Spark your passion with clarity and perseverance, and let mutual attraction lead to joyful connections.
From
30
Clarity
To
31
Influence
Suspending the encounter
There is agreement on a lull to evacuate the wounded. taoscopy.com
Clarity30
Clarity and adaptability. Embrace the light to illuminate your path. Recognize patterns in life, align with them, and nurture personal growth.
↓ Line 1
At the beginning, there is confusion and uncertainty. However, if one remains focused and determined, there will be no blame.
↓ Line 5
This line suggests that through emotional release and expression, one can find good fortune and relief.
↓ Line 6
This line indicates decisive action and leadership. It suggests that by addressing the root of a problem, one can achieve success without blame.
↓ Influence 31
Mutual attraction fosters influence and inspiration. Connect deeply to inspire change and strengthen bonds.
Other titles: The Clinging, The Symbol of Brightness and of Separateness, Flaming Beauty, Radiance, Fire, The Net, Allegiance, The Cosmic Mean, Synergy, Sunlight, Perception, Pertaining to Comprehension, The Light, Consciousness, Lucidity
Judgment
Legge: The free course and success of Clarity comes from firm correctness. The nourishment of bovine docility creates good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The Clinging. Perseverance furthers. It brings success. Care of the cow brings good fortune.
Blofeld:Flaming beauty. Righteous persistence brings reward. Success! Rearing cows -- good fortune! [Cows are gentle creatures which require looking after; hence this sentence means that good fortune can be gained by looking after those in need of help.]
Liu: Fire. It is of benefit to continue. Success. To take care of the cow leads to good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Radiance, Harvesting Trial. Growing. Accumulating female cattle. Significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of expanding light, warmth and awareness. It emphasizes that joining with and depending on what spreads this light, the action of Radiance, is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy:The Net: Beneficial to determine; receipt; raising a cow is auspicious.
Cleary(1):Fire is beneficial for correctness and development. Raising a cow brings good fortune.
Cleary (2): Fire is beneficial if correct; then there is success, etc. [In Buddhism, when demons cause disturbance, it is necessary to cleave to true teaching to get rid of aberrations.]
Wu: Allegiance indicates that it will be advantageous to be persevering and pervasion will follow. It will be auspicious to raise the cow.
The Image
Legge: The image of brightness repeated forms Clarity. The great man, in accordance with this, cultivates more and more his brilliant virtue, and diffuses its brightness over the four quarters of the land.
Wilhelm/Baynes: That which is bright rises twice: the image of Fire. Thus the great man, by perpetuating this brightness, illuminates the four quarters of the world.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes fire rising in two tongues of brilliant flame. The Superior Man, by perpetuating the brilliance of the ancients, illuminates every quarter of the earth. [In other words, we should make ourselves as completely dependent on the principle of righteousness as natural objects are dependent upon nature; in this way, we are sure to be successful.]
Liu: Doubled brightness symbolizes Fire. A great man perpetuates the light and illuminates the four corners of the universe.
Ritsema/Karcher: Brightness doubled arousing Radiance. Great People use consecutive brightening to illuminate tending- towards the four sides.
Cleary (1):Light has dual function. Thus do great people illumine the four quarters with continuing light. [The sun goes in at night and comes out in the daytime; this pattern represents inner illumination and outer illumination, one light having dual function…Outer illumination has to be based on inner illumination… Illumination must reach inside and outside, so that both are illumined and both are correct.]
Cleary (2): Illumination doubled makes fire. Great people illumine the four quarters with continuing illumination.
Wu: Brightness doubled makes Allegiance. Thus the great man carries on the brightness to shine the four corners of the earth.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Clarity means clinging attachment. The sun and moon have their roots in heaven, and all the growing things have their roots in the earth. The double brightness of the two trigrams is rooted in correctness, and all under heaven are thereby transformed. The magnetic second line is central and correct, indicating a free and successful course. Nourishing a passive docility will lead to good fortune.
Legge:Clarity is the trigram of fire and light, and the sun is the source of both of these. Its attribute is brightness, and by a natural metaphor: intelligence. But this trigram also means inhering or in adhering to -- being attached to. In the hexagram we have a double brightness -- a phrase which denotes the ruler. If we take the two central lines as emblematic of the situation, we have the magnetic dwelling with the dynamic above and below -- a condition requiring a docile humility and strict adherence to what is correct. Ch'eng-tzu says: "The nature of the ox is docile, and that of the cow is much more so. The subject of the hexagram adhering closely to what is correct must be able to act in obedience to it, as docile as a cow, and then there will be good fortune."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Willed persistence gets results. Be receptive to your inner light, and reflect it in your life.
The Superior Man cultivates his capacity to manifest his comprehension of the Work in his everyday choices.
Light is a symbol of both normal consciousness and super- consciousness. Probably every religion in the world uses it in the latter sense -- from the "Let there be light" in the first chapter of Genesis, to The Lord of Light (Ahura Mazda), the supreme being of Zoroastrianism. The TibetanBook of the Dead speaks of the "clear white light" which is the first thing encountered after bodily death -- a phenomenon reported as the experiential perception of those who have had near-death experiences. Light means Truth, it means Reality, and the "double brightness" of this hexagram tells us that Clarity is manifested both above and below.
Meditation on light is one of the most important exercises in the various schools of Tibetan Yoga. The more these psychic and spiritual powers can be achieved during life, the stronger is the ability to penetrate and overcome the bardo. D. I. Lauf, Secret Doctrines Of The Tibetan Book Of The Dead
The Confucian commentary gives the examples of the sun and moon in the heavens, and of growing things on the earth as emblems of Clarity. Sun and moon are certainly luminous, but growing things are not, and when we meditate on the reason for this strange juxtaposition we are led to the idea of the Self and the ego. The Self is the sun, the source of illumination which causes the ego to grow. Sun is to growing things as Self is to ego. This idea is repeated in the relationship between the sun and the moon -- the moon is not self-luminous, it can only reflect the light of the sun. Therefore, sun is to moon as Self is to ego.
The idea is that despite our illusions to the contrary, all of our power originates somewhere else. When we allow the power to work through us without interference, we become "docile" like the cow in the judgment. Clarity, therefore, is attained through docility -- the ability to subdue and restrain the autonomous components of the psyche, which left to their own devices would prefer to go around pontificating their brilliant illusions rather than quietly reflecting the truth. It is not easy to reflect the truth, and the superior man is counseled to constantly perfect his capacity to do so. It is only when Self and ego come together in a fusion reaction that the energy released attains the true "double brightness" imaged in the hexagram. The identical idea is found in the Kabbalah:
Said Rabbi Simeon: "When the Holy One arrays himself, it is in the ornaments from both the celestial and terrestrial worlds; from the former with that heavenly light on high that no human being can approach unto; from the latter with the souls of the righteous who the more they approximate themselves to this divine light the more receptive and filled with it do they become, so that through them it expands in all directions and the world like a cistern or ocean is filled with it." The Zohar
Wilhelm mentions that the hexagram "divided within and closed without, is an image of the meshes of a net in which animals remain snared." This gives us the image of Clarity as Comprehension -- a net which captures and encloses insights. To receive the figure without changing lines is often a confirmation of an idea or action -- it is saying: "You have comprehended," or "Your proposed action is lucid, intelligent, etc."
Line 1
Legge: The first line, dynamic, shows one ready to move with confused steps. But he treads at the same time reverently, and there will be no mistake.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The footprints run crisscross. If one is seriously intent, no blame. [It is precisely at the beginning that serious concentration is important, because the beginning holds the seed of all that is to follow.]
Blofeld: Approaching with reverent steps, he pays them his respects -- no error! [This suggests a rather delicate situation in which we should avoid any appearance of lacking respect for others.]
Liu: The footsteps are confused. If one is cautious, no blame. [Everyone should watch his steps so that he doesn’t injure his feet.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Treading, polishing therefore. Respecting it. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: Treading counter-wise; respect it; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): The steps are awry. If you are heedful of this, there will be no fault.
Wu: The subject is treading cautiously. With due respect, he will be blameless.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The reverent attention directed to his confused steps is the way by which error is avoided. Wilhelm/Baynes: Seriousness when footprints run crisscross serves in avoiding blame. Blofeld: He walks reverently expressly to avoid blame. Ritsema/Karcher: Using casting-out fault indeed. Cleary (2): Be heedful when the steps are awry, to avoid fault. Wu: Having due respect in cautious treading is to avoid being blamed.
Legge: Line one is dynamic at the bottom of the trigram of fire, the nature of which is to ascend. He therefore will move upwards, but is in danger of doing so coarsely and vehemently. However, since the lowest line has hardly entered into the action of the hexagram, this makes him reverently careful of his movements and there is no error.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man is initially confused amid the bustle of life. He will avoid error by careful attention to the central issue at stake.
Wing: When you first begin on your new path, you are bombarded by impressions. Keep your goal in mind constantly and you can avoid confusion. Furthermore, do not forget your position as a beginner, somewhat outside the situation.
Editor: Wilhelm's commentary says that line one is analogous to the dawn, line two to noon, and line three to sunset. Here at the beginning of the day, full clarity has yet to manifest, but serious intent will compensate for your relative ignorance of the facts at hand.
When one follows the path of individuation, when one lives one's own life, one must take mistakes into the bargain; life would not be complete without them. There is no guarantee -- not for a single moment -- that we will not fall into error or stumble into deadly peril. Jung -- Memories, Dreams, Reflections
A. When in the dark, keep the faith: trust the Work and pick your way very carefully.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows its subject as one with tears flowing in torrents, and groaning in sorrow. There will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Tears in floods, sighing and lamenting. Good fortune.
Blofeld: His tears streamed forth as though to extinguish his piteous sighs -- good fortune! [Bitter regret serves us in good stead.]
Liu: A flood of tears, sighing, and sadness. Good fortune. [There may be suffering and mourning, but good fortune hides in misfortune.]
Ritsema/Karcher: Issuing-forth tears like gushing. Sadness like lamenting. Significant.
Shaughnessy: Going out with tears as if streaming and grief as if sighing; auspicious.
Cleary (1): Weeping and lamenting. Good fortune. [This is clearly knowing one is not illumined.]
Wu: With tears flowing profusely, he sighs with sorrow. Auspicious.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This is due to her occupying the place of the ruler. Wilhelm/Baynes: [She] clings to king and prince. Blofeld: This good fortune stems from the rulers. [For purposes of divination, we may take it that "rulers" means anyone with authority over us.]Ritsema/ Karcher: Radiance: the kingly prince indeed. Cleary (2): The good fortune of the fifth yin is cleaving to rulers. [This represents concentration in balance, which can bring forth genuine insight; therefore progress is certain. “Weeping and lamenting” refers to abstention from complacency and presumption; this is always characteristic of the study of sages.] Wu: The auspiciousness is due to his adherence to the king. [When he is humble enough to pledge allegiance to the higher authority, he will be rewarded with good fortune.]
Legge: Line five is central in the place of honor, but she is magnetic, as is her correlate in line two. Her position between the dynamic four and six fills her with anxiety and apprehension -- shown by her weeping and groaning. But such demonstrations are proof of her inward adherence to humility and correctness, so there will be good fortune.
Anthony: We attain a clear view when, in going through difficulties, we acknowledge that adversity is necessary for growth. This change of heart displaces vain considerations that accompany change, such as dread at growing older, being unattractive, or having to go through embarrassing decreases of ego. We overcome vanity when we realize that the ego, despite its bravado, has nothing to do with our success, and is an obstruction to progress.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man reaches the zenith of life. After experiencing certain disappointments, he recognizes the vanity of human behavior. If he modifies his value system and mood, good fortune will eventually be realized.
Wing: A true change of heart is occurring. Such dramatic change is sometimes accompanied by a deep grief. Yet with this grief comes good fortune because the change will bring better times for all concerned.
Editor: If this is the only moving line, the hexagram is changed to number thirteen, Union of Forces, the corresponding line of which reads: "The representative of the Union of Forces first wails and cries out, and then laughs..." The present position thus describes the struggles and pains involved in growth, and the "union of forces" is the product of this growth. Since this hexagram refers to clarity and comprehension, the increase could be the creation of new concepts or ideas. Because this is a magnetic line located between two dynamic lines there is conveyed the idea of mediating between two extremes. This mediation is necessarily a balancing act, as the stress of the position indicates.
Suffering that is not understood is hard to bear, while on the other hand it is often astounding to see how much a person can endure when he understands the why and the wherefore. A philosophical or religious view of the world enables him to do this, and such views prove to be, at the very least, psychic methods of healing if not of salvation. Jung -- The Symbolic Life
A. Growing pains are harbingers of integration.
B. The shattering of illusions is never pleasant, yet the pain is a prelude to something better.
C. Growing pains, but still growing!
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows the king employing his subject in his punitive expeditions. Achieving admirable merit, he breaks only the chiefs of the rebels. Where his prisoners were not their associates, he does not punish. There will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The king uses him to march forth and chastise. Then it is best to kill the leaders and take captive the followers. No blame.
Blofeld: The King went forth to set things to rights and, blessed by heaven with victory, he destroyed the leader of the rebels; but he did not chastise the rebel followers -- no error!
Liu: The king goes to fight. Victory. He kills the leader and captures the followers. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Kinghood availing-of issuing-forth chastising. Possessing excellence. Severing the head. Catching in-no-way its demons. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: The king goes out on campaign; there is the joy of cutting off heads and bagging the non-masses; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): The king hereby goes on an expedition; there is good luck, and he crushes the leader. As the captive is not the common followers, there is no blame.
Cleary (2): The king goes on an expedition, has good luck, and overcomes the leader, taking captives, but not because they are repugnant. No fault.
Wu: The king leads his expedition, commends those who kill the defiant chieftains, and captures those who are against his people. There will be no blame.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The object is to bring the regions to a correct state. Wilhelm/Baynes: In order to bring the country under discipline. Blofeld: To rectify the affairs of the various states comprising his realm. [This passage implies that we may be compelled to resort to forceful measures but that we should avoid chastising those who have been led to do harm by others.] Ritsema/Karcher: Using correcting the fiefdoms indeed. Cleary (2): To bring correct order to the country. Wu: He does what is good for the country.
Legge: Line six. dynamic and at the top of the figure, has the intelligence denoted by its trigrams in the highest degree, as well as his own proper vigor. Because of this his achievements are great, and since his generous consideration is equally conspicuous he falls into no error.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is employed by the ruler to conduct punitive expeditions. He kills the ringleaders of the enemy but spares the followers. He roots out the bad but tolerates the relatively harmless. He avoids excessive punishments.
Wing: It is up to you to penetrate to the source of trouble in the situation and eradicate it. Act with moderation however, in dealing with others who may have been duped into wrong thinking. Once the major problem is out of the way, order will reign. (Note: This line may refer to a bad habit or character weakness.)
Editor: The image here is one of analysis -- Clarity as a function of logic. The idea is to sort out all the elements of the situation, remove the source of error but retain the good elements. The peak of Clarity is reached when one takes action based upon lucid differentiation between the defective (or dangerous) and the useful.
If, as administrators of His kingdom, you have not governed justly nor observed the law, nor behaved as God would have you behave, He will fall on you swiftly and terribly. Ruthless judgment is reserved for the high and mighty; the lowly will be compassionately pardoned. Wisdom 6: 4-7
A. One differentiates between harmful and benign elements within the situation.
B. “Don't throw out the baby with the bath water."
Legge: Upon fulfillment of the conditions implied in Initiative, there will be free course and success. Advantage depends upon firm correctness, as in marrying a young lady. Good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Influence. Success. Perseverance furthers. To take a maiden to wife brings good fortune.
Blofeld: Attraction. Success! Righteous persistence brings reward. Taking a wife will result in good fortune.
Liu: Attraction. Success. To continue is of benefit. To marry a girl is good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Conjoining, Growing. Harvesting Trial. Grasping womanhood significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the influence that separated parts of an intrinsic whole have on each other. It emphasizes that bringing these parts into contact is the adequate way to handle the situation...]
Shaughnessy: Feelings : Receipt; beneficial to determine; to take to wife a woman is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Sensitivity is developmental. It is beneficial to be correct. Marriage brings good fortune.
Cleary (2):Sensing gets through, beneficial if correct. Marriage is auspicious.
Wu:Affection indicates pervasion and advantage to be persevering. There will be good fortune to marry a young woman.
The Image
Legge: The image of a marsh over a mountain forms Initiative. The superior man frees his mind of preoccupation so that he is open to the influence of others. [Lit: "Thus the superior man receives people by virtue of emptiness."]
Wilhelm/Baynes: A lake on the mountain: the image of Influence. Thus the superior man encourages people to approach him by his willingness to receive them.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a lake situated upon a mountain. In dealing with men, the Superior Man shows himself to be entirely void of selfishness.
Liu: The lake on top of the mountain symbolizes Attraction. With a humble manner the superior man receives people.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing marsh. Conjoining. A chun tzu uses emptiness to acquiesce people.
Cleary (1): There is a lake on a mountain. Thus does the superior person accept people with openness.
Cleary (2): There is a lake atop a mountain – Sensing. Developed people accept others with openness.
Wu: There is a marsh in the mountain; this is Affection. Thus the jun zi receives people with humility.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Initiative is here used in the sense of mutually influencing. The magnetic trigram is above and the dynamic trigram is below -- their two influences move, respond and unite with each other. The male is placed below the female -- his repression is her satisfaction and brings fulfillment. Advantage depends upon firm correctness, as in the marrying of a young lady. Heaven and earth stimulate each other and all things attain birth. The sages stimulate the minds of men and harmony is born. If we examine the pattern of these influences, the nature of heaven and earth is revealed.
Legge: The lines of the hexagram all deal with moving or influencing to movement, and the figure is an essay on the different ways of creating an influence, and the results engendered thereby. The lower trigram of the youngest son supports the upper trigram of the youngest daughter in happy union. This is correct because the lower trigram (here yang) should always take the initiative. No influence is so powerful and constant as that between husband and wife, and where they are both young, it is especially active. Therefore, mutual influence, correct in itself, and for correct ends is sure to be effective.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Initiative succeeds only when it originates from the Self.
The Superior Man clears his mind and remains receptive to the will of the Self.
Wilhelm's translation of the name of this hexagram is Influence, but I have chosen Initiative to emphasize the idea of the proper source of the influence implied in the symbolism. Webster's Third New International Dictionary defines initiative as follows:
Initiative 1 : an introductory step or movement: an act designed to originate or set on foot, as a process or train of events. Often used in the phrase: on one's own initiative, as in: "Don't blame me, he acted on his own initiative."
The Judgment states that the situation can be furthered only by the firm correctness associated with the proper contracting of a marriage. We already know that the symbolism of marriage refers to a union of opposites within the psyche. To understand what is meant by the proper contracting of a marriage, we need only look at hexagram number fifty-four,Propriety (The Marrying Maiden), to see the improper way to do it -- that is, when the woman takes the initiative.
Far from being a sexist idea, the symbolism reveals a profound archetypal truth. The polarity of forces in the psyche shows the ego as magnetic to the dynamic Self. That is, the conscious ego-complex in any psyche, male or female, is feminine, or magnetic in relation to the Self, which is masculine, or dynamic. In the I Ching the Self is symbolized by heaven, and the ego is symbolized by earth. This primordial relationship between the two qualities is found in many symbol systems. Here's the Kabbalistic version:
This clearly indicates the function of polarity that prevails between the planes of form and the planes of force; the planes of form being the female aspect, polarized and made fertile by the influencesof the planes of force. D. Fortune -- The Mystical Qabalah
The Hermetic tradition describes it this way:
There is this dual aspect in the mind of every person. The "I" [Self] represents the Masculine Principle of Mental Gender -- the "Me" [ego] represents the Female Principle. The Kybalion
In the contracting of a marriage between heaven and earth (uniting the polarities within the divided psyche), the ego must learn, usually through great suffering, that its correct role is a magnetic one in relation to that of the Self. The Work cannot progress until this lesson has been learned and accepted completely. As long as the ego insists on taking dynamic initiative “as usual" in the illusory world of appearances, the results can only be the kind of objective world we inhabit -- one of chaos and strife. The lesson of this hexagram then, is the realization that the only correct source of power lies with the Self, and that the ego must yield to that source as a bride to her bridegroom. (Unfortunately, the contemporary relationship between the sexes has become so confused that this metaphor is seldom effective in conveying the profound truth it represents.)
The Self (the Causal Body of Theosophy) dwells beyond the restrictions of spacetime and is pre-eminently suited for directing the Work, since it can "see ahead” so to speak, and it knows the effects of all of the available choices. The ego, on the other hand, dwells in spacetime and is able to take action: by its choices it makes or breaks the Work. The ideal reciprocity between ego and Self is a simple and logical division of labor -- the Self can see ahead but cannot take direct action, and the ego can take direct action but cannot see ahead. For the ego to act without direction from the Self is to grope blindly in the dark -- and the Work clearly cannot progress under such circumstances. The superior man therefore, "clears his mind and remains receptive to the will of the Self.” Obviously, it takes time to learn how to do this properly; in its initial stages, that's what the Work is all about.
The majority of people are more or less the slaves of heredity, environment, etc., and manifest very little freedom. They are swayed by the opinions, customs and thoughts of the outside world, and also by their emotions, feelings, moods, etc. They manifest no Mastery, worthy of the name. The Kybalion
The second and third sentences in the Confucian commentary elicit the sexual symbolism in this hexagram quite clearly: "The [female] trigram is above and the [male] trigram is below -- their two influences move, respond and unite with each other. The male is placed below the female -- his repression is her satisfaction and brings fulfillment.” Blofeld comments on this in a footnote:
I doubt if this should be regarded as shedding light upon the ancient Chinese concept of the most acceptable position for intercourse; it is more likely to mean that the girl is able to depend upon the man as a plant depends upon the earth for its nourishment.
Symbolism works on many levels, and Blofeld's aborted insight does apply to some of them. It is an established fact that the sentences in question accurately describe tantric sexual techniques practiced in the Orient for millennia. To understand the principles of the Work we must be able to see the "obvious" as symbolic of an abstraction -- and vice- versa. Sexual polarity is a very tricky and volatile symbol because we are predisposed to confine it to its most literal meaning. The hardest part of symbolic interpretation is to know where in the continuum a specific symbol belongs in any given situation.
Without changing lines this hexagram suggests that you examine your impulses and motivations to act and see if they are truly in accordance with the goals of the Work. The figure can sometimes take on the meaning of importuning: "to press or urge with frequent or unreasonable requests or troublesome persistence.” In other words, you might be importuning the oracle for answers which it is of no mind to give you. It is also significant to note that every line has a more or less negative connotation. These are all very strong warnings to the ego to control its compulsive need to take the Initiative, to influence the situation. Calm down -- reality is not what it appears to be. Please allow the Self to direct the Work.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
Compare the concepts in this hexagram with hexagram number fifty-four,Propriety; number fifty-three, Gradual Progress; and number eleven, Harmony. How do they all deal with the symbol of marriage as an aspect of the Work? Compare the first three lines with hexagram number 52,Keeping Still.
Initiativeis the first hexagram of Part II of the I Ching. Why do you suppose the book was divided into two unequal sections? Why did the division appear between the thirtieth and thirty-first hexagrams? (An even division would be between the thirty-second and thirty-third.)
The (I Ching) was originally divided into two books. (Appendix VI) considers the first of these as dealing with the world of nature, and the second as dealing with that of man. Fung Yu-Lan -- A Short History of Chinese Philosophy
What insights does the alchemical concept of the Unus Mundus bring to bear on these questions?