23 - Splitting Apart

no2DO - eine Annäherung aus Westen

Contemporary Interpretation

23 - Splitting Apart

Nourishing requires disengagement.

Nourishing requires
[confidence
that we are fed
tomorrow;
adherence prevents]
Disengagement.

The Changes

yang yin yin yin yin yin

Upper Trigram: Gen, Mountain

2nd Core Character: Kun, Earth

1st Core Character: Kun, Earth

Lower Trigram: Kun, Earth

Information regarding the interpretation model

Classical Interpretation

Splitting apart (23) signifies decay.

The image

The mountain rests on the earth: the image of splitting apart. Thus those above can solely ensure their position through generous donations to those below.

The judgement

Splitting apart. It does not further to go anywhere. Full text of Richard Wilhelm's 1924 translation by Cary F. Baynes

Dynamics of the Hexagram

The Changes: 23 - splitting apart

Lower Trigram: Kun, the Earth

First Change: Kun → Kun, the Earth

Second Change: Kun → 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

Third 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

Upper Trigram: Gen, the Mountain

Gen stands for our ability to disengage. Through letting go of what has become obsolete we can focus on what is essential, ... Read more concentrate our energies and make room for the new. Disengagement harmonizes and focuses our actions and results in reorientation and new beginnings. Gen invites us to honestly examine our possessions, feelings and/or thoughts regarding their validity, and to permanently let go of what is old or outdated. 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