Harness the power of unity in diversity to elevate your journey.
From
38
Opposition
To
42
Increase
Admitting defeat
One easily surrenders so as not to have to explain oneself further. taoscopy.com
Opposition38
Conflict arises from differences. Seek common ground and understanding to overcome separations and oppositions. Mutual respect paves the way for harmony.
↓ Line 2
Unexpected encounters can lead to beneficial outcomes. Stay open to possibilities.
↓ Line 4
Finding allies in times of opposition can lead to mutual support and success.
↓ Line 5
Resolving misunderstandings and seeking reconciliation leads to positive outcomes.
↓ Increase42
Growth and progress: Favorable conditions and efforts lead to increase and success. Be generous, share your gains, and stay humble.
Other titles: Opposition, The Symbol of Strangeness and Disunion, The Estranged, Opposites, Polarizing, Alienation, Distant From, Perversion, Disharmony, Separated, Contradiction, Estrangement, Incongruity
Judgment
Legge: Despite Mutual Alienation there will be success in small matters.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Opposition. in small matters, good fortune.
Blofeld: The Estranged -- good fortune in small matters.
Liu: Opposition. In small things, good fortune.
Ritsema/Karcher:Polarizing, Small Affairs significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of things that are connected but should not join. It emphasizes that putting things in opposition while acknowledging their essential link is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Perversion: Little affairs are auspicious.
Cleary (1): Disharmony. A small matter will turn out all right.
Cleary (2): Opposition, Etc.
Wu: Incongruity indicates auspiciousness for doing small things.
The Image
Legge: The image of fire over a marsh forms Mutual Alienation. The superior man, in accordance with this, accepts the diversities which make up the whole.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Above fire; below the lake: the image of Opposition. Thus amid all fellowship the superior man retains his individuality.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes fire above and a marshy lake below. The Superior Man achieves difference through unity.
Liu: Fire above the lake symbolizes Opposition. Living with the people, the superior man distinguishes among them.
Ritsema/Karcher: Fire above, marsh below. Polarizing. A chun tzu uses concording and-also dividing. [Cf. Solve et Coagula—Ed.]
Cleary (1): Above is fire, below is a lake, disparate. Thus are superior people the same yet different.
Cleary (2): Above is fire, below is a lake – opposite. Developed people, etc.
Wu: Fire above and marsh below form Incongruity. Thus the Jun zi take separate paths, but arrive at the same goal.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Mutual Alienation we see fire ascending and water descending. We see two sisters living together whose wills move in opposite directions. However, the lower trigram of Cheerfulness is attached to the upper trigram of Clarity, and the magnetic fifth line is responded to by the dynamic second line; these are signs that there can still be good fortune in small matters. Heaven and earth are separate and apart, but the work which they do is the same. Male and female are separate and apart, but with a common will they seek the same object. There is a diversity between the myriad classes of beings, but there is an analogy between their several operations. Great indeed are the phenomena and the results of this condition of disunion and separation.
Legge: Mutual Alienationshows a condition in which disunion and mistrust prevail. The hexagram teaches how this state of affairs may be overcome in small matters and the way prepared for the cure of the whole system. The commentators suggest that the condition symbolized here is a necessary sequel to the regulation of the family in the preceding hexagram.
The K'ang-hsi editors observe that in many hexagrams we have two daughters dwelling together, but that only in this and number forty-nine is attention called to it. The reason is that in these two diagrams the sisters are the second and third daughters, while in the others one of them is the eldest, whose place and superiority are fixed, so that between her and either of the others there can be no division or collision. The lesson in the Confucian commentary is not unity in diversity, but union with diversity.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: In resolving disputes, begin with their least controversial aspects.
The Superior Man respects alternative points of view.
Turn the hexagram of Familyupside-down and you get the hexagram ofMutual Alienation. The opposite of family unity is estrangement, which combined with the idea of polarity, suggests the kind of energetic "pushing away" one feels when two horseshoe magnets are matched to the same poles. Despite this opposition however, every line deals positively with the situation -- there is not one image in the hexagram that doesn't intimate an eventual resolution.
The thirty-eighth hexagram lays even more emphasis than usual on the relationships (polarities) existing between its correlate lines. This suggests that inner connections outrank any superficial estrangement. The Mutual Alienationthen, is not a permanent condition -- it represents more of a challenge than a disaster. All polarity is potential energy to accomplish useful work, and in this hexagram the polarities are more than usually available for this purpose. This doesn't mean that the work here is necessarily easy, just that it offers a major opportunity for growth.
A crisis develops when some pressure or event creates a state of uncomfortable disequilibrium which fails to respond to usual defenses and coping mechanisms. It involves danger with both a considerable risk for worsening and opportunity for growth (with enhancement of insight, mastery, and self-esteem) ... The patient should be educated to understand his situation and helped to see that painful episodes may prove to be part of a constructive process, and are not proof of a dire outcome. R.P. Kluft -- Hypnotherapeutic Crisis Intervention in Multiple Personality
Line 2
Legge: The second line, dynamic, shows its subject happening to meet with his ruler in a bye-passage. There will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: One meets his lord in a narrow street. No blame.
Blofeld: He encountered his lord in a narrow lane -- no error!
Liu: One meets his superior in an alley. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Meeting a lord, tending-towards the street. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: Meeting the ruler in an alley; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Meeting the master in an alley, there is no blame. [When yin and yang have gotten out of harmony, aberrant energy is strong and true sane energy is weak – the mind of Tao is not easy to meet. However, if firmness is applied with flexibility, advancing by way of a small path, using the human mind to produce the mind of Tao, this is like “meeting the master in an alley.” The formerly blameworthy can then be blameless. This is setting disharmony right when it is in full force.]
Cleary (2): Meeting the ruler, etc.
Wu: He meets his master in a lane. There will be no error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: He has not deviated for this meeting from the proper course. Wilhelm/Baynes: If one meets his lord in a narrow street, one has not lost his way. Blofeld: He was not in error for he had not strayed from his path. Ritsema/Karcher: Not-yet letting-go tao indeed. Cleary (2): Does not deviate from the right way. Wu: He has not gone beyond the bounds.
Legge: The fifth-line correlate of the second line is magnetic and the two might meet openly if it weren't for the separation and disunion of the time. A casual, as it were a stolen interview, as in a bye-lane or passage, will be useful however, and may lead to better understanding.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Misunderstanding prevents people who share an inner affinity from meeting together in the normal way. A casual meeting between the man and his master under informal circumstances proves useful.
Wing: An unexpected or accidental encounter with an important idea or person will benefit you. There is a natural attraction at work here, although a direct approach would have been inconceivable or impossible.
Wilhelm (from Lectures on the I Ching): (Man)...accepts his karma, his fate, which from within the situation has been given him and which he affirms. The image of the narrow street indicates that this is not a simple transaction. A counterpart is, for example, found in the Bible, when a prophet receives his calling. Prophets are such men who have met their masters in narrow streets. How the prophet Jeremiah rages and complains! All his life he reproaches God for having burdened him with too heavy a load, but nonetheless accepts his destiny and completes the task.
Editor: The image is one of a meeting (union) between high and low in a tight place, or under restricted circumstances. This "narrow passage," pinched circumstances, or rough-going, could refer to the discipline of the Work. An ego/Self connection is implied.
The aim of the ordinary man is to live his life avoiding all difficulties, discomforts and unpleasantness within the bounds of his conscience. The esoteric student should be a man with a very demanding conscience and so his life is more difficult. This does not mean that he goes about seeking for or making difficulties for himself, but he meets all obstacles as a challenge, and the greater the obstacle the greater the opportunity it is for him to overcome the weaker aspects of his nature. Gareth Knight -- Qabalistic Symbolism
A. Truth or duty is encountered in a tight spot or limited situation.
B. Restricted circumstances evoke their own dynamics for growth. Stress is a great teacher.
C. "A tough row to hoe." A difficult (fated) co-incidence of some kind.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows its subject solitary amidst the prevailing disunion. But he meets with the good man represented by the first line, and they blend their sincere desires together. The position is one of peril, but there will be no mistake.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Isolated through opposition, one meets a like-minded man with whom one can associate in good faith. Despite the danger, no blame.
Blofeld: After suffering estrangement and loneliness, she met an admirable husband and mutual confidence grew between them -- unpleasantness, but no error! [For those to whom the literal interpretation does not apply, the last six words of the commentary are all that matter.]
Liu: Isolated owing to opposition, he meets a strong man and they associate sincerely. Even though there is danger, no blame.
Shaughnessy: Perverse solitude; meeting the prime fellow and interacting returning; danger; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Disharmony in solitude; meeting good people, associate sincerely, and though it be trying, there will be no fault.
Cleary (2): The solitude of opposition. Meeting good people, associate sincerely, work hard, and there will be no blame.
Wu: He is isolated because of incongruity. He meets with a man of strength. With mutual trust, there will be no error despite difficult situations.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Their common aim is carried into effect. Wilhelm/ Baynes: The will effects its purpose. Blofeld: What is said about mutual confidence and freedom from error indicates the fulfillment of what is willed. Ritsema/Karcher: Adversity, without fault. Mingling conforming, without fault. Purpose moving indeed. Cleary (2): Associate sincerely, and there will be no blame, for the aim will be carried out. Wu: With mutual trust there will be no error, because his wishes prevail.
Legge: Line four has no proper correlate, and might seem to be solitary. But, as we saw on line one, in this hexagram, correlates of the same class help each other. Hence lines four and one meet together and work with good will and success.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man finds a like-minded person among the opposition. They blend their honest desires and achieve a common goal.
Wing: In the midst of opposition and isolation you will find someone with whom you have an inner affinity. A mutual trust can now develop and dangers can be overcome together. This cooperation can lead to significant accomplishments.
Editor: The image is one of an alliance with a kindred spirit during troubled times. Wilhelm and Blofeld render the Confucian commentary in terms of willpower achieving its goal. Psychologically, the image of this line suggests a strong connection between ego and Self during a period of general psychic polarization.
Man's free will arises from the fact that he feels the life in himself as his own, and that God leaves him so to feel in order that conjunction may be effected -- which is not possible unless it be reciprocal, and it becomes reciprocal when man acts from freedom altogether as from himself. Swedenborg -- True Christian Religion
A. Forces in opposition create estrangement and isolation. Association with a strong unifying force creates conditions for resolving the conflict. Despite estrangement and disunion, one has an ally.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, magnetic, shows that to its subject occasion for repentance will disappear. With her relative and minister she unites closely and readily as if she were biting through a piece of skin. When she goes forward with this help, what error can there be?
Wilhelm/Baynes: Remorse disappears. The companion bites his way through the wrappings. If one goes to him, how could it be a mistake?
Blofeld: Regret vanishes! The head of the clan bites through the flesh (or meat). What is there to prevent him proceeding (with his plans)? [This just means that all will go well with our plans. The head of the clan is our mind; the flesh is the difficulty we shall succeed in overcoming.]
Liu: Remorse vanishes. The member of the clan bites the skin. Going. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Repenting extinguished. Your ancestor gnawing flesh. Going wherefore faulty?
Shaughnessy: Regret is gone. Climbing up the ancestral temple and biting flesh; in going what trouble is there?
Cleary (1): Regret vanishes; the ally bites through the skin. What fault is there in joy?
Cleary (2): Regret vanishes. With the ally in close cooperation, what is wrong with proceeding?
Wu: There will be no regret. His association with his relative is close like biting into a piece of skin. If he chooses to proceed, what error can there be?
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Her going forward will afford ground for congratulation. Wilhelm/Baynes: If one goes to him, it brings blessing. Blofeld: To proceed with current plans will result in blessings. [I.e. unexpected good fortune.]Ritsema/Karcher: Going possessing reward indeed. Cleary (2): With the ally in close cooperation, to proceed will result in celebration. Wu: This means to proceed is to have celebration.
Legge: The place of five is dynamic, but the line itself is magnetic, so that there might arise occasion for repentance. But the dynamic second line is a proper correlate. Because five is in the ruler's place, line two is seen as a relative of the same surname and head of some branch of the royal house. It is as easy for five, so supported, to deal with the disunion of the time as to bite through a piece of skin.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The true nature of the companion is revealed by looking beneath the surface. The man joins with him to deal effectively with the disunion.
Wing: Because of a general atmosphere of Contradiction and opposition you may fail to recognize someone who can sincerely help you. This person may reveal himself in spite of the mistrust that clouds your perspective. Working together on current plans will now bring good fortune.
Editor: Biting: Differentiation, discernment, "cutting through the red tape," etc. (cf., Hexagram number twenty-one: Differentiation.) Skin:The outer layer, protective surface, facade, persona, superficial appearances, etc. To bite through the skin is to get to the meat of the matter.Relative and minister: An allied power, the Self. (Ritsema/Karcher mention the "ancestor," and Shaughnessy, the "ancestral temple" -- further clues that we are dealing with inner powers: i.e., the Self.)
The God of the Macrocosm and the God of the Microcosm act upon each other, and both are essentially one, for there is only one God and one law and one Nature, through which wisdom becomes manifest. Paracelsus -- De Fundamento Sapientiae
A. Cut through surface appearances to reach a deeper level of understanding.
B. Image of an ego/Self connection. Proceed with your plans.
Other titles: The Symbol of Addition, Gain, Augmenting, Help from Above, Benefit, Advantage, Profit, Expansion
Judgment
Legge: Increase denotes advantage in every movement which shall be undertaken -- it will be advantageous even to cross the great stream.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Increase. It furthers one to undertake something. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Blofeld: Gain. It is favorable to have in view some goal (or destination) and to cross the great water (or sea).
Liu:Increase. It is of benefit to set forth. It is of benefit to cross the great water.
Ritsema/Karcher: Augmenting , Harvesting: possessing directed going. Harvesting: wading the Great River. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of increase and advance. It emphasizes that expanding the quantity and quality of your involvement is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to augment!]
Shaughnessy:Increase:Beneficial herewith to have someplace to go; beneficial to find the great river.
Cleary (1): For Increase, it is beneficial to go somewhere; it is beneficial to cross great rivers.
Wu: Gain indicates an advantage in having undertakings and in crossing a big river.
The Image
Legge: Wind over thunder -- the image of Increase. When the superior man perceives good, he moves toward it; when he perceives his faults, he eliminates them.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Wind and thunder: the image of Increase. Thus the superior man: if he sees good, he imitates it; if he has faults, he rids himself of them.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes wind and thunder. The Superior Man, seeing what is good, imitates it; seeing what is bad, he corrects it.
Liu: Wind and thunder symbolize Increase. When the superior man discovers good, he follows it. When he has errors, he corrects them.
Ritsema/Karcher: Wind, thunder. Augmenting. A chun tzu uses visualizing improvement, by-consequence shifting. A chun tzu uses possessing excess, by-consequence amending.
Cleary (1): Wind and thunder increase. Thus do superior people take to good when they see it, and correct whatever faults they have.
Wu: Wind and thunder make Gain. Thus, when the jun zi sees a good deed, he improves his own at once; when he realizes he is making a mistake, he corrects it at once.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Increase shows the upper trigram brilliantly decreased to augment the lower. What descends from above reaches to all below, and the satisfaction of the people is without limit. Advantage in movement is shown in the blessings dispensed by the second and fifth lines from their correct positions. The action of Wood shows that it is advantageous to cross the great stream. Through the trigrams of Movement and Humility there is unlimited daily advancement -- heaven dispenses and earth produces, and all proceeds according to the requirements of the time.
Legge: Increase has the opposite meaning to hexagram number forty-one, Compensating Sacrifice [Decrease]. What king Wen had in mind was a ruler or a government operating to dispense benefits to the people and increase their resources. The two important lines in the figure are the correlates two and five. The general auspice of the hexagram is one of being successful in one's enterprises and of overcoming the greatest difficulties.
The formation of the trigrams here is the reverse of that in the preceding hexagram. The people are full of pleasure in the labors of the ruler for their good. "The action of Wood" in the Confucian commentary refers to the upper trigram, which is the symbol of Wind and Wood. From wood boats are made on which the great stream may be crossed. In three hexagrams, this, fifty-nine and sixty-one, in which this is the upper trigram, we find mention made of crossing the great stream. In the Image thunder and wind are seen to increase one another, and their combination gives the idea of Increase.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Take advantage of your opportunities.
The Superior Man recognizes his duty and rectifies his mistakes. Or: "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative."
If the ego's sacrifices for the good of the Work are described in the previous hexagram, here we see the inverse image of that figure in which it is the Self who bestows its blessings upon the psyche. The one implies the other -- in the words of an old Blues lyric: "If you don't put somethin' in, you can't get nothin' out..." The forty-first and forty-second hexagrams are intimately related, and in their interaction portray the active progress of the Work. To paraphrase the last sentence of the Confucian commentary: "The Self dispenses and the ego produces, and all proceeds according to the requirements of the time."
If a man continually weighs his actions and aims at the mean, he is in the highest of human ranks. In that way, he will come close to God and will attain what belongs to Him. This is the most perfect of the ways of worship. Maimonides -- Eight Chapters