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Your reading

◈ Primary hexagram: 42—Strength to accomplish challenges.

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Name from “Language of the Lines”

Strength to accomplish challenges.

Lines

6. ---   yang (top)
5. ---   yang 
4. - -   yin 
3. - -   yin 
2. - -   yin 
1. ---   yang (bottom)

Image created from the lines

In lines 3 and 4 there is an active outer structure in which we are involved, it is supported by feeling but this feeling is not what we consider to be important (lines 2 and 5), it is what we do that has importance. Our inner being is quiet (lines 1 and 6), so here is a pattern of natural outer activity.

Image created from the trigrams

The emerging life energy is very forceful (Chên) and this flows freely in the outer world (K’un); identity contemplates this activity Kên without becoming over-involved, and Sun, in the place of our inner being, shows a maturing there.

This flow shows an advantageous time for outer activity because we are not too involved and we do not manipulate and make mistakes. Our inner being is supportive of the outer action and is maturing through the experience. This is an excellent situation for accomplishing what has been planned; its common name is “increase” or “gain”.

The Chinese Oracle

Increase.

Undertakings bring good fortune.

It is favourable to cross the great water.

Comments

Here the inner is increased by outer action. Changes are always involved in these increases so it is favourable to cross the great water—to change our approach to things, allow ourselves to see from new points of view. Widening experience and identity is increase.

Manifestations

The pattern

The flow of life seeks the high,

becoming firm yet gentle,

resisting indulgence.

In seeking the highest

the low is fulfilled.

For humans

Knowing he has power,

he accomplishes great tasks.

Not for himself

but he is strengthened.

In nature

On the mountain

the tree grows strong sinews

while nourishing the slopes.

In forms we make

Seeking the easy

weakens into difficulty.

Working in the difficult

grows an easy strength.

Moving lines

Line 1 goes yin — life force shows more change

It is fortunate for our outer state when the life force is manifesting activity, it creates a balance of inner and outer activity so that the outer seems to move of its own accord, at other times we seem to have to push very hard to make the smallest movement. In this line our activity will feel right.

It is time for great works.

Greatest good fortune and no error.

❧

Line 2 goes yang — intuitive feeling less active

Intuitive feeling is our first activity of distinguishing, we then define an attitude according to the feeling and so distinguish the feeling in terms of mind. It is advantageous in this tao that we should be free of mind attitudes and simply be in the flow, this gives freedom to the magic of the moment.

There is one who gives him very many tortoise shells and who would not be refused.

Long continuance in the way brings good fortune.

The king gives sacrifice to heaven. Good fortune.

Tortoise shells are artefacts of magic, and what the tao offers in this line is the magic of the life force providing our feeling with just what it needs. For this to be accepted we need to drop our way of identifying what is happening and then choosing (this is the mode that normally rules us, is our king); if this is not sacrificed the gift is not seen or felt at all. Learning to drop our personal activity takes this long perseverance and is the inner good fortune of the tao.

❧

Line 3 goes yang — outer world changes less

It is more in tune with this tao to reduce our controlling of activity rather than to reduce the activity itself; our outer experience is food to the inner self. Here we make a move intending to do something about an overactive “I am” but “I am” doing it.

Unfortunate increase,

sincere and without blame.

Take the middle way and report

to the prince with your seal.

Our seal is that which identifies us and the prince is our identity (the outcome of our ruler which is the identifying process), so here we need to see how we are identifying ourselves, how we are choosing; the middle way is not to choose but to allow.

❧

Line 4 goes yang — accepting the outer state less

Here we choose less amongst the strong flow of outer activity which is this tao; it is in keeping with this flow to go with the outer activity but not to manipulate it.

He walks in the middle and reports to the prince.

It is favourable to be an agent

in the removal of the capital.

The capital is the seat of government, the chooser, which is sacrificed in this tao to allow the magic of the life force. For symbols of the seal, the prince, and walking in the middle, see line 3.

❧

Line 5 goes yin — more awareness of intuition

By accepting direct feeling of the life force we are becoming one with our intuitive feeling of this tao about increase.

If you come from the heart

and do not question,

greatest good fortune.

Genuine involvement

is the virtue recognized.

Questioning comes from the mind, flow from the feeling. The essence of the flow is to be genuinely in it, we cannot question a flow without stopping it.

❧

Line 6 goes yin — our inner being accepts more

This is no time to get involved in inner stillness (line 1 is yang) when we are in a tao of nourishing outer activity.

He increases no one.

Someone strikes him.

He is inconsistent.

Misfortune.

Here we fail to sacrifice the importance of identifying—we identify in the inner stillness—and we miss the middle path, the non-identified state. By trying first the outer and then the inner as our focus we are not being consistent and nothing is furthered; only a shock will change this cycle of choosing, for it fuels itself, so it is as if someone strikes him.

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