the end comes there is good fortune.
Wu: Having confidence in the person to whom support is given is without fault. Confidence can grow to fill one’s heart like water gradually filling empty earthenware. Eventually others may join to give their support. There will be good fortune.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: From seeking union there will be other advantages. Wilhelm/Baynes: Encounters good fortune from another quarter. Blofeld: Indicates unexpected good fortune. Ritsema/Karcher: Possessing more significance indeed. Cleary (2): The first yin of accord has other good fortune. Wu: There will be good fortune when others join to give support.
Legge: The earthenware vessel describes the plain, unadorned character of the sincerity called for. The other advantages are all the benefits that result from sincerity and union, which are themselves good.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man is filled with sincerity in his associations with others. He resembles an unadorned bowl which is full.
Wing: An honest, unaffected attitude is an excellent basis for forming associations. With such an attitude you can be confident that others will be attracted to you. Unexpected good luck is indicated here.
Editor: Note the idea of humble containment -- one collects the disparate elements of the situation together in a plain clay bowl. Metaphorically, this suggests that the simplest, most elementary approach to the problem is the correct one. The line can refer to mental comprehension ("holding together"), involving basic principles, unvarnished truth, etc.
Thus the individual psyche is an indefinite formation of unknown or largely unknown constitution and extent. If it is to be consolidated -- individuated, to use the technical term -- it is necessary first of all to determine its boundaries. Then all that belongs to the psyche must be brought within these boundaries. Finally, a center must be established that can control the functioning of the whole structure.
M.E. Harding --Psychic EnergyA. Sincere devotion to the Work brings eventual reward: "Modesty is the best policy."
B. "Seek, and ye shall find."
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows the movement toward union and attachment proceeding from the inward mind. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Hold to him inwardly. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Blofeld: Unification (or cooperation) should proceed from within our own circle. Righteous persistence will bring good fortune.
Liu: Union from within. Continuing brings good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Grouping's origin inside. Trial: significant.
Shaughnessy: Ally with him from within; determination is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Accord coming from within is correct and bodes well.
Cleary (2): Accord coming from within is auspicious if correct.
Wu: A desire to serve comes from within. With perseverance, there will be good fortune.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: She does not fail in what is proper. Wilhelm/Baynes: Do not lose yourself. Blofeld: When unification or cooperation proceeds from within our own circle, the results will not be disappointing. Ritsema/ Karcher: Not originating letting-go indeed. Cleary (2): Accord coming from within means not losing oneself. Wu: With self-discipline there will be no error.
Legge: Line two is the proper correlate of the ruler in line five. Her position in the center of the lower trigram suggests the movement proceeding from the inner mind.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man retains his individuality and dignity in his relationships with others. He is not like the obsequious office seeker. His convictions are deeply founded.
Wing: Trust your inner mind, maintain your integrity, and follow the demands of your convictions. You will be sought after by others. If you chase after the approval of others, you will lose your dignity.
Editor: Legge's commentary on the relationship between lines two and five portrays the ego-Self relationship. The Self is the dynamic ruler dwelling in a psychic dimension ("the inward mind"). The ego is always magnetic in relation to the Self, and ideally the servant of the Work in spacetime. The inward mind is thus the source of the voice of the Self. Because not every image or impulse in the psyche originates from the Self, Wilhelm's translation of the Confucian commentary ("Do not lose yourself"), warns us to be conscious enough to maintain connection with our authentic inner voice -- not some complex masquerading as such. (Often a tricky distinction.)
Man too, in his inner being, has a plane of contact with the divine self. And that's why he can only find his own divine being within himself, never by directing his attention towards the outside world.
Elisabeth Haich -- InitiationA. Unity proceeds from within -- listen to your inner voice. (The image can sometimes suggest meditation.)
B. Integration of the psyche is an inner process – you must facilitate the transformation by holding firmly to the principles of the Work.
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows its subject seeking for union with such as ought not to be associated with.
Wilhelm/Baynes: You hold together with the wrong people.
Blofeld: He joins himself with evil-doers.
Liu: Union with the wrong people. There will be sad results.
Ritsema/Karcher: Grouping's in-no-way people.
Shaughnessy: Ally with him the non-human.
Cleary (1): Accord with the wrong people.
Cleary (2): The wrong person to accord with. [If one is not balanced correctly, and one is in a position of minor authority but has no strong critical guidance, one is “the wrong person to accord with.” In Buddhist terms, this means the devil hasn’t a thought of good, and also that emotional opinions certainly do not accord with the way to enlightenment.]
Wu: He associates himself with questionable characters.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Will not injury be the result? Wilhelm/Baynes: Is this not injurious? Blofeld: If we do this, how can we fail to suffer for it? Ritsema/ Karcher: Reaching-to not truly injuring. Cleary (2): Will there not be injury? Wu: How pitiable is this!
Legge: Line three is magnetic, not in the center, nor in her correct place.
The lines above and below her are also magnetic. These facts account for what is said about her.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man attempts to cultivate an intimacy with people beyond his proper sphere. But this does not make him a person of greater stature.
Wing: The people in the environment of your inquiry are not right for you at this time. Avoid too intimate an association with the group while maintaining an outward sociability. Appearing committed to these people could darken your reputation later on.
Anthony: We hold with wrong elements in ourself such as an incorrect idea, or with emotions such as pride, anger or desire, which cause us to take hold of issues and become involved in an evil process. Or, through carelessness, we abandon the path to indulge in incorrect situations. Whenever we allow our inferiors to take over direction of our lives, we lose the help of the Sage. Getting this line either means that we are off the path, or that a situation will soon occur wherein we revert to a pattern of incorrect action, thereby losing the path.
Editor: This is an unambiguous line. Applied to inner work, it can suggest that you have mistaken the prompting of an autonomous complex for the Self. (See Wilhelm's Confucian commentary on line two above.) In its most neutral interpretation, it portrays a flawed connection: something doesn't match up properly.
Every time we “identify” ourselves with a weakness, a fault, a fear or any personal emotion or drive, we limit and paralyze ourselves. Every time we admit “I am discouraged” or “I am irritated,” we become more and more dominated by depression or anger. We have accepted those limitations; we have ourselves put on our chains. If, instead, in the same situation we say, “a wave of discouragement is trying to submerge me” or “An impulse of anger is attempting to overpower me, the situation is very different.
R. Assagioli – PsychosynthesisA. Portrayal of an alliance with inferior forces.
B. You have a bad attitude, or are tempted by an inferior choice.
C. Seeking what should be left alone.
Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, shows its subject seeking for union with the one beyond herself. With firm correctness there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Hold to him outwardly also. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Blofeld: He co-operates with people beyond his immediate circle. Righteous persistence will bring good fortune.
Liu: Union outside. Continuing brings good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Outside Grouping it. Trial: significant.
Shaughnessy: From outside ally with him; determination is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Accord with one outside is right and bodes well.
Cleary (2): According with the wise outside, correctness brings good results.
Wu: He gives his support to the exterior one. To be persevering will be auspicious.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Union is sought with one beyond herself, and in this case with a worthy object -- she is following the ruler above her. Wilhelm/ Baynes: Hold outwardly also to people of worth, in order thus to follow the one above. Blofeld: Cooperation with such people and leading them into virtuous ways must be accomplished by working through their leaders. Ritsema/Karcher: Using adhering-to the above indeed. Cleary (2): Accord with the wise outside is the way to follow the advanced. Wu: “He gives support to the exterior one,” who is a good man, because he follows the one above him.
Legge: "The one beyond herself" is the ruler or king who is the subject of line five, and with whom union ought to be sought. The magnetic line, moreover, is in a place proper to her, and if she is firm and correct, there will be good fortune.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The minister shows open loyalty to his king. This behavior contrasts to that of a person without a post. The latter should remain reserved, so as to retain his personal honor.
Wing: You are in close contact with the center of your community. This may refer to the leader or ruler. Show your support openly, but do not forget who you are or lose yourself in your allegiances.
Editor: Wilhelm suggests the idea of an outward display of allegiance. The quality of your commitment to the Work is seen in your actions and way of life. Sometimes the line suggests the idea of having confidence in yourself, or confidence in your intuition. At its simplest level it can just mean: Make connections beyond your "immediate circle." (Blofeld)
Regeneration is for nothing else than that the natural [ego] may be subjugated, and the spiritual [Self] obtain dominion; and the natural is subjugated when it is brought into correspondence. And when the natural is brought into correspondence it no longer resists but acts as it is commanded, and follows the behest of the spiritual -- scarcely otherwise than as the acts of the body obey the dictates of the will.
Swedenborg -- Arcana CoelestiaA. Live your beliefs. "Walk your talk."
B. Get in touch with what is beyond you. Seek a higher comprehension.
C. Get in touch with your basic motivations.
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows one seeking union and attachment without having taken the first step to such an end. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He finds no head for holding together. Misfortune.
Blofeld: Attempts to bring about unity when there is no one at the head result in disaster. [This suggests a general lack of co-ordination due to poor leadership.]
Liu: Union without a leader. Misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Without a head, Grouping it. Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: The ally does not have a head: inauspicious.
Cleary (2): Accord without leadership bodes ill.
Wu: The association leads to nowhere. It will be foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: There is no possibility of a good issue. Wilhelm/ Baynes: Therefore he also fails to find the right end. Blofeld: No one at the head means anyone to complete the work of administration. Ritsema/ Karcher: Without a place to complete indeed. Cleary (2): Accord without leadership has no conclusion. Wu: The association leads to nowhere, because it is a dead-end.
Legge: The magnetic sixth line is trying to promote union with the lines below after the time for union has passed. It is too late -- she is symbolized as "without a head," that is, as not having taken the first step, from which her action should begin and go on to completion.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The situation bodes ill. No good ending can be expected in the absence of the right beginning. It is too late.
Wing: The moment for Unity has passed. Right from the beginning something was amiss and all attempts toward union inspired failure. Examine the situation to determine the extent of your error.
Editor: This line echoes the last phrase of the Judgment: "With those who are too late in coming it will be ill." That is: one who cannot hold together, by definition cannot participate in unification. (Cf. Wu’s Confucian Commentary: “The association leads to nowhere, because it is a dead-end.”)
He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.
-- Luke 11: 23A. Without disciplined organization, unification is impossible.
B. You've lost your connection.
Other titles: The Creative, The Symbol of Heaven, The Creative Principle, Force, The Key, Creativity, The Originating, Creative Power, Primal Power, Yang, The Life Force, Kundalini, God the Father
Judgment
Legge:The Dynamic represents what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and firm.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Creative works sublime success, furthering through perseverance.
Blofeld: The Creative Principle . Sublime Success! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward.
Liu:The Creative brings great success, benefiting all through perseverance.
Ritsema/Karcher:Force: Spring Growing Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the primal spirit power that both creates and destroys. It emphasizes that dynamic, unwearied persisting, the action of Force, is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: persist!]
Shaughnessy:The Key: Primary reception; beneficial to determine.
Cleary(1):Heavencreates, develops, brings about fruition and consummation.
Cleary(1): The creative is successful; this is beneficial if correct.
Wu:The Originator is primordial, pervasive, prosperous and persevering.
The Image
Legge: Heaven, in its motion, gives the idea of strength. The superior man, in accordance with this, nerves himself to ceaseless activity.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes the power of the celestial forces in motion, wherewith the Superior Man labors unceasingly to strengthen his own character.
Liu: Heaven moves powerfully; the superior man strengthens himself unceasingly.
Ritsema/Karcher: Heaven moves persistingly. A Chun tzu uses originating strength not to pause.
Cleary(1): The activity of heaven is powerful; superior people thereby strengthen themselves ceaselessly.
Wu: Heaven moves in full strength. Thus the jun zi strives ceaselessly to be self-reliant.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: All things owe their inception to the vast and originating power of The Dynamic. It contains all the meaning of the word: Heaven. Clouds move, rain falls, and the myriad things appear in their created forms. The sages comprehend the link between the end and the beginning. They understand how the changes of the six lines of the hexagram are accomplished, each in its season, and with this knowledge they ascend toward Heaven as though mounted on six dragons. The intent of The Dynamic is to transform everything so that it reflects its correct nature as originally conceived by the mind of Heaven. Thereafter, this great harmony is preserved in union and firm correctness. The sage appears aloft, high above all things, and the myriad states are harmoniously united.
Legge: For the Chinese, the dragon has been from the earliest times a symbol of dignity, wisdom, sovereignty and sagehood. It is the symbol of the superior man, and especially the "great man," exhibiting all the virtues and attributes of Heaven. Although the dragon's home is in the water, it can disport itself on land, and also fly through the air.
The sage rules in the world of men as Heaven rules nature. He sees the connection between the end and the beginning as the law of cause and effect in the operations of nature and human affairs. The various steps in that course are symbolized by the lines of the hexagram, and the ideal sage, conducting his ideal government, is represented as driving through the sky in a carriage drawn by six dragons.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:The Dynamic is the life force itself.
The Superior Man tirelessly furthers the Great Work of Transformation.
The image of a dragon appears in every line of this hexagram, except the third. Like most symbols, the dragon has both a positive and a negative aspect. In Western myth, it is usually an adversary which the hero must conquer before he can obtain a treasure or often, a captive maiden. The Chinese, on the other hand, regard the dragon positively. Blofeld comments:
In China, the dragon has always been regarded as a highly admirable creature of celestial origin. Dragons provide rain; make rivers run and rule the ocean. The European dragon is clearly of another species.
This seeming anomaly may say more about how east and west perceive the forces of nature, rather than refer to any true differences in the forces perceived.
Wilhelm compares the dragon to the electrical energy within a thunderstorm -- as lightning it can destroy us, but in the form of electricity it can be harnessed to do useful work. A dragon is nothing if not a huge serpent, and this suggests the idea of the "serpent power," or Kundalini energy which when aroused in the human body has been likened to a sudden jolt of electricity running up from the base of the spine to the top of the head. The Kundalini force is equated in turn with sexual energy -- dynamic power which ensures the continuance of all but the most primitive of living organisms. Without the powerful energy of sexuality, life as we know it could not exist.
When the dragon remains unconquered in the cave-like depths of the unconscious, the life force autonomously rules our lives and we become passive vehicles for random desires and appetites. This "electricity" will flow wherever it finds a circuit of least resistance, and under these conditions an individual's life is largely "created" by chance and circumstance. When one begins the Work, the task of Individuation, one assumes the role of the hero or warrior, who does battle with the dragon in order to bring it under his will. This is a great struggle, and success is not guaranteed, but if one is able to control the primordial power of the life force, the treasure (or the maiden, which in the male psyche amounts to the same thing), is obtained. This is tantamount to attaining a higher level of consciousness -- in its highest form it constitutes "enlightenment."
The symbolism of all of the hexagrams works on many different levels, and this is especially true of the first two, which must be studied together for a full comprehension of each. (Kabbalists, for example, will recognize in these two figures the same forces found in Chokmah and Binah on the Tree of Life.) For the purposes of this comparison it must be noted that the first hexagram symbolizes Heaven, and the second symbolizes Earth: Force and Form. (As consciousness is to the body it inhabits, so Force is to Form and Heaven to Earth.) Form is magnetic, or "negative" in polarity, and Force is dynamic, or "positive."
In esoteric symbolism "Heaven" does not mean the universe above us -- it means the consciousness within us. This polarity is also reflected in the relationship between the ego and the Self -- in a properly regulated psyche, the ego is always magnetic to the dynamic Self.
There is an invisible universe within the visible one, a world of causes within the world of effects. There is force within matter, and the two are one, and are dependent for their existence on a third, which is the mysterious cause of their existence. There is a world of soul within a world of matter, and the two are one, and caused by the world of spirit.
F. Hartmann -- Paracelsus: Life and Prophecies
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
To get a fuller grasp of the numinously beautiful structure of the I Ching and the transcendent reality which it reflects, one should meditate on each of the hexagrams as often as possible -- one can never exhaust their meaning. The first two hexagrams (because they are the "cosmic parents" of all the others), are especially rich in their associations. Here are a few suggestions for meditation:
1. Compare and contrast the general ideas in the first three hexagrams, noting how the third is a logical progression of the first two.
2. The Confucian commentary on The Dynamic is particularly rich in meaning. Read it over and over again -- it contains the principles of the Work as outlined in more detail in the other hexagrams. Compare the sixth sentence with the ideas in hexagram number twenty, Contemplation.
3. Compare the first two hexagrams with hexagram number eleven, Harmony, and number twelve, Divorcement, noting the implications of the symbolism in terms of the proper management of the Work.