Speaking knowingly
One is careful not to miss the point when answering. taoscopy.com
Grace22
Refinement and grace enhance your presence. Focus on beauty and elegance in actions, but do not let appearance overshadow substance. Simplicity often holds the truest value.
↓ Line 1
Simple grace is best. Avoid ostentation and proceed with humility.
↓ Line 2
Superficial embellishments can lead to misunderstandings and problems.
↓ Line 5
Even small efforts can lead to success if pursued with sincerity.
↓ Penetration57
Adapt influence like the wind; subtle shifts bring progress. Consistency and endurance will penetrate barriers.
Original Readings
22 Grace
Other titles: Grace, The Symbol of Decoration, Elegance, Gracefulness, Luxuriance, Adorning, Public Image, Adornment, Beauty, Conceit, Vanity, Veneer, Façade, Manners, Embellishment, Superficiality, Superficial Appearances, Form vs. Function, "Art," Ego-trips, "Often refers to conceit, vanity or beauty. It stresses that the content is more important than the outward appearance." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Persona should be given its due, but there is no advantage in allowing it to advance and take the lead.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Grace has success. In small matters it is favorable to undertake something.
Blofeld: Elegance. Success! Some small advantage can be derived from having a particular goal (or destination). [The implication is that the advantage is not sufficient to make it worth while to seek that goal or destination unless no special difficulty or inconvenience is involved. The arrangement of the lines in this hexagram is very similar to that in the previous one, but it is adjudged much more suitable. The general idea is that, like nature, we should conform to a regular and well ordered pattern of behavior which, since we are human beings and not mere animals, involves a high degree of refinement. From the point of view of divination, it would seem that this is a time to watch carefully so as to learn how those involved in the situation think and behave, the better to influence them for the good when the opportunity arises.]
Liu:Gracefulness, success. Small undertakings benefit.
Ritsema/Karcher: Adorning , Growing. The small, Harvesting: possessing directed going. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of its outward presentation. It emphasizes that building intrinsic value by embellishing appearance and displaying valor is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Luxuriance : Receipt; a little beneficial to have someplace to go.
Cleary (1):Adornment is developmental. It is beneficial to go somewhere in a minimal way.
Cleary (2):Adornment is successful. It is beneficial to go somewhere in a small way.
Wu:Adornment is pervasive and shows small advantage of an undertaking. [Adornment does not change the nature of what it adorns, but merely makes what it adorns appear more attractive. In other words, the change is mostly superficial but not substantive…]
The Image
Legge: Fire at the foot of the mountain -- the image of Persona. Thus the superior man adorns his rule with grace, but makes important decisions in conformance with higher laws.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Fire at the foot of the mountain: the image of Grace. Thus does the superior man proceed when clearing up current affairs. But he dare not decide controversial issues in this way.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes fire at the foot of a mountain. The Superior Man, desiring to ensure the enlightened functioning of the various departments of state, dare not make light decisions regarding legal matters. [The component trigrams, fire below mountain, suggest a brilliance which cannot be perceived from afar. The Chinese commentators go on to suggest that this symbolizes a firm and somewhat severe exterior which hides brilliance and the beauty within. For purposes of divination, this should be taken as a pattern for our comportment in the matter at issue.]
Liu: Fire illuminates the base of the mountain symbolizing Gracefulness. Thus the superior man clarifies ordinary affairs, but does not judge lawsuits.
Ritsema/Karcher: Below mountain possessing fire. Adorning. A chun tzu uses brightening the multitudinous standards without daring to sever litigating.
Cleary (1): There is fire below the mountain, adorning it. Thus do superior people clarify governmental affairs, without presumptuous adjudication. [What superior people see in this is that just as the light of a fire below a mountain is not great, when people are lacking in capacity their vision is not far reaching; therefore the superior people administer and clarify the simple matters of governmental affairs, and do not act presumptuously in difficult matters of adjudication… Not judging presumptuously thus has the meaning of respect for life.]
Wu: There is fire at the foot of the mountain; this is Adornment. The jun zi brings openness to administering civil affairs, but refrains from judging cases in criminal litigation.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Persona we see the magnetic central line ornamenting the dynamic lines of the lower trigram, and hence it is said that ornament should have free course. On the other hand, the dynamic top line ornaments the magnetic lines of the upper trigram, and hence it is said that there will be little advantage if ornament is allowed to advance and take the lead. The elegance and intelligence of the lower trigram is regulated by the restraint of the upper trigram. This suggests the observances which adorn human society. We observe the ornamental figures of the sky, and thereby ascertain the changes of the seasons. We observe the ceremonial customs of society, and understand how transformation is accomplished in the world.
Legge: Persona is the symbol of what is ornamental and of the act of adorning. As there is adornment in nature, so should there be in society, but its place is secondary to that which is substantial.
The K'ang-hsi editors say that the magnetic line coming and ornamenting the two dynamic lines in the lower trigram shows how substantiality should have the benefit of ornamentation. The dynamic line ornamenting the two magnetic lines in the upper trigram shows how ornamentation should be restrained by substantiality. Ornament has its use, but it should be kept in check.
The figures of the sky are all the heavenly bodies in their relative positions and various movements, producing day and night, heat and cold, etc. The observances of society are the ceremonies and performances which regulate and beautify the intercourse of men.
"A mountain," says Ch'eng-tzu, "is a place where we find grass, trees, and a hundred other things. A fire burning below it throws up its light, and brings them all out in beauty. This gives the idea of ornament, or being ornamented. The various processes of government are small matters, and elegance and ornament help their course, but great matters of judgment demand the simple, unadorned truth.”
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: There's nothing wrong with showing a little style, but don't become so identified with a role that it makes your decisions for you.
The Superior Man displays wit and charm when that is appropriate, but relies upon shrewd discernment when making serious choices.
Confucius points out the correct attitude for this hexagram in his third sentence -- the elegant intelligence, or "brilliant wit" of the lower trigram is being "sat on" by the mountain of the upper trigram. Brilliant wit is often just an "ornament" to make one look clever in the company of others. Like seasoning on food, a little bit ofPersona or ornamentation is life-enhancing, but too much curry powder overwhelms the meal.
Jung's conception of the Persona points out the fact that it is a major vehicle for the complexes to express themselves under the guise of social interaction:
(The Persona) is only a mask for the collective psyche, a mask that feigns individuality, and tries to make others and oneself believe that one is individual, whereas one is simply playing a part in which the collective psyche speaks. Jung -- The Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious
For an urban shipping clerk to wear cowboy clothes may be a legitimate expression of his personality, or it may be the only outlet available for repressed portions of his psyche. When he begins driving a pickup truck and frequenting Country-Western bars we might suspect that his role is playing him and the real Self is being masked by excessive ornamentation orPersona.
The person cannot be more than an instrument for the manifestation of the self. But people get so attached to their mask that they cannot free themselves from it any more ... They make a king out of the servant and separate themselves from their true being. They force their higher self into exile, into the unconscious. Elisabeth Haich --Initiation
To receive this hexagram without changing lines suggests that perhaps you are more focused on form than meaning, or that superficial appearances are concealing something more substantive in the situation. Look deeper – what’s really going on?
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows one adorning the way of his feet. He can discard a carriage and walk on foot.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He lends grace to his toes, leaves the carriage and walks.
Blofeld: Elegantly shod, he leaves his carriage and proceeds on foot.
Liu: He decorates his toes and leaves the carriage. He would rather walk. [Activity benefits, but stagnation does not.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Adorning one's feet. Stowing-away the chariot and-also afoot.
Shaughnessy: Making luxurious his feet; discarding the chariot and going on foot.
Cleary (1): Adorning the feet, leaving the car and walking.
Cleary (2): Adorn the feet; leave the car and walk.
Wu: He adorns his toes, leaves the carriage behind and walks.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Righteousness requires that he should not ride. Wilhelm/ Baynes: It accords with duty not to ride. Blofeld: He declines to make use of the carriage at his disposal. [This implies progressing in the way we know to be right and declining the help of those who are anxious to lead us from the path of rectitude.] Ritsema/Karcher: Righteously nothing to ride indeed. Cleary (2): It is right not to ride. Wu: Because it is right not to ride in it.
Legge: Line one is dynamic in a dynamic place at the bottom of the hexagram. He is also the first line in the trigram of fire or light, suggesting what is elegant and bright. He has nothing to do but to attend to himself; therefore he cultivates (adorns) himself in his humble position. If righteousness demands it he can give up every luxury and indulgence. He neither cares for nor needs adornment, and will walk in the way of righteousness without it.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man is tempted to create a falsely flattering public image for himself. A simple demeanor is more gracious and fitting to his position.
Wing: Move forward under your own power and avoid false appearances, dubious shortcuts, or ostentatious behavior. It is most important now that you rely upon your own worth.
Wilhelm: (from Lectures on the I Ching): Now the attribute of art, or grace, consists of discarding all nonessential adornments. It consists of leaving out everything superfluous and of confining art to its appointed place.
Editor: The feet here are regarded as more substantive than the carriage, suggesting that one must rely on one's own inner worth rather than a "vehicle" of ostentatious superficiality. Suggested is the need to abandon a crutch of some kind.
The Self is the entity, then, that "plots" the way for an individual life, that directs and demands in an individual fashion. But the Self also insists that the ego take responsibility within the limits that are set for it. The wisdom of life lies in discovering where individual will and choice can operate, where limitations and responsibility begin and end. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
A. You are able to make your own decisions: you can "stand on your own two feet." Rely now upon your own resources and initiative. (Could be a test.)
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows one adorning his beard.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Lends grace to the beard on his chin.
Blofeld: He adorns his beard.
Liu: He decorates his beard.
Ritsema/Karcher: Adorning: one's hair-growing.
Shaughnessy: Making luxurious his beard.
Cleary (1): Adornment is seeking.
Wu: He adorns his beard.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He rouses himself to action only along with the subject of the line above. Wilhelm/Baynes: He ascends with the one above. Blofeld: He does so in order to be able to take part in the enjoyments of his superiors. [There are times when it is wise to conform with the customs of our seniors, even if we attach little value to them.] Ritsema/Karcher: Associating-with the above, rising indeed. Cleary (2): Adornment is seeking, in the sense of rising with those who are higher. Wu: He wants to advance with the one above.
Legge: Line two is magnetic and in its proper place, but with no proper correlate above. The dynamic third line is similarly situated. Therefore they stick together and are as the beard and the chin. What is substantial commands and rules what is merely ornamental.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man seeks adornment for its own sake, without regard to his inner spiritual qualities, which it should enhance.
Wing: Grace for its own sake is worthless to you now. It is merely an adornment. If you pay more attention to the vessel than to what it contains, you will entirely miss the meaning of this moment.
Wilhelm (from Lectures on the I Ching): Nothing in itself should be cultivated that is not somehow prepared to subordinate itself to meaning.
Editor: This line does not lend itself to the usual gender symbolism. In my experience neither the Siu nor Wing paraphrases reflect the deeper meaning of this line. Note that Wilhelm's "paraphrase" from his Lectures on the I Chingis not exactly analogous to either of them. In his regular commentary he states: "The third line is the chin and the second is, as it were, merely its appendage. The upward movement that evokes grace takes place in the two lines together. The yielding element can adorn the strong, but cannot add to it an independent quality. This line has significance only in the hexagram taken as a whole; in its individual aspect it is not especially important. (pg 497)” The beard, an "ornament" which conceals the chin which shapes it, suggests the concept of the Persona: The mask that hides the face is analogous to the beard that hides the chin. As suggested by Blofeld's note on the Confucian commentary, in some situations the line can assume a meaning analogous to Matthew 22:21 -- "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's” or even: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." (There are times when the Work could be harmed if unprotected by a facade.)
We have to become aware of ourselves as individuals; apart from the external demands made upon us, we have to acquire a sense of responsibility and a capacity for judgment which are not necessarily identical with external collective expectations and standards, though of course these standards must be given due regard. We have to discover that we use our representational clothes for protection and appearance but that we can also change into something more comfortable when it is appropriate and can be naked at other times. If our clothes stick to us or seem to replace our skin we are likely to be come ill. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
A. Form follows function.
B. You are only an appendage to a larger reality. Follow what is best in you.
C. Sometimes it is necessary for the substantive to be concealed by the trivial.
D. Sometimes the substantive gives shape to the trivial.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows its subject adorned by the occupants of the heights and gardens. She bears her roll of silk, small and slight. She may appear stingy, but there will be good fortune in the end.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Grace in hills and gardens. The roll of silk is meager and small. Humiliation, but in the end good fortune.
Blofeld: Elegantly he strolls amidst the garden of hillocks, but his silk girdle is of the poorest quality -- disgrace followed ultimately by good fortune. [The Chinese love landscape gardens. Here, obviously, someone improperly dressed is visiting a person of consequence and has to suffer for his carelessness. This should be taken figuratively to indicate a setback due to our own carelessness. Fortunately all ends well.]
Liu: Decoration in hills and gardens. A small roll of silk. Humiliation, then good fortune.
Shaughnessy: Luxuriant in the mound garden; the bolt of silk is so fragmentary; distress; in the end auspicious.
Cleary (1): Adornment in the hills and groves, the roll of silk is small; there is shame, but it turns out well.
Cleary (2): … There is regret, but the end is auspicious.
Wu: He adorns himself with ragged cloth in a hillside garden. He appears parsimonious, but will have good fortune in the end.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The good fortune falling to the fifth line affords occasion for joy. Wilhelm/Baynes: The good fortune of the [fifth line] has joy. Blofeld: This good fortune comes in the form of blessings. ["Blessings" implies good fortune which comes, as it were, by chance and not obviously as a result of our own merits or efforts.]Ritsema/Karcher: Possessing rejoicing indeed. Cleary (2): There is joy. Wu: His good fortune comes with jubilation.
Legge: Line five is in the place of honor, but has no proper correlate in line two. She therefore associates with the dynamic line six above her, symbolized by the heights and gardens around a city which serve to both protect and to beautify it. Thus the subject of the line receives adornment from without, and does not of herself try to manifest it. Moreover, in her weakness, her offerings of ceremony are poor and mean. But, as Confucius said: "In ceremonies it is better to be sparing than extravagant." Hence stinginess doesn't prevent a good auspice. The K'ang-hsi editors say: "Line five occupies the place of honor, yet prefers simplicity and exalts economy. She might change and transform manners and customs." It is a small matter to say of her that she affords occasion for joy.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man meets someone whom he wishes to befriend and feels ashamed at his meager gifts. But his natural sincerity overcomes the difficulties and good fortune ensues.
Wing: You may wish to strengthen your connection with someone you admire, but you feel that what you have to offer is not grand enough to merit attention. However, your internal desires and sincere feelings of friendliness are all that truly matter. Your worth will be recognized and you will meet with good fortune.
Wilhelm (from Lectures on the I Ching): Thus Tao and law are also found where man, the personal element, the human mask, as it were, is no longer visible.
Editor: The theme of Persona here contrasts “simplicity” with Haute Couture – I visualize a ragged Taoist sage in the emperor’s palace garden. Stingy, small, meager, plain, ragged, parsimonious, all suggest some sort of impoverishment. To be “adorned” by “poverty” can suggest a morally superior but weak position in relationship to a strong one: the intimidating “hills and gardens” of the aristocracy which define the situation. Thus: your position is weak but correct and should prevail if you serve the Tao. There is also the idea of a small but sincere sacrifice which brings an eventual reward in excess of the original offering. The alliance with the top line suggests a connection with superior forces from whom, despite our humble station, we are adorned via our inner grace.
[Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, "I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on." Mark 12: 41-44
A. Less is more.
B. A small sacrifice is appropriate. The reward will exceed the loss.
57 Penetration
Other titles: The Gentle, The Penetrating, Wind, The Symbol of Bending to Enter, Willing Submission, Gentle Penetration, Ground, Calculations, Complaisance, Penetrating Influence, The Penetration of the Wind, Humility, Devoted Service, Submission
Judgment
Legge:Penetration indicates modest success. See the great man and move in the direction that implies.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Gentle. Success through what is small. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. It furthers one to see the great man.
Blofeld:Willing Submission -- success in small matters. It is advantageous to have in view a goal (or destination) and to visit a great man. [This is a reasonably auspicious hexagram; it augurs a certain amount of success for those who submit to circumstances -- unless a moving line indicating the contrary is received. This is not a time for resistance but for submission.]
Liu:Penetration. Small success. It is beneficial to go somewhere. It is beneficial to see a great man.
Ritsema/Karcher: Ground, the small: Growing. Harvesting: possessing directed going. Harvesting: visualizing Great People. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of providing an underlying support. It emphasizes that subtly penetrating and nourishing things from below, the action of Ground, is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to enter the situation from below!]
Shaughnessy: Calculations: Little receipt; beneficial to have someplace to go; beneficial to see the great man.
Cleary (1):Wind is small but developmental. It is beneficial to have somewhere to go. It is beneficial to see a great man.
Cleary (2):The small comes through successfully. It is beneficial to have a place to go. It is beneficial to see great people.
Wu: Complaisance indicates that the small are pervasive. It is advantageous to have undertakings. It is also advantageous to see the great man.
The Image
Legge: Two wind trigrams following each other form Penetration. The superior man proclaims his commands and undertakes his work.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Winds following one upon the other: the image of the gently penetrating. Thus the superior man spreads his commands abroad and carries out his undertakings.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a favorable wind. The Superior Man performs his allotted tasks in consonance with heaven's (or the sovereign's) will. [The component trigrams combine the concepts of wind and blandness -- hence a favorable wind.]
Liu: Wind following wind symbolizes Penetration. The superior man proclaims his directives and executes his affairs.
Ritsema/Karcher: Following winds. Ground. A chun tzu uses distributing fate to move affairs.
Cleary (1): Wind following wind.Thus do superior people articulate directions and carry out tasks.
Wu: One breeze follows the other; this is Complaisance. Thus the jun zi gives further injunctions in order to administer public affairs.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Repeated wind trigrams show the repetition of governmental orders. The dynamic fifth line has penetrated to his correct central place and carries his will into action. The magnetic first and fourth lines obey the dynamic lines above them. Hence it is said that there will be success in small matters.
Legge: Penetration symbolizes both wind and wood, and has the attributes of Docility, Flexibility and Penetration. We are to think of it as wind with its penetrating power which finds its way into every nook and cranny.
Confucius said: "The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend when the wind blows upon it." In accordance with this, the hexagram must be understood as the influence and orders of the government designed to remedy what is wrong in the people. The upper trigram denotes the orders issuing from the ruler, and the lower the obedience rendered to them by the people.
Ch'eng-tzu says:"Superiors, in harmony with the duty of inferiors, issue their commands; inferiors, in harmony with the wishes of their superiors, follow them. Above and below there are that harmony and deference; and this is the significance of the redoubled Wind trigram. When governmental commands and business are in accordance with what is right, they agree with the tendencies of the minds of the people who follow them."
Anthony: Getting this hexagram often refers to the presence of inferior elements that obstruct our having a good influence ... Because this hexagram is concerned with self-correction, we often get it together with Work on What has been Spoiled. [Hex. 18: Repair.]
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Get to the heart of the matter and act on the information obtained.
The Superior Man acts on his understanding by implementing it in the world.
The hexagram ofPenetration, made up of two trigrams symbolizing Wind (which is air in motion), suggests the activity of thought (the realm of air) trying to comprehend or "penetrate" something. Thus, each line of the figure may be seen as some aspect of an act of mental endeavor.
Therefore the student must exert his own mind to the utmost. If he does so, he will know his own nature. And if he knows his own nature, examines his own self and makes it sincere, he becomes a sage. Therefore the "Great Norm" says, "The virtue of thinking is penetration and profundity ... Penetration and profundity lead to sageness.” -- Ch'eng I
The first line depicts vacillation and indecisiveness; the second shows one trying to "get to the bottom" of a matter. Line three is an image of futile hypothesizing; four and five show two aspects of successful comprehension, and the sixth line symbolizes an inability to understand.
Man's intellect -- the greatest but most dangerous gift he has received from God -- builds a bridge across the seemingly unconquerable chasm between that which is personal and mortal and that which is impersonal and eternal. Through man's intellect he succumbed to the temptation to fall out of divine unity with his consciousness. But by the same token, his intellect gives him the possibility of bringing back his consciousness into full union with divinity. By means of his intellect, man is able to understand truth, and when he has understood, he will seek and keep on seeking and trying until he some day succeeds in finding the only path to the realization of his self. Elisabeth Haich -- Initiation
The hexagram can also symbolize humble submission and devoted service, thus suggesting the role of the ego in the Work. To truly comprehend the nature of the Work is to serve it with devotion. There are some interesting associations between the act of penetration and that of submission – when dynamic and magnetic are in full harmony they lose their individual identities and become one force which is both and neither.