Other titles: Progress, Prospering, The Symbol of Forwardness, To Advance, Advancement, Making Headway, Getting the Idea, “Comes the Dawn”
Judgment
Legge: In Advance of Consciousness we see a prince who secures the tranquility of the people presented on that account with numerous horses by the king, and three times in a day received at interviews.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Progress . The powerful prince is honored with horses in large numbers. In a single day he is granted audience three times.
Blofeld: Progress. The richly endowed prince receives royal favors in the form of numerous steeds and is granted audience three times in a single day. [This passage indicates great merit richly rewarded.]
Liu: The Marquis K'ang (rich, powerful, healthy) is bestowed with many horses by the king, who receives him three times in a single day.
Ritsema/Karcher: Prospering , the calm feudatory avails-of bestowing horses to multiply the multitudes. Day-time sun three-times reflected. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of thriving in the full light of the sun. It emphasizes that contributing to this increase by helping things to flourish is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: The Lord of Kang is herewith awarded horses in luxuriant number, during daylight thrice connecting.
Cleary (1):Advancing, a securely established lord presents many horses, and grants audience three times a day.
Cleary (2): Advancing , a securely established lord is presented with, etc.
Wu: Advancement indicates that the prince who has secured peace and prosperity of the state is conferred with many fine horses. The king grants him an audience three times in one day.
The Image
Legge: The image of the earth and that of the bright sun coming forth above it form Advance of Consciousness. The superior man, in accordance with this, gives himself to make more brilliant his bright virtue.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The sun rises over the earth: the image of Progress. Thus the superior man himself brightens his bright virtue.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes fire blazing from the earth. The Superior Man reflects in his person the glory of heaven's virtue.
Liu: The sun rising above the earth is the symbol of Progress. Thus the superior man brightens his character.
Ritsema/Karcher: Brightness issuing-forth above earth. Prospering. A chun tzu uses originating enlightening to brighten actualizing-tao. [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): Light emerges over the earth, advancing. Thus do superior people by themselves illumine the quality of enlightenment.
Cleary (2): Light emerges over the ground, advancing. Developed people illumine the quality of enlightenment by themselves.
Wu: Brightness rises above the earth; this is Advancement. Thus the jun zi keeps his bright virtue shining.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Advance of Consciousnesswe have the bright sun appearing above the earth; the symbol of Docile Submission cleaving to that of the Great Brightness; and the magnetic line advanced and moving above: all these things give us the idea of a prince who secures the tranquility of the people.
Legge: The subject of the Judgment is a feudal prince whose services to his country have made him acceptable to his king. The King's favor has been shown to him by gifts and personal attentions. The symbolism of the lines indicates the situations encountered by the prince. The written character for this hexagram means "to advance," a quality it shares with hexagrams number forty-six, Pushing Upward, and number fifty-three, Gradual Progress. In the present case the sun ascending from the earth to the meridian readily suggests the idea of advancing.
Hu Ping-wen (Yuan dynasty) says: "Of the strong things there is none so strong as Heaven, and hence the superior man patterns himself on its strength. Of bright things there is none so bright as the sun, and he patterns himself on its brightness."
Anthony: This hexagram concerns self-development which yields progress in our external life situation. If we are not making progress, we should review our attitude. Some widely accepted ideas may be decadent from the viewpoint of the Sage, hence obstruct progress. [Anthony’s “Sage” is conceptually identical to the “Self. -- Ed.]
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: When the autonomous manifestations of our inner drives are channeled, their energy becomes the ego's own. (Psychologically interpreted: Ego and Self are in accord.)
The Superior Man focuses his awareness on perfecting the Work. (Sometimes this can take the meaning of: "Wise up!")
The trigram of Clarity in progression over that of Docility gives the formula for an Advance of Consciousness. The submission of the ego to the restrictions of the Work, and the consequent tranquil subjugation of one's restless drives, appetites and impulses, eventually results in a focused flow of energy from within. (After years of effort, this is sometimes felt physically as a radiating sensation emanating from the chest, or heart region.) To receive this figure without changing lines does not necessarily mean that one has reached this phase of the Work, but it suggests progress in that direction. The traditional name for this hexagram is, in fact: Progress.
The king presenting horses to the prince in reward for pacifying the kingdom is analogous to the Self rewarding the ego for controlling the autonomous forces within the psyche. This is a quintessentially shamanic discipline: the "horses" symbolize tamed drives and emotions. Such circumstances indicate an Advance of Consciousness or progression toward the goal of "en-light-enment" or psychic integration, symbolized by the sun traversing the earth.
That state of life dynamism in which consciousness realizes itself as a split and separated personality that yearns and strives toward union with its unknown and unknowable partner, the Self, Jung has called the individuation process. It is a conscious striving for becoming what one "is" or rather "is meant to be." E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
The last sentence of the above quotation is exactly analogous to the Ritsema/Karcher translation of the Image of this hexagram, wherein the superior man (chun tzu) "uses originating enlightening to brighten actualizing-tao."
"Actualizing-tao" is the "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."
Psychologically interpreted then, this hexagram addresses various themes encountered during the progress of the individuation process, which is nothing if not an Advance of Consciousness.
The key phrase in Legge's Judgment is "tranquility of the people." It is relatively easy to sublimate one's drives, yet still feel resentful about it -- indeed, that is the form that the process normally takes at the beginning of the Work. Our inner forces are like children or animals who must learn to accept the restrictions of discipline. Once they have accepted it and have ceased to resent it (i.e. once they have become "tranquil"), they are ready to be useful to the Self's intentions.
For example: an untrained dog will instinctively chase and kill sheep if it gets the chance to do so; on the other hand, a properly trained dog will herd and control a flock of sheep even in its master's absence. Anyone who has observed a trained sheep dog in action knows what amazing feats they accomplish with great joy in the performance. They are "tranquil" in their role, and will even protect the sheep from untrained dogs that would kill them. When our instincts have learned how to tranquilly accept discipline they are ready to assist us in the higher levels of the Work. Until that time, the Work consists largely of "dog training." The analogy is apt, because just as an untrained dog is never as happy in its willfulness as a well-trained dog is in its purposefulness, so undisciplined permissiveness cannot compare with the joys of controlled power and focused intent.
Line 1
Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows one wishing to advance, and at the same time kept back. Let her be firm and correct, and there will be good fortune. If trust be not reposed in her, let her maintain a large and generous mind, and there will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Progressing, but turned back. Perseverance brings good fortune. If one meets with no confidence, one should remain calm. No mistake.
Blofeld: Where progress seems likely to be cut short, righteous persistence brings good fortune. To respond to lack of confidence with liberality entails no error.
Liu: When progress meets obstruction, persistence brings good fortune. If one lacks the trust of others, one should remain benevolent. No blame.
Shaughnessy: Aquatically, deeply; determination is auspicious; regret is gone. Returning to the bath; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Advancing impeded, rectitude is good. Lacking confidence, become fulfilled, and there will be no fault.
Cleary (2): Advancing, impeded, it bodes well to be correct. If there is no trust, be easygoing, and there will be no blame.
Wu: It is like advancing and it is like turning back. Perseverance will bring good fortune. People may not have confidence in him; if he can take it easy, he will have no error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: All alone she pursues the correct course. She has not yet received an official charge. Wilhelm/Baynes: Solitary, she walks in the right. Composure is not a mistake. One has not yet received the command. Blofeld: Progress likely to be cut short refers to a single-handed attempt to do what is right. Such liberality entails no blame where commands from the ruler have not yet been received. [For purposes of divination, it can be taken to mean that we can safely be generous even to people inclined to mistrust us, until those whom we obey have given us a clear ruling in the matter.]Ritsema/Karcher: Solitary moving correcting indeed. Enriching, without fault. Not-yet acquiescing-in fate indeed. Cleary(2): One carries out what is right alone. Being easygoing, without blame, is not accepting fate. Wu: He is right to advance alone. For he has not received an official appointment.
Legge: Line one is magnetic and in the dynamic lowest position of Advance of Consciousness. Her correlate fourth line is incorrectly dynamic in a magnetic position. This indicates small and obstructed beginnings, but by her firm correctness she pursues the way to good fortune. Though the ruler does not yet have confidence in her, this only spurs her on to try harder to succeed.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the man's desire to advance has not met with official confidence. He should maintain a calm and generous attitude.
Wing: You are restrained from advancing because others lack confidence in you. Do not try to force the situation and do not become angry. Remain calm and behave with generosity and warmth. Put your attention into perfecting your work and you will avoid regretful errors.
Editor: Psychologically, this line suggests a blockage somewhere within the
psyche, possibly due to your ignorance or misunderstanding of what the Work requires now. If this is the only changing line, the figure created is hexagram 21, Discrimination, with a corresponding line symbolizing an even greater restriction. This implies the need to make some clarifying distinctions in the matter at hand. Sort out your options and the way should become clear. "A large and generous mind" is an open and receptive mind uninfluenced by limiting beliefs; it is the opposite of "narrow-mindedness."
Every advance, every conceptual achievement of mankind, has been connected with an advance of self-awareness: man differentiated himself from the object and faced Nature as something distinct from her. Any reorientation of psychological attitude will have to follow the same road. Jung -- The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche
A. Though some progress has been made, enlightenment in the matter at hand has yet to be won. Relax, and keep plugging away -- sooner or later comes the dawn.
B. Widen your horizons and the way becomes clear.
C. When held back or when mistrust prevails, maintain your objectivity, don’t fret about it, and do what's right regardless.
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows its subject with the appearance of advancing, and yet of being sorrowful. If she can be firm and correct, there will be good fortune. She will receive great blessing from her grandmother. [Compare this line and its situation with line two of Hexagram 62. – Ed.]
Wilhelm/Baynes: Progressing, but in sorrow. Perseverance brings good fortune. Then one obtains great happiness from one's ancestress.
Blofeld: Where progress is being made sorrowfully, righteous persistence brings good fortune. A little happiness is received, thanks to the Queen Mother.
Liu: When progress comes with sadness, persistence brings good fortune.
Shaughnessy: Aquatically, gloomily; determination is auspicious. Receiving this strong good fortune from his royal mother.
Cleary (1): Advancing, grieving, rectitude is good; this great blessing is received from the grandmother.
Wu: It is like advancing and it is like having concerns. Perseverance will bring good fortune. He will receive a big fortune from his grandmother.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: She will receive this great blessing because she is in the central place and the correct position for her. Wilhelm/Baynes: Because of the central and correct position. Blofeld: Happiness is implied by the position of this line which is central to the lower trigram. Ritsema/Karcher: Using centering correcting indeed. Cleary (2): Because of balance and rectitude. Wu:“He will receive a big fortune,” because he is central and correct.
Legge: Line two is magnetic, as is her correlate line five; therefore she has to mourn in obscurity. But her position is central and correct and she maintains the momentum until eventual success is achieved. The Symbolism says she receives it from her grandmother, and readers will be startled by the extraordinary statement as I was when I first read it. Literally the text says "the king's mother," but "king's father" and "king's mother" are well-known Chinese appellations for "grandfather" and "grandmother." This is the view given on the passage by Ch'eng-tzu, Chu Hsi and the K'ang-hsi editors. They all agree that the name points us to line five, the correlate of two, and the ruler of the hexagram. Line five is the sovereign who at length acknowledges the worth of the feudal ruler, and gives her the great blessing. I am not sure that "motherly king" would not be the best and fairest translation of the phrase. Canon McClatchie renders it as "Imperial Mother" -- that is, the wife of Imperial Heaven (Juno) who occupies the "throne" of the diagram, viz. the fifth line, which is soft and therefore feminine. She is the Great Ancestress of the human race.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man appears to be advancing but is grieving because he is prevented from making contacts with men in authority. His perseverance in adhering to correct principles will be rewarded by blessings from the mild ruler.
Wing: Your Progress is not as fulfilling as it might be because you are prevented from experiencing significant communication with someone in authority. Yet, unexpected good fortune will come to you if you persevere in your efforts and remain virtuous in your principles.
Editor: There is puzzlement about the symbolism of the "grandmother" even among the Chinese commentaries on this line. Our hypothesis is that, although the symbolism emerging from the objective psyche takes different forms in different cultures, it always describes the same general archetypes. We are justified therefore in comparing this line with an analogous concept from the Kabbalah: the sphere of awareness called Binah. Binah corresponds to the Chinese notion of the primordial Yin -- the essence of the Feminine. Canon McClatchie's association of "Juno, the wife of Imperial Heaven," to this line could as well apply to Binah. In the Kabbalah, Binah is closely associated with sorrow -- identical with "Our Lady of Sorrows" in Catholic Christian symbolism. What is being conveyed in this line then, is the growth potential inherent in adversity. Kabbalists may note similarities here with the symbolism of the 17th Path of the Tree of Life.
Grief is a purgative and strongly disruptive force, and when the essential work of breaking down adhesions and dispersing poisons has been done by it, it gives place to a deep lassitude and feeling of emptiness which can act as a purified basis for new growth. People are so made that they will not or cannot realize a thing fully unless they are hit in the most vital part in some deep emotional sense. And so only by sorrow, and by going from sorrow to sorrow can an individual's evolution proceed. The man who cannot or will not feel sorrow or face it in others cannot proceed at all. G. Knight -- Qabalistic Symbolism
A. A trail of tears leads to understanding.
B. Through adversity we acquire strength.
Line 3
Legge: The third line, magnetic, shows its subject trusted by all around her. All occasion for repentance will disappear.
Wilhelm/Baynes: All are in accord. Remorse disappears.
Wu: There is consensus among many people. No regret.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Their common aim is to move upwards and act. Wilhelm/ Baynes: Because there is a will to go upward. Blofeld: This implies unanimous determination to press upwards. Ritsema/Karcher: Moving above indeed. Cleary(2): The aim is upward progress. Wu: A desire to advance.
Legge: Line three is magnetic in a dynamic place, but the first and second lines share her desire to advance. They are all united by a common trust and aim, hence the good auspice.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man moves forward with the trust and support of all around him.
Wing: Your Progress is dependent upon the company and encouragement of others. The benefits of this common trust will remove any cause for remorse.
Editor: This can be seen as a positive image of forces seeking synthesis.
Psychologically, the line suggests an inner unity of some kind -- thoughts and feelings are in harmony and predisposed toward transformation.
No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent. Abraham Lincoln
A. The image suggests a cooperative advance.
B. You're on the right track.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows how all occasion for repentance disappears from its subject. But let her not concern herself about whether she shall fail or succeed. To advance will be fortunate, and in every way advantageous.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Remorse disappears. Take not gain and loss to heart. Undertakings bring good fortune. Everything serves to further.
Blofeld: Regret vanishes. Care not for loss or gain. To seek some goal or destination now would bring good fortune; everything is favorable.
Liu: Remorse vanishes. One should not mind gain or loss. To act brings good fortune and benefit in everything.
Ritsema/Karcher: Repenting extinguished. Letting-go, acquiring, no cares. Going significant, without not Harvesting.
Shaughnessy: Regret is gone. The arrow is gotten; do not pity; going is auspicious; there is nothing not beneficial.
Cleary (1): Regret vanishes. Loss or gain, don’t worry. It is good to go: everything will benefit.
Cleary (2): … Don’t worry about loss of gains, etc.
Wu: There will be no regret. He is not concerned with either gains or losses.
To advance is auspicious. Nothing is disadvantageous.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Her movement in advance will afford ground for congratulation. Wilhelm/Baynes: Undertaking brings blessing. Blofeld: If, without regard for loss or gain, we just press forward, our actions will be blessed. Ritsema/Karcher: Going possessing reward indeed. Cleary (2): If you go, there will be joy. Wu: To advance has much to celebrate.
Legge: In line five the ruler of the hexagram and her intelligent sovereign meet happily. She holds on her right course, indifferent as to results, but things are so ordered that she is, and will continue to be, crowned with success.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man occupies an influential position with the intelligent sovereign. He remains gentle and reserved in his dealings. Let him not reproach himself for not obtaining all possible gains or regretfully take failures to heart. His beneficent influence will eventually be crowned with success.
Wing: It is wise now to act with gentleness, reserve, and moderation regardless of the fact that you are in a position of great influence. Do not think about the gains you might make or the possible setbacks that could befall you. Continue in righteous Progress and you will be blessed by good fortune.
Editor: The magnetic, yielding ruler suggests an ego yielding to the demands of the Work -- accepting what comes rather than trying to influence the situation through ego-centric conceptions of progress. There is a definite suggestion here of influences operating outside of awareness.
Through hearing, understanding, and wisdom, one should so comprehend the nature of all things as not to fall into the error of regarding matter and phenomena as real. "Precepts of the Gurus," Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines
A. Action is taken for its own sake to effect an unknown purpose. Progress isn't dependent upon external appearances.
B. Profit and loss are illusions -- bear your burden with a smile.
C. "Don't worry, be happy!" Everything is proceeding according to plan.
Other titles: The Creative, The Symbol of Heaven, The Creative Principle, Force, The Key, Creativity, The Originating, Creative Power, Primal Power, Yang, The Life Force, Kundalini, God the Father
Judgment
Legge:The Dynamic represents what is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and firm.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Creative works sublime success, furthering through perseverance.
Blofeld: The Creative Principle . Sublime Success! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward.
Liu:The Creative brings great success, benefiting all through perseverance.
Ritsema/Karcher:Force: Spring Growing Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the primal spirit power that both creates and destroys. It emphasizes that dynamic, unwearied persisting, the action of Force, is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: persist!]
Shaughnessy:The Key: Primary reception; beneficial to determine.
Cleary(1):Heavencreates, develops, brings about fruition and consummation.
Cleary(1): The creative is successful; this is beneficial if correct.
Wu:The Originator is primordial, pervasive, prosperous and persevering.
The Image
Legge: Heaven, in its motion, gives the idea of strength. The superior man, in accordance with this, nerves himself to ceaseless activity.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The movement of heaven is full of power. Thus the superior man makes himself strong and untiring.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes the power of the celestial forces in motion, wherewith the Superior Man labors unceasingly to strengthen his own character.
Liu: Heaven moves powerfully; the superior man strengthens himself unceasingly.
Ritsema/Karcher: Heaven moves persistingly. A Chun tzu uses originating strength not to pause.
Cleary(1): The activity of heaven is powerful; superior people thereby strengthen themselves ceaselessly.
Wu: Heaven moves in full strength. Thus the jun zi strives ceaselessly to be self-reliant.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: All things owe their inception to the vast and originating power of The Dynamic. It contains all the meaning of the word: Heaven. Clouds move, rain falls, and the myriad things appear in their created forms. The sages comprehend the link between the end and the beginning. They understand how the changes of the six lines of the hexagram are accomplished, each in its season, and with this knowledge they ascend toward Heaven as though mounted on six dragons. The intent of The Dynamic is to transform everything so that it reflects its correct nature as originally conceived by the mind of Heaven. Thereafter, this great harmony is preserved in union and firm correctness. The sage appears aloft, high above all things, and the myriad states are harmoniously united.
Legge: For the Chinese, the dragon has been from the earliest times a symbol of dignity, wisdom, sovereignty and sagehood. It is the symbol of the superior man, and especially the "great man," exhibiting all the virtues and attributes of Heaven. Although the dragon's home is in the water, it can disport itself on land, and also fly through the air.
The sage rules in the world of men as Heaven rules nature. He sees the connection between the end and the beginning as the law of cause and effect in the operations of nature and human affairs. The various steps in that course are symbolized by the lines of the hexagram, and the ideal sage, conducting his ideal government, is represented as driving through the sky in a carriage drawn by six dragons.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:The Dynamic is the life force itself.
The Superior Man tirelessly furthers the Great Work of Transformation.
The image of a dragon appears in every line of this hexagram, except the third. Like most symbols, the dragon has both a positive and a negative aspect. In Western myth, it is usually an adversary which the hero must conquer before he can obtain a treasure or often, a captive maiden. The Chinese, on the other hand, regard the dragon positively. Blofeld comments:
In China, the dragon has always been regarded as a highly admirable creature of celestial origin. Dragons provide rain; make rivers run and rule the ocean. The European dragon is clearly of another species.
This seeming anomaly may say more about how east and west perceive the forces of nature, rather than refer to any true differences in the forces perceived.
Wilhelm compares the dragon to the electrical energy within a thunderstorm -- as lightning it can destroy us, but in the form of electricity it can be harnessed to do useful work. A dragon is nothing if not a huge serpent, and this suggests the idea of the "serpent power," or Kundalini energy which when aroused in the human body has been likened to a sudden jolt of electricity running up from the base of the spine to the top of the head. The Kundalini force is equated in turn with sexual energy -- dynamic power which ensures the continuance of all but the most primitive of living organisms. Without the powerful energy of sexuality, life as we know it could not exist.
When the dragon remains unconquered in the cave-like depths of the unconscious, the life force autonomously rules our lives and we become passive vehicles for random desires and appetites. This "electricity" will flow wherever it finds a circuit of least resistance, and under these conditions an individual's life is largely "created" by chance and circumstance. When one begins the Work, the task of Individuation, one assumes the role of the hero or warrior, who does battle with the dragon in order to bring it under his will. This is a great struggle, and success is not guaranteed, but if one is able to control the primordial power of the life force, the treasure (or the maiden, which in the male psyche amounts to the same thing), is obtained. This is tantamount to attaining a higher level of consciousness -- in its highest form it constitutes "enlightenment."
The symbolism of all of the hexagrams works on many different levels, and this is especially true of the first two, which must be studied together for a full comprehension of each. (Kabbalists, for example, will recognize in these two figures the same forces found in Chokmah and Binah on the Tree of Life.) For the purposes of this comparison it must be noted that the first hexagram symbolizes Heaven, and the second symbolizes Earth: Force and Form. (As consciousness is to the body it inhabits, so Force is to Form and Heaven to Earth.) Form is magnetic, or "negative" in polarity, and Force is dynamic, or "positive."
In esoteric symbolism "Heaven" does not mean the universe above us -- it means the consciousness within us. This polarity is also reflected in the relationship between the ego and the Self -- in a properly regulated psyche, the ego is always magnetic to the dynamic Self.
There is an invisible universe within the visible one, a world of causes within the world of effects. There is force within matter, and the two are one, and are dependent for their existence on a third, which is the mysterious cause of their existence. There is a world of soul within a world of matter, and the two are one, and caused by the world of spirit. F. Hartmann -- Paracelsus: Life and Prophecies
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
To get a fuller grasp of the numinously beautiful structure of the I Ching and the transcendent reality which it reflects, one should meditate on each of the hexagrams as often as possible -- one can never exhaust their meaning. The first two hexagrams (because they are the "cosmic parents" of all the others), are especially rich in their associations. Here are a few suggestions for meditation:
1. Compare and contrast the general ideas in the first three hexagrams, noting how the third is a logical progression of the first two.
2. The Confucian commentary on The Dynamic is particularly rich in meaning. Read it over and over again -- it contains the principles of the Work as outlined in more detail in the other hexagrams. Compare the sixth sentence with the ideas in hexagram number twenty, Contemplation.
3. Compare the first two hexagrams with hexagram number eleven, Harmony, and number twelve, Divorcement, noting the implications of the symbolism in terms of the proper management of the Work.