above Dschen, the Arousing, thunder · below Li, the Clinging, fire
Abundance is the theme here, a peak of strength, success or happiness, and the Judgement promises success. Such times are mostly brief; you could grow sad about that, yet sadness does not befit you. The Judgement says: ‘Do not grieve; you must be like the sun at noon.’ That sun illuminates and gladdens everything under heaven. Make full use of what you have, and let others share in it. Don’t think about the end yet; only someone inwardly free of care can usher in a time of abundance.
How could you make full use of what is plentiful now and share it with others?
Dschen is movement, Li the flame, whose attribute is clarity. Clarity within, movement without: this gives greatness and abundance. It is a time of high culture that the sign represents. However, the very fact that this is a peak already hints at the thought that this extraordinary state of abundance cannot be maintained for ever.
Some old words keep coming back in Wilhelm’s sayings:
Abundance has success.The king attains it.Do not grieve; you must be like the sun at noon.
To bring about a time of the utmost greatness and abundance is not granted to every mortal. It takes a born ruler of men to be capable of such a thing, because his will is set on what is great. A time of such abundance is mostly brief. A sage might therefore well grow sad in view of the decline that follows. But such sadness does not befit him. Only a man who is inwardly free of care and sorrow can usher in a time of abundance. He must be like the sun at noon, which illuminates and gladdens everything under heaven.
Thunder and lightning both come: the image of abundance.So the noble one decides lawsuits and carries out punishments.
The sign is in some degree related to the sign ‘Biting Through’, No. 21, where thunder and lightning are likewise together, but in reverse order. Whereas there the laws are laid down, here they are carried out and applied. Clarity within makes possible an exact examination of the facts, and shaking without ensures that punishments are carried out strictly and precisely.
Wilhelm placed the signs ○ and □ after certain lines (p. 334 f.). They mark the rulers of the hexagram. □ stands by the constituting ruler: the line that gives the hexagram its meaning, however high it stands and whatever its character. ○ stands by the governing ruler. It is always of good character and becomes ruler through the meaning of the time and its position, usually in the fifth place. Where a line is both, it carries ○.
When one meets the master destined for one, one may be together with him ten days, and it is no mistake.Going there meets with recognition.
A time of abundance needs clarity and energetic movement together. Where two people each bring one of these gifts, they suit each other, and even a long spell of working together is no mistake. Go to such a person and work alongside them; it will meet with recognition.
To bring about a time of abundance, clarity and energetic movement must be united. Where these two qualities are found in two people, those people are suited to each other, and even if they spend a full cycle together in the time of abundance, it is not too long and is no mistake. So one may go forth to be effective; it will meet with recognition.
The curtain is so abundantthat the pole stars can be seen at noon.Going there, one meets with mistrust and hatred.If one rouses him through truth, good fortune comes.
Intrigue and factions push in between the one who aims at something great and the one who could carry it out, like an eclipse in broad daylight. If you charge ahead now, you meet only mistrust and envy. Hold inwardly to the truth; unseen, it works on the other person until it turns out well.
It often happens that intrigues and party schemes force their way in between the ruler who wills what is great and the man who could carry out what is great, and they darken things like an eclipse of the sun. Then, instead of the sun, one sees the northern stars in the sky. The master is pushed into the shade by a party that has taken power into its own hands. If one tried to undertake anything vigorous at such a time, one would only meet with mistrust and envy, which would make all movement impossible. Then what matters is to stand inwardly in the power of truth, which in the end is so strong that it acts on the ruler unseen, so that all goes well.
The undergrowth is so abundantthat the small stars can be seen at noon.He breaks his right arm. No blame.
The eclipse is total: even the most insignificant people push themselves forward, and anyone capable can achieve nothing, as if their right arm were broken. Being prevented from acting right now is not your fault, and it is not a mistake.
Here the image is the progressive covering of the sun. At this point totality is reached, and so even the small stars can be seen at noon.
Carried over to social conditions, the prince here is so darkened that even the most insignificant people can push themselves forward. Then it is impossible for an able man, who could be the ruler’s right hand, to undertake anything. It is as if the hand were broken. But it is not his fault that he is prevented from acting in this way.
The curtain is so abundantthat the pole stars can be seen at noon.He meets the master who matches him. Good fortune!
The darkness is already waning, and things that belong together find each other. Anyone full of energy now needs the right wisdom at their side. Look for the person who complements your eagerness to act with insight; then it turns out well.
Here the darkness is already waning, and so things that correspond to each other come together. Here too the complement must be found: the necessary wisdom to go with the eagerness to act. Then all will go well. The complement considered here is the reverse of that in the first line. There wisdom was to be complemented by energy, here energy by wisdom.
Lines are coming, blessing and fame draw near. Good fortune!
Someone who leads and stays modest is open to the advice of capable people, and they show them the way to act. Listen to the able people around you and take their advice. This turns out well and brings blessing and a good name to you and everyone who belongs to you.
The ruling man is modest, so that he is open to the counsel of able men. So men come into his circle who make plain to him the guiding lines for action. Through this come blessing, fame and good fortune for him and for all the people.
His house is in abundance.He hides his kin from view.He peers through the gate and no longer notices anyone.For three years he sees nothing. Misfortune!
Whoever seeks abundance and splendour for their house out of arrogance and self-will, determined at all costs to be master there, achieves the opposite: they estrange their own people and end up standing utterly alone. Stop insisting on deciding everything; otherwise it turns out badly.
Here a man is depicted who, through his arrogance and self-will, achieves the opposite of what he strives for. He seeks abundance and splendour for his dwelling. He is determined at all costs to be master in his own house. But in this way he estranges his family, so that in the end he stands utterly alone.
Would you like to put your own question to the I Ching? Six throws of three coins, and the answer appears straight away.
Consult the I ChingTexts by Richard Wilhelm: I Ging. Das Buch der Wandlungen (first edition Jena 1924), translated into English by NUMEN COMPASS from the Diederichs edition, Munich 1996. Wilhelm’s German text is in the public domain. The section ‘What the hexagram says today’, the question for you and the short notes under the lines are our own reading. The I Ching is no substitute for medical, legal or psychological advice.