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?
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows one moving the calves of her legs. There will be evil. If she abides quietly in her place, there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The influence shows itself in the calves of the legs. Misfortune. Tarrying brings good fortune.
Blofeld: Sensation in the legs -- misfortune! [I.e. Misfortune if we yield to the urge to exercise our legs by going somewhere else.] Good fortune comes to those who do not venture forth.
Liu: Stimulation in the calves of the legs. Misfortune. Stillness invites good fortune.
Shaughnessy: Feeling his calf; inauspicious; to dwell is auspicious.
Cleary (1): Sensing in the calf is inauspicious. Biding is auspicious.
Cleary (2): Sensing in the calf bodes ill. To stay put bodes well.
Wu: He moves his calves. It will be foreboding. Should he stay, there will be good fortune.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: If she abides quietly in her place and complies with the circumstances of her condition there will be no injury. Wilhelm/Baynes: Even though misfortune threatens, tarrying brings good fortune. One does not come to harm through devotion. Blofeld: If we gladly accord with others, we shall come to no harm. Ritsema/Karcher: Yielding, not harming indeed. Cleary (2): Because obedience does no harm. Wu: His rash move will be foreboding. Patience will turn into good fortune, as observance will keep out humiliation.
Legge: The calves cannot move of themselves -- they follow the moving of the feet. She is too anxious to move. However, she is magnetic and central, so if she abides quietly in her place until she is acted upon from above, there will be good fortune.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The influence of the man increases, yet it is not obvious. He is eager to act but should wait for more favorable circumstances.
Wing: You may feel compelled to move, to take some kind of action, yet you really don't know what you're doing. It's a little like sleepwalking. Avoid action until you wake up to what's going on. Otherwise there is some danger of getting into trouble.
Editor: This image of the calves of the legs might be rendered in Western idiom as "knee-jerk responses." The meaning is analogous, if not identical.
During the years of our indiscretion, while we are driven hither and thither by our various likes and dislikes, we serve many Masters, who often prove veritable tyrants to us, but when we have had enough of them, we find that there is a Master of a different stamp, who lives not by our passions and desires, but rather by their suppression and subdual. E. Gewurz -- The Hidden Treasures of the Ancient Qabalah
A. Control your knee-jerk responses. Do not pursue this train of thought, line of speculation, hypothesis, etc. Wait for inspiration from the Self.
Line 3
Legge: The third line, dynamic, shows one moving his thighs, and keeping close hold of those whom he follows. Going forward in this way will cause regret.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The influence shows itself in the thighs. Holds to that which follows it. To continue is humiliating.
Blofeld: Sensation in the thighs. He cleaves so closely to his wife (handmaiden, etc.) that for him to continue in this manner would be shameful.
Liu: Stimulation in the thighs. If he insists on following, he will be humiliated.
Shaughnessy: Feeling his calf: thigh: holding to his follower; distress.
Cleary (1): Sensing in the thighs; when persistence turns to indulgence, to go on is shameful.
Cleary (2): Sensing in the thighs, when clinging is following, to go on brings shame.
Wu: He moves his thighs and stays close to those he follows. He will regret if he keeps going forward.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: "He moves his thighs" -- he still doesn't want to rest in his place. His will is set on following others -- what he holds in his grasp is low. Wilhelm/Baynes: For he cannot keep still. When the will is directed to things that one's followers hold to, this is very base. Blofeld: Sensation in the thighs also denotes restlessness; while being guided by the will of a wife (or subordinate) involves clinging to what is inferior. Ritsema/Karcher: Truly not abiding indeed. Purpose located-in following people. A place to hold-on-to the below indeed. Cleary (2): Is also not staying put; the aim is in following others; what is clung to is low. Wu: Like his predecessors, he does not want to stay put either. His desire to follow people shows whatever he holds is low.
Legge: The attempt to move the thighs is inauspicious. The dynamic third line, in a dynamic place, wants to run after line four, which is said here to be the seat of the mind. He exercises his influence with an inferior purpose. "What he holds in his grasp is low" is understood to refer to the magnetic first and second lines. "Following" leads the mind to the lines above. "Low" is understood in the sense of "mean."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: A person should refrain from running after those he would like to influence, yielding to the whims of his master, and acquiescing to the moods of his own heart. Personal inhibition should constitute the basis for the enjoyment of granted freedom.
Wing: You must gain control of yourself. Don't run this way and that on impulse in an attempt to influence others or indulge in your many whims. You will ultimately be humiliated by such unconsidered actions. Set up a few inhibitions for yourself and operate within these limitations while you develop some self-control.
Editor: Mr. Legge, a proper Victorian, did not bring out the earthy imagery of this line to its fullest. If we were to receive this image in a dream it might take the blatantly sexual form of the pelvic thrusting associated with male dogs. When seen in this way the idea behind this line becomes clear.
Hence it is that in men the privy member is disobedient and self-willed, like a creature that will not listen to reason, and because of frenzied appetite bent upon carrying all before it. In women again, for the same reason, what is called the matrix or womb, a living creature within them with a desire for childbearing, if it be left unfruitful beyond the due season, is vexed and aggrieved, and wandering throughout the body and blocking the channels of the breath, by forbidding respiration brings the sufferer to extreme distress and causes all manner of disorders; until at last the Eros of the one and the Desire of the other bring the pair together, pluck as it were the fruit from the tree and sow the plowland of the womb with living creatures still unformed and too small to be seen. Plato -- The Timaeus
A. The image suggests a mindless and compulsive urge to influence the situation.
B. You allow yourself to be influenced by base emotions.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows one moving her jaws and tongue.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The influence shows itself in the jaws, cheeks, and tongue.
Shaughnessy: Feeling his cheeks, jowls, and tongue.
Cleary (1): Sensing in the jaws and tongue. [When the mouth moves, the mind moves. This is sensitivity using the human mentality, utterly lacking the mind of Tao.]
Wu: He moves his tongue and cheeks.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: She only talks with loquacious mouth. Wilhelm/Baynes: He opens his mouth and chatters. Blofeld: This is a way of saying that we open wide our mouths and talk too much. Ritsema/Karcher: The spouting mouth stimulating indeed. Cleary (2): Sensing in the jaws and tongue is speaking a lot. Wu: He likes chattering.
Legge: Line six is magnetic in a magnetic place at the top of the trigram of Frivolity. Her influence by means of speech will only be that of garrulous flattery.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man resorts to superficial ways of influencing others through nothing but talk. The results are negligible.
Wing: Words are only words. Ideas mean little unexecuted. What are you doing?
Editor: The divided line at the top of the upper trigram is said to symbolize an open mouth. To talk is to use words, and words are a product of the mental realm. The image is of empty rhetoric -- perhaps a too-intellectual approach to the situation at hand. This blather can be inner as well as outer, and the line sometimes refers to the excesses of reason and logic which can blind us to the truths of an expanded awareness. Often in the course of the Work we are severely tested by choices which demand the abandonment of common sense in favor of faith in the Self to carry us to a realm transcending reason. Such tests are excruciating, and often we fail them because we cannot let go of our faith in logic, words and "common sense." Compare with line five of Hexagram 52.
I gradually form the habit of listening inwardly, whenever I want to say something, to be sure I have authority to say it. Gradually I learn to keep my mouth shut except when I really have something to say. And I come to recognize two beings in my self: a personal ego which is often inclined to chatter, without control, purely for the sake of communicating and attracting attention to my person -- and in the background of my consciousness a higher self which restrains my personal ego, telling it when and what it is to speak or do, and when it is to remain silent or passive. The important thing is to pay attention and obey the orders of this higher self. Merely to hear its commands is not enough; everybody does that! Elisabeth Haich -- Initiation
A. An image of rationalization or intellectual drivel. Your idea is without merit.
Other titles: Conflict, The Symbol of Contention, Strife, Litigation, Quarreling, Arguing, Lawsuit, "It is important to mind one's step at the very beginning then things will have a chance to work out all right." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Stress indicates that despite sincere motivations, one still meets with opposition and obstruction. Maintain an apprehensive caution. To prosecute the contention to the bitter end will produce evil results. It is advantageous to see the Great Man. It is not advantageous to cross the great stream.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Conflict. You are sincere and are being obstructed. A cautious halt halfway brings good fortune. Going through to the end brings misfortune. It furthers one to see the great man. It does not further one to cross the great water.
Blofeld: Conflict. Confidence accompanied by obstacles! With care, affairs can be made to prosper in their middle course, but the final outcome will be disaster. It is advantageous to visit a great man, but not to cross the great river (or sea). [In general, this hexagram indicates that we have little chance of success in any conflict, dispute or lawsuit in which we are now engaged and that retreat is the best policy -- unless line one or five is a moving line, in which case the position is more hopeful. We can profit from the advice of someone truly wise, but a journey of any kind at this time would be disastrous.]
Liu: Conflict; you have sincerity even though obstructed, stop halfway -- good fortune; follow to the end -- misfortune. It is of benefit to see a great man, but not to cross the great water.
Centering significant. Completing: pitfall. Harvesting: visualizing Great People. Not Harvesting: wading the Great River. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of a dispute. It emphasizes that actively expressing your claims and objections is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to argue!] (Sic)
Shaughnessy: Lawsuit : There is a return; pitying and tranquil, it succeeds to be auspicious, but in the end is inauspicious; beneficial herewith to see the great man; not beneficial to ford the great river.
Cleary (1): Contention; there is blockage of truth. Caution and moderation lead to good results, finality leads to bad results. It is beneficial to see a great person, not beneficial to cross a great river.
Cleary (2): …Wariness within leads to good results, but ending up that way is unfortunate … etc.
Wu:Litigation indicates an obstruction of trust. If the subject is vigilant, he will have good fortune. If he is libelous to the end, he will face foreboding. It will be advantageous to see the great man. It will not be advantageous to cross the big river.
The Image
Legge: The image of water moving away from heaven forms Stress. The superior man, in accordance with this, takes good counsel about the beginning of any enterprise.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Heaven and water go their opposite ways: the image of Conflict. Thus in all his transactions the superior man carefully considers the beginning.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes sky and water in opposition. The Superior Man does not embark upon any affair until he has carefully planned the start.
Liu: Heaven and water go in different directions, symbolizing Conflict. The superior man contemplates the beginning before undertaking an enterprise.
Ritsema/Karcher: Heaven associating-with stream, contradicting movements. Arguing, a chun tzu uses arousing affairs to plan beginning.
Cleary (1): When heaven and water go in different directions, there is contention. Superior people plan in the beginning when they do things.
Cleary (2): … When leaders do things, they plan to begin with.
Wu: Heaven and water go in opposite directions; this is Litigation. Thus the jun zi plans well before taking actions.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The coming together of Strength and Peril gives the idea of Stress. A dynamic line in the central place in the lower trigram shows how there will be good fortune if one maintains apprehensive caution; but because contention should not be taken to extremes, there will be evil if one prosecutes his contention to the bitter end. The great man sets a value on the due mean. If one attempts to cross the great stream, he finds himself in an abyss.
Legge: The upper trigram of Strength here controls the lower trigram of Peril which is trying to attack it. Or it may also be seen as someone in a perilous situation contending with strong outside forces. The image is of contention and strife. The sincere yang line in the middle of the trigram of Peril gives a character to the whole figure -- an individual so represented will be very cautious and have good fortune. But since contention is bad, even a sincere individual must fail if he pursues it to the bitter end. The fifth line represents the great man, whose agency is sure to be good. His decision in any matter of contention will be correct. The sixth line is also dynamic, but his action is likely to be too rash for a great enterprise, hence the warning about not attempting to cross the great stream.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Be careful, don't attempt much, and don't allow the situation to get out of hand.
The Superior Man is judicious about his choices of action to ensure that the situation remains stable.
The hexagram portrays a high level of tension. Wilhelm points out that the only "favorable" line is the ruler in the fifth place, and that all of the other lines symbolize people quarreling. It should also be noted that lines one through four counsel either retreat from contention or remaining passively in place. Only line five suggests that an active struggle can have a favorable outcome, and line six portrays the sorry fate of those who insist on "demanding their rights." If we turn the hexagram upside down we have Waiting, which suggests some subtle truths about the proper way to handle stress.
He who has a taste for dispute has a taste for blows, the man of haughty speech courts destruction. Proverbs 17: 19
At deciding lawsuits I am no better than anyone else; but what is necessary is to bring about a state of affairs in which there will be no lawsuits. Confucius
Note that Ritsema/Karcher's summation of the Judgment stands in stark disagreement with the general tenor of the figure: I have never received this hexagram when that interpretation has applied.