16 - Enthusiasm

no2DO - eine Annäherung aus Westen

Contemporary Interpretation

16 - Enthusiasm

More and more
growth

Nourish
And disengage
And nourish
And disengage.
More
And more
Growth.
Until
Blossoms
Bloom.

The Changes

yin yin yang yin yin yin

Upper Trigram: Zhen, Thunder

2nd Core Character: Kan, Water

1st Core Character: Gen, Mountain

Lower Trigram: Kun, Earth

Informationen zum Interpretationsmodell

Classical Interpretation

Enthusiasm (16) leads to inertia.

The image

Thunder resounds from the earth: the image of enthusiasm. Thus the ancient kings made music to honor merits, and gloriously offered it to the highest God by inviting their ancestors.

The judgement

Enthusiasm. It furthers to deploy assistants and set armies marching. Full text of Richard Wilhelm's 1924 translation by Cary F. Baynes

Dynamics of the Hexagram

The Changes: 16 - enthusiasm

Lower Trigram: Kun, the Earth

The following image is often chosen to describe Kun: soil in which a seedling is growing. Soil is unstructured matter: in soil a ... Read more seedling finds everything it needs to grow; dead plants decay to soil. Kun's meaning, however, goes beyond unstructured matter (such as soil): Kun is unstructured potential, including tangible and non-tangible matter.
When interpreting a hexagram, Kun points at the place which we are at, here and now. Kun invites us to calm down and to use this place / moment as a source of strength. Like a wave rolling back into the sea, its origin, focusing and drawing new energies. Hide

First Change: Kun → Gen, the Mountain

During the phase of growth (Kun), while something concrete emerged from unstructured potential, we may have noticed things that are ... Read more unnecessary ballast and block our energies. When Gen evolves from Kun, we can confidingly let go of ballast and entrust ourselves to earth's gravity. This way we not only release muscles and tendons, but our entire being. Hide

Second Change: Gen → Kan, the Water

Kan develops when a (broken) yin line is added (dark arrow; yin symbolizes receptivity). Gen's disengagement opened a path for ... Read more us to reconnect with our spiritual self: our own inner, intuitive wisdom, collected all along our path to here and now, ready to nurture us. Hide

Third Change: Kan → Zhen, the Thunder

Zhen develops when a (broken) yin line is added (dark arrow; yin symbolizes receptivity). Trusting our gut feelings, being open to ... Read more impulses from our unconscious resources creates the primordial seed of a new action, the first step into a new direction. Hide

Upper Trigram: Zhen, the Thunder

Zhen represents our ability to make decisions, our determination, enthusiasm, courage, and precision; but also ... Read more flexibility and strength belong to Zhen. If we look at nature, then Zhen's pattern of movement is that of a bud in its protective sleeve, just beginning to break open: a sudden, decisive and courageous move Hide

Follow the Path of the Dao: A Western Approximation

The interpretations shown above gradually moved away from Eastern concepts. Let us proceed even a little further. In this section I develop a model of interpretation from a Western perspective, more precisely: from the perspective of philosophical anthropology.
A detailed article on the subject can be found here: A Western Approximation

Dem Weg des Dao folgen: Annäherung aus Westen

Exemplary Experiences

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You can help the further development of no2DO by sending me the question you asked the I Ching and its response (the hexagram's name and number). Each hexagram's tendencies open up most clearly when examined in the context of a personal situation.

References and Connotations