Ignite your inner light, fuel your passions, and prepare for unexpected encounters that will guide you to new growth.
From
30
Clarity
To
44
Temptation
Pretending the moon and stars
One tries to seduce the undecided by making them promises that one cannot keep. 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 2
This line represents clarity and brightness in one's path. It signifies supreme good fortune and success.
↓ Line 5
This line suggests that through emotional release and expression, one can find good fortune and relief.
↓ Temptation44
A fleeting encounter with a powerful influence. Be mindful and cautious. Keep your integrity intact.
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 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows its subject in her place in yellow. There will be great good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Yellow light. Supreme good fortune.
Blofeld: Yellow sunlight -- sublime good fortune.
Liu: The yellow light of the sun indicates great good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Yellow radiance. Spring significant.
Shaughnessy: Yellow net; prime auspiciousness.
Cleary(1): Yellow fire is very auspicious.
Wu: The yellow fire will bring great fortune.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Good fortune because she holds the course of the due mean. Wilhelm/Baynes: One has found the middle way. Blofeld: The good fortune of being able to keep to a middle path. [This is suggested by the position of the line, which is central to the lower trigram. The middle path, the golden mean, is praised by Taoists, Confucians and Buddhists alike. It has always been regarded by traditionally minded Chinese as the principle upon which conduct should be based. Extremes of any kind have no place in Chinese philosophy, which is thus more humanistic than many of the philosophies of India and the Middle East.]Ritsema/Karcher: Acquiring centering tao indeed. Cleary (2): Attaining the middle way. Wu: Because it is centrally situated.
Legge: Line two is magnetic and occupies the center. Yellow is one of the five correct colors, and here symbolizes the correct course to which she adheres.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man occupies the central position of reasonableness, which results in enduring good fortune.
Wing: A reasonable and moderate attitude will bring you the best possible luck. Remember, indulge in no excess, no extremes of thought or action.
Editor: Yellow is a nearly universal symbol of light and clarity. Both the sun and gold are yellow, and because it is in the middle of the trigram this line images the concept of the golden mean. Wilhelm's commentary places this line at midday when the sun is directly overhead, hence: full illumination. If this is the only changing line, the new hexagram becomes number fourteen, Wealth (Possession in Great Measure), suggesting the richness of clear insight.
I, wisdom, am mistress of discretion, the inventor of lucidity of thought. Good advice and sound judgment belong to me, Perception to me, strength to me. Proverbs 8: 12
A. The image suggests a position of balance and lucidity. Full comprehension is implied.
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.
Other titles: Coming to Meet, The Symbol of Meeting, Contact, Sexual Intercourse, Encountering, Coupling, Infiltration by Inferior Men, Adultery "Contains a definite warning about a person or situation which may appear harmless but will prove dangerous." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Temptation shows a female who is bold and strong. It will not be good to marry such a female.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Coming to Meet. The maiden is powerful. One should not marry such a maiden.
Blofeld: Contact. Women wield the power. Do not marry. [At this time marriage would be unfortunate; the husband would almost surely be henpecked.]
Liu: Encountering. The female is forceful. One should not marry her.
Ritsema/Karcher:Coupling, womanhood invigorating. No availing-of grasping womanhood. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the encounter of primal energies. It emphasizes that seeing-through your personal situation as the connection of objective forces is the adequate way to handle it...]
Couple , KOU: intense, driven encounter, at once transitory and enduring, that is the reflection of primal yin and yang; meet, encounter, copulate; mating animals; magnetism, gravity; to be gripped by impersonal forces. Primal forces couple in the inner world, seeding enduring new forms.
Shaughnessy: The maiden matures ; do not herewith take a maiden.
Cleary (1):Meeting, the woman is strong. Don’t get married.
Cleary (2): In meeting, the woman is strong. Do not marry the woman.
Wu:Rendezvous indicates that the woman is strong. It is not advisable to marry that woman.
The Image
Legge: The image of wind with the sky above it forms Temptation. The sovereign, in accordance with this, delivers his charges, and promulgates his announcements throughout the four quarters of the kingdom.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Under heaven, wind: the image of Coming to Meet. Thus does the prince act when disseminating his commands and proclaiming them to the four quarters of heaven.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes wind blowing across the face of the earth. When the ruler issues commands, he has them proclaimed in every corner of the world.
Liu: The wind under the sky symbolizes Encountering. The ruler issues his directives, announcing them to the four corners (throughout his country).
Ritsema/Karcher: Below heaven possessing wind. Coupling. The crown-prince uses spreading-out fate to command the four sides.
[Fate, MING: individual destiny; birth and death as limits of life; issue orders with authority; consult the gods. The ideogram: mouth and order, words with heavenly authority.]
Cleary (1): There is wind under heaven, meeting. Thus do rulers announce their directives to the four quarters.
Wu: There is wind under heaven; this is Rendezvous. Thus, the sovereign announces the royal mandate to the whole nation.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Temptationhas the significance of unexpectedly coming on. We see in it the magnetic line coming unexpectedly on the dynamic ones. Marriage is improper, because one so symbolized should not be long associated with. When heaven and earth meet together as here represented, all the variety of natural things becomes displayed. When a dynamic line finds itself in the central and correct position, good government will nourish all under the sky. Great indeed is the significance of what has to be done at the time indicated byTemptation.
Legge: A single, magnetic line enters at the bottom of the hexagram. This is the figure used to represent the time of year when light and heat begin to wane. In the divided line we see the symbol of the inferior man, beginning to insinuate himself into the government of the country. His influence, if unchecked, would go on to grow and fill the vacant seats with others like himself. The objective of the Judgment is to arouse resistance to this evil influence.
Temptation is defined here as a sudden and casual meeting with something inferior -- the divided line is seen as appearing all at once in the figure. The first line, magnetic in a dynamic place, becomes the symbol of a bold woman of more than questionable virtue who appears unexpectedly on the scene with the object of seducing all five of the dynamic (male) lines to herself. No one would contract a marriage with such a female, and every good servant of his country will repel the entrance into government of every officer who can be so symbolized.
On the first two sentences of the Confucian commentary, the K'ang-hsi editors say: "The magnetic line meets with (or comes unexpectedly on) the dynamic ones. The magnetic line, that is, plays the principal part. The case is like that of the minister who assumes the power of decision in place of the ruler, or of a hen crowing at sunrise -- is not the name of shameless boldness rightly applied to it?"
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Do not unite with an inferior element in your situation. ("Lead us not into temptation.")
The Superior Man formulates his code of conduct and abides by it.
Wilhelm translates the forty-fourth hexagram as Coming to Meet, and Blofeld gives it the rather startling subtitle of Sexual Intercourse. There is no doubt at all that the figure has an aura of illicit excitement associated with it which I feel is best conveyed by R. L. Wing's title of Temptation, though Adultery might also be suitable. One sometimes receives this hexagram under dramatic circumstances, and it serves to dump cold water on a potentially volatile series of choices and their equally volatile consequences.
When we consider the importance of the proper correlation of male and female lines in the I Ching, we see that the Judgment in this hexagram can psychologically depict the temptation to an adulterous union of thought and feeling. Adultery is a very useful metaphor for understanding the principles of the Work -- it means union with anything which, inI Ching terms, is not a "proper correlate.” To adulterate something is to degrade a pure substance by the addition of an inferior ingredient. The image of a temptation to adulterate the Work in this hexagram is therefore a warning in the strongest possible terms that you are vulnerable to some inferior choices.
Consequently by marriages not only the earths but also the heavens are filled with inhabitants ... The earth indeed may be filled with inhabitants by fornications and adulteries as well as by marriages; but not heaven. The reason is that hell is from adulteries, and heaven from marriages ... When the procreations of the human race are effected through marriages in which the holy love of good and truth from the Lord reigns, then it is done on earth as in the heavens, and the kingdom of the Lord on earth corresponds to the kingdom of the Lord in the heavens. Swedenborg -- Apocalypse Explained
The concept of the hieros gamos, or holy marriage, is a ubiquitous archetype found in every tradition rooted in the Perennial Philosophy. If this "marriage” symbolizes a proper union or reunion of previously separated elements, then it follows that the opposite situation: a union of mismatched entities would be symbolized by adultery. To recreate a primordial gestalt of perfection out of an exploded multiverse of mixed forces demands that all of the original pairs of opposites become properly matched correlates. Although any two opposite genders might feel a mutual attraction, there is really only one opposite which is an appropriate spouse. In the realm of human relationships this is evoked in the concept of the Soul Mate. Esoterically speaking, every polarized force in the multiverse has its proper correlate; it follows that the Work (in its largest conception) cannot be completed until each is reunited with each.
Indeed every act of sexual intercourse which has occurred between those unlike one another is adultery... Members of a race usually have associated with those of like race. So spirit mingles with spirit, and thought consorts with thought and light shares with light. If you are born a human being, it is the human being who will love you. If you become a spirit, it is the spirit which will be joined to you. If you become thought, it is thought which will mingle with you. If you become light, it is the light which will share with you. The Gnostic Gospel of Philip
The point is important enough to bear repeating: psycho-spiritually interpreted, sexual intercourse and marriage symbolize the possibility of a unification of forces. Conversely, union with an improper correlate means adulteration of the Work. This is the esoteric meaning underlying the Hindu caste system:
When (unrighteousness) overwhelms the family, O Krishna The women of the family become corrupt; and when, O Krishna, the women are corrupt, there arises a mixing of castes. Bhagavad-Gita 1: 41
The "mixing of castes” is, in the symbolism of theI Ching, the union of improper correlate forces. ("Women,” as we have seen, usually symbolize the emotional and feeling aspects of the psyche.) We readily recognize that the above quotation from the Bhagavad-Gita accurately reflects the symbolism of the forty-fourth hexagram, reiterating the great truth that when emotions make the choices, the unity of the psyche is compromised.
Added notes, 9/7/10: Sometimes this hexagram is received in answer to queries related more to a fated (karmic) situation than anything normally regarded as “temptation.” In these cases Ritsema/Karcher’s expanded notes on the ideograms are useful guides: “… gripped by impersonal forces. Primal forces couple in the inner world, seeding enduring new forms… This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the encounter of primal energies. It emphasizes that seeing-through your personal situation as the connection of objective forces is the adequate way to handle it...”