Other titles: Coming to Meet, The Symbol of Meeting, Contact, Sexual Intercourse, Encountering, Coupling, Infiltration by Inferior Men, Adultery "Contains a definite warning about a person or situation which may appear harmless but will prove dangerous." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Temptation shows a female who is bold and strong. It will not be good to marry such a female.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Coming to Meet. The maiden is powerful. One should not marry such a maiden.
Blofeld: Contact. Women wield the power. Do not marry. [At this time marriage would be unfortunate; the husband would almost surely be henpecked.]
Liu: Encountering. The female is forceful. One should not marry her.
Ritsema/Karcher:Coupling, womanhood invigorating. No availing-of grasping womanhood. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the encounter of primal energies. It emphasizes that seeing-through your personal situation as the connection of objective forces is the adequate way to handle it...]
Couple , KOU: intense, driven encounter, at once transitory and enduring, that is the reflection of primal yin and yang; meet, encounter, copulate; mating animals; magnetism, gravity; to be gripped by impersonal forces. Primal forces couple in the inner world, seeding enduring new forms.
Shaughnessy: The maiden matures ; do not herewith take a maiden.
Cleary (1):Meeting, the woman is strong. Don’t get married.
Cleary (2): In meeting, the woman is strong. Do not marry the woman.
Wu:Rendezvous indicates that the woman is strong. It is not advisable to marry that woman.
The Image
Legge: The image of wind with the sky above it forms Temptation. The sovereign, in accordance with this, delivers his charges, and promulgates his announcements throughout the four quarters of the kingdom.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Under heaven, wind: the image of Coming to Meet. Thus does the prince act when disseminating his commands and proclaiming them to the four quarters of heaven.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes wind blowing across the face of the earth. When the ruler issues commands, he has them proclaimed in every corner of the world.
Liu: The wind under the sky symbolizes Encountering. The ruler issues his directives, announcing them to the four corners (throughout his country).
Ritsema/Karcher: Below heaven possessing wind. Coupling. The crown-prince uses spreading-out fate to command the four sides.
[Fate, MING: individual destiny; birth and death as limits of life; issue orders with authority; consult the gods. The ideogram: mouth and order, words with heavenly authority.]
Cleary (1): There is wind under heaven, meeting. Thus do rulers announce their directives to the four quarters.
Wu: There is wind under heaven; this is Rendezvous. Thus, the sovereign announces the royal mandate to the whole nation.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Temptationhas the significance of unexpectedly coming on. We see in it the magnetic line coming unexpectedly on the dynamic ones. Marriage is improper, because one so symbolized should not be long associated with. When heaven and earth meet together as here represented, all the variety of natural things becomes displayed. When a dynamic line finds itself in the central and correct position, good government will nourish all under the sky. Great indeed is the significance of what has to be done at the time indicated byTemptation.
Legge: A single, magnetic line enters at the bottom of the hexagram. This is the figure used to represent the time of year when light and heat begin to wane. In the divided line we see the symbol of the inferior man, beginning to insinuate himself into the government of the country. His influence, if unchecked, would go on to grow and fill the vacant seats with others like himself. The objective of the Judgment is to arouse resistance to this evil influence.
Temptation is defined here as a sudden and casual meeting with something inferior -- the divided line is seen as appearing all at once in the figure. The first line, magnetic in a dynamic place, becomes the symbol of a bold woman of more than questionable virtue who appears unexpectedly on the scene with the object of seducing all five of the dynamic (male) lines to herself. No one would contract a marriage with such a female, and every good servant of his country will repel the entrance into government of every officer who can be so symbolized.
On the first two sentences of the Confucian commentary, the K'ang-hsi editors say: "The magnetic line meets with (or comes unexpectedly on) the dynamic ones. The magnetic line, that is, plays the principal part. The case is like that of the minister who assumes the power of decision in place of the ruler, or of a hen crowing at sunrise -- is not the name of shameless boldness rightly applied to it?"
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Do not unite with an inferior element in your situation. ("Lead us not into temptation.")
The Superior Man formulates his code of conduct and abides by it.
Wilhelm translates the forty-fourth hexagram as Coming to Meet, and Blofeld gives it the rather startling subtitle of Sexual Intercourse. There is no doubt at all that the figure has an aura of illicit excitement associated with it which I feel is best conveyed by R. L. Wing's title of Temptation, though Adultery might also be suitable. One sometimes receives this hexagram under dramatic circumstances, and it serves to dump cold water on a potentially volatile series of choices and their equally volatile consequences.
When we consider the importance of the proper correlation of male and female lines in the I Ching, we see that the Judgment in this hexagram can psychologically depict the temptation to an adulterous union of thought and feeling. Adultery is a very useful metaphor for understanding the principles of the Work -- it means union with anything which, inI Ching terms, is not a "proper correlate.” To adulterate something is to degrade a pure substance by the addition of an inferior ingredient. The image of a temptation to adulterate the Work in this hexagram is therefore a warning in the strongest possible terms that you are vulnerable to some inferior choices.
Consequently by marriages not only the earths but also the heavens are filled with inhabitants ... The earth indeed may be filled with inhabitants by fornications and adulteries as well as by marriages; but not heaven. The reason is that hell is from adulteries, and heaven from marriages ... When the procreations of the human race are effected through marriages in which the holy love of good and truth from the Lord reigns, then it is done on earth as in the heavens, and the kingdom of the Lord on earth corresponds to the kingdom of the Lord in the heavens. Swedenborg -- Apocalypse Explained
The concept of the hieros gamos, or holy marriage, is a ubiquitous archetype found in every tradition rooted in the Perennial Philosophy. If this "marriage” symbolizes a proper union or reunion of previously separated elements, then it follows that the opposite situation: a union of mismatched entities would be symbolized by adultery. To recreate a primordial gestalt of perfection out of an exploded multiverse of mixed forces demands that all of the original pairs of opposites become properly matched correlates. Although any two opposite genders might feel a mutual attraction, there is really only one opposite which is an appropriate spouse. In the realm of human relationships this is evoked in the concept of the Soul Mate. Esoterically speaking, every polarized force in the multiverse has its proper correlate; it follows that the Work (in its largest conception) cannot be completed until each is reunited with each.
Indeed every act of sexual intercourse which has occurred between those unlike one another is adultery... Members of a race usually have associated with those of like race. So spirit mingles with spirit, and thought consorts with thought and light shares with light. If you are born a human being, it is the human being who will love you. If you become a spirit, it is the spirit which will be joined to you. If you become thought, it is thought which will mingle with you. If you become light, it is the light which will share with you. The Gnostic Gospel of Philip
The point is important enough to bear repeating: psycho-spiritually interpreted, sexual intercourse and marriage symbolize the possibility of a unification of forces. Conversely, union with an improper correlate means adulteration of the Work. This is the esoteric meaning underlying the Hindu caste system:
When (unrighteousness) overwhelms the family, O Krishna The women of the family become corrupt; and when, O Krishna, the women are corrupt, there arises a mixing of castes. Bhagavad-Gita 1: 41
The "mixing of castes” is, in the symbolism of theI Ching, the union of improper correlate forces. ("Women,” as we have seen, usually symbolize the emotional and feeling aspects of the psyche.) We readily recognize that the above quotation from the Bhagavad-Gita accurately reflects the symbolism of the forty-fourth hexagram, reiterating the great truth that when emotions make the choices, the unity of the psyche is compromised.
Added notes, 9/7/10: Sometimes this hexagram is received in answer to queries related more to a fated (karmic) situation than anything normally regarded as “temptation.” In these cases Ritsema/Karcher’s expanded notes on the ideograms are useful guides: “… gripped by impersonal forces. Primal forces couple in the inner world, seeding enduring new forms… This hexagram describes your situation in terms of the encounter of primal energies. It emphasizes that seeing-through your personal situation as the connection of objective forces is the adequate way to handle it...”
Line 1
Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows how its subject should be kept like a carriage tied and fastened to a metal drag, in which case with firm correctness there will be good fortune. But if she move in any direction, evil will appear. She will be like a lean pig, which is sure to keep jumping about.
Wilhelm/Baynes: It must be checked with a brake of bronze. Perseverance brings good fortune. If one lets it take its course, one experiences misfortune. Even a lean pig has it in him to rage around.
Blofeld: The chariot wheel is held with a metal brake. Persistence in a righteous course brings good fortune. Those with a goal or destination in view will witness misfortune. However, even a lean pig is able to wiggle its trotters.
Liu: The cart is held in check by a metal brake. To continue this is good fortune. If one goes somewhere, one meets misfortune. The lean pig that wriggles does not go any farther.
Ritsema/Karcher: Attaching tending-towards a metallic chock. Trial: significant. Possessing directed going. Visualizing: pitfall. Ruining the pig, conforming: hoof dragging.
Shaughnessy: Tied to a metal ladder; determination is auspicious. If you have someplace to go, you will see inauspiciousness; the emaciated piglet returns helter-skelter.
Cleary (1): A metal brake is applied. It is good to be correct. If you go anywhere, you will see misfortune. An emaciated pig leaps in earnest.
Cleary (2): Arrested by a metal brake, etc.
Wu: Staying with a silk spinning machine will be auspicious if consistent. Going elsewhere will be foreboding. It is like a sow hopping around boars.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The metal drag describes the arrest of the magnetic line in its advancement. Wilhelm/Baynes: It is the way of the weak to be led. Blofeld: The weak have to be dragged. Ritsema/Karcher: Supple tao hauling-along indeed. Cleary (2): The reining of the course of flexibility. Wu: To restrain the yin’s way.
Legge: Line one represents the Bete Noir of the figure. If it can be halted, firm government and order will prevail. If she can't be restrained, she will become disgusting and dangerous. It isn't enough for the carriage to be halted by the metal drag -- it must also be chained fast to some steadfast object. Internal and external restraints must stop the evil influence from advancing.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the inferior man has wormed his way into the organization. He must be held in check energetically; otherwise he will grow disgusting and dangerous.
Wing: You have the opportunity to put limits upon an inferior element and prevent the growth of its influence. Do not be tempted to allow things to develop naturally. If you ignore it, it will not go away but will, instead, become a sizable problem. Act now.
Editor: Chetwynd, in his Dictionary of Symbols, says that a pig symbolizes the "dark side of the mother: (she) may be a monster or wild pig, with whom the Hero has to do battle at the appropriate time, in order to avoid being castrated or devoured by her." The pig in this line is symbolically identical with the fish in lines two and four: both represent a kind of untamed extravagance now unfolding -- primal forces challenging our will and intent to protect and advance the Work. The situation demands all of our control to prevent deterioration or loss.
This necessary ego function called willing is also the ability to say "no" to our drives, to ourselves and to others. E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest
A. Cease and desist -- bring this notion to a screeching halt right now!
B. “Yield not unto temptation.”
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows its subject with his wallet, but no fish in it. This will give rise to evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: No fish in the tank. This leads to misfortune.
Blofeld: No fish in the bag -- this gives rise to misfortune.
Liu: No fish in the kitchen -- that brings misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Enwrapping without fish. Rising-up: pitfall.
Shaughnessy: The wrapper has no fish; to be upright is inauspicious.
Cleary (1): No fish in the bag causes trouble.
Wu: There is no fish in the wrapping. If he raises an issue here, it will be foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: This is because he keeps himself aloof from the people. Wilhelm/Baynes: The misfortune comes from his having kept aloof from the people. Blofeld: Misfortune in the sense of being remote from the people. Ritsema/Karcher: Distancing the commoners indeed. Cleary (2): The misfortune of having no fish is that of alienating people. Wu: He is far from it.
Legge: The fourth line is the proper correlate of line one, but she has already locked horns with line two, leaving four to stand alone. It is implied that this isolation is owing to his impatience. If he could exercise forbearance, he would find a proper opportunity to check the first line's advance.
Wilhelm: Insignificant people must be tolerated in order to keep them well disposed. Then we can make use of them if we should need them. If we become alienated from them and do not meet them halfway, they turn their backs on us and are not at our disposal when we need them. But this is our own fault. The fourth place is that of the minister. The six at the beginning stands here for the inferior, lowly people. There is a relationship of correspondence between the two lines. Furthermore, it would be the duty of the official to keep in touch with the people. But this has been neglected. The line belongs to the trigram Ch’ien, hence strives upward, away from the people below. By doing this it attracts misfortune to itself.
Anthony: No fish in the tank. Being brusque with others when their inferiors approach comes from our inferiors. In learning from the I Ching, our inferiors, which have been disciplined, become intolerant of undisciplined inferiors in others. This harshness, however, is not a good servant, although there is no great blame. It is best, however, to avoid alienating others by correcting the envious or superior attitude of our inferiors. If we have already alienated others, it is best to bear their dislike with composure.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man keeps himself aloof from the common people. He will lose their help when needed.
Wing: Do not become so aloof that you lose contact with people of lesser importance. You may need their help and support sometime in the future. If you do not communicate with them now, they will not be able to help you later. Misfortune then follows.
Editor: Psychologically interpreted, a fish symbolizes an entity dwelling in the watery unconscious: a drive, affect, complex or insight, perhaps. In line two, these creatures are confined in a wallet, tank or wrapping, but here they have escaped confinement (comprehension). Wilhelm/Baynes’ image of a “fish tank” (aquarium) suggests a container (form) without content: if the container (hypothesis) “doesn’t hold water,” no fish (viable truth) can live therein. Some kind of avoidance is indicated because the Confucian commentary tells us that this line, in the minister's place, is neglecting his duties to "the people," symbolized by line one. One way to be "aloof from the people" (either as inner complexes or persons in the outer world) is to avoid dealing with them -- we flee difficult situations because we refuse to cope with the stresses they evoke. Sometimes this is wise policy, here perhaps it is cowardice: we have yielded to the Temptation of denial: the Work is not furthered when we avoid its challenges. The line can sometimes suggest that you have misunderstood a previous oracle: you are "out of touch."
It is not always realized that a large majority of those living in the physical universe are not really in contact with it at all but are wandering most of the time in a subjective dream world of their own. Gareth Knight -- Qabalistic Symbolism
A. Something substantive is missing from your capacity to resolve the problem at hand. What are you avoiding?
B. "Out of touch" -- a lack of insight or imagination. Whatever “the people” may symbolize in your query, they are being neglected.
C. Form without content: Your hypothesis doesn’t hold water.
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows its subject as a medlar tree overspreading the gourd beneath it. If he keeps his brilliant qualities concealed, a good issue will descend from heaven.
Wilhelm/Baynes: A melon covered with willow leaves. Hidden lines. Then it drops down to one from heaven.
Blofeld: The medlar leaves wrapping the melon hide its beauty. Something falls from heaven. [This is more or less equivalent to hiding our light under a bushel.]
Liu: The melon lies under the medlar tree. The glory is hidden. Something (blessing) comes down from heaven.
Shaughnessy: With jealousy wrap the gourd; it contains a pattern; something drops from the heavens.
Cleary (1): Wrapping a melon in river willow. Hiding embellishments, being detached, one realizes the celestial self.
Cleary (2): Wrapping a melon in river willows, containing brilliance, there is a descent from heaven.
Wu: He uses willow branches to wrap a melon to protect its beautiful patterns, as if a mandate had come from heaven.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: His qualities are kept concealed because of his central and correct position. His aim does not neglect the ordinances of heaven. Wilhelm/ Baynes: It is in the middle and correct. Because the will does not give up what has been ordained. Blofeld: What is willed is consonant with heaven's decrees. Ritsema/Karcher: Centering correctness indeed. Purpose, not stowing-away fate indeed. Cleary (2): Balanced correctly. Aspiration not disregarding destiny. Wu: He is central and correct. He does not intend to compromise his prerogatives.
Legge: Line five is dynamic and in the ruler's place. His relationship to the first line is like that of a forest tree to a gourd growing beneath it. Force must not be used to repress or destroy the growth of line one. He must restrain himself and keep his excellence concealed. Then heaven will set a seal to his virtue. While mindful of his task of repressing the growth of the first line, he keeps his wise plans concealed until the time for carrying them into execution. Then comes the successful stroke of his policy as if it were directly from heaven.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man is well disposed toward his subordinates, tolerates their weaknesses, and protects their welfare. He is modest about his talents and does not resort to outward show or tireless admonition.
Wing: The superior person now relies upon the correctness of his principles and the force of his character to achieve an effect. He works quietly from within. His will is consonant with the direction of the cosmos, and he attains his aim.
Von Franz: “Hidden lines” means in China a pattern of the Tao which man does not yet know and which, when it becomes suddenly conscious to him after a ripening process in the unconscious, is compared with the falling of a ripe fruit from above. So the oracle evidently means that the melon represents a latent conscious order within the darkness, which suddenly and unexpectedly becomes manifest. [The Dream of Descartes]
Editor: Most of the translators render "gourd” as "melon” --a fruit described as beautiful or glorious. The image is of a fruit ripening unseen beneath sheltering leaves. (Every gardener has experienced the surprise of finding a large fruit or vegetable which grew hidden in such a fashion.) Ritsema/Karcher say the ideogram contains the meanings of: "enfold and self, a fetus in the womb.” Wilhelm says: "We entrust the fruit in our care entirely to its own natural development. Then it ripens of its own accord.” The line usually suggests the promise of future reward or sometimes can be a warning not to interfere with a natural process.
A fruit plucked before maturity rots and gets spoiled. A wound bleeds if you remove the scab before time, but when the wound is healed it drops off of itself. Sri Ramakrishna
A. Don't meddle in a growth process -- allow the situation to develop naturally.
Other titles: The Taming Power of the Great, The Great Nourisher, Taming the Great Powers, Great Accumulating, Great Accumulation, Great Storage, Nurturance of the Great, Great Buildup, Restraint of the Great, Restraint by the Strong, Potential Energy, The Great Taming Force, Energy Under Control, Power Restrained, Sublimation, Latent Power
Judgment
Legge: Controlled Power means being firm and correct. If its subject doesn't enjoy his family revenues at the expense of public service, there will be good fortune. It will be advantageous to cross the great stream.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The Taming Power of the Great. Perseverance furthers. Not eating at home brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.
Blofeld: The Great Nourisher favors righteous persistence. Good fortune results from not eating at home. It is a favorable time for crossing the great river (sea). [I.e. going on a long journey, perhaps abroad.]
Liu: Taming the Great Powers. Persistence benefits. Not to eat at home is good fortune. It is of benefit to cross the great water.
Ritsema/Karcher: Great Accumulating. Harvesting Trial. Not dwelling, taking-in. Significant. Harvesting: wading the Great River. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of an overriding concern that defines what is valuable. It emphasizes that bringing the variety of things under the control of this central idea is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Great Storage: Beneficial to determine; not eating at home is auspicious; beneficial to ford the great river.
Cleary (1): In Nurturance of the Great it is beneficial to be chaste. It is good not to eat at home; it is beneficial to cross great rivers. [This hexagram represents incubation nurturing the spiritual embryo. On this path, it is beneficial to still strength, not to use strength. Therefore it says: “it is beneficial to be chaste.” Chastity here means quietude. Stilling strength is nurturing strength. It is good to be still, not active – if one is still, this preserves strength; if one is active, this damages strength. This is the work referred to as “nine years facing a wall.”]
Cleary (2): Great Buildup is beneficial if correct, etc.
Wu: Restraint of the Great indicates prosperity and perseverance. It will be auspicious not to have meals at home. It will be advantageous to cross the big river. [The character chu in the present context has two meanings: one is to accumulate and the other to restrain.]
The Image
Legge: Heaven in the midst of the mountain -- the image of Controlled Power. Thus, the superior man studies the words and deeds of ancient men in order to build his virtue.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Heaven within the mountain: the image of the Taming Power of the Great. Thus the superior man acquaints himself with many sayings of antiquity and many deeds of the past, in order to strengthen his character thereby.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes the sky visible amidst the mountain peaks. The Superior Man, acting from his profound knowledge of the words and conduct of the wise men of old, nourishes his virtue. [The arrangement of the component trigrams suggests glimpses of the sky among the peaks of the mountains. This points to something very far off and thereby indicates the advisability of setting out for some distant place. This is a time for going from home and giving concrete expression to our appreciation of what others have done for us or for the public good.]
Liu: Heaven within the mountain symbolizes Taming the Great Powers. The wise man studies ancient knowledge to improve his character.
Ritsema/Karcher: Heaven located-in mountain center. Great
Accumulating. A chun tzu uses the numerous recorded preceding words going to move. [A chun tzu] uses accumulating one's 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): Heaven is in the mountains, great accumulation. Thus do superior people become acquainted with many precedents of speech and action, in order to accumulate virtue.
Cleary (2): …Leaders build up their virtues by abundant knowledge of past words and deeds.
Wu: Heaven is within the mountain; this is Restraint of the Great. Thus the jun zi accumulates his virtue by remembering past words and deeds.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The trigrams that compose Controlled Power show the intelligence of Strength and Mass renewing their virtue every day. A dynamic line is in the highest place, displaying the worth of talent and virtue -- his is the power that keeps Strength in restraint and displays the will necessary to the hexagram. Talents and virtue are nourished because he refuses to confine his power within his immediate family. Heaven in the second line responds to the ruler in the fifth, thus it is favorable to cross the great stream.
Legge: Controlled Power symbolizes both restraint and the accumulation of virtue. What is restrained accumulates its strength and increases its volume to become a great reservoir of force. The Judgment teaches that if one is firm and correct in this endeavor he may then engage in public service and enjoy the king's grace.
The dynamic line in the highest place is line six who is above the ruler and has all of heaven in which to move. This, plus the power to suppress the strongest opposition, shows how he is supported by all that is correct.
Concerning the Image, Chu Hsi says: "Heaven is the greatest of all things, and its being in the midst of a mountain gives us the idea of a very large accumulation. This is analogous to the labor of the superior man in learning, acquiring and remembering, to accumulate his virtue."
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment:Controlled Power is willpower. The ego renounces selfish indulgences to work for the good of the whole. With such a spirit, great transformations are possible.
The Superior Man studies the precepts of the Work to increase his comprehension and fortitude.
The essential image to remember in this hexagram is that of Mount Everest holding down Heaven itself: raw power is controlled by the sheer mass of Keeping Still. Thus we see that Controlled Power is Willpower -- arguably the most potentially creative force in the universe, because used correctly it can accomplish anything.
The will is, curiously, not recognized as the central and fundamental function of the ego. It has often been depreciated as being ineffective against the various drives and the power of the imagination, or it has been considered with suspicion as leading to self-assertion (will-to-power). But the latter is only a perverted use of the will, while the apparent futility of the will is due only to a faulty and unintelligent use. The will is ineffective only when it attempts to act in opposition to the imagination and to the other psychological functions, while its skilful and consequently successful use consists in regulating and directing all other functions toward a deliberately chosen and affirmed aim. Roberto Assagioli –Psychosynthesis
An extreme example of this is illustrated by Cleary’s commentary on the Judgment where he says: “This is the work referred to as “nine years facing a wall.” The reference is to Bodhidharma (the patriarch who brought Zen Buddhism to China), who meditated facing a wall for nine continuous years until he attained enlightenment.
"If its subject doesn't enjoy his family revenues at the expense of public service, there will be good fortune” is an image of the ego renouncing its illusions of free choice. Psychologically, inner complexes will drain energy from the situation unless the ego has the will to control their manifestation. Every line except the sixth depicts some kind of restraint of power -- only in the top line is the energy available for use. It is significant that the superior man is advised to study the ancient wisdom, for it is in the Mysteries, the Perennial Philosophy, that one discovers the secrets and applications of the will. In other contexts (for example, a question about business matters), this can refer to making connection with sound and established practices.
In the larger philosophical sense, we see that the evolving illusions of every age insure that the masses will remain attached to the wheel of birth and death -- continuously repeating endless variations of the same basic lessons. When each individual is finally ready to escape from these cycles, it is only within the ancient and eternal template of the Work that transcendence can be found.
The analogies between religious ideas in Jewish mysticism that are hundreds of years old and the scientific findings of modern psychology can be explained only by the archetypal structure of the psyche. Man's images and ideas concerning the mysteries of being fall into the timeless patterns arranged by the archetypes of the unconscious; his meditations are determined by them. Within the setting of his culture and his time, he creates new forms for the expression of age-old truths. A. Jaffe -- The Myth of Meaning
Through contact with the Self, negative cycles can be broken and positive cycles begun, but it always requires a mountain's worth of Controlled Powerto make it happen.