Abandoning their disputes
One asks their opponents to seek an agreement. taoscopy.com
The Creative1
Pure potential. Creative energy. Initiate bold actions.
↓ Line 1
Potential is present but not yet visible. It is wise to wait for the right moment.
↓ Line 6
Overconfidence can lead to downfall. Remain humble and aware of limitations.
↓ Critical Mass28
Embrace resilience during times of overwhelming pressure. Acknowledge the burden, make necessary adjustments, and seek support to prevent collapse. Balance is crucial for enduring success.
Original Readings
1 The Creative
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.
Line 1
Legge: In the first line, dynamic, we see its subject as the dragon lying hid in the deep. It is not the time for active doing.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Hidden dragon. Do not act.
Blofeld: The concealed dragon refrains from action.
Liu: The hibernating dragon does not act.
Ritsema/Karcher: Immersed dragon, no availing-of.
Shaughnessy: Submersed dragon; do not use.
Cleary(1): Hidden dragon: Do not use it.
Cleary(2): The hidden dragon is not to be employed.
Wu: The dragon lying submerged is not to be used.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This appears from the dynamic and undivided line being in the lowest place. Wilhelm/Baynes: For the light-giving force is still below. Blofeld: The life- sustaining force is still submerged. Ritsema/ Karcher: Yang located below indeed. Wu: Because the yang is in the lowest position.
The Master said:"There he is, with the powers of the dragon, and yet lying hid. The world cannot influence him, for he does not pander to its approval. He lives withdrawn from the world without regret, and its disapproval doesn’t bother him. He rejoices in this opportunity to further his work, but if circumstances do not favor this he can as easily retire. He cannot be separated from the source of his being. This is the dragon lying hid."
Miscellaneous notes: The position is too low. The dynamic power is stored up and hidden. This is the originating power which is the source of life and growth. The actions of the superior man demonstrate his virtue every day, but when concealment is required he restrains the full expression of his work and takes no action.
Legge: The dragon can be the symbol of the superior man, or the great man -- the sage on the throne.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man is unknown, like a dragon lying hidden. The occasion is not yet ripe for his appearance. He is not moved by public opinion and the desire for fame. He bides his time in self-confidence and silence.
Wing: The time is not ripe for action. You have all the Creative Power that you need to achieve your aim, but you must wait for the opportune moment. If necessary, you may direct activities from behind the scenes.
Editor: The image suggests the dragon in its cave. The forces of the unconscious psyche are hidden from conscious awareness and constitute a potential threat. To take action under such circumstances would at the very least be to risk an unpleasant or unmanageable confrontation with a superior force. Since this is the bottom line of the hexagram, the image reminds us of the serpent power, or Kundalini, lying coiled and asleep at the base of the spine. Those who have experienced the premature and uncontrolled release of this force have attested to its extremely negative qualities -- both physical pain and acute psychological stress are commonly described. If this is the only changing line, the hexagram becomes number forty-four,Temptation, the corresponding line of which reads in part: "...If she moves in any direction, evil will appear." This reinforces the idea of taking no action whatsoever under the prevailing conditions, despite your possible temptation to do so.
The unconscious is not a demoniacal monster, but a natural entity which, as far as moral sense, aesthetic taste, and intellectual judgment go, is completely neutral. It only becomes dangerous when our conscious attitude to it is hopelessly wrong. To the degree that we repress it, its danger increases. Jung -- The Practice of Psychotherapy
A. There are concealed forces in the situation. Take no action when you are unaware of the hidden consequences.
B. Energy is gathering in the unconscious psyche. Leave it alone -- it will express itself when the time is ripe.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth dynamic line shows its subject as a dragon exceeding the proper limits. There will be occasion for repentance.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Arrogant dragon will have cause to repent.
Blofeld: A willful dragon has cause for regret.
Liu: The dragon is arrogant and will have cause to repent.
Confucius/Legge: A state of fullness cannot be made to last forever. Wilhelm/Baynes: What is full cannot last. Blofeld: This signifies that not for long will his cup be full. Ritsema/Karcher: Overfilling, not permitting lasting indeed. Wu: A state of fullness may not be had for long.
The master said: "Although noble, he is not in his proper place; although exalted, there are none to acknowledge him. There are men of virtue and ability below, but he does nothing to assist them. Hence whatever he does will lead to regret."
Miscellaneous notes: When the mean is exceeded, calamity ensues. It is too late now -- the time of opportunity has passed. He only knows how to advance, but not how to retreat; he knows life, but not death; how to gain, but not how to lose. He can dish it out, but he can't take it --only the sage understands such things, but he is not a sage.
Legge: The dragon appears in the sixth line as going beyond the proper limits. The ruling-sage has gone through all the spheres in which he is called on to display his attributes, and now it is time for him to relax. The line should not always be pulled tight, the bow should not always be kept drawn. The continuous use of force will give occasion for repentance. In short, the exalted shall be abased.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: There is always danger in circumstances of abundance. The inferior man pushes forward through excessive ambition, thereby losing touch with men of talent and virtue in positions below him. The ruling sage knows when to display his qualities and to relax, to maintain and to let go, to win and not to lose.
Wing: Your ambitions far exceed the possibilities of your Creative Power. If you pursue this dream you will lose touch with reality and lose contact with your community. You will no longer know how to behave appropriately and will ultimately regret your actions.
Editor: The high-flying dragon of the fifth line has gone too far and the energy which began in the unconscious depths of line number one has now become unbalanced power which is doomed to exhaustion and failure. We are reminded of the saying: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." If this is the only changing line, the hexagram becomes number forty-three, Breakthrough -- in this instance suggesting break-down into a condition of chaos. The corresponding line of that hexagram says: "Shows its subject without any helpers on whom to call. Her end will be evil." The injunction to maintain connected with the Self has been ignored, and one is left to suffer the consequences. Note however that there is an implicit qualifier in this line: it states what happens when one is arrogant: it doesn’t necessarily state that the querent is arrogant. Often the line seems to be more of a reminder about cause and effect than a fait accompli. Wilhelm/Baynes show this best: “[An] Arrogant dragon will have cause to repent.”
Just as a negative inflation brings life to a standstill, so a positive inflation, causing the ego to feel itself powerful, dominant, and "always right," is likewise against life. For a person whose ego suffers from such an invasion of nonpersonal powers does not contact life directly either. Instead of facing life and its tasks realistically on the level of his actual attainments, he approaches them with the assumption that he is master. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
A. Arrogant illusions of power will destroy you.
B. Without guidance from the Self, the ego creates chaos.
SPECIAL NOTE:
Editor: If all of the lines of The Dynamic are changing, an extremely momentous situation is indicated. This and hexagram number two, The Magnetic,are the only figures in which such a configuration is commented upon; hence, these are arguably the two strongest images the oracle has to offer.
Legge: If the host of dragons thus appearing were to divest themselves of their heads, there would be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There appears a flight of dragons without heads. Good fortune.
Blofeld: A brood of headless dragons appears; good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Visualizing flocking dragons without a head. Significant.
Shaughnessy: See the flock of dragons without heads; auspicious.
Cleary(1): Having dragons appear without heads is good.
Cleary(2): Using yang, you see a group of headless dragons; this is auspicious.
Wu: There appears a group of dragons without a leader. Auspicious. [If the transformation of all the six yang (dragons) takes place together as a group without any one yang trying to lead the others, hence “without a leader,” the transformed hexagram will be The Magnetic, the pure yin hexagram. And this will be great … In terms of human affairs, the message here simply is: Do your work the best you can, but don’t think you are very much better than everyone else. When you are ready to lead, your purpose should be serving your fellow men, but not self-serving.]
Further Commentaries (from Wilhelm)
"When The Creative, the great, undergoes change in all the [lines], the world is set in order."
"When The Creative, the great, undergoes change in all the [lines], one perceives the law of heaven."
Editor: Wu’s interpretation of “head” as “leader” makes more sense than any of the other translations.
Personal Note: The very first time I ever consulted theI ChingI received The Dynamic with all changing lines. At the time I didn't understand it, and it meant nothing to me; in retrospect I see that it was a portent which has changed my entire life.
28 Critical Mass
Other titles: Preponderance of the Great, The Symbol of Great Passing, Excess, Great Excess, The Passing of Greatness, Great Surpassing, Great Gains, Experience, Greater than Great, Greatness in Excess, Dominance by the Mighty, The Passing of Greatness, Excess of the Great, Law of Karma
Judgment
Legge:Critical Mass depicts a weak beam. Under such conditions it is advantageous to move in any direction whatever. Success is indicated.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Preponderance of the Great. The ridgepole sags to the breaking point. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. Success.
Blofeld:Excess! The ridgepole sags. It is favorable to have some goal (or destination) in view. Success! [A glance at the hexagram will show that it is too heavy in the middle and too weak at the ends. A number of firm lines is generally auspicious, but there can be too much of a good thing!]
Liu: Great Excess. The ridgepole is crooked. It benefits to go anywhere. Success.
Ritsema/Karcher:Great Exceeding, the ridgepole sagging. Harvesting; possessing directed going. Growing. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of your connection to a ruling principle. It emphasizes that pushing the guiding idea beyond ordinary limits and accepting the results is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Great Surpassing: The ridgepole bows upward; beneficial to have someplace to go; receipt.
Cleary (1): When the great is excessive, the ridgepole bends. It is good to go somewhere; that is developmental. [When the ridgepole snaps, the whole house falls down. In the same way, practitioners of the Tao who promote yang too much, who do not know when enough is enough, who can be great but cannot be small, suffer damage to their spiritual house.]
Cleary (2): When greatness passes, the ridgepole bends. It is beneficial to have somewhere to go, for you will succeed.
Wu:Excess of the Great indicates a beam that warps. It will be advantageous to have undertakings. It will be pervasive.
The Image
Legge: The image of trees beneath a marsh forms Critical Mass. The superior man, in accordance with this, fearlessly stands alone, and stays retired from the world without regret.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The lake rises above the trees: the image of Preponderance of the Great. Thus the superior man, when he stands alone, is unconcerned, and if he has to renounce the world, he is undaunted.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a forest submerged in a great body of water. The Superior Man, though standing alone, is free from fear; he feels no discontent in withdrawing from the world. [This is suggested by the component trigrams. Water is necessary for the nourishment of the trees, but too much of it can cause serious damage.]
Liu: The lake rising over the trees symbolizes Great Excess. The superior man, when isolated, is undisturbed. If he has to retreat from society, he feels no regret.
Ritsema/Karcher: Marsh submerging wood. Great Exceeding. A chun tzu uses solitary establishing not to fear. (A chun tzu uses) retiring-from the age without melancholy.
Cleary (1): Moisture destroys wood in excess. Thus superior people stand alone without fear, and leave society without distress.
Cleary (2): Moisture destroys wood. Developed people, etc. [Only when sustained by the power to stand alone without fear and avoid society without distress can learning be firmly rooted and development have a proper basis; then it is possible to refine and support the mediocre.]
Wu: Marsh covers over wood; This is Excess of the Great. Thus the jun zi stands alone without fear and withdraws from the world without melancholy.
CONFUCIAN COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Excess is weakly supported at either end, with weakness in both the lowest and topmost lines. The dynamic lines are in excess, but two of them are in the central positions. The trigrams of Flexibility and Satisfaction indicate that there will be advantage in moving in any direction whatever -- there will be success. Great indeed is the work to be done during this extraordinary time.
Legge: Extraordinary times require extraordinary skill in their management. The figure shows two magnetic lines at top and bottom, with four dynamic lines between them -- giving the image of a great beam unable to sustain its own weight. Lines two and five are both dynamic and central however, and from this and the attributes of the component trigrams a good auspice is obtained.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: A stressful situation is best managed with a comprehensive strategy. (Or: in the chess game of life, one succeeds by planning several moves in advance.)
The Superior Man serves The Work by going his own way, regardless of public opinion.
Wilhelm titles this hexagram Preponderance of the Great. I prefer R.L. Wing's paraphrase of Critical Massas more evocative of the figure's meaning in modern terminology.
In Critical Mass four dynamic lines lurk inside of the hexagram, weakly contained at top and bottom by two magnetic lines. This energetic concentration could explode in an unpredictable release of force, and hence the Judgment tells us to move now (remember: non-action is also action) to avoid unwanted consequences. (Often the outcome is predictable – be prepared to just walk away if and when that is your best move.)
Legge’s translation of the Judgment is:
"...It is advantageous to move in any direction whatever. "
This is a different message than Wilhelm's:
"...It furthers one to have somewhere to go."
Legge’s version implies an almost hysterical flight from danger while Wilhelm's rendition suggests prior intention and planning. The latter interpretation is definitely what is meant here, as confirmed by Cleary’s Buddhist commentary:
When the transformative path is flourishing, contaminations easily arise; it is best to set up guidelines and regulations. When meditation work is advanced, ignorance is about to dissolve; it is best to exercise the mind skillfully.
Coupled with Cleary’s translation of the Image as: “Developed people stand alone without fear, avoid society without distress,” the idea is that one should follow one's best intuition and ignore popular illusions, political correctness or inner fears. (Psychologically: conventional thinking, socially conditioned reflexes, knee-jerk responses, etc.). During a time of Critical Mass, pay close attention to direction from the Self to preserve the Work. This is not the time to follow the crowd. Sometimes this can mean that you are obliged to go it alone – one of the Work’s frequent tests (Cf. line 6):
The Gulf is something that has to be leaped, and leaped alone, stripped of all hindering burdens, in faith ... It is thus one of the crisis points of spiritual progress because of the great temptation to turn back from the unknown to the apparent safety of known things, and to succumb to this temptation is to lose all the fruits of past endeavor. G. Knight -- A Practical Guide to Kabbalistic Symbolism
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Compare the Judgment and Image of this hexagram with those of hexagram number 32, Consistency.
Anthony: We must regain modesty through the effort to rid ourself of strong elements that cause us to press forward. The strong elements may exist in someone else, causing them to assault us with their fear, mistrust or doubt. Strong refers to impetuous movement to resolve what is ambiguous … We can meet the challenge by remaining detached and letting things go through their changes … To be truly rich is to remain modest; to be truly powerful is to remain reticent.