Other titles: The Symbol of Harmonious Joy, Repose, Happiness, Providing-for/Provision, Excess, Merriment, Self-confidence, Contentment, Harmonize, Excitement, Intemperance, Self-deception "Repose in the absolute confidence that the action now being taken is right. Also refers to music." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Enthusiasm indicates that feudal princes may be set up and the army advantageously mobilized.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Enthusiasm. It furthers one to install helpers and to set armies marching.
Blofeld:Repose profits those engaged in building up the country and sending forth armies. [This means that perfect certainty as to the rightness of our cause is of great value under the conditions mentioned. The usual meaning of this character is "beforehand" or "happiness." In the English translation of Wilhelm's version, it appears as "enthusiasm." "Repose" was suggested by the Chinese experts who kindly vetted this manuscript. At first I felt hesitant about adopting it, until I realized that, where it is used favorably, it must be understood as the kind of mental repose which follows absolute confidence that the action now being taken is the right one. In lines one, three and six, however, it clearly means failure to act when action is essential; in line five, failure to act owing to incapacity.]
Liu:Happiness. It is of benefit to build up the country (or business), and send the army forth. [Receivers of this hexagram should be wary of exhibiting excessive enthusiasm when beginning a new undertaking. If they are not, there will be misfortune. The hexagram also advises that everything necessary for advancement should be made ready. Then if an opportunity presents itself, it should be seized immediately, without hesitation.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Providing-for , Harvesting: installing feudatories to move legions. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of what is needed to meet the future. It emphasizes that accumulating strength through foresight and prudence so things can be fully enjoyed is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: provide-for!]
Shaughnessy: Excess: Beneficial to establish a lord and to move troops.
Cleary (1):Joy. It is advantageous to set up a ruler and mobilize the army.
Wu:Merriment indicates the advantage of establishing principalities and taking military actions.
The Image
Legge: Thunder exploding out of the Earth -- the image of Enthusiasm. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, composed their music and honored virtue, offering it especially to God when they worshipped him at the service of their ancestors.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder comes resounding out of the earth: the image of Enthusiasm. Thus the ancient kings made music in order to honor merit, and offered it with splendor to the Supreme Deity, inviting their ancestors to be present.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder over the earth. The ancient rulers venerated heaven's gifts with solemn music and they sacrificed abundantly to the Supreme Lord of Heaven in order to be worthy of their ancestors.
Liu: Thunder arising from the earth symbolizes Happiness. The ancient kings composed music to honor virtue, offering it to God and the spirits of their ancestors.
Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder issuing-forth-from earth impetuously. Providing-for. The Earlier Kings used arousing delight to extol actualizing-tao. Exalting worship's Supreme Above. Using equalizing the grandfather predecessors. [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 thunder emerges the earth stirs: Thus did the kings of yore make music to honor virtue, offering it in abundance to God, thereby to share it with their ancestors.
Wu: Thunder breaks out above the earth with a boom; this is Merriment. Thus the ancient kings used music to praise virtuous accomplishments and made grand offerings to the Supreme Being to be accompanied by their ancestors.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Enthusiasm shows one dynamic line inspiring responsive obedience in all the others: devoted obedience takes action. Such obedient action conforms to natural law and creates order and discipline in the people. The planets and the seasons follow their natural cycles. The sages similarly obey the laws of their nature and the people acknowledge their regulations and punishments as just.
Legge:Enthusiasm shows harmony and contentment throughout the kingdom -- a time when the people rejoice in their sovereign and readily obey him. At such a time his appointments and any military undertakings would be hailed and supported. Because he is close to the fifth place of dignity, the dynamic fourth line is seen as the chief executive officer of the ruler. The ruler has confidence in him, and all of the magnetic lines yield their obedience. Obedience is the attribute of the lower trigram which here takes the initiative and uses Movement, which is the attribute of the upper trigram.
The symbolism of the Image is more obscure than usual. The use of music at sacrifices is supposed to assist in producing the union between God and his worshippers as well as the present and past generations.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Delegate authority and gather your forces.
The Superior Man synchronizes his will with the intent of the Self via the principles of the Work.
Enthusiasm is the reverse of the preceding hexagram of Temperance. In Temperance we saw the calm strength of a mountain concealed within the earth. In Enthusiasm we see thunder exploding out of the ground into the sky: the strength that was formerly tempered and restrained is now released. It is significant to note that while every line of Temperance is more or less "favorable,” every line of Enthusiasm is either negative or cautionary -- even the generally positive fourth line carries a hint of warning about “doubt.”
Negatively, Self-Deception (the passion of True Believers) seems to be what this hexagram is portraying. The figure often suggests a callow or deluded buoyancy -- the kind of outlook associated with romantic idealists. In its most negative aspect, Enthusiasm is Intemperance -- the exact opposite of the moderation and restraint shown in the preceding hexagram. The behavior of an untrained Great Dane puppy suddenly bursting into a formal dinner party could be described as "enthusiasm,” but hardly a desirable form thereof. The lower trigram of Obedient Devotion has suddenly employed the action and energy of the upper trigram of Thunderous Shock to express itself. This is inconsistent with the code of the superior man.
Conversely, in its most positive sense, Enthusiasm suggests the surety of total self-confidence. Blofeld translates this as Repose, explaining that the name was suggested to him by his Chinese advisors. We begin to understand this subtle distinction when we compare the seemingly obscure connection with music in the Image with a passage from Chuang- tse:
He who understands the music of heaven lives in accordance with nature in his life and takes part in the process of change of things in his death. In repose, his character is in harmony with the yin principle; in activity, his movement is in harmony with the yang principle. Therefore he who understands the music of heaven is not blamed by heaven or criticized by men ... It is said, "In action he is like heaven. In repose he is like the earth ... Because his mind has found repose, therefore the creation pays homage to him.”
To understand “the music of heaven” is to attain Repose, which is another way of describing the tranquility that comes with furthering the intent of the Self. The only dynamic line in the hexagram is in the minister's place just below the fifth-line ruler. He has the confidence of his sovereign and his actions therefore accord with heaven. We can turn to the Stoics to find an illustration of this idea:
My will is simply that which comes to pass. For I esteem what God wills better than what I will. To Him will I cleave as His minister and attendant; having the same movements, the same desires, in a word the same will as He. -- Epictetus
Thus we see that the hexagram can describe either one of two opposite conditions -- the intemperate Enthusiasm of ego-confidence (a synonym for Self-Deception), or the calm Repose of true SELF-confidence. The fifteenth and sixteenth hexagrams, each the inverse of the other, represent magnetic and dynamic aspects of the same general idea: Enthusiasm, when it emanates from the Self, is just Temperance in action.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows one who is firm as a rock. She sees a thing without waiting till it has come to pass; with her firm correctness there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Firm as a rock. Not a whole day. Perseverance brings good fortune.
Blofeld: Unmoved as a rock; before the end of day, righteous persistence will bring good fortune. [Unmoved as a rock because of the repose which results from absolute confidence in a decision already taken.]
Liu: Firm and stable like a rock. Do not wait a whole day. Continuing brings good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Chain-mail tending-towards petrification: Not completing the day. Trial: significant.
Shaughnessy: Scratched on a rock; not to the end of the day; determination is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Firm as a rock, not procrastinating, rectitude is good.
Wu: He is upright like a rock. In less time than the passing of the day, he discriminates the good from the bad. To be persevering is auspicious.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This is shown by the central and correct position of the line. Wilhelm/Baynes: Because it is central and correct. Blofeld: This is indicated by the suitable position of this line which is central to the lower trigram. Ritsema/Karcher: Using centering correcting indeed. Cleary (2):
It is balanced in the right way. Wu: Because he is central and correct.
The Master said:"Does not he who knows the inception of things possess spirit-like wisdom? The superior man, in his intercourse with the high, uses no flattery, and, in his intercourse with the low, no coarse freedom: does not this show that he knows the inception of things? Those beginnings are the slight stirrings of movement, and the earliest indications of good fortune or ill. The superior man sees them, and acts accordingly without waiting for the delay of a single day. As is said in the I Ching, `He is firm as a rock, and acts without waiting for the delay of a single day. With firm goodness there will be good fortune.' Firm as a rock, how should he have to wait a single day to ensure his knowing those beginnings and his course? The superior man knows the minute and the manifested; he knows what is weak, and what is strong: he is a model to ten-thousand."
Legge: The magnetic second line is in her correct central position in the lower trigram. Quietly and firmly she is able to abide in her place and exercise a far-seeing discrimination. All is indicative of good fortune.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is quiet, but firm as a rock, yet sensitive to the first imperceptible signs of impending changes. He does not delay in taking action.
Wing: To be able to recognize the early signs of a change in fortune is a tremendous gift. While others may be swept away by compelling rhythms and fads, you adhere firmly to the underlying principles of your nature and react appropriately to the demands of the time. Such is the behavior of leaders.
Editor: All translations except Legge and Cleary's render the second sentence in the imagery of "not waiting for a whole day to pass,” which suggests action taken on the basis of foresight, premonition or intuition. This line is sometimes an injunction to follow your common sense -- saying in effect, that an oracle is unnecessary to proclaim the obvious.
You don't need a weatherman to know
which way the wind blows.
-- Bob Dylan
A. Proper discrimination knows when to act, and when to refrain from action.
B. Your own intuition already knows the answer to your query.
Line 3
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows one looking up for favors, while she indulges the feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. If she would understand! If she be late in doing so, there will indeed be occasion for repentance.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Enthusiasm that looks upward creates remorse.
Shaughnessy: A bowl's excess; regret; being slow there is regret.
Cleary (1): Looking up to joy, if repentance is tardy, there will be regret.
Cleary (2): Looking up in joy, repent. If too late, there is regret.
Wu: Gazing at merriment will bring regret. Loitering about will bring regret.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This is intimated by the position not being the appropriate one. Wilhelm/Baynes: The place is not the appropriate one. Blofeld: This is indicated by the line's unsuitable position. Ritsema/ Karcher: Situation not appropriate indeed. Cleary (2): Wu: Because his position is improper.
Legge: Line three is magnetic in a dynamic place. She looks upward and depends upon the ruling line above while she does nothing herself but indulge in pleasure. Unless she changes her attitude, the auspice is bad.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man looks upward for favors and continues his dependency upon others. He indulges in visions of pleasure and affluence. Unless he changes immediately, he will be sorry.
Wing: You have waited complacently for a cue from someone else to motivate you. Whatever the reasons for your hesitation, whether it is idle pleasure in the present or simply inertia, you are losing your independence and self-reliance. You can still save yourself. Move.
Editor: This line is magnetic when the times call for dynamic action, giving us an image of indolent dependency. Without doing anything, she wants to "have her cake and eat it too.” Sometimes one receives this line when in a state of despair: feeling as if abandoned to one's fate by an incomprehensible cosmos. The idea is that fate isn't going to make the transition for you: you must do it yourself.
To those who are self-conceited and vain of their imaginary knowledge of exterior things, having no real wisdom, nothing can be shown, because the perverted action of their own minds opposes the harmonious action of the Universal Mind and repulses it. The spheres of their souls become narrow and contracted, and cannot expand towards the whole. They rest self-satisfied, buried in the shadow of their own ignorance, and are inaccessible to the light of Nature. Paracelsus -- Philosophia Sagax
A. Stop indulging yourself and do what you know to be correct in the matter at hand.
Other titles: Duration, The Symbol of Constancy, The Long Enduring, Constant, Persevering, Standing Fast, Continuity, Constancy in the Midst of Change, Holding Firm, "Get yourself into a fixed routine like the orbiting planets." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Consistency means successful progress without error through firm correctness. Movement in any direction is advantageous.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Duration. Success. No blame. Perseverance furthers. It furthers one to have somewhere to go.
Blofeld: The Long Enduring. Success and freedom from error! Righteous persistence brings reward. It is favorable to have in view some goal or destination.
Liu:Duration. Success. No blame. It benefits to continue. Going anywhere is advantageous.
Ritsema/Karcher:Persevering, Growing. Without fault. Harvesting Trial. Harvesting: possessing directed going. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of continuity and endurance. It emphasizes that continuing on and renewing the way you are following is the adequate way to handle the situation. To be in accord with the time, you are told to persevere!]
Shaughnessy: Constancy: Receipt; there is no trouble; beneficial to determine; beneficial to have someplace to go.
Cleary (1):Constancy is developmental. Impeccable. It is beneficial to be correct. It is beneficial to have a place to go.
Cleary (2):Constancy comes through without fault, beneficial insofar as it is correct. It is beneficial to have a place to go.
Wu: Constancy indicates pervasion. There will be no blame. It also indicates advantage of being persevering and having undertakings.
The Image
Legge: Thunder over wind -- the image of Consistency. The superior man stands firm and does not change his method of operation.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder and wind: the image of Duration. Thus the superior man stands firm and does not change his direction.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder accompanied by wind. The Superior Man stands so firmly that he cannot be uprooted.
Liu: Thunder and wind symbolize Duration. The superior man stands firm without changing direction.
Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder, wind, Persevering. A Chun tzu uses establishing, not versatility on-all-sides.
Cleary (1): Thunder and wind are perpetual. Thus does the superior person stand without changing places.
Cleary (2): Thunder and wind are constant; so do developed people stand without changing place.
Wu: A combination of thunder and wind forms Constancy. Thus the jun zi establishes himself by not changing his post.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Consistency means long continuance. The dynamic trigram of Thunder is above, and the magnetic trigram of Wind is below. Docility and Motive Force are in sympathetic communication because their dynamic and magnetic lines all correspond. When the motive power is spent it will begin again -- hence movement in any direction is advantageous. The sun and moon are consistent in their illumination, and the four sequential seasons are consistent in their cycles of growth. The sages are consistent in their work and all under heaven are transformed. When we examine this consistent perseverance the natural tendencies of heaven and earth are revealed.
Legge: The subject of the hexagram is perseverance in what is right, or in continuously acting out the law of one's being. It is seen as a sequel to the previous hexagram,Initiative. As that figure deals with the correct relations
between husband and wife, so this figure treats of the continuous observance of their respective duties. Initiativeconsists of the trigrams symbolizing the youngest son and youngest daughter and shows how the attraction and influence between the sexes is strongest in youth. Consistency on the other hand, consists of the trigrams symbolizing the oldest son and oldest daughter. This couple is more staid. The wife occupies the lower place, and their relationship is characterized by her submission. Given two parties, a magnetic and a dynamic in correlation, if both consistently observe what is correct and natural (i.e., the magnetic submissive and the dynamic firm), then good fortune and progress may be predicted for their course.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: The will to maintain the consistency of the Work assures progress in whatever direction it may take.
The Superior Man holds fast to the principles of the Work.
Wilhelm's title for this hexagram is Duration. I feel that the word Consistency best evokes the meaning of the figure. In an existence consisting of continuous change the only things that have duration are the principles upon which change is based. To adhere to these principles is to maintain consistency. Implicit here is a consistent balance of forces. Consistency in the Work means neither consistent action nor inaction, but an appropriate combination of the two principles as required by changing circumstances. The Confucian commentary alludes to this characteristic of the Work when it mentions the sun, moon and changing seasons as examples of forces which maintain their consistency within a context of continuous change.
Just as the moon at night reflects the light of the hidden sun, so in the Work the ego is always magnetic in relation to the dynamic Self. A moon that thought that it was the source of its light would be egregiously deluded, despite superficial appearances to the contrary; so too the ego that thinks that its powers come from anywhere but the Self.
Motives and standards of choice are not invented by the ego but are structured by the actualization of archetypal predispositions through personally acquired value standards. E. C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Note that all of the lines in the hexagram are generally unfavorable except two and five, and that when they both change places the hexagram becomes number thirty-one, Initiative. There is a profound lesson here which is best appreciated by meditating on the associations implied. The fact that each hexagram is the inverse of the other should not be forgotten.