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The Cauldron50
Transformation and nourishment lead to inner and outer change. Embrace renewal by discarding the old and refining the new.
↓ Line 2
You have something valuable to offer. Others may be envious, but they cannot affect your success.
↓ Line 3
There may be obstacles or changes that disrupt your plans, but perseverance will lead to eventual success.
↓ Line 4
A warning of potential failure due to instability or lack of support. Care must be taken to avoid disaster.
↓ Line 5
A time of stability and prosperity. Continued effort will bring further success.
↓ Line 6
The culmination of efforts leads to great success and recognition. Everything is favorable.
↓ Union8
Collaboration and uniting with others bring strength. Commit to shared goals and build alliances.
Original Readings
50 The Cauldron
Other titles: The Cauldron, The Vessel, Rejuvenation, Cosmic Order, The Alchemical Vessel, "A complete transformation of a person or circumstance." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: The Sacrificial Vessel means great progress and success.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Cauldron. Supreme good fortune. Success.
Blofeld: A Sacrificial Vessel -- supreme success!
Liu:The Cauldron. Great good fortune. Success.
Ritsema/Karcher:The Vessel, Spring significant. Growing. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the imaginative capacity of a sacred vessel. It emphasizes that securing and imaginatively transforming the material at hand is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: hold and transform things in the vessel!]
Shaughnessy:The Cauldron: Prime auspiciousness; receipt.
Cleary (1): The cauldron is basically good; it is developmental.
Cleary (2): The Cauldron is very auspiciously developmental.
Wu: The Cauldron indicates great auspiciousness and pervasiveness.
The Image
Legge: Wood under a fire -- the image of a Sacrificial Vessel. The superior man maintains his correctness in every situation to secure the appointment of heaven.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Fire over wood: the image of The Cauldron. Thus the superior man consolidates his fate by making his position correct.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes fire upon wood. The Superior Man, taking his stance as righteousness requires, adheres firmly to heaven's decrees.
Liu: Fire above wood symbolizes the Caldron. The superior man makes his destiny firm with a correct position.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above wood possessing fire. The Vessel. A chun tzu uses correcting the situation to solidify fate.
Cleary (1): There is fire on top of wood; a cauldron. Thus do superior people stabilize life in the proper position.
Cleary (2): Fire over wood -- The Cauldron . Leaders stabilize their mandate by correcting their position.
Wu: There is fire on wood; this is The Cauldron . Thus the jun zi rectifies his position and consecrates the mandate.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The image of the Sacrificial Vessel shows us wood entering a fire, which suggests the idea of cooking. The sages cooked their sacrifices to God and nourished their able ministers with feasts. We have the trigrams of Flexible Obedience and Quick Intelligence, with the magnetic line advanced to the ruler's place and responded to by her dynamic correlate below. All these things give the auspice of successful progress.
Legge: The written Chinese character for Sacrificial Vessel represents a cauldron with three feet and two "ears" used for cooking and preparing food for both the table and the altar. The hexagram pictures this vessel -- the divided first line represents the feet, the three undivided lines above represent the body, the divided fifth line shows the ears (or carrying rings), and the top line is the handle by which the container is carried or suspended from a hook.
The lesson of the hexagram is that the nourishing of men of talent and virtue intimates great progress and success. The K'ang-hsi editors point out that the distinction between hexagram number forty-eight, The Well, and this one is the difference between the nourishment of the people in general and the specific nourishing of worthy men. They add that the reality of sacrifice is nourishing in this regard.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: You are the Sacrificial Vessel.
The Superior Man holds to the principles of the Work to attain transcendence.
The usual name for this hexagram is The Cauldron -- specifically, a type of food-containing vessel which was used in ancient China for religious sacrifices. I prefer Blofeld’s title of the Sacrificial Vessel as more evocative of the ideas presented in the figure.
When the forty-ninth hexagram of Transformation is turned upside down, it becomes the fiftieth hexagram of the Sacrificial Vessel, thus giving us some valuable insights into the nuances of meaning in each of the figures. The combined ideas of transformation and a cauldron used for sacrifices remind us of the alchemical vessel or retort which "cooked" its contents and transformed them into a higher state of matter -- turned lead into gold in the popular conception. Of course, the true esoteric purpose of the alchemist was psychological, not physical.
The vessel of the alchemists, like the circle of the psyche and the mandala, must be closed if the transformation process is to proceed satisfactorily. For the alchemists, the process took place in the material substances collected in the retort. For us, this is a symbol representing a similar process taking place within the psyche. Thus it is said that a wall must be securely built about the psyche before the reconciliation of the opposites can take place within it, and before the new center of the individual can be created. ... For if anything is lost the process is nullified and the final product will be incomplete, imperfect. So long, for instance, as the individual continues to project his deficiencies, or his values, upon circumstances or upon another, he does not have an impervious vessel ... Thus the contents essentially involved in the transformation are seen to be the irrational, instinctual, not yet human factors of the psyche, the nonego. The human and civilized factors, those subject to the will, make up the wall of the vessel. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
Now an ancient Chinese cauldron used to contain food intended for religious sacrifices is not the same thing as a hermetically sealed alchemical retort made to withstand extreme pressures, but symbolically they are identical images. The ego sacrifices its autonomy for the good of the Work in the same way that the alchemist devotes his entire life to the transformation of base metal into gold -- i.e., to transform his psyche by following the extreme discipline of the Work. Thomas Cleary’s Taoist I-Ching explicitly tells us that this is the meaning intended here:
The work of refinement is the means by which to sublimate earthly energy and stabilize celestial energy, causing the raw to ripen and the old to be renewed, whereby it is possible to illumine the mind and to solidify life. Therefore the cauldron is basically good and it has a developmental path. The basis is the potential of everlasting life of goodness; the cooking of the great medicine in the cauldron is the firing of this living potential to make it incorruptible and permanent. But in this path there is process and procedure; even the slightest deviation and the gold elixir will not form. Therefore people must first thoroughly investigate the true principle. Liu I-ming
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
In his commentary Legge mentions that the Chinese see an analogy between this figure and hexagram number forty-eight, The Well. Compare the two figures, noting the similarities between the first, third, fifth and sixth lines. The component trigrams of the Sacrificial Vessel appear in reverse sequence in hexagram number thirty-seven, Family. What other similarities are there in the two figures? How is the idea of a family analogous to the idea of a sacrificial vessel?
Line 2
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows the cauldron with the things to be cooked in it. If he can say, "My enemy dislikes me, but he cannot approach me," there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: There is food in the cauldron. My comrades are envious, but they cannot harm me. Good fortune.
Blofeld: The Ting possesses solidity. My enemies are in difficulty and there is nothing they can do to me -- good fortune!
Liu: The cauldron is filled with food. My associates are jealous, but they cannot harm me. Good fortune. [Even though a person profits from his business or performs his work carefully and well, he should still beware lest others harm or disturb him.]
Ritsema/Karcher: The Vessel possesses substance. My companion possesses affliction. Not me able to approach. Significant.
Shaughnessy: The cauldron has substance: my enemy has an illness; it is not able to approach me; auspicious.
Cleary (1): The cauldron is filled. One’s enemy is jealous, but cannot get at one; this is lucky.
Cleary (2): The cauldron has content. My enemy is afflicted, but luckily cannot get to me.
Wu: The cauldron is full. My associates have ill feelings about me, but they cannot do anything to me. This is auspicious.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Let the subject of the line be careful where he goes. My enemy dislikes me, but there will in the end be no fault to which he can point. Wilhelm/
Baynes: Be cautious about where you go. This brings no blame in the end. Blofeld: The first sentence indicates a need for caution. "My enemies are in trouble" indicates that I shall remain blameless to the end. Ritsema/Karcher: Considering places it indeed. Completing without surpassing indeed. Cleary (2): Being careful about where one goes. After all there is no resentment. Wu: Be mindful of where to go. There will be no resentment in the end.
Legge: The enemy is the first line which solicits. Line two is able to resist the solicitation, and the auspice is favorable.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man achieves great success, thereby incurring the envy of others. No harm will come to him, since he is not distracted from his purpose.
Wing: You may feel a need to stand apart from your fellow man to achieve a significant aim. Such a stance will invite envy, but this will not create a problem for you. Good fortune is indicated.
Editor: If the Sacrificial Vessel is seen as an analogue of the psyche, it is easy to see this line as a commentary on not allowing inner forces (appetites, passions, emotions, etc.) to overcome the ego's control of the Work. Note that the Wilhelm, Blofeld and Liu translations are not conditional like Legge's: "If he can say..." Liu's note is derived from the Confucian commentary, which seems unduly grave: note that the original line is not overtly cautionary. Generally, you are protected despite any perceived threats.
The Oracles urge men to devote themselves to things divine, and not to give way to the promptings of the irrational soul, for, to such as fail herein, it is significantly said, "Thy vessel the beasts of the earth shall inhabit." W.W. Westcott -- The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster
A. The situation is favorable, but you must be on guard to maintain it.
B. Divisive forces covet that which is under your control, but cannot harm you if you are careful.
C. Your idea has merit. (A cauldron with food in it.) Develop it carefully and don't get carried away. (Protect it from the enemies of doubt, over-enthusiasm, etc.)
Line 3
Legge: The third line, dynamic, shows the cauldron with the places of its ears changed. The progress of its subject is thus stopped. The fat flesh of the pheasant which is in the cauldron will not be eaten. But the genial rain will come, and the grounds for repentance will disappear. There will be good fortune in the end.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The handle of the cauldron is altered. One is impeded in his way of life. The fat of the pheasant is not eaten. Once rain falls, remorse is spent. Good fortune comes in the end.
Blofeld: The handles of the Ting have been detached, so it is difficult to move it. [A delay due to some remissness on our part.] The fat of the pheasant is not eaten. [Because of our remissness an opportunity goes to waste.] Suddenly rain [An omen of good fortune, of heaven’s nourishing powers] comes, regret wanes and, ultimately, there is good fortune.
Liu: The handles of the cauldron are changed. Its activity will be obstructed. The fat of the pheasant is not eaten. Once the rain comes, regret vanishes. Good fortune in the end.
Ritsema/Karcher: The Vessel: the ears skinned. Its movement clogged. Pheasant juice not taken-in. On-all-sides rain lessens repenting. Completing significant.
Shaughnessy: The cauldron's ears are bridled: his motion is blocked; the pheasant fat is not edible; the countryside rain diminishes; regret, in the end auspicious.
Cleary (1): The lifting hooks of the cauldron are removed; the activity is impeded. Rich meat is not eaten. When it rains, lack is regretted. It turns out well.
Cleary (2): The knobs of the cauldron are removed, so its use is impeded. Pheasant fat is not eaten. When it rains, regret is removed and all is well in the end.
Wu: The cauldron’s earrings malfunction. It cannot be carried. The delicious pheasant dish is not enjoyed. Timely rain washes regret away. There will be auspiciousness in the end.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: There is the cauldron with the places for its ears changed -- he has failed in what was required of him in his situation. Wilhelm/Baynes: He has missed the idea. Blofeld: What is said about the handles of the Ting implies our failure in carrying out our duty. Ritsema/Karcher: Letting-go its righteousness indeed. Cleary (2): When the knobs of the cauldron are removed, it loses its meaning. Wu: It loses its usefulness.
Legge: Line three is dynamic in his proper place -- if his correlate were the magnetic line five, the auspice would be entirely good. But instead of five, his correlate is the dynamic six. What is required is that he and line five, instead of six, should be correlates. The place of the ears at five has been changed and the advance of line three is thereby stopped; the good meat in the cauldron will not be eaten. But if he keeps firm line five will eventually seek his company, the yin and the yang will mingle, and their union will be followed by the genial rain. The issue will be good.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is faced with obstacles. His abilities go unnoticed and talents unused. But this is only a temporary setback, as the tension will be relieved.
Wing: Your unique talents are not being used because they are not recognized. This may be due to erroneous thinking on your part. Maintain a positive attitude about yourself, and things will change for the better.
Editor: The Wilhelm, Blofeld and Liu translations all refer to the "ears" as "handles." We are justified therefore in combining the ideas of both. Ears are the organs by which we hear, and handles are devices by which something is grasped. To hear and to comprehend what is heard are the ideas conveyed. However, the ears have been changed or altered, so the image suggests that a different message or new set of rules and/or circumstances is now operative; the old rules or concepts no longer apply. The situation has evolved, but progress is stopped because one hasn't comprehended the changes yet. "The fat of the pheasant is not eaten" is just another way of saying that one has missed the point, or has not been nourished by the new insight. However, the situation will not remain static -- a coming union of thought and feeling will create the catharsis needed to effect the transformation.
The rain showed that the tension between consciousness and the unconscious was being resolved. Although at the time I was not able to understand the meaning of the dream beyond these few hints, new forces were released in me which helped me to carry the experiment with the unconscious to a conclusion. Jung -- Memories, Dreams, Reflections
A. The dynamics of your situation have changed, but you are still operating on old assumptions and have missed the point or not gotten the message. However, the condition is temporary and will resolve itself naturally.
B. The image suggests a stalemate followed by eventual resolution.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows the sacrificial vessel with its feet broken, and its contents, designed for the ruler's use, overturned and spilled. Its subject will be made to blush for shame. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The legs of the cauldron are broken. The prince's meal is spilled and his person soiled. Misfortune.
Blofeld: The legs of the Ting snap. The prince's food is overturned and his person soiled -- misfortune! [Through gross carelessness an opportunity to advance our interests is not only lost but transformed into an occasion of trouble.]
Liu: The legs of the cauldron are split. The duke's meal is spilled and his face turns red. Misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: The Vessel: a severed stand. Overthrowing a princely stew. Its form soiled. Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: The cauldron's broken leg: Overturns the duke's stew; his punishment is execution-in-chamber; inauspicious.
Cleary (1): The cauldron’s legs are broken, spilling the food received for service. The physical being is enriched, but there is misfortune.
Cleary (2): The cauldron breaks its legs, spilling your food; your face drips. This is unfortunate.
Wu: The cauldron’s legs are broken. The duke’s feast is spilled over, resulting in capital punishment. Foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: How can he be trusted? Wilhelm/Baynes: How can one still trust him? Blofeld: The prince's meal is overturned -- how is it possible to continue enjoying his confidence? Ritsema/Karcher: Wherefore trustworthy thus indeed? Cleary (2): Now that you have spilled your food, what happened to your confidence? Wu: How can there be trust?
The Master said:"Virtue small and office high; wisdom small and plans great; strength small and burden heavy: where such conditions exist, it is seldom that they do not end in evil. As it is said in the I Ching, `The tripod's feet are overthrown, and the ruler's food is overturned. The body of him who is thus indicated is wet with shame: there will be evil.'"
Legge: Line four is the minister charged with difficult duties. Although dynamic, he is in a magnetic position with a magnetic correlate in line one. Weak in himself, and without an able helper, he has failed to do his proper work, and cannot be trusted again.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man fails to discharge his responsibilities because of personal inadequacies. Great plans supported by limited knowledge, heavy loads by meager strength, high office by weak character -- these result in shame and disaster.
Wing: You do not have the capability to achieve the goals you have in mind. You have not been realistic about your position. You are lacking in either energy, commitment, information, or assistance. Going forth with your plans will invite disaster.
Editor: The image suggests misfortune brought about by inexperience, incompetence, lack of capacity, divided loyalties, willful disobedience, or plain ignorance. In my experience, the line does not necessarily always imply blame: sometimes, with the best will in the world, one just isn't capable of coping with superior forces in a situation. If this is the only changing line, the new hexagram becomes #18, Work on What has been Spoiled, implying that you should clean up the mess you’ve just made.
If you have assumed a character above your strength, you have both acted in this matter in an unbecoming way, and you have neglected that which you might have fulfilled. Epictetus
A. A failure is portended. Only you can determine if blame is involved.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows the cauldron with yellow ears and rings of metal in them. There will be advantage in being firm and correct.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The cauldron has yellow handles, golden carrying rings. Perseverance furthers.
Blofeld: The Ting has yellow handles with golden rings attached -- righteous persistence brings reward! [The faults described in the last two notes have now been put right; the position is even better than before they were committed.]
Liu: The cauldron has yellow handles and golden carrying rings. Continuing brings advantage. [A time of benefit.]
Ritsema/Karcher: The Vessel: yellow ears, metallic rings. Harvesting Trial.
Shaughnessy: The cauldron's yellow ears and metal bar; beneficial to determine.
Cleary (1): The cauldron has yellow hooks with a gold handle. It is beneficial to be single-minded.
Cleary (2): ... It is beneficial to be correct.
Wu: The cauldron’s ears are yellow and its carrying pole is covered with gold. It is advantageous to be persevering.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The central position of the line is taken as a proof of the solid virtue of its subject. Wilhelm/Baynes: The yellow handles of the cauldron are central, in order to receive what is real. Blofeld: The central position of this line in the upper trigram implies solid worth. Ritsema/Karcher: Centering uses activating substance indeed. Cleary (2): The knobs of the cauldron are filled through the center. Wu: What it holds is substantial.
Legge:"Line five," says the Daily Lecture, "praises the ruler as condescending to the worthy with his humble virtue." Yellow has occurred repeatedly as a "correct color," and here the yellow ears and strong rings of metal are intended to intensify our appreciation of the occupant of line five. As the line is magnetic, a caution is added about being firm and correct.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is modest and approachable. He thereby attracts associates, who can provide able help and advice.
Wing: If he is humble and receptive, a person in a position of authority will make further progress in the development of his character. He will attain insights and wisdom. He should continue developing his expanding awareness.
Editor: The Wilhelm version of the Confucian commentary gives us a more accessible clue as to the meaning of this line: "...In order to receive what is real." The essential idea is that of the ruler's receptivity to a higher power. Openness to advice is the basic gestalt -- "ears" are receptive to messages, and "handles" suggest grasp or comprehension. Metal is often symbolic of the mental qualities, and yellow metal, rendered as "gold" in most translations of this line, suggests the highest form of mentality -- wisdom, divine intelligence, cosmic truth, etc. Gold also often symbolizes intuition, the highest form of comprehension.
The attitude of the serious adept was genuinely religious, and the most important of the philosophical alchemists confessed in their writings that the religious side of their "art" was the focus of their interest and endeavors -- above all their inner experiences during the opus. A. Jaffe -- The Myth of Meaning
A. The images suggests an open receptivity to harmonious influences: Go to center and listen to your inner voice.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows the cauldron with rings of jade. There will be great good fortune, and all action taken will be in every way advantageous.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The cauldron has rings of jade. Great good fortune. Nothing that would not act to further.
Blofeld: The Ting has jade handles -- great good fortune! [A further improvement on the progress indicated in the preceding note.]
Liu: The cauldron has carrying rings of jade. Great good fortune. Benefit in everything.
Ritsema/Karcher: The Vessel: jade rings. The great significant. Without not Harvesting.
Shaughnessy: The cauldron's jade bar; greatly auspicious; there is nothing not beneficial.
Cleary (1): The cauldron has a jade handle. This is very auspicious, entirely beneficial.
Cleary (2): The jade handle of the cauldron is very auspicious, beneficial to all.
Wu: The cauldron’s carrying pole is decorated with jade. There will be great fortune and nothing disadvantageous.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The rings of jade are at the very top -- the dynamic and magnetic meet in their due proportions. Wilhelm/Baynes: The jade rings in the highest place show the firm and the yielding complementing each other properly. Blofeld: The first part of the passage is indicated by this top line-- a firm line which meets the yielding fifth harmoniously. Ritsema/Karcher: Solid and supple articulating indeed. Cleary (2): The jade handle is above. Hard and soft join. Wu: The strong and the weak are balanced.
Legge: Line six is dynamic, but his strength is tempered by being in a magnetic place. It is this which makes the handle to be of jade, which, though very hard has a peculiar and rich softness all its own. The auspice of the line is excellent. The Great Minister (line six) performs for the ruler (line five) by helping his government and nourishing the worthy. This is the part that the handle does for the cauldron.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The sage imparts wise counsel to the benefit of the worthy recipient. His gentle and sincere behavior pleases the heavens, which dispense good fortune to all.
Wing: There exists a general atmosphere of clarity and greatness. All circumstances are favorable. The inner self has reached a highly developed stage. Everyone will benefit.
Editor: The top line of a hexagram often represents the sage or holy man. Here the wisdom of the sage is offered to the ruler. Psychologically, the ego is receptive to instruction from its higher Self. The Confucian commentary alludes to the proper union of dynamic and magnetic forces -- this is the Holy Marriage of the Perennial Philosophy. The image suggests the Chinese concept of Li, the character for which combines the ideas of heaven's ordinances with that of a receptive vessel.
The term Li signifies one of the most important concepts in Confucian ethics. [The character] is made up of two elements, one representing influence coming down from heaven, and the other ... representing a sacrificial vessel ... Li came to include all the customary regulations and acknowledged practices which govern social relationships. D.H. Smith --Confucius
A. One is receptive to the highest influence.
B. An image of the harmonious union of thought and feeling.
8 Union
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.