Other titles: Development, The Symbol of Progressive Advance, Gradual Development, Infiltrating, Advancing, Growth, Developing, Gradualness, Dialectical Progression, Step by Step, "The slower the stronger." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Gradual Progressshows the good fortune attending the marriage of a young lady. Firm correctness brings advantage.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Development. The maiden is given in marriage. Good fortune. Perseverance furthers.
Blofeld: Gradual Progress. The marriage of a maiden brings good fortune. Persistence in a righteous course brings reward.
Liu: Gradual Development. The marriage of a girl -- Good Fortune. It benefits to continue.
Ritsema/Karcher:Infiltrating, womanhood converting significant. Harvesting Trial. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of gradually achieving a goal. It emphasizes that advancing through diffuse but steady penetration is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: infiltrate!]
Shaughnessy:Advancing: For the maiden to return is auspicious; beneficial to determine.
Cleary (2):Gradual Progress in a woman’s marriage is auspicious. It is beneficial to be chaste.
Wu: Gradualness indicates that it is auspicious for a woman to get married and it is advantageous for her to be persevering.
The Image
Legge: A tree on the mountain -- the image of Gradual Progress. The superior man attains and nourishes his extraordinary virtue to improve the manners of the people.
Wilhelm/Baynes: On the mountain, a tree: the image of Development. Thus the superior man abides in dignity and virtue, in order to improve the mores.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a tree upon a mountain. The Superior Man, abiding in holiness and virtue, inclines the people towards goodness.
Liu: A tree on the mountain symbolizes Gradual Development. The superior man, in maintaining his virtue, improves society's customs.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing wood. Infiltrating. A chun tzu uses residing-in eminent actualizing-tao to improve the vulgar. [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): There are trees on the mountain, growing gradually. Thus do superior people abide in sagacity and improve customs.
Cleary (2): …Developed people improve customs by living wisely and virtuously.
Wu: There are trees on the mountain; this is Gradualness. The jun zi chooses to live in the neighborhood known for its high moral standards and exemplary custom.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The ascent of Gradual Progress resembles the fortunate marriage of a young lady. The lines ascend to their proper places, indicating achievement. Because the ascent is made correctly the subject of the hexagram is empowered to rectify his country. He is shown as the dynamic ruler in line five, central and correct. The alternation of Keeping Still and Flexible Penetration ensure that the advance is continuous.
Legge: The written character for Gradual Progress is ordinarily used in the sense of gradually, but there is connected with it also the idea of advance. The whole of it denotes a gradual advance like the soaking in of water. The other two hexagrams that contain the idea of advance are number thirty-five, Advance of Consciousness and number forty-six,Pushing Upward-- each expresses its own nuance of meaning, and here the nuance is the gradual manner in which the advance takes place.
The theme of the hexagram is the advance of men to offices in the state -- how it should take place gradually and by successive steps. Lines 2, 3, 4 and 5 are all in their proper places as dynamic or magnetic, and we ascend them as by regular steps to the top of the hexagram.
The marriage of a young lady illustrates an important event which takes place according to various preliminary steps which must be correctly done in an orderly sequence. So must it be with the advance of a man in the service of the state.
The K'ang-hsi editors say: "A tree springing up on the ground is a tree as it begins to grow. A tree on a hill is high and large. Every tree when it begins to grow shows its branches and twigs gradually becoming long. Every morning and every evening show some difference; and when the tree is high and great, whether it be of an ordinary or extraordinary size, it has taken years to reach its dimensions."
Added Commentary: Blofeld appends the following footnote to each line in this hexagram: it is easier to read it here as his general commentary. [The additional Chinese commentaries explain that the wild goose is a bird which moves toward the sun. Now, a commonly used Chinese term for the sun is YANG, namely the male principle. So the bird obviously (sic) betokens a maiden seeking a husband. Its movement from river bank to rock, dry land, a tree, a hillock and the mainland (which is said in one commentary to mean peninsula) signifies gradual movement in an unchanging direction. From the point of view of divination, this is the best course for us, even if marriage is not our objective. Regarding marriage: the first line betokens gossip, although the marriage is not unsuitable; the second, a materially successful marriage; the third, an unfortunate marriage; the fourth, marriage to someone exceedingly kind and thoughtful; the fifth, a blissful marriage; the sixth, marriage to a public figure who has some responsibility for good order within the realm and who succeeds in his task.]
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: The proper union of forces within the psyche is a matter of slow maturation.
The Superior Man maintains his will and transforms the psyche. "Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other." -- Burke
This is one of the most hierarchical of the hexagrams -- each line represents a clear advance from the position of the preceding line, thus giving an image of Gradual Progress. The vehicle of this progression is the wild goose, which also appears in every line. A goose is a bird -- primarily a creature of the air, or realm of thought; but because it also thrives on either water or land, the goose symbolizes thought which permeates the lower two categories of consciousness -- emotion (water), and sensation (earth).
Another traditional interpretation of the goose motif is that of the universal aspect of the soul. The wild goose is able to move about everywhere, on firm land, in water and in the air. It is the bird of Hermes, who is the leader of souls. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
The progress of the goose is a gradual one, from the shore, or threshold of awareness in line one, to the mountain heights, or realm of the Spirit in line six. The fact that this progress is linked with the idea of marriage in the Judgment is a clear hint that we are dealing here with the idea of the union of opposites within the psyche. (See commentary on hexagram number eleven.) The message is unambiguous: the process of psycho-spiritual growth is one of slow maturation. There are no short-cuts to enlightenment.
Evils and falsities must be removed, to the intent that a new life which is the life of heaven may be implanted. This can in nowise be done hastily; for every evil enrooted with its falsities has connection with all evils and their falsities; and such evils and falsities are innumerable, and their connection is so manifold that it cannot be comprehended ... From this it is plain that the life of hell in man cannot be suddenly destroyed, for if it were suddenly done he would straightway expire; and that the life of heaven cannot be suddenly implanted, for if this were done suddenly he would also expire. Swedenborg -- Arcana Coelestia
Line 1
Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows the wild geese gradually approaching the shore. A young officer in similar circumstances will be in a position of danger, and be spoken against; but there will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wild goose gradually draws near the shore. The young son is in danger. There is talk. No blame.
Blofeld: The wild goose moves gradually towards the river bank. The younger son is in trouble. There is talk, but no error.
Liu: The wild goose gradually approaches the shore. The boy is in danger. There is gossip. No blame. [This line indicates difficulty, but you will ultimately be able to achieve your undertaking.]
Ritsema/Karcher: The wild-swan Infiltrating tending-towards the barrier. The small son, adversity possessing words. Lacking fault.
Shaughnessy: The wild goose advances to the depths; for the little son dangerous; there are words; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Geese gradually proceed on the shoreline. The small ones are in danger; there is criticism, no fault.
Cleary (2): Geese gradually proceed to the shoreline. If humble people are diligent and speak up, there is no blame.
Wu: The wild goose flies in gradually to rest by the riverbank. The little fellow is in jeopardy and he is being talked about, but without fault.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The danger is owing to no fault of hers in the matter of what is right. Wilhelm/Baynes: The danger besetting the little son implies no blame. Blofeld: `The younger son is in trouble' is just a way of saying that there is trouble for which we are not to blame. Ritsema/Karcher: Righteous, without fault indeed. Cleary (2): The diligence of humble people is dutiful and blameless. Wu: In principle he is faultless.
Legge: In line one the geese appear for the first time in the season approaching the shore. Then comes the real subject of the line -- she is magnetic in a dynamic place and without a proper correlate above. The difficulty and danger of her situation are seen as the result of circumstances -- the young officer has not brought it on herself.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: At the outset, the young man begins to make his way in the world. He is subjected to criticisms because his inexperienced steps are slow and hesitant. These will help prevent future errors on his part.
Wing: Your position is one of the classic beginner. Criticism is now unavoidable, however -- it can be used to your advantage in refining your skills. You can lay down the early foundations for later successes.
Editor: Air (thought) is more abstract than water (emotion); water is more abstract than earth (sensation). Of the three elements, earth is the most solid and the shore is where they all meet. As a creature at home in air, water or on land, the goose symbolizes a force which grounds an abstraction where it can be seen, grasped and understood. The young officer is inexperienced awareness coping with a new situation. "Danger" and being "spoken against" suggest confusion and conflicting emotions within the psyche as one deals with something new and unfamiliar. Remembering that the symbol of marriage in the Judgment relates to the union of thought and feeling within our physical vehicle, we can see that this first line represents a new synthesis of some sort.
It is the firmness, the effort and the skillfulness of the conscious ego's position that finally decide whether the onrush from the deep will bring about chaos and meaningless suffering or whether the suffering can instead provide the dark background from which the light of a new order may arise. E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest
A. Expect confusion and difficulty in coping with a developing situation.
B. Inexperience with new concepts necessitates careful differentiation of all the factors involved.
Line 3
Legge: The third line, dynamic, shows the geese gradually advanced to the dry plains. It suggests also the idea of a husband who goes on an expedition from which he does not return, and of a wife who is pregnant, but will not nourish her child. There will be evil. The case symbolized might be advantageous in resisting plunderers.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wild goose gradually draws near the plateau. The man goes forth and does not return. The woman carries a child but does not bring it forth. Misfortune. It furthers one to fight off robbers.
Blofeld: The wild goose moves gradually towards the dry land. The husband goes forth and does not return. The wife is pregnant, but the child's birth is delayed -- misfortune! This is an auspicious time for chastising evil-doers.
Liu: The wild goose gradually approaches the highland. The man sets out and does not return. The woman is pregnant, but does not give birth. Misfortune. It is beneficial to protect oneself from robbers. [Fearfulness and disharmony are indicated by this line.]
Ritsema/Karcher: The wild-swan Infiltrating tending-towards the highlands. The husband chastised, not returning. The wife pregnant, not nurturing. Pitfall. Harvesting: resisting outlawry.
Shaughnessy: The wild goose advances to the land; The husband campaigns but does not return, the wife is pregnant but does not give birth; inauspicious; beneficial to have that which robs.
Cleary (1): Geese gradually proceed on a plateau. The husband who goes on an expedition does not return; the wife who gets pregnant does not raise the child. Misfortune. It is beneficial to defend against brigands. [The misfortune comes about because in the use of strength it is important to stop in the proper place and defend against brigands, not act arbitrarily and become a brigand oneself. This is gradual progress in which one is strong but loses control.]
Cleary (2): Geese gradually proceed onto high ground. Etc. It is beneficial to defend against enemies.
Wu: The wild goose flies in gradually to rest on high ground. The husband joins active military duty, but does not return; the wife is pregnant, but miscarries. Foreboding. Yet it is advantageous to defend against the intruders. [The third nine is overly strong…he wants to go alone and may have gotten lost or been captured.]
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The husband separates himself from his comrades. The wife has failed in her proper course. By resisting thieves men would preserve one another. Wilhelm/Baynes: He leaves the group of his companions. She has lost the right way. Devotion and mutual protection. Blofeld: The husband's failure to return symbolizes separation from our normal companions. Delayed childbirth symbolizes our going astray. The final sentence indicates willingness to take precautions for mutual protection. Ritsema/Karcher: Radiance flocking demons indeed. [Demon(iac), CH'OU: possessed by a malignant genius; ugly, physically or morally deformed: vile, disgraceful, shameful; drunken. The ideogram: fermenting liquor and soul...] Letting-go her tao indeed. Yielding mutualizes protection indeed. Cleary (2): Leaving the group is disgraceful. The wife…loses the way. Harmoniously protecting one another. Wu: He separates from his comrades. She does not take the proper course. Because people would unite to protect one another.
Legge: Line three is dynamic, has passed the central place to the top of the lower trigram, and has no proper correlate in line six. He is likely to be violent and unsuccessful in his movements. He is like a husband who deserts his wife, or a wife who neglects her child. But in the case supposed, his strength in the end would be useful. "Separation from his comrades” means he finds no correlate. The wife fails in her proper course because the line is dynamic instead of magnetic, and has in addition passed the central position of balance.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man goes too far and plunges into struggles beyond what is required by the natural laws of development. He loses his way. His life and family are jeopardized. He will regain his advantage if he does not provoke conflicts but uses his strength more in guarding his own position in line with his available resources and capabilities.
Wing: If you provoke a conflict or make a bold and forceful advance, you will place yourself and those close to you in danger. This is a foolish risk indeed. You would be much wiser to allow things to develop naturally and, instead, secure what you have.
Editor: This is an image of an aborted synthesis: we see Gradual Progress halted and dissipated in fruitless stagnation. Goose: Sensation and emotion under the influence of thought. Dry Plains: Infertile prospects: an area of futile speculation or endeavor. Wilhelm's rendering of "plateau" emphasizes a horizontal rather than vertical orientation -- reinforcing the image of no increase, no progress. Husband and wife: Union of thought and feeling, intellect and emotion. Child: The product, the ongoing evolution of thought and feeling within the psyche. Plunderers: Divisive, disruptive elements which bring about the separation of what is united. This estrangement brings a halt to the progress of the Work. Ritsema/ Karcher’s “Radiance flocking demons indeed” can represent inner complexes, phobias, compulsions, etc. The best course is to re-organize and defend yourself against further loss. Siu’s paraphrase says it best.
Thus [the patient] is still in an undesirably passive condition where everything is rather uncertain and questionable; neither he nor I know the journey's end. Often it is not much more than a groping about in Egyptian darkness. In this condition we must not expect any very startling results -- the uncertainty is too great for that. Besides which there is always the risk that what we have woven by day the night will unravel. The danger is that nothing is achieved, that nothing remains fixed. Jung -- The Practice of Psychotherapy
A. Image of a stalemate caused by unbalanced forces of some sort – perhaps a severely limiting belief. Withdraw support from this indulgence!
B. Arid speculation abandons its foundation in basic reality. You waste your energy on illusions – -- nothing will come of it.
C. Logos departs, Eros aborts -- defend the Work.
D. You’re blowing energy on a fruitless endeavor.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, magnetic, shows the geese gradually advanced to the trees. They may light on the flat branches. There will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wild goose gradually draws near the tree. Perhaps it will find a flat branch. No blame.
Blofeld: The wild goose moves gradually towards a tree and may find a suitable branch on which to perch -- no error!
Liu: The wild goose gradually approaches the tree, seeking a safe branch. No blame. [This is a time of contentment in your personal life, without fear or sadness.]
Ritsema/Karcher: The wild-swan Infiltrating tending-towards the trees. Maybe acquiring one's rafter. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: The wild goose advances to the tree: perhaps getting what the robbers rejected; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Geese gradually proceed in the trees, and may reach a level roost. No fault.
Wu: The wild goose flies in gradually to rest in the wood. It may find a flat branch. No error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: There is docility in the line going on to flexible penetration.
Wilhelm/Baynes: It is devoted and gentle. Blofeld: Its finding a suitable branch augurs willing acceptance and gentleness. Ritsema/Karcher: Yielding using Ground indeed. Cleary (2): Following docilely. Wu: It may find a flat branch if the approach is favorable.
Legge: The web-footed goose is not suited for taking hold on the branches, but on flat branches it can rest. Line four is the first line in the upper trigram of Humility, and it is concluded that she will not fall into error. Ch'eng-tzu says that humility and right-doing will find rest and peace in all places and circumstances.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man attains a safe position through docility and pliancy.
Wing: You must remain flexible now. It may be necessary to sidestep difficulties, yield to obstacles, or retreat from danger. These, of course, are only temporary measures. The important thing is to maintain your safety now so that you can develop the conditions for later successes.
Editor: The image suggests a temporary compromise.
But between the starting point in the lowlands of our ordinary consciousness and the shining peak of Self- realization there are intermediate phases, plateaus at various altitudes on which a man may rest or even make his abode, if his lack of strength precludes or his will does not choose a further ascent. Roberto Assagioli -- Psychosynthesis
A. Adapt to circumstances.
B. A temporary position provides support through a transition.
C. "Any port in a storm."
D. "On hold."
Line 5
Legge: The fifth line, dynamic, shows the geese gradually advanced to the high mound. It suggests the idea of a wife who for three years does not become pregnant: but in the end the natural issue cannot be prevented. There will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wild goose gradually draws near the summit. For three years the woman has no child. In the end nothing can hinder her. Good fortune.
Blofeld: The wild goose moves gradually towards the hillock. In the end, the results will be incomparable -- good fortune!
Liu: The wild goose gradually approaches the top of the hill. The woman is not pregnant for three years. In the end, nothing can overcome her. Good fortune. [There will be confusion in the beginning, but understanding later; after overcoming obstacles, things will go smoothly in your life.]
Ritsema/Karcher: The wild-swan Infiltrating tending-towards the mound. The wife, three year's-time not pregnant. Completing: absolutely-nothing has mastering. Significant.
Shaughnessy: The wild goose advances to the mound: the wife for three years does not get pregnant; in the end nothing overcomes it; auspicious.
Cleary (1): Geese gradually proceed onto a mountain top. The wife does not conceive for three years, but in the end nothing defeats her. Good fortune.
Cleary (2): … After all, no one could overcome her. This is auspicious.
Wu: The wild goose flies in gradually to rest on a hill. The woman has not been pregnant for three years, but she finally overcomes her disadvantages. Auspicious.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The subject of the line will get what she desires. Wilhelm/
Baynes: In the end nothing can hinder good fortune. One attains one's wish. Blofeld: Good fortune in the form of complete fulfillment of our desires. Ritsema/Karcher: Acquiring the place desired indeed. Cleary (2): Getting what was wished for. Wu: She gets what she wishes.
Legge: Line five is a dynamic line in the ruler's seat, and yet appears here as the symbol of a wife. Somehow she has been at variance with, and kept in disgrace by, calumniating enemies such as the plunderers of line three; but things come right in the end. The wife, childless for three years, becomes at last a mother, and there is good fortune. The wife will have a child; minister and ruler will meet happily.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: Because of the calumny of deceitful people, the man is misjudged while advancing into a high position. Although reconciliation and progress result eventually, nothing is achieved in the interim.
Wing: As you gain an ever greater position of influence, you become more and more a target for attack. Deceitful people may slander you, or you may even be misjudged by those closest to you. Because you are isolated, nothing meaningful can be accomplished. Eventually communications will be established and good fortune will follow.
Editor: The image is of a peak or goal which is somewhat subordinate to the extreme heights of line six. The rewards of this attainment require more time to become consolidated.
On the biological plane the irreconcilable elements of father and mother, of male and female, are reconciled on a new level in the child, who carries in his own person physical characteristics and psychological components derived from both parents. It is not surprising, therefore, that in the images of the unconscious a child frequently appears as the symbol of reconciliation on the psychological plane within the individual. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
A. A delayed issue comes in due time.
B. Protracted labor brings forth an eventual synthesis.
Other titles: Biting Through, Gnawing, The Symbol of Mastication and Punishment by Pressing and Squeezing, Gnawing Bite, Severing, Chewing, Punishment, Reformation, Reform, Differentiation, Discrimination, Making a Distinction, Getting the message "Something which should be, or has to be bitten through. This is essentially the legal hexagram. When asking about a man's intentions, he is probably married." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge: Success is found in Discernment. The restrictions of the law bring advantage.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Biting Through has success. It is favorable to let justice be administered.
Blofeld: Gnawing. Success! The time is favorable for legal processes. [The concept of gnawing is suggested by the component trigrams, which are regarded (owing to the arrangement of their lines) as not commingling; they are as separate from each other as the upper and lower jaw when something tough is being gnawed.]
Liu: Chewing: Success. It benefits to administer justice. [Chewing indicates success through hard work. Those who get this hexagram will have trouble in the beginning.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Gnawing Bite, Growing. Harvesting: availing of litigating. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of confronting a tenacious obstacle. It emphasizes that biting through and picking things clean until the essential is revealed is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to: gnaw and bite through!]
Shaughnessy: Biting and chewing: Receipt; beneficial to use a court case.
Cleary (1):Biting through is developmental. It is beneficial to administer justice.
Cleary (2): Biting through is successful. It is beneficial to apply justice.
Wu: Discernment is pervasive. It will be advantageous to exact punishments.
The Image
Legge: The images of thunder and lightning form Discernment. Thus the ancient kings promulgated their laws and framed their penalties with intelligence.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder and lightning: The image of Biting Through. Thus the kings of former times made firm the laws through clearly defined penalties.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes lightning accompanied by thunder. The ancient rulers, after making their legal code perfectly clear to all, enforced the laws vigorously. [The firm and yielding lines more or less alternate; or the lower trigram can be regarded as filled with the power of thunderous force, while the upper trigram, representing beauty, is soft and yielding. (Li, the upper trigram, stands for lightning as well as for fire, beauty, etc.) I do not know what the ancient Chinese views on thunder and lightning were; it appears from this that they were regarded as two forces which, like steel and flint, emitted brilliance when brought into sharp contact with each other. A pair of trigrams both with yielding centers is not felt to be a good arrangement; that it nevertheless favors the process of the law may have been suggested to the writer of the Text by the fact that the weak lines (morally weak people?) are fully contained by the strong (prison walls, warders and so forth?)]
Liu: Thunder and lightning symbolize Chewing. The ancient kings made the laws and clarified the penalties.
Ritsema/Karcher: Thunder, lightning. Gnawing Bite. The Earlier Kings used brightening flogging to enforce the laws.
Cleary (1): Thunder and lightning, biting through. Thus did the kings of yore clarify penalties and proclaim laws. [Those who administer laws should emulate the ancient kings in first clarifying them before executing them, in order to avoid mistakenly injuring life.]
Wu: Thunder and lightning form Discernment. Thus the ancient kings made just punishments and upheld the law of the land.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The existence of something between the jaws gives rise to the name Discernment-- union by means of biting through the intervening article. The dynamic and magnetic lines are equally divided in the figure. Movement is denoted by the lower trigram, and Clarity by the upper -- thunder and lightning uniting in them, and having brilliant manifestation. The magnetic fifth line is in the center, and acts in her high position. Although she is not in her proper place, this is advantageous for the use of legal constraints.
Legge: Discernment means literally "union by gnawing." The figure consists of undivided lines in the top, bottom and fourth places -- giving the image of open jaws with something in them "being gnawed." When the object has been bitten through, the upper and lower jaws come together in union -- hence: " Union by gnawing." Remove the obstacles to union and high and low will meet together in understanding. The force exerted by gnawing suggests the idea of legal constraints.
The equal division of the dynamic and magnetic lines is seen by taking them in pairs, though the order of the first pair is different from the other two. The magnetic fifth line is the ruler of the hexagram, indicating that judgment is tempered by leniency.
Ch'eng-tzu says that thunder and lightning are always found together, and hence their trigrams go together to give the idea of union intended in Discernment: one trigram symbolizing majesty and the other intelligence.
Cleary (1): Practice of the Tao is like administering justice: Discerning true and false, right and wrong, is like the judge deciding good and bad; getting rid of falsehood and keeping truth, so as to preserve essence and life, is like the [just] administration rewarding the good and punishing the bad, so as to alleviate the burden of injustice.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Further the Work through careful Discernment between what is true and false, right and wrong, correct and incorrect.
The Image portrays the connection between cause and effect, where consequences are always based on the inexorable laws of nature.
To bite is to comprehend, and to bite through is to make distinctions. The top and bottom lines of the hexagram represent the upper and lower jaws, and both bear images of restriction and punishment. Each of the lines between them portrays some version of biting through flesh. Hence, the jaws define the general problem, and the teeth differentiate the details.
The symbol of losing teeth has the primitive meaning of losing one's grip because under primitive circumstances and in the animal kingdom, the teeth and mouth are the gripping organ. If one loses teeth, one loses the grip on something. Now this can mean a loss of self-control, etc. The English word grip is contained in the German word begriff (conception or notion). The Latin word conceptio means the same, i.e., catching hold of something, having a grip on something. Jung -- Letters
In I Ching symbolism, the "ancient kings” are always synonymous with spiritual authority. Analogous to gods or cosmic forces, their "laws" are like the laws of karma or of nature -- inexorable in their outcome. Therefore, the punishment theme in the hexagram warns us that a lack of Discernment in the matter at hand has built-in penalties: i.e., "Get the message or suffer the consequences.”
Behold, sin and punishment are one, and the fire of punishment is the fire that refines my works. Even in the sinner I am the actor, and I, too, am the sufferer in the experience of punishment. P.F. Case -- The Book of Tokens
To receive this hexagram without changing lines indicates a need to make some important distinctions in the matter at hand. “Figure it out” might make a good alternate title at such times. Cleary’s Taoist note on the image (“Those who administer laws should emulate the ancient kings in first clarifying them before executing them, in order to avoid mistakenly injuring life”) is a clear admonition to get all of your facts straight before proceeding with your inquiry. That you don’t know or understand something is implied.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
The twenty-first hexagram turned upside down becomes the twenty-second. The message for the superior man in the Image of each concerns the enforcement of law. What is the relationship between Discernmentand Persona in such a context? The component trigrams of these two figures also make up hexagrams number fifty-five, Expansion of Awareness and number fifty-six, Transition.The messages for the superior man in each of these figures also relate to litigation. Why? What do the four hexagrams suggest about the nature of the Work?