- To the Heads side, we associate the
value 3. This represents the yang
or positive principle.
- To the Tails side, we
associate the value 2. This represents the yin
or negative principle.
Here’s
how you create a line based on your three coins:
- Tails + Tails + Tails =
2 + 2 + 2 = 6, Old Yin
- Tails + Tails + Heads =
2 + 2 + 3 = 7, Young Yang
- Tails + Heads + Heads =
2 + 3 + 3 = 8, Young Yin
- Heads + Heads + Heads =
3 + 3 + 3 = 9, Old Yang
The old (moving)
lines are called “changing” lines because they change into
their opposite values. When these lines appear (and often times they do
not),
we have what is called a “moving hexagram.” This means one or more
lines
in the hexagram are 6’s (Old Yin) or 9’s (Old Yang). For these
hexagrams,
we draw a second hexagram next to the first one, replacing all old yin
lines
with young yangs, and replacing all old yangs with young yins.
For example, the following may represent a typical
reading:
Initial
Hexagram
Moving |
|
Second
Hexagram
Resolved |
| Line 6 = 8 (Young Yin) |
 |
|
8 (Young Yin) |
|
| Line 5 = 9 (Old Yang) |
 |
 |
8 (Young Yin) |
|
| Line 4 = 7 (Young Yang) |
 |
|
7 (Young Yang) |
|
| Line 3 = 8 (Young Yin) |
|
|
8 (Young Yin) |
|
| Line 2 = 6 (Old Yin) |
 |
|
7 (Young Yang) |
|
| Line 1 = 7 (Young Yang) |
|
|
7 (Young Yang) |
|
I.
Initial Hexagram
Following
(#17)
The
Judgment
Following has supreme
success.
Perseverance
furthers. No
blame.
In order to obtain a following one must first
know how to
adapt oneself. If a man would rule he must first
learn
to serve, for only in this way does he secure from those
below him the joyous assent that is necessary if they are
to follow
him.
If he has to obtain a following by force or cunning, by
conspiracy
or by creating factions, he invariably arouses resistance,
which obstructs willing adherence. But even joyous
movement
can lead to evil consequences, hence the added
stipulation, “Perseverence futhers”—that is, consistency in
doing right—together with “No blame.” Just as we
should not ask
others to follow us unless this condition is fulfilled, so
it is only
under this condition that we can in turn follow others
without coming to harm.
The thought of obtaining a
following through adaptation to the demands of the time is
a great and significant idea;
this is why the appended judgment is favorable.
The
Image
Thunder in the
middle of the lake:
The image of Following.
Thus the superior
man at nightfall
Goes indoors for rest and recuperation.
In the autumn electricity withdraws into the
earth again and rests. Here it is the thunder in the middle of
the
lake that serves as the image—thunder in its winter rest,
not thunder in motion. The idea of following in the
sense of
adaptation to the demands of the time grows out of this
image.
Thunder in the middle of the lake indicates time of
darkness and rest. Similarly, a superior man, after
being tirelessly active all
day, allows himself rest and recuperation at night.
No
situation can become favorable until one is able to adapt
to it and does
not wear himself out with mistaken resistance.
The
Lines
Six in the second
place means:
If one clings to the
little boy,
One loses the strong man.
In friendships and close relationships an
individual must make a careful choice. He surrounds himself
either with good or with bad company; he cannot have both at
once. If he throws himself away on unworthy friends he loses
connection with people of intellectual power who could further him in
the good.
Nine in
the fifth place means:
Sincere in the good. Good fortune.
Every man must have something he follows—something
that serves him as a lodestar. He who follows with conviction the
beautiful and the good may feel himself strengthened by this saying.
|
II.
Second Hexagram
The
Marrying
Maiden (#54)
The
Judgment
Undertakings bring misfortune.
Nothing
that would further.
A girl who is taken into the family, but not as
the
chief wife, must behave with special caution and
reserve. She must
not take it upon herself to supplant the mistress of the
house,
for that would mean disorder and lead to untenable
relationships.
The same is true
of all voluntary relationships between human beings.
While legally regulated relationships
evince a fixed connection between duties and rights,
relationsips based on personal inclination depend in the
long run entirely on tactful reserve.
Affection as the essential
principle of relatedness is of the greatest importance in
all relationships in the world.
For the union of heaven and earth is the origin of the
whole of
nature. Among human beings likewise, spontaneous
affection is
the all-inclusive principle of union.
|
Casting method adapted
from http://www.tribalsmile.com/iching/castcoin.html
I Ching commentary from Wilhelm/Baynes, The
I Ching or Book of Changes
|
