7- Shi/The Multitude; changing lines 2,3 to 15-Qian/ Humbleness
(Huang 89): "To the ancients, war was evil. It should not be undertaken lightly, but only when absolutely necessary. And the purpose of military affairs should be righteous. Only a person of noble character and high prestige could take charge of military affairs."
Associated Month: May
7- Earth over Water- this is an image of an underground well- a resource to sustain; other translations of the word shi call this gua "The Army", or something along that line. Huang argues that ancient China did not utilize what we call a standing army- there were not soldiers in the sense of the word we think of it, even though most people trained in martial arts to be ready in case there was a need for defense. Then, once the campaign was over, every soldier simply went back into the regular life of the multitude. A hidden army within civilian life, warriors amongst the rest-water covered by earth.
7_ line 2: a responsive commander (to the superior) receives a post, garment, and title
7_ line 3: self-willed and opinionated, a commander tries to override the superior- “the multitude takes charge”- [the inmates running the asylum] [improper to have those with too much inexperience, who are unqualified, or not fit for the task running the show]
15- Qian/ Humbleness
Associated month: January
15- Earth over Mountain- a person who is not ruled by his/her ego doesn't mind not standing out among the rest
15_line 2- this represents one who values the quality of humility and it shows through her actions, which creates a harmonic and resonance all around; “when a cock crows, other cocks follow”; a natural leader
15_line 3: host- one who has an important task to do; this one is at the center of a group who depends on her and is able to both do the work and remain humble; the support of the people will eventually come to her. This is remaining humble despite great accomplishments.
Opposite: 10- Lu/ Fulfillment/ Heaven over Lake:
(Huang, p 111): "The main theme is that a wise man fulfills his duty as cautiously as he would tread upon a tiger's tail; then good fortune can be expected."
Associated month: July
10_line 2: this line shows a person who is not in sync with the leader, but is strong and temperate; this is like a recluse who is doing the right thing and is content, without need for notoriety.
10_line 3: duty places an individual represented here in some danger, someone has misfortune, gets bitten by the tiger; this is someone exposed to this danger because of his/her service to an individual who is higher up. The misfortune indicated by this line is someone who takes a fall for someone else, like a protector taking a bullet for his leader.
The transformation of this gua (changing lines 2,3) leads to 13-Tong ren/ Seeking Harmony- heaven over fire; Associated month: August; the opposite gua for Tong Ren is 7-Shi/ The multitude.
King Wen grouped the hexagrams into pairs that could be looked at as stages; the odd numbered hexagram were the yang/initiating aspect of the theme and the even numbered the yin/ outcome manifest in the world. 7, shi precedes 8, bi.
King Wen Paired: 8-Bi/ Union, changing lines 2,3 to 48- Jing/The Well / Replenishing
8-Water over Earth; union across oceans
Associated month: May
8_line 2: inner sincerity creates an auspicious situation- loving, caring, coordinating, and corresponding- the inferior fits with the superior- inner/outer are complementary; union doesn’t come by force, but by simpatico, common values
8_line 3: either through timing or through circumstance, this is a situation where no one in the group wants to join with each other (seeking union with the wrong people).
48- Jing/The Well / Replenishing (another image of water inside the earth, but one that has to be crafted to be accessible)
Associated month: June
48-Water over Wind/Wood-a popular image of a well is a man-made structure with a wooden bucket to draw on plentiful water source; many wells service whole cities as long as they are clean and the water is plentiful. "The site of the village may be moved, not the well, because the solids are in the central position." (Huang, 385) "...the only way to assure that the supply is inexhaustible is to make the best possible use of the people and resources, and let the commodities flow abundantly into the market." (ibid)
48_line 2: water can’t be drawn upward from this well (the host/line 5 does not correspond to this person), so the influence isn’t listened to; the water flow away, or dries up
48_line 3: someone at this place has everything needed to develop a good following, yet no one notices this (underestimated, ignored); most probably because it’s just not time yet or, because the leader, who would normally bestow honor and support isn’t paying attention to true talent, or is overlooking it
I think of the nuclear hexagrams as the inner tension driving the phase outlined in the reading.
Nuclear hexagrams: 24- Fu/ Returning; Earth over Thunder; and 40- Jie/ Relief- Thunder over Water
Relief from a time of darkness; 24 is sometimes compared to the time of the new moon.
24_line 2: represents someone who has given up the dark/corrupt ways to return to the light; she has returned to the original light (represented by line 1) and this gives good fortune- going back to the beginning when all was pure, motivation came from sincerity...
24_line 3: even though there is a tendency with this one to repeatedly make the same mistakes and be in a state of unrest, because the actions lead back to the humble beginning, credit is deserved, but still the continuous vacillation between the good/light and errors can be dangerous
40- Jie/ Relief- Thunder over Water
40_line 2: three foxes- three crafty/dishonest people set out to fool the “king”; they are discovered, and the person represented by this line is able to banish them before they can do any harm by walking the middle path- the earth/gold/yellow...good fortune
40_line 3: someone who is given a position which he/she is not really fit for-people can’t honestly follow this kind of person who is obviously not qualified to fulfill the duties of their given position
Okay, a hodge-podge of ideas and images, but interesting. It's hard not to draw comparison to the current war Russia/Putin has imposed upon the people and country of Ukraine.