NAME and IMAGE #1
NAME and IMAGE #1
the 30 hexagrams of the first part of the Book of Changes
The text of this post has been translated from Dutch to English with DeepL. It will be manually edited and streamlined soon
The heart of the I Ching consists of two polar forces, represented by an unbroken line - yang - and an interrupted line - yin.
These can be combined into four different pairs:
old yin, smaller yang, smaller yin, old yang
cold, cool, lukewarm, warm
winter, spring, autumn, summer
…
Yin and yang form eight trigrams:
Heaven, Lake, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth
Putting two trigrams together each time creates 64 hexagrams. These correspond to the chapters of the Book of Change.
A chapter forms a pair with the following chapter - therefore resulting in 32 pairs. The two paired hexagrams are each other's opposite. The line pattern of one is reversed in its entirety to form the hexagram it is paired with. Also, their meanings are opposite and complementary.
There are eight hexagrams constructed symmetrically. If you reverse their line pattern, the result is identical. This is the case with: 1. Creation 2. Response
27. Jaws 28. Large Imbalance 29. Dark 30 Light 61. Inner Nobility 62 Small Imbalance. They form four pairs in which their six lines are mirrored: yin lines become yang, yang lines become yin. The illustrations of these four pairs in the text below have a yellow background colour.
The illustrations of the 28 pairs where the hexagrams are each other's reversals have a blue background colour.
The first part of the I Ching - chapters 1 to 30 - opens with the two archetypes of Heaven and Earth, and ends with the archetypes of Water and Fire.
chapter 1. INITIATING - twice the Heaven trigram
the creative impulse - force
chapter 2. RESPONSE - twice the Earth trigram
the response - field
chapter 3. BEGINNING: Water over Thunder
a thundercloud - moisture and electricity
chapter 4. PLAY: Mountain Over Water
a wild mountain stream - erratic and unpredictable
chapter 5. WAITING - Water above Heaven
a fair weather cloud - there is need - but it is necessary to wait for rain
chapter 6. CONFLICT - Heaven above Water
Heaven and Water move in opposite directions - source of conflict
chapter 7. MULTITUDE - Water under Earth
groundwater - lots of potential - lots of danger
chapter 8. UNITY - Water on Earth
mud and clay - all the loose components unite in one form
chapter 9. STARTING SMALL - Wind over Sky
cirrus feathers - no rain yet - it's not the time for big ambitions
chapter 10. WALK - Heaven above Lake
the power of Heaven mirrors itself in the Lake - course of life - behaviour
chapter 11. ADVANCE - Earth above Heaven
Earth descends, Heaven rises - there is movement towards each other
chapter 12. STANDSTILL - Heaven above Earth
Earth falls, Heaven rises - there is movement away from each other
chapter 13. SEEKING HARMONY - Heaven above Fire
Fire moves upwards - Heaven moves upwards - exaltation - elevation
chapter 14. GREAT HARVEST - Fire above Heaven
the sun high in the sky - the image of a great harvest
chapter 15. MODESTY - Mountain beneath Earth
hidden power - hidden talent
modesty #1
chapter 16. INTENSITY - Thunder over Earth
the five yin lines follow the one yang line - fireworks
chapter 17. FOLLOWING - Lake above Thunder
the delicate leads the powerful
following #1
chapter 18. DECAY- Wind under Mountain
teeming maggots and decay at centre
decay #1
chapter 19. APPROACHING - Lake below Earth
water always seeks the lowest place and gathers there
chapter 20. OBSERVING - Wind above Earth
a tall tree on the plain - the image of a gateway
observing #1
chapter 21. BITING THROUGH - Fire above Thunder
teeth above and teeth below - something to bite into in between
chapter 22. BEAUTY- Fire under Mountain
fire at the foot of a mountain - exposure and beauty
chapter 23. SHATTERING - Mountain above Earth
the tip breaking off - the upper yang line is isolated and lacks a foundation
chapter 24. RETURNING - Thunder beneath Earth
a seed seeking its way upwards
chapter 25. INNOCENCE - Sky above, Thunder below
the brightness of Heaven and Thunder combined
chapter 26. GREAT ACCUMULATION - Mountain above Sky
the movement of the Heaven rises against the mountainside - condensation and cloud formation
chapter 27. JAWS - Mountain above Thunder
an upper jaw and a lower jaw - an open mouth
jaws #1 jaws #2
chapter 28. GREAT EXCEEDING - Lake above Wind
the centre is obese and top-heavy
chapter 29. DARK - two times the Water trigram
unfathomable - danger - dark - potency - subconscious
chapter 30. LIGHT - twice the Fire trigram
adhering - bright - consciousness
