Rise above obstacles with determination and humility, recognizing the power in staying true to yourself. Seek growth through small, meaningful actions.
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35
Progress
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62
Small Powers
Straightening things up
One makes up for one's shortcomings with a stunning finale. taoscopy.com
Progress35
Progress and clarity emerge. With effort and clarity, advancement is possible. Keep honesty and integrity at the forefront.
↓ Line 3
Harmony with others leads to the removal of regrets and smooth progress.
↓ Line 6
Aggressive progress is justified only for self-correction. Awareness of risks leads to good fortune, but persistence in aggression may lead to disgrace.
↓ Small Powers62
Focus on the details. Embrace humility and small steps to achieve success. Avoid overreaching or taking on too much to prevent failure.
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 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 6
Legge: The sixth line, dynamic, shows one advancing his horns. But he only uses them to punish the rebellious people in his own city. The position is perilous, but there will be good fortune. Yet, however firm and correct he may be, there will be occasion for regret.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Making progress with the horns is permissible only for the purpose of punishing one's own city. To be conscious of danger brings good fortune. No blame. Perseverance brings humiliation.
Blofeld: He advances as with lowered horns, intent solely upon subduing the cities of his enemies. Whether his affairs go awry or prosper, he is not in error, but for him to persist thus would involve him in ignominy
Liu: Progressing to the horns. It is only in order to chastise his own city. Awareness of danger brings fortune and no blame. To continue brings humiliation.
Ritsema/Karcher: Prospering: one's horns. Holding-fast avails-of subjugating the capital. Adversity significant, without fault. Trial: abashment.
Shaughnessy: Aquatic his horns; it is only to be used to attack the city; danger; auspicious; there is no trouble; determination is distressful.
Cleary (1): Advancing the horns; this requires conquering one’s domain.
There is danger, but it bodes well, so there will be no blame. But even though correct it is humiliating.
Cleary (2): … Hard work leads to good results, without blame; but even though correct, one is humiliated. [Since one was unable to govern oneself early on, and only now has been capable of self-mastery, even though it is correct, it is still humiliating.]
Wu: He advances with his horns to quell disturbances of his town. Although he makes a risky move, he is not in error. His insistence is nevertheless regrettable.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His course of procedure is not yet brilliant. Wilhelm/ Baynes: The way is not yet in the light. Blofeld: Solely to subdue the cities? The way is not yet clear! Ritsema/Karcher: Tao not-yet shining indeed. Cleary (2): The way is not yet illumined. Wu: His administration is not beyond reproach. [If he had done things right, there would have been no disturbances.]
Legge: Line six is dynamic, and suggests the idea of its subject relentlessly pushing his advance with both firm correctness and exceptional force. The horns are an emblem of threatening strength, and though he uses them only against the rebels in his own state, the fact that a prince should have any occasion to use force is regrettable. This aggressiveness exceeds King Wen's concept of firm correctness for a ruler, and therefore his light is not yet that of the full-orbed sun.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man uses force in punishing the rebellious people of his own city. This is permissible. Continuation of the offensive, especially against strangers, however, will bring occasion for regret.
Wing: Take aggressive and offensive measures only when you seek to discipline yourself. Such severe precautions will help you to avoid regretful errors. Do not, however, make the mistake of using the same force on others or you will suffer the humiliation of alienation and failure.
Editor: Psychologically interpreted, the City symbolizes the psyche, and the rebels symbolize any undisciplined emotions, drives, desires, appetites, thoughts, etc. The Judgment specifically mentions the importance of gaining the tranquility of the people; here they are obviously not tranquil, so the idea of the hexagram has not been accomplished. Although force is required to stabilize the situation, martial law can hardly be regarded as anything but a temporary expedient: however necessary it may be at times, it is still humiliating for a ruler (ego) to have to resort to it. The line often refers to backsliding on some issue.
The possibility of choice and relationship depends fundamentally upon getting out of this state of identity. As long as this unconscious identity with a drive or impulse persists there is no possibility of choice, for we act like helpless puppets and we never know what strings have pulled us. There is no possibility for any personal conscious relatedness because neither of two people who are identical with their impulses knows what is moving him or what, if anything, this has to do with the other person. Separation from the original state of identity is fundamental for any psychological development and for personal differentiation. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
A. Control yourself. Discipline must be applied to the restless aspects within your own psyche. Do nothing to try to influence others.
Other titles: Preponderance of the Small, The Symbol of Excess in Small Things, The Small get by, Slight Excess, Small Exceeding, Small Surpassing, Excess of the Small, Small gains, Conscientiousness, Smallness in Excess, Exceeding the Mean, Proliferation of Details, "Like a bird, do not fly too high or attempt too much because this will lead to disaster." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Small Powers indicates that there will be progress and attainment in small affairs, but not in great affairs. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct. It is like the song of a flying bird: It is better to descend than to ascend. In this way there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Preponderance of the Small. Success. Perseverance furthers. Small things may be done; great things should not be done. The flying bird brings the message: It is not well to strive upward, it is well to remain below. Great good fortune.
Blofeld:The Small Get By -- success! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward. Small things can be accomplished now, but not great ones. When birds fly high, their singing is out of tune. The humble, but not the mighty, are favored now with great good fortune. [To aim high now would be to put ourselves out of accord with the times.]
Liu:Slight Excess. Success. Continuing is of benefit. Undertaking small things, not great things. The song of the flying bird. It is not good to go up; it is good to stay below. Great good fortune. [Slight Excess signifies the slight excess or small mistake that can prevent the achievement of great things.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Small Exceeding, Growing. Harvesting Trial. Permitting Small
Affairs. Not permitting Great Affairs. Flying bird: abandoning's sound. Above not proper, below proper. The great significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of an overwhelming variety of encounters and details. It emphasizes that an excessive concern with adapting yourself to these inner and outer events is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Small Surpassing : Receipt; beneficial to determine; possible for little service, but not possible for great service. The sound left by the flying bird is not proper for ascent but is proper for descent; greatly auspicious.
Cleary (1):Predominance of the small is developmental, beneficial if correct. It is suitable for a small affair but not for a great one. The call left by a flying bird should not rise but descend. This is very auspicious.
Cleary (2):Small excess turns out all right. It is beneficial to be correct. It is all right for small matters, not for great matters. A flying bird leaves its cry; it should not ascend but descend – then there will be great good fortune.
Wu: Excess of the Small indicates pervasiveness and the advantage of being persevering. One may succeed in doing small business, but not big one. Like the lingering sound of a bird flying by, it is not suitable to go upward, but suitable to go downward. Great fortune.
The Image
Legge: The image of thunder above a hill forms Small Powers. The superior man, in accordance with this, in his conduct exceeds in humility, in mourning exceeds in sorrow, and in his expenditure exceeds in economy.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder on the mountain: the image of Preponderance of the Small. Thus in his conduct the superior man gives preponderance to reverence. In bereavement he gives preponderance to grief. In his expenditures he gives preponderance to thrift. [The superior man derives an imperative from this image: he must always fix his eyes more closely and more directly on duty than does the ordinary man, even though this might make his behavior seem petty to the outside world. He is exceptionally conscientious in his actions.]
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder over the mountains. The Superior Man now acts with too much reverence, experiences too much sorrow from bereavement and is overly thrifty in satisfying his needs.
Liu: Thunder over the mountain symbolizes Slight Excess. The superior man's conduct is overly humble; In mourning he laments exceedingly, and he is stingy in his spending.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing thunder. Small Exceeding. A chun tzu uses moving Exceeding to reach-to courtesy. A chun tzu uses losing Exceeding to reach-to mourning. A chun tzu uses availing of Exceeding to reach-to parsimony.
Cleary (1): There is thunder over a mountain, exessively small. Thus superior people are excessively deferential in conduct, excessively sad in mourning, excessively frugal in consumption.
Cleary (2): Thunder over a mountain – small excess. Genteel people are exceedingly deferential in conduct, exceedingly sad in mourning, and exceedingly abstemious in consumption.
Wu: Thunder rolls over the mountain; this is Excess of the Small. Thus the jun zi conducts himself with a little excess in respect to others, a little excess in sorrow at mourning, and a little excess in frugality in expenditure.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Small Powers we see the magnetic lines exceeding the others, and giving the intimation of progress and attainment. To be advantageous, such excesses must be associated with firm correctness, and must always be in harmony with the requirements of the time. The magnetic lines are in the central places, and hence it is said that small excesses may be done in small affairs with good effect. Of the dynamic lines, one is not in its proper place, and the other is not central; thus it is said that small excesses should not be done in great affairs. In the hexagram we have the symbol of the flying bird, whose song reminds us that it is better to descend than ascend. To ascend is contrary to what is reasonable in the case, while to descend is natural and right.
Legge: The meaning of this hexagram in which an excess of yin lines prevails, may be grasped by contrasting its image with that of hexagram number twenty-eight, Critical Mass, in which an excess of yang lines prevails. Here the idea is the prevalence of small or inferior powers, and the lesson to be learned is how to distinguish essentials from non-essentials. Is it ever good to deviate from the established course of procedure? The answer is that it is permissible only in small matters, but never in matters of import. Sometimes form may be dispensed with, but never substance, and the thing must always be done responsibly and with appropriate humility. The symbol of the bird is to teach humility -- it is better for it to descend, keeping near to where it can perch and rest, than to ascend into the homeless regions of the upper air.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Ground your flights of fancy.
The Superior Man bends over backwards to be correct.
Small Powers shows the preceding figure of Inner Truth turned inside-out. Here the magnetic lines are all on the outside -- uncontained and uncontrolled. The hexagram often reflects a situation in which the "archetypes": the passions, appetites, emotions, drives and instincts have left their proper places within the psyche and are flying free like birds escaped from the zoo. Most of the lines either depict the danger of such a situation or warn about how to control it.
In this inflated, compulsive state of identity, we and the drive are at our most harmful; the drive will unfold and we will act out its extreme, inappropriate and destructive side. In the process we get the worst of it, along with the other people involved. The wrong thing usually happens at the wrong time and in the wrong place. A capacity for moving toward differentiation and transforming the drive will not arise until the state of identity has been dissolved. This requires a confrontation of the drive as a Thou, as something that is not I, as something separate from ourselves. Only at this point can the inner dialogue begin. Until then the drive remains unconscious, primitive and destructive. Only after the identity has been dissolved by learning to experience the drive as an autonomous entity that is separate from the ego, do we get a chance to choose a right time and place and to develop the positive potential of the drive. E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest
Interestingly, the only line that seems to be correctly "out of its cage" is the second -- suggesting a situation in which an intuitive inner wisdom takes proper precedence over the usual firm correctness of "reason."