In times of stagnation, trust in steady silence, find balance amid the chaos, and nourish your true self for growth.
From
12
Divorcement
To
27
Nourishment
Freeing oneself from their close ones
One goes further because others refuse to do what is necessary to get one accepted. taoscopy.com
Divorcement12
Progress stalls as negative influences prevail. Patience and self-reflection are key to overcoming obstacles.
↓ Line 1
The beginning of stagnation. It is important to remain true to oneself and maintain integrity.
↓ Line 4
Following the guidance of wise leadership can lead to success even in times of stagnation.
↓ Line 5
The stagnation begins to lift. The wise remain cautious and ensure stability as progress resumes.
↓ Nourishment27
Focus on sustenance and nourishment, both physical and spiritual. Evaluate the sources from which you draw energy and wisdom. Guard against meaningless indulgence and seek genuine fulfillment.
Other titles: Standstill, The Symbol of Closing, Stagnation, Obstruction, The Wife, Obstructed, Decadence, Disjunction, Impasse, "Yin supporting yang which is wrong, they part company. Bad prospects for marriage or partnership. " -- D.F. Hook
Judgment:
Legge: Divorcement means there is a lack of communication between the different classes of men. This is unfavorable to the superior man. The great has departed and the inferior has arrived.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Standstill . Evil people do not further the perseverance of the superior man. The great departs; the small approaches.
Blofeld: Stagnation (obstruction) caused by evil doers. Although the omen portends ill for the Superior Man, he must not slacken his righteous persistence. The great and the good decline; the mean approach. [When heaven and earth cease to co-operate, no growth is possible and stagnation results. The trigram (earth), when in intercourse with heaven, has the auspicious meaning of glad acceptance; but, when separated from heaven, it represents weakness and darkness, etc.]
Liu: Stagnation. Stagnation is of no benefit, although not of man's doing. The superior man carries on (according to his principles). The great is departing. The small is arriving.
Ritsema/Karcher: Obstructing it , in-no-way people. Not Harvesting: chun tzu, Trial. the great going, the small coming. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of being blocked or interfered with. It emphasizes that accepting the hindrances that temporarily interrupt the flow of life and thwart communication is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: accept obstruction!]
Shaughnessy: The wife's non-persons; not beneficial for the gentleman to determine; the great go, the little come.
Cleary (1): Obstruction’s denial of humanity does not make the superior person’s rectitude beneficial. The great goes and the small comes.
Cleary (2): … Does not make the leader’s correctness beneficial, etc.
Wu:Stagnation is destined to cause obstruction of normal course of action. It is not beneficial to the jun zi who takes a persevering stand. The great goes out and the small comes in.
The Image:
Legge: Heaven and earth are estranged -- the image of Divorcement. The superior man preserves his virtue by withdrawing from evil, and refuses both honor and wealth.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Heaven and earth do not unite: the image of Standstill. Thus the superior man falls back upon his inner worth in order to escape the difficulties. He does not permit himself to be honored with revenue.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes heaven and earth cut off from each other. To conserve his stock of virtue, the Superior Man withdraws into himself and thus escapes from the evil influences around him. He declines all temptations of honor and riches. [To understand why the trigrams for heaven and earth arranged in what seems to be their natural positions have this inauspicious significance, see notes on the preceding hexagram, (Harmony).]
Liu: Heaven and earth are not united, symbolizing stagnation. The superior man restrains himself to avoid danger. He seeks neither honor nor wealth.
Ritsema/Karcher: Heaven, earth, not mingling. Obstruction. A chun tzu uses parsimonious actualizing-tao to cast-out heaviness. A chun tzu uses not permitting splendor to use benefits. [Actualize-tao: Ability to follow the course traced by the ongoing process of the cosmos ... Linked with acquire, TE: acquiring that which makes a being become what it is meant to be.]
Cleary (1): When heaven and earth do not commune, there is obstruction. The superior person therefore is parsimonious with power and avoids trouble, not susceptible to elevation by emolument.
Cleary (2): … Leaders … should not prosper on wages.
Wu: … The jun zi practices the virtue of frugality to alleviate difficulties, but does not allow himself to be honored with official salary.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The unfavorable auspice of Divorcement is because heaven and earth are not in communication, and all things consequently fail to unite. High and low, superior and inferior, do not meet in union, and there are no well- regulated states in the kingdom. The lower trigram consists of magnetic lines, and the upper of dynamic lines: darkness is within, clarity without; weakness within, strength without. The lower trigram represents the advancing inferior men, the upper trigram represents the retreating superior men.
Legge: The form of Divorcementis the exact opposite of Harmony, and much of what has been said on the interpretation of that will apply to this. Divorcement is the hexagram of the seventh month when the process of growth has ended and increasing decay may be expected. The trigram of Earth is below and that of Heaven is above, and since it is always proper for the lower trigram to take the initiative, how can Earth take the place of Heaven? As in nature, it is Heaven that originates, not Earth, and in a state the upper classes must take the initiative, and not the lower.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: The time is out of joint -- decadence waxes and virtue is mocked.
The Superior Man refuses to participate in the prevailing disorder.
If the preceding hexagram images the fruitful union of heaven and earth in a holy marriage, this figure shows their Divorcement.
Divorcement: The act, process, or an instance of separating things closely joined -- the state of being separated.
To receive this figure without changing lines suggests that you are separated from truth or virtue, or that for the moment at least, the situation at hand affords no possibility of reconciliation. During such conditions it would be the height of folly to "wed oneself" to the prevailing disorder.
Note however that every line but the third shows some kind of effort to reunite that which has been separated. The first shows an alliance of closely related elements bent on serving the Work; line two depicts a kind of holding action which is necessary to allow a superior element to prevail. The third line identifies recalcitrant forces which prevent union, and four depicts another alliance -- a higher octave of its first line correlate. Line five images nearly complete re-unification and six shows the end of Divorcement. These images suggest that although disunion prevails, the energy in the situation is promoting connection.
As regards the Judgment:
Plato seems to have expressed Confucius' idea perfectly. In The Republic he makes Socrates say that the true philosopher, finding himself in an evil environment, "will not join in the wickedness of his fellows, but neither is he able singly to resist all their fierce natures, and therefore seeing that he would be of no use to the State or to his friends, and reflecting that he would have to throw away his life without doing any good either to himself or others, he holds his peace, and goes his own way ... he is content, if only he can live his own life and be pure from evil or unrighteousness, and depart in peace and good-will, with bright hopes." H.G. Creel -- Confucius and the Chinese Way
Line 1
Legge: The first line, magnetic, suggests the idea of grass pulled up, and bringing with it other stalks with whose roots it is connected. With firm correctness on the part of its subject, there will be good fortune and progress.
Wilhelm/Baynes: When ribbon grass is pulled up, the sod comes with it. Each according to his kind. Perseverance brings good fortune and success.
Blofeld: When grass is uprooted, what is attached to it is pulled up as well. Righteous persistence brings good fortune and success. [Although this hexagram is ominous, the first line is auspicious. This sort of contradiction is common with bottom and top lines, which are often held to precede or follow after the main situation.]
Liu: When ribbon grass is pulled out, its roots come with it. They are of the same kind. Continuing leads to success and good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Eradicating thatch-grass intertwined. Using one's classification. Trial: significant. Growing.
Shaughnessy: Plucking the cogon-grass stem with its roots; determination is auspicious; receipt.
Cleary (1): Pulling out roots of a reed takes others with it. It is good and developmental to be correct.
Cleary (2): … Correctness is auspicious and successful.
Wu: Like pulling reeds with all their connecting roots, it will be persevering, auspicious and pervasive.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The will of the parties intended is bent on serving the ruler. Wilhelm/Baynes: The will is directed to the ruler. Blofeld: The omen is favorable owing to continued loyalty to the rule. [The ruler is now surrounded by evil men or men of mean attainments, but the Superior Man continues to help him.] Ritsema/Karcher: Purpose located-in a chief indeed. Cleary (2): The will is in the leader. Wu: Because the aspiration is to serve the king.
Legge: Naturally we should expect the advance of the first of the three magnetic lines to lead to evil. But if she sets herself to be firm and correct, she will bring about a different issue. She is one of the cluster of inferior forces who are able to change their mind, and set their hearts to love their ruler.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the inferior people are advancing. The man retires from public office in order to preserve his integrity. He brings along his associates, who are like the sod clinging to the uprooted grass.
Wing: If it is not possible to change or influence the current environment while preserving the principles that have formed your character, then withdraw completely. Success will come to you in a more profound sense than could be realized from a compromising situation. Important associates may leave with you. Good fortune.
Editor: Compare this with the first line of the preceding hexagram. In some circumstances the meaning can be similar to the proverb: "Birds of a feather flock together." In another sense, if "grass roots" are the foundation, source, bare essence of something, then the first line can represent the roots of the lower trigram, which is seen as a clump of grass or "cluster of inferior forces." The image suggests the separation of oneself from an entrenched position and moving upward. Confucius sees this movement as being in accord with the will of "the ruler" -- in psychological terms: the will of the Self.
Endeavor to ascend into thyself, gathering in from the body all thy members which have been dispersed and scattered into multiplicity from that unity which once abounded in the greatness of its power. Bring together and unify the inborn ideas and try to articulate those that are confused and to draw into light those that are obscured. Porphyry
A. A fundamental change for the better, or the first step toward unity: grass-roots support.
B. An ascent from a fixed position. A confederation of lower elements combines to serve a greater whole.
C. Form follows function. Stay connected with your origins/basic values in context of hexagram’s meaning in Judgment and Image.
D. Action follows perception.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows its subject acting in accordance with the ordination of Heaven, and committing no error. His companions will come and share in his happiness.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He who acts at the command of the highest remains without blame. Those of like mind partake of the blessing.
Blofeld: Whatever is done in response to a command from on high cannot be a wrong. His companions are also made illustrious and blessed. [Yet, according to Confucius, if a ruler is wholly evil, he may be regarded as a bandit and removed. Short of that, however, obedience to authority had to be unquestioning.]
Liu: He whose actions are in accord with the orders of the highest receives no blame. His fellows share in his blessing.
Ritsema/Karcher: Possessing fate, without fault. Cultivating radiant satisfaction.
Shaughnessy: There is a command; there is no trouble; blessings fastened to the split-log.
Cleary (1): If there is an order, there is no fault. The companions attain felicity.
Cleary (2): If there is order, there is no blame. The companions cleave to blessings.
Wu: Having received the command from the above is without blame. Those of a like kind will share the blessing.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The purpose of his mind can be carried into effect. Wilhelm/Baynes: What is willed is done. Blofeld: Those carrying out commands are obeying the ruler's will. Ritsema/Karcher: Purpose moving indeed. Cleary (2): Because the will is carried out. Wu: His aspirations will prevail.
Legge: The action of the subject of the line, whose activity is tempered by his magnetic position, will be good and correct, and issue in success and happiness. The fourth line is just below the ruler's place, and yielding to the will of Heaven, or the ruler, he gets his purpose carried out.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: A turn for the better occurs. To succeed in creating order and making progress, however, the man must be given the requisite authority to do the task. He will fail if he proceeds on his own initiative and judgment.
Wing: It is possible to change the entire situation to one of progress and order. If you sincerely hear a calling to the task and are in harmony with the cosmos, you and your associates will benefit. If you simply appoint yourself to the position of leader, confusion could result.
Editor: Psychologically, the idea here is that when the ego follows the principles of the Work, or the will of the Self (which amounts to the same thing), other elements within the psyche ("his companions") are thereby induced to fall into line.
[Once unity has been achieved] the work of destiny can be commenced, which is the functioning as a part of God’s evolving Universe which [the individual], as a spirit, undertook to carry out in the first place... And how does he work out his destiny? By being himself -- literally. By acting from within the center of his being, his essential self. Not by acting according to the dictates of his mind, his emotions or his instincts, but by using them according to his and their needs. G. Knight -- The Work of a Modern Occult Fraternity
A. Obey the principles of the Work, and disparate elements will follow your lead.
B. You are in harmony with your duty/destiny/Work.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows him who brings the distress and obstruction to a close -- the great man and fortunate. But let him say: "We may perish! We may perish!" So shall the state of things become firm, as if bound to a clump of bushy mulberry trees.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Standstill is giving way. Good fortune for the great man.
"What if it should fail? What if it should fail?" In this way he ties it to a cluster of mulberry shoots.
Blofeld: Stagnation (obstruction) is now coming to an end and fortune favors the Superior Man, but he must not forget the situation is so dangerous that collapse may yet occur. Accordingly, he must strengthen himself as mulberry trees are strengthened by tight bindings.
Liu: Stagnation is coming to an end. The great man has good fortune. "Will it fail, will it fail?" He ties it to the mulberry shoots.
Ritsema/Karcher: Relinquishing Obstruction. Great People significant. Its extinction, its extinction. Attaching tending-towards bushy mulberry trees.
Shaughnessy: Beneficent wife; for the great man auspicious; it is lost, it is lost, tied to a bushy mulberry.
Cleary (1): Ending obstruction, great people are fortunate, but tie themselves to a tree trunk lest they go to ruin.
Cleary (2): Putting a stop to obstruction, great people are fortunate. But they still keep destruction in mind.
Wu: Stagnation will soon be brought to a close. This is auspicious for the great man. Would the nation perish? Would the nation perish? It is like having tied it to the trunk of a mulberry tree.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The good fortune of the great man arises from the correctness of his position. Wilhelm/Baynes: The place is correct and appropriate. Blofeld: That fortune now favors the Superior Man is indicated by the suitable position of this line. [A firm line with other firm lines on either side.]Ritsema/Karcher: Situation correcting appropriate indeed.
Cleary (2): The fortune of great people is when their position is truly appropriate. Wu: Because his position is proper.
The master said:"He who keeps danger in mind is he who will rest safe in his seat; he who keeps ruin in mind is he who will preserve his interests secure; he who sets the danger of disorder before him is he who will maintain the state of order. Therefore the superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget the possibility of ruin; and when all is in a state of order, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is kept safe, and his states and all their clans can be preserved. This is according to what the I Ching says: `Let him say, "Shall I perish? Shall I perish?" So shall this state be firm, as if bound to a clump of bushy mulberry trees.'"
Legge: The dynamic fifth line in his correct central place brings the distress and obstruction to a close. Yet he, as ruler, is warned to maintain his caution in two lines of rhyme: "And let him say, `I die! I die!' -- So to a bushy clump his fortune he shall tie."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man brings order and progress to the situation. He exhibits cool-headedness and caution during the transition and maintains contingency plans in readiness.
Wing: A sweeping change for the better is indicated. Things can improve and progress. Yet this is the very time to feel cautious and reserved. With such an attitude your success is doubly insured and a strong foundation is established for the new times.
Editor: The image in the first line is of the entangled roots of grass plants. The differences between line one and line five are the differences between roots and stalks -- one is a cause, the other is an effect. The roots are entangled naturally, the stalks must be bound together by a conscious act of will: one is a hidden natural association, the other is an overt willed association.
Other titles: The Corners of the Mouth, Providing Nourishment, The Symbol of the Cheek and of Nourishment, Jaws, Lower Jaw, Nurturing, Swallowing, Sagacious Counsel, Nourishing, To Feed, "Can mean money, usually as the result of effort." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Nourishmentindicates good fortune through firm correctness. Make sure you know what you are feeding, and determine your proper diet.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The Corners of the Mouth . Perseverance brings good fortune. Pay heed to the providing of nourishment and to what a man seeks to fill his own mouth with.
Blofeld: Nourishing. (Nourishment -- literally Jaws) [The form of this hexagram readily brings to mind the concept of wide open jaws, but the word nourishment must not be taken only in a literal sense; for we are concerned here with all those things which men seek both for their own advantage and for giving succor or assistance to others.] Righteous persistence brings good fortune. Watch people nourishing others and observe with what manner of things they seek to nourish themselves. [For this will teach us a lot about their characters.]
Liu: Nourishment. Continuing leads to good fortune. Observe the providing of nourishment and the food someone seeks for himself.
Ritsema/Karcher: Jaws, Trial: significant. Viewing Jaws. Originating-from seeking mouth substance. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of nourishing and being nourished. It emphasizes that opening in order to take things in as well as providing to others is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:Jaws: Determination is auspicious. View the jaw; oneself seeking the mouth's fullness.
Cleary (1): In nourishment, it is good to be correct. Observe nourishment, and seek fulfillment for the mouth by yourself.
Cleary (2): Nourishment is good if correct. Observe nourishment, and seek food by yourself.
Wu: Nurturing indicates that with perseverance there will be auspiciousness. People should observe the principle of nurturing and find proper foods for nourishment.
Hua-Ching Ni: In nourishment, one should seek the right nutrition and not be tempted by what others enjoy.
The Image
Legge: The image of thunder under a mountain forms Nourishment. The superior man, in accordance with this, controls his speech and regulates his eating and drinking.
Wilhelm/Baynes: At the foot of the mountain, thunder: the image of The Corners of the Mouth. Thus the superior man is careful in his words and temperate in eating and drinking.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder rumbling at the foot of a mountain. The Superior Man is thoughtful in speech and frugal in his eating and drinking. [The lower trigram, thunder, also represents the power of quickening growth; hence its place in a hexagram concerned with nourishment.]
Liu: Thunder rolling around the foot of the mountain is the symbol of Nourishment. The superior man is cautious in his speech; he restrains and regulates his eating and drinking.
Ritsema/Karcher: Below mountain possessing thunder. Jaws. A chun tzu uses considering words to inform. [A chun tzu uses] articulating to drink and take-in.
Cleary (1): There is thunder beneath the mountain. Superior people are careful about what they say, and moderate in eating and drinking.
Cleary (2): … Leaders are prudent in speech, moderate in consumption.
Wu: There is thunder below the mountain; this is Nurturing. Thus the jun zi speaks with caution and drinks and eats with moderation.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: When the nourishing is correct, there will be good fortune. We must examine those whom we wish to nourish, and we must also examine our own nourishing of ourselves. Heaven and earth nourish all things. The sages nourish men of talent and virtue in order to reach the masses. Great is the work intended in the time of nourishing.
Legge: The character ofNourishment is the symbol of the upper jaw, but the image of the hexagram suggests a whole mouth with undivided lines at top and bottom, and divided lines between them. The bottom line is in the trigram of Movement, and the top line is in the trigram of Keeping Still -- giving the image of a mobile lower jaw and a fixed upper jaw. The divided lines represent the mouth cavity. The hexagram denotes nourishing of body or mind, of one's self or others, and the proper nourishment in each case must necessarily vary according to circumstances. Thus, judgment must be exercised to determine which nourishment is in harmony with correctness and virtue.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:Nourishment asks you to examine your motives in the allocation of your energy. Willpower creates a well- balanced apportionment.
The Superior Man controls his expression and monitors his appetites.
The lines in the lower trigram of Movement are all rendered unfavorably to one degree or another, while the lines of the upper trigram of Keeping Still are all generally correct. The implication is that non-action is almost always preferable to movement. This idea is fundamental to the philosophy of the I Ching, and in the hexagram of Nourishmentthe lesson is that non-action feeds and strengthens the psyche.
All actions are the expression of psychic energy through a physical body to create an effect in spacetime. Each effect creates consequences which usually demand further action. It is easy to see that action which is not initiated by the Self can only result in unexpected consequences, and that action which conforms to the will of the Self is motivated by and directed toward a transcendent goal. Although correct non-action generally creates no negative consequences in spacetime, it does have nourishing consequences in the psyche as autonomous forces are gathered, digested, assimilated and renewed in ascending configurations of growth.
As this Path represents the structure of the [ego], the attribution of the Mouth reminds us that the purpose of incarnation is the seeking of the food of experience in Form for the benefit of the [Self] and the Spirit. Gareth Knight -- Qabalistic Symbolism
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Compare the Image of Nourishment in this hexagram with those in hexagram number five, Waiting; number forty-eight, The Well; and number fifty, The Sacrificial Vessel.