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 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 fifth line, dynamic, affords the most illustrious instance of seeking union and attachment. We see in it the king urging his pursuit of the game only in three directions, and allowing the escape of all the animals before him, while the people of his towns do not warn one another to prevent it. There will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Manifestation of Holding Together. In the hunt the king uses beaters on three sides only and foregoes game that runs off in front. The citizens need no warning. Good fortune.
Blofeld: Relying on his people's co-operation, the King pursues game which is enclosed on three sides, but loses the quarry ahead. This is because the local people were not warned. [This would seem to suggest that our loss is not due to disloyalty but to having failed to take people into our confidence.] Righteous persistence brings good fortune.
Liu: Union with honor. The king hunts on three sides only, losing game through the front. The people are not afraid. Good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Manifest Grouping. The king avails-of three beaters. Letting-go the preceding wildfowl. Capital people are not admonished. Significant.
Shaughnessy: Lustrously ally. The king herewith thrice drives (the hunt) losing the front catch; the city men are not warned; auspicious.
Cleary (1): Manifesting accord. The king uses three chasers and loses the game ahead. The citizens are not admonished. Auspicious.
Cleary (2): Manifest accord … The local people are not warned, etc.
Wu: This [line] reveals the essence of allegiance. The king deploys a three-sided chase in his hunt, such that he allows the game in front of him to escape. The townspeople do not warn one another of the king’s doing. There will be auspiciousness.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The good fortune is because of the line's correct and central place. The king takes only those animals who present themselves obediently. He allows the others to escape. That the people do not warn one another to prevent the animals to escape shows how the king, in his high eminence, has made them pursue the due course. Wilhelm/Baynes: The position is correct and central. Discarding those who resist, accepting the devoted: this is the meaning of "foregoes game that runs off in front." "The citizens need no warning," for the one above makes them central. Blofeld: This good fortune is indicated by the central position of the ruling line. Leaving alone those difficult to catch and following where the chances seem good, the King nevertheless loses the game in front of him. This means that, although the local people were not warned, the ruler adopts a fair and liberal policy. [The implication is that such a policy is required for the success of our plans.]Ritsema/Karcher: Situation correctly centered indeed. Stowing-away countering, grasping yielding. Letting-go the preceding wildfowl indeed. Capital people not admonished. Commissioning centering above indeed. Cleary (2): The local people are not warned, because the ruler has effected balance. Wu:“To allow the game in front of him to escape” means setting free those who want to leave and taking in those who want to come, etc.
Legge: As the ruler, line five is the center of union. The ancient rule for hunting expeditions was that after the beating was completed and the king was ready to commence taking game, one side of the enclosure into which it had been driven was left open and unguarded. This was proof of the royal benevolence which didn't want to make an end of all the creatures inside. So well known and understood was this benevolent principle, that all of his subjects cooperated in carrying it out. The union shown here is therefore characterized by mutual confidence and the appreciation of benevolent virtue.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The superior ruler accepts those who voluntarily come to him and lets others go who care to go. He neither invites nor flatters. Union is based on mutual confidence and appreciation.
Wing: You can trust fate at this time to bring you together with those who would further you. There is a natural attraction at work here. The atmosphere is liberal, and much can be accomplished. The time is auspicious, indeed.
Editor: This line is the subject of the Judgment and most of the commentary on the Judgment. It depicts a shake-down or refining process. In terms of the Work, because the ego has free will, it always has the option of "escape." The Self allows it to choose, because free choice is essential to any permanent psychic integration. A coerced synthesis could hardly be expected to hold together for very long. Blofeld's translation and note seem to miss this idea.
A human being can choose to deny his individuality or truth, although, sooner or later, he must inevitably choose, of his own free will, to remain dormant or submit to the Way of Heaven.
Z.B.S. Halevi -- A Kabbalistic UniverseA. A sorting-out process -- some elements are gathered, and some discarded. (Could be a test of your discrimination.)
B. Psychic forces re-position themselves in relation to their source.
C. The decision is yours whether or not to follow the demands of the Work.
D. Astute choice separates truth from error.
Other titles: Abundance, Fullness, The Symbol of Prosperity, Greatness, Abounding, Richness, Prolific, Fruitful, Luxuriant, Zenith, Affluence, Correct Action, Lucid Behavior, "Generally means that one will have enough for one's needs with a little over. Does not mean large wealth as a rule." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Expansion of Awareness means progress and development. When the king is enlightened there is no need to fear a change. Let him be as the sun at noon.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Abundance has success. The king attains abundance. Be not sad. Be like the sun at midday.
Blofeld:Abundance -- success! The King inspires them. Do not be sad; it is fitting to be like the sun at its zenith. [Abundance in itself is often good; but it is generally followed by the waning of what was abundant; moreover, as we shall see, there can be abundance of darkness, or anything else unpleasant. (The Judgment itself) may be taken as an auspicious omen.]
Liu: Greatness. Success. The king attains greatness, without sadness; he should be like the sun at midday.
Ritsema/Karcher:Abounding, Growing. The king imagining it. No grief. Properly sun centering. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of profusion and abundance reaching culmination. It emphasizes that exuberantly increasing things to their fullest is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Abundance: Receipt; the king approaches it; do not be sad. It is proper for the middle of the day.
Cleary (1): Richness is developmental. Freedom from worry when the king is great is suited to midday.
Cleary (2):Richness is success; a king attains this. Do not worry. Take advantage of the sun at noon.
Wu: A sage king will attain abundance. There is no need to worry, for he knows the expedience of observing the midday sun.
The Image
Legge: The superior man, in accordance with this, decides cases of litigation, and apportions punishments with exactness.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Both thunder and lightning come: the image of Abundance. Thus the superior man decides lawsuits and carries out punishments.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder and lightning occurring simultaneously. The Superior Man decides law suits and inflicts the necessary penalties.
Liu: Thunder and lightning coming together symbolize Greatness. The superior man judges lawsuits and imposes punishments.
Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder, lightning, altogether culminating. Abounding. A chun tzu uses severing litigating to involve punishing.
Cleary (1): Thunder and lightning both arrive, abundant. Thus do superior people pass judgment and execute punishment.
Cleary (2): Thunder and lightning both come in richness. Thus do leaders pass judgments and execute punishments.
Wu: Thunder and lightning come together; this is Abundance. Thus the jun zi decides the verdicts and exacts the punishments.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The greatness of Expansion of Awareness is due to Movement directed by Clarity. Although the king has attained this state, he must still make it greater. But there is no need for anxiety -- let him be as the sun at noon: let his clarity shine on all under the sky. As soon as sun and moon reach zenith their light begins to wane. The intercourse of heaven and earth alternates between abundance and scarcity. It waxes and wanes according to the seasons. How much more so with men or spiritual forces! [Ritsema/Karcher translate "spiritual forces" [Kuei Shen] as: "The whole range of imaginal beings both inside and outside the individual; spiritual powers, gods, demons, ghosts, powers, fetishes." -- Ed.]
Legge: The written Chinese character denoting Expansion of Awarenessis the symbol of being large and abundant -- a condition of prosperity. In human affairs, prosperity often gives place to its opposite. The lesson of the hexagram is to show how the ruler may preserve the prosperity of his state and people. The component trigrams show Motive Force under the direction of Intelligence. A ruler with these attributes will not fail to maintain the progress and development of his kingdom. He is told not to be anxious, but to study how he may always be like the sun at its zenith, cheering and enlightening all.
It must be noted that a change has been introduced in this hexagram in explaining the symbolism of the lines. Normally, for two lines to have a correct relationship one must be female (magnetic) and the other male (dynamic). Here two dynamic male lines make a proper correlation in the first and fourth places.
In the Image, lightning appears as the natural phenomenon of which Clarity is the symbol in the lower trigram. The virtues of Clarity and Movement are required of the superior man in judging litigation.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Don't grieve when the truth hurts: a loss of illusion is a gain in awareness. Once truly attained, enlightenment cannot be lost, it can only be increased.
The Superior Man acts with clarity by accurately evaluating cause and effect. [Or: The objective assessment of any contradiction is the road to comprehending it.]
The fifty-fifth hexagram is very intriguing in that it appears to have a misleading title in the original Chinese, which is usually translated as Abundance,Fullness, Prosperity, etc. All of the internal clues, plus empirical experience with the figure have convinced me that the title Expansion of Awareness is a more accurate description of the forces operating in this hexagram. Here is my reasoning:
First, the component trigrams of Clarity and Movement portray action directed by clear comprehension, as well as awareness itself in motion or expansion. The title of Abundance seems misleading because it suggests a relatively static condition, whereas the combined trigrams in the figure symbolize Clear Movement. These trigrams appear in reverse sequence in hexagram number twenty-one, Discernment, which symbolizes the act of comprehending -- a dynamic function of consciousness described in the Image here as a quest for justice: "Thus the superior man decides lawsuits and carries out punishments." (Wilhelm) Notice also that the message for the superior man in this Image is almost identical with that in Discernment:"Thus the kings of former times made firm the laws through clearly defined penalties." (Wilhelm) The ancient kings can always be taken as symbolic of archetypal forces (the "gods"), so their laws are those of nature, not of humankind. Interpreted broadly, both messages counsel us to: "Comprehend the law of Tao, or suffer the penalties of ignorance." Which is to say: "expand your awareness."
Second, note the message in the Judgment. Most of the translators render this by comparing the king at the peak of his power with the sun at the peak of its illumination at noon. The sun is the symbol of clarity and enlightenment, and the sun at its zenith therefore symbolizes a high point of awareness.
Third, notice that lines two, three and four depict an eclipse of the sun through its waxing, full and waning phases. This suggests ignorance gradually evolving toward comprehension, which is finally attained in line five. The progression in the hexagram is from ignorance to clarity, and then in line six, ignorance within clarity -- i.e., an image of one who remains obtuse while surrounded by the light of illumination.
Fourth, the combined trigrams of shock and light (thunder and lightning) suggest a sudden and numinous illumination: the sort of en-light-enment (expansion of awareness) described by Yogis:
Suddenly, with a roar like that of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light entering my brain through the spinal cord ... The illumination grew brighter and brighter, the roaring louder, I experienced a rocking sensation and then felt myself slipping out of my body, entirely enveloped in a halo of light ... I was no longer myself, or to be more accurate, no longer as I knew myself to be, a small point of awareness confined in a body, but instead was a vast circle of consciousness in which the body was but a point, bathed in light and in a state of exaltation and happiness impossible to describe.
Gopi Krishna --Kundalini, the Evolutionary Energy in Man
It is possible that the written character translated into English as Abundance has these associations in Chinese. Unfortunately, the title of Abundance itself does not immediately suggest in the English language the ideas that are integral in the symbolism of the hexagram.