One complains of a strange clumsiness that seemed to have been prepared beforehand. taoscopy.com
Shock51
Sudden change or shock, like thunder, that can jolt you awake. Embrace the disruption as an opportunity for growth, respond calmly, and align your actions with the new reality.
↓ Line 2
The shock may cause loss and hardship, but patience and perseverance will eventually restore what was lost. Avoid hasty actions.
↓ Line 4
The shock is overwhelming and may cause stagnation. It is important to find a way to move forward despite the difficulties.
↓ Approach19
Openness and approachability bring success. Embrace others with sincerity and attentive leadership. Seize opportunities with confidence while recognizing the temporary nature of influence.
Original Readings
51 Shock
Other titles: The Arousing, Thunder, The Symbol of Startling Movement, Shake, The Beginning of Movement, Shocking, The Thunderclap, Action, Motion, Sudden Change, Surprise! "The necessity to keep tranquil in the midst of upheaval." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Shock intimates ease and development. When the time of movement which it indicates comes, the subject of the hexagram will be found looking out with apprehension, and yet smiling and talking cheerfully. When the movement like a crash of thunder terrifies all within a hundred miles, he will be like the sincere worshipper who is not startled into dropping his ladle and cup of sacrificial spirits.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Shock brings success. Shock comes --oh, oh! Laughing words -- ha, ha! The shock terrifies for a hundred miles, and he does not let fall the sacrificial spoon and chalice.
Blofeld: Thunder -- success! Thunder comes with a terrible noise, laughing and shouting in awesome glee and frightening people for a hundred miles around. The sacrificial wine is not spilt. [This suggests that the holder of the sacrificial vessel is not easily alarmed or else that he is very wise and able to distinguish between the apparently dangerous and the truly dangerous.]
Liu: Thunder. Success. Thunder comes -- ho ho! Speaking and laughing -- ha ha! It shocks and terrifies for a hundred miles. But one does not drop the spoon or chalice.
Ritsema/Karcher: Shake, Growing. Shake coming: frightening, frightening. Laughing words, shrieking, shrieking. Shake scaring a hundred miles. Not losing the ladle, the libation. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of a disturbing and inspiring shock. It emphasizes that rousing things to new activity, the action of Shake is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: stir things up!]
Shaughnessy:Thunder: Receipt; thunder comes so renewingly; laughter and talk yaya; thunder alarms one hundred miles; not losing the ladle or goblet.
Cleary (1): Thunder is developmental. When thunder comes, there is alarm, then laughter. Thunder startles for a hundred miles, but one does not lose the spoon and wine.
Cleary (2):Thunder comes through. Etc.
Wu:Motion indicates pervasiveness. When Motioncomes, it frightens people. Later, it makes people talk and laugh. Its majesty reaches one hundred li in all directions. There is no misplacement of the ladle or sacrificial wine.
The Image
Legge: The image of Thunder, being repeated, forms Shock. The superior man, in accordance with this, is fearful and apprehensive, cultivates his virtue, and examines his faults.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder repeated: the image of Shock. Thus in fear and trembling the superior man sets his life in order and examines himself.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes continuous thunder. The Superior Man in fear and trembling seeks to improve himself.
Liu: Thunder doubled symbolizes shock. The superior man contemplates himself with fear and caution.
Ritsema/Karcher: Reiterated thunder. Shake. A chun tzu uses anxious fearing to adjust inspecting.
Cleary (1):Traveling thunder reverberates. Thus superior people cautiously practice introspection.
Cleary (2): Repeated thunder reverberates.Developed people practice introspection with caution.
Wu: One thunderclap after another constitutes hexagram Motion. Thus the jun zi reflects and rectifies for fear of being wrong.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His feeling of dread leads to happiness because he is thereby made to adopt proper laws for himself. The movement startles the distant and frightens the near, yet he makes the proper sacrifices the same as always.
Legge: Shock consists of the trigram for Thunder doubled. (This trigram also represents Movement and the Eldest Son.) The hexagram therefore symbolizes a crash or peal of thunder, and combined with the idea of movement shows a sudden change taking place in the kingdom. The lesson is the conduct to be pursued in a time of sudden change through an awareness of danger and the proper regulation of oneself.
A successful issue is predicted if the dynamic first line can be superior to the two magnetic lines above him. It is in the idea of the hexagram that he should be moving and advancing. Although sensible of the danger, he is confident and self-possessed -- so much so that he can calmly perform his religious duties during the prevailing chaos. This is proper behavior for the eldest son, who must eventually assume the duties of his father.
Anthony: In the I Chingshock means being subjected to unsettling events. It also means perceiving and reacting to these events … perceiving, in any of these changes, that a new set of limits, or deprivations, has been placed on our life which seems to restrict or even penalize us. This sense of being projected by events into a sort of emotional trap is what this hexagram calls “Fate.” Acknowledgement of this fate, or trap, and the imperative – to find the way out – is one of the purposes of shock. As far as the I Ching is concerned, there is only one way out – to undergo spiritual development.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: During sudden changes, adjust your tempo and move ahead, remembering that while conditions may alter, the goal remains the same.
The Superior Man double-checks his premises, confronts his weak spots and adheres to the rules and ideals of the Work.
The image here is one of a sudden, dramatic release of energy, power and force. To receive this hexagram without changing lines can refer to almost any abrupt, startling or unexpected situation. Sometimes it is the oracle's way of saying: "Surprise!” It can also be a kind of reprimand for asking a dumb or inappropriate question -- the oracle is "shocked” by your temerity, ignorance, etc. In such instances there is often an element of wry humor in the situation -- usually at the ego's expense. On rare occasions, it is possible to receive this hexagram as a warning about an upcoming event which has no bearing on the question posed. Should you receive such an oracle, be extremely vigilant – as always, the advice to the superior man in the Image suggests the proper course.
A true test of devotion to the Work is to maintain one's will under all circumstances. The world may be falling apart around us, but the adept does not ruin the performance of his sacrifice: the ego continues the Work regardless of conditions, and keeps a cool head under all circumstances.
Have no fear of sudden terror
or of assault from wicked men,
since Yahweh will be your guarantor,
He will keep your steps from the snare.
Proverbs 3: 25-26
Both Yahweh and Christ are what Jung calls "god images” which exist in one form or another in every human psyche, whether it is consciously religious or not. The god image is synonymous with the Self, and the implication of the above quotation from Proverbsis that as long as the ego remains devoted to the Work -- in I Chingterms: "maintains the sacrifice” -- it is under the protection of the Self.
The Perfect Man is godlike. Though the great swamps blaze, they cannot burn him; though the great rivers freeze, they cannot chill him; though swift lightning splits the hills and howling gales shake the sea, they cannot frighten him. A man like this rides the clouds and mist, straddles the sun and moon, and wanders beyond the four seas. Even life and death have no effect on him, much less the rules of profit and loss! Chuang Tzu
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows its subject, when the movement approaches in a position of peril. She judges it better to let go the articles in her possession, and to ascend to a very lofty height. There is no occasion for her to pursue after the things she has let go; in seven days she will find them.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Shock comes bringing danger. A hundred thousand times you lose your treasures and must climb the nine hills. Do not go in pursuit of them. After seven days you will get them back again.
Blofeld:Thunder approaches -- trouble is at hand! Sadly he lets go of his valuables and fleeing sets foot among the nine hills. He should not search for them; in seven days he will regain them.
Liu: Thunder comes, causing danger. You will lose a great deal of your wealth, then climb nine hills without searching for it. After seven days you will regain it.
Ritsema/Karcher: Shake coming: adversity. A hundred-thousand lost coins. Climbing tending-towards the ninth mound. No pursuit. The seventh day: acquiring.
Shaughnessy:Thunder comes so dangerously; one loses cowries; sacrificing to the nine peaks; do not follow, in seven days you will get it.
Cleary (1):Thunder comes: dangerous thoughts. Losing valuables, you climb nine hills: Don’t chase it – you’ll get it in seven days. [Mounting strength with weakness, arbitrary imagination gets too high, and one tries to do what one cannot do. This is losing basic sense and acting on dangerous thoughts … It is fortunate if you maintain rectitude when you are weak, not daring to act arbitrarily…]
Cleary (2):Thunder comes – dangerous. Remembering that you have lost your treasure, you climb nine hills. But do not pursue it; in seven days you will get it.
Wu: He encounters severe movements and presumes to have lost his precious possessions. He climbs up a hill that has nine winding passes, There is no need to search for his possessions. He will recover them after seven days. [He climbs up to high ground to distance himself from the movement below.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: A magnetic line is mounted on a dynamic one. Wilhelm/Baynes: It rests upon a firm line. Blofeld: That the approach of thunder presages trouble is indicated by the position of this yielding line over a firm one. Ritsema/Karcher: Riding a solid indeed. Cleary (2): The danger of thunder coming is mounting the unyielding. Wu: Because he rides on a yang. [The weak second six “rides” on the strong first nine and finds what a perilous situation he is in.]
Legge: The peril in line two is suggested by her position immediately above line one. The rest of the symbolism is obscure, and Chu Hsi says he does not understand it. The subject of the line does what she can to get out of danger, and finally, as is signified by the central position of the line, the issue is better than could have been expected. On the symbolism of "seven days," Ch'eng-tzu says: "The places of a hexagram amount to six. The number seven is the first of another hexagram. When the movement symbolized by Shock has gone through its cycle, things will be as they were before."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: An uprising endangers the man. He accepts the material losses and ascends to lofty heights inaccessible to the threatening forces. After the shock and upheaval have subsided, his property will be restored without his fighting for it.
Wing: A cataclysmic upheaval can cause you great losses. Do not try to resist or fight the forces, since this is impossible. Instead, remove yourself from the dangerous situation. Become inaccessible. In time you will recoup your losses.
Editor: Symbolically, the symbolism is not obscure at all: the basic idea is to transcend your habitual responses and view them from a higher perspective. When things have settled down again, losses will prove to be illusory.
Verily destruction is the foundation of existence,
And the tearing down thou seest
Is but the assembling of material
for a greater structure...
Deluded are they who say,
"Man liveth by the Mercy of the Lord."
Know ye
That the balance of Mercy and Severity
Is the continuance of every life,
Yea, and of this whole universe.
P.F. Case -- The Book of Tokens
A. A new situation renders old methods obsolete.
B. Detach yourself from your accustomed responses and wait for the situation to mature. Losses are imaginary.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows its subject, amid the startling movements, supinely sinking deeper in the mud.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Shock is mired.
Blofeld: After the thunderstorm, the paths are muddy.
Liu:Thunder causes mire. [Even with a humble manner, a person can achieve nothing during this time. If birth time and zodiac symbols are not favorable, one will be involved in trouble.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Shake: releasing the bog.
Shaughnessy: Thunder is followed by mud.
Cleary (1):Thunder gets bogged down.
Wu: He has gotten himself into muddy ground.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The light in him has not yet been brilliantly developed. Wilhelm/
Baynes: It is not yet brilliant enough. Blofeld: This implies muddled thinking. Ritsema/Karcher: Not-yet shining indeed. Cleary (2):Thunder getting bogged down is not illuminating. Wu: He cannot bring himself to a bright spot.
Legge: The fourth line is dynamic in a magnetic place, and is pressed by the magnetic lines on either side, hence he is seen as supinely sinking in the mud. Compare what Confucius says about him with hexagram 21:4 -- "His light has not yet been sufficiently displayed.”
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is unable to make progress against an unyielding situation and remains trapped by its stubborn resistance.
Wing: The Shocking event will reduce you to immobility. This comes about because of a befuddled mind, confused and unprepared. You cannot make any progress under the circumstances.
Editor: The image is of one who is trapped in obtuseness and ambiguity, as in mud. Muddy: Unclear, as in: "This is as clear as mud.” Note that no value judgment is attached to the line. Meditation on the similarities between this line and 21:4 is useful.
But as the mind matures its principles tend to harden and gradually become fixed, and it becomes unable to accept fresh material which will not fit easily into the existing structure. Thus it loses contact with the dynamism of reality. Its enclosing walls of dogmatic opinion become unable to adapt to changing circumstances, and if faced with a major challenge of ideas it can only collapse, leaving the bewildered mind within to cope as best it may with the apparent chaos that surrounds it. The lesson here is that any structure is only defensible as long as it remains flexible and capable of evolution; life itself is in a state of constant flux and no merely human construction can hope to survive if it cannot adapt. A. Douglas -- The Tarot
A. You are immobilized by ignorance and lack of clarity.
B. The time calls for action, but your inertia bogs you down.
C. Ambiguity emasculates action -- wait for the situation to clarify.
19 Approach
Other titles: The Symbol of Advance and Arrival, Nearing, Overseeing, Condescension, Getting Ahead, Promotion, Conduct, Drawing Near, Becoming Great, The Forest, Advance, Advancing, "Two people advancing together; or a good influence which hasn't been seen or felt for some time, is approaching." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Approach means successful progress through firm correctness. In the eighth month there will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes : Approach has supreme success. Perseverance furthers. When the eighth month comes, there will be misfortune.
Blofeld:Approach.Sublime success! Righteous persistence brings reward. However, when the eighth month is reached, misfortune will befall. [The eighth moon of the lunar calendar corresponds approximately to September.]
Liu: Approach. Great Success. It is of benefit to continue. When the eighth month arrives, then there will be misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Nearing, Spring Growing Harvesting Trial. Culminating tending-towards the eighth moon: possessing a pitfall. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of approaching and being approached. It emphasizes that acting without immediately expecting to attain what you desire is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: The Forest: Prime receipt; beneficial to determine; arriving at the eighth month there is inauspiciousness.
Cleary (1):Overseeing is creative and developmental, beneficial if correct. In the eighth month there is misfortune.
Cleary (2):Overseeing is very successful, beneficial if correct. If you go on until the eighth month, there will be misfortune. [If you ride on the momentum of the time and do not know to turn back, at a certain point deterioration will inevitably set in, after flourishing has reached its climax, and there will surely be misfortune.]
Wu:Condescension is great, pervasive, and persevering, etc. [Condescension as used in several judgments has two meanings: to condescend (or to look down from a higher position) and to press forward with authority.]
Hua-Ching Ni: Advance. It is beneficial to go forward with a positive attitude, but be mindful of the cyclical nature of things.
The Image
Legge: The earth over a marsh -- the image of Approach. The superior man is inexhaustible in his instruction and unflagging in his nourishing support of the people.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The earth above the lake: the image of Approach. Thus the superior man is inexhaustible in his will to teach, and without limits in his tolerance and protection of the people.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes land rising above a marsh. The Superior Man's teaching and his affection for his juniors are inexhaustible. Nothing hinders him in his care for the people. [The lower component trigram suggests the nourishment which the Superior Man gives joyfully to others. The upper trigram symbolizes the great bulk of those who benefit.]
Liu: The earth above the lake symbolizes Approach. The superior man's will for instruction has no limit. He is boundless in his support and protection of the people.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above marsh possessing earth. Nearing. A chun tzu uses teaching to ponder without exhausting. [A chun tzu uses] tolerating to protect the commoners without delimiting.
Cleary (1): Above the lake there is earth, overseeing. Superior people use
inexhaustibility of education and thought to embrace and protect the people without bound.
Wu: There is ground above the marsh; this is Condescension. Thus the jun zi realizes that there is no limit to the ideas of education and there is no boundary in the protection of people.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Approach we see the dynamic lines gradually increasing and advancing. The lower trigram is the symbol of Being Pleased, and the upper of Being Compliant. The strong line is in the central position, and is properly responded to. It is the way of heaven to bring progress and success through firm correctness, however the advancing power will decay after no long time.
Legge: Approach suggests the approach of authority -- to inspect, to comfort or to rule. The figure shows two dynamic lines advancing on the four magnetic lines above them. Their action will be powerful and successful, but it must be governed by rectitude and a caution that understands the nature of continuous change.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Two steps forward are followed by one step backward.
The Superior Man remains true to the Work regardless of fluctuations within the psyche.
The meaning of Approach is derived from the two dynamic lines advancing from below to encounter the magnetic lines above. These two are firm allies, and the action of the superior man in the Image suggests that their ascent is one of benevolent regard for the welfare of their subordinates -- only the third line need change for the hexagram to become number eleven, Harmony. We are reminded of the proper relationship between the ego and the Self -- when they advance together, the magnetic forces in the rest of the psyche are eventually transformed.
This hexagram recognizes the inevitably slow progress of the Work (" Rome wasn't built in a day"), and that advances are always followed by retreats. The point is that if one maintains the will to advance, one can be confident that the Work is advancing, regardless of appearances.
(Confucius) tried his best, but the issue he left to Ming. Ming is often translated as Fate, Destiny or Decree. To Confucius, it meant the Decree of Heaven or Will of Heaven ... Thus to know Ming means to acknowledge the inevitability of the world as it exists, and so to disregard one's external success or failure. If we can act in this way, we can, in a sense, never fail. For if we do our duty that duty through our very act is morally done, regardless of the external success or failure of our action. Fung Yu-Lan -- A Short History of Chinese Philosophy
Without changing lines, the hexagram suggests a progressive advance in the matter at hand. Nature being what it is however, no advance can be sustained indefinitely and an eventual regression can be expected. (This observation is such a truism that we must assume it is more than usually applicable to the current situation.)