Since I started to work more intensively on deciphering the hexagrams, one of the most important sources that showed me the way was the quote from Wang Bi in which he talks about the fish trap. He says:
The images stem from the ideas.… The images are the trap for the ideas… once you have captured the ideas, you can forget the images. Wang Bi (from Zimmermann 2007, 64 and note 14)
We have seen earlier that the hexagrams with which the I Ching responds to us are messages from our unconscious to our daily consciousness. This sounds beautiful at first. In practice, however, it quickly becomes clear how challenging it is: How should one understand the meaning of the I Ching’s response to the question formulated during the consultation? And how can one work with or implement these answers concretely?
Weiterlesen: What does the Hexagram want to tell me? Deciphering the Path of TransformationsThe interpretations of individual hexagrams (as for example hexagram 11 – peace ) start out with Eastern concepts, but from there successively move on . If one wants to follow this approach further and interpret the hexagrams from a perspective that is even stronger rooted in Western thinking, philosophical anthropology provides a good framework.
Weiterlesen: Follow the Path of the Dao: A Western Approximation
Something is happening in the dark womb of the earth: a decision (Zhen) has been made and is now a long period of growth and materialization (Kun) follows. I do not know which is harder: the decision, or the patience.
Weiterlesen: 24 – return
無妄 wú wàng – A Japanese friend tells me about the meaning of the Chinese characters in the Chinese name of hexagram 25 – innocence. The first character means “scarifier tooth of the tiger”, the second means “release” or “letting go”. Later, a Chinese friend tells me that both characters are classical, so he cannot read them. This is not surprising: the Japanese adopted the classical Chinese characters and still use them today, while the Chinese have moved on to modern Chinese and therefore cannot read the old characters.
Weiterlesen: 25 – innocence
“I, I, all I!” – I am standing on the peak, I have achieved something. And now? I rest for a moment, enjoying the spectacular view. And then?
I reached the top. I have achieved something. I enjoy the view… What else do I see? More peaks. Summits which I could set off. And reenter the course of the world.
Weiterlesen: 26 – the taming power of the great
Like a mouth wide open, this hexagram stares around us. Fearful, insatiable. Or also: accepting, open and ready for anything….
It’s not so easy to make a decision and then trust it. To trust that things will fall into place. That I will be fed, nourished with everything I need.
Weiterlesen: 27 – providing nourishment
For hexagram 28 – Preponderance of the Great users shared with me various – sometimes dramatic – situations. What was the common denominator? In the end, how important it is to be centered even in the darkest moment, to remember oneself: “I, I, all I!”
Hexagram 29 – the Abysmal is composed of the trigram Kan, the water, doubled. In many traditional I Ching commentaries this double water is read almost exclusively as a sign of imminent danger, fear, or collapse. Elsewhere I argue for a broader view, one that also acknowledges Kan‘s positive potential – and, by extension, the creative aspects of our own unconscious, with all its unruly currents. Kan does not refer unilaterally to threatening torrents or perilous depths: it can just as well be understood as a symbol of life-giving depth, hidden resources, intuitive adaptability, and the ability to overcome obstacles through creative fluidity.
Weiterlesen: 29 – the abysmal
Is it beneficial – or harmful? What is good for me? What do I really want? These questions are not as easy to answer as they may seem. Because their starting point is this I – but who is this I really? Can I feel myself? Can I feel what defines me – including the boundaries that make me who I am?
Weiterlesen: 30 – the clinging
