above Dschen, the Arousing, thunder · below Gen, Keeping Still, mountain
This sign describes a time when small things succeed and great ones do not. The flying bird brings the message: do not strive upwards, stay below. What is called for is extraordinary modesty and conscientiousness, joined with the proper dignity so that you do not throw yourself away. Be meticulous about small things, keep your demands simple and carry out your duties conscientiously; staying below turns out very well here. Do not expect great successes now; the strength they require is lacking.
What small thing could you do now with particular care?
Whereas in the sign ‘Preponderance of the Great’ (No. 28) the strong lines preponderate, and do so within, enclosed between the two lines at the beginning and at the end, here the weak lines preponderate, likewise outside, while the strong ones are within. It is on this that the exceptional state rests. If the strong lines are outside, we have the signs I, Nourishment, and Dschung Fu, Inner Truth, neither of which denotes an exceptional state. When the strong lines preponderate within, they must assert themselves. This brings about struggle and exceptional states on a large scale. Here, by contrast, the weak must of necessity take over representation to the outside world. When one stands in a decisive position to which by one’s nature one is not really equal, extraordinary caution is needed.
Some old words keep coming back in Wilhelm’s sayings:
Preponderance of the Small. Success.Perseverance is favourable.Small things may be done; great things should not be done.The flying bird brings the message:it is not good to strive upwards,it is good to remain below. Great good fortune!
Extraordinary modesty and conscientiousness will surely be rewarded with success; only it is important that they do not turn into an empty formula and a cringing manner, but remain joined with the proper dignity in one’s personal bearing, so that one does not throw oneself away. One must understand what the time demands in order to find the right compensation for its shortcomings and ills. Even so, one must not count on great successes, since the strength they require is lacking. That is why the message is so important: not to strive after lofty things but to keep to lowly ones. That this message is brought by a bird follows from the shape of the sign. In Da Go, No. 28, the four strong, heavy lines within, supported only by two weak lines outside, give the image of the ridgepole weighed down by its load. Here the light, bearing lines are outside and in the majority; this gives the image of the hovering bird. But the bird should not overreach itself and try to fly into the sun; it should come down to earth, where its nest is. In this way it gives the message that the sign proclaims.
On the mountain there is thunder:the image of the preponderance of the small.Thus in his conduct the noble onelays the greater weight on reverence.In times of mourning he lays the greater weight on grief.In his spending he laysthe greater weight on thrift.
Thunder on the mountain is different from thunder on the plain. In the mountains the thunder is much nearer, while beyond the mountains it is less audible than the thunder of an ordinary storm. Thus the noble one draws from this image the call to look at duty more closely and directly in all things than everyday people do, even though his behaviour might, as a result, seem petty when seen from outside. He is particularly scrupulous about his actions. In times of mourning, inner emotion is far closer to his heart than outward formalities, and so in spending on his own person he is exceedingly simple and unassuming. All this makes him an exception among the mass of people. But the essence of this exception lies in its standing, outwardly, on the side of the lowly.
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 ○.
By flying, the bird comes to misfortune.
A bird wants to fly before it is fledged. Do not resort to extraordinary steps while there is still another way, and keep to what is customary for as long as you can. Flying too early turns out badly; you wear out your strength and achieve nothing.
The bird ought to stay in the nest at first, until it is fledged. If it tries to fly before then, it brings misfortune upon itself. Extraordinary measures should be taken only when there is no other way. At first one must keep to the customary for as long as possible; otherwise one wears out oneself and one’s strength and still achieves nothing.
She passes her forefather by and meets the ancestress.He fails to reach his prince and meets the official.No blame.
If you cannot reach the person you were really aiming for, the one at the top, say, turn to whoever is within reach and modestly take your place in the ranks. Force nothing; do your task conscientiously where you stand. In exceptional times, departing from the rule like this is no mistake.
Two exceptional cases are named here. In the ancestral temple, where the generations alternate, the grandson stands on the same side as the grandfather; that is why his relationship with him is the closest. Here the grandson’s wife is depicted, who at the sacrifice passes by the forefather and turns to the ancestress. But this extraordinary conduct is an expression of her modesty. She would rather venture to approach the ancestress, to whom she feels akin through her sex; therefore this departure from the rule is no mistake.
Another image is that of the official who at first, as is proper, seeks an audience with his prince. But if he does not reach him, he does not try to force anything, but makes his way in conscientious fulfilment of his duty by taking his place among the ranks of the officials. This extraordinary restraint, too, is no mistake in exceptional times. (The rule is that every official first has an audience with his prince, by whom he is appointed. Here the appointment comes from the minister.)
If one is not extraordinarily careful,someone may come up from behind and strike one.Misfortune!
The time calls for extraordinary caution, and strong people in particular, sure of being in the right, find that petty. That self-confidence deceives them: some dangers lie in ambush and are more than you can handle, and if you take no precautions, it turns out badly. Be on your guard and pay attention to small things too; then the danger can be avoided.
At times extraordinary caution is absolutely necessary. But it is in just such situations that there are upright and strong personalities who, aware of being in the right, disdain to take precautions because they consider it petty. Instead they go their way proudly and without a care. But this self-confidence deceives them. There are dangers that approach from ambush and that they are not equal to.
All the same, this is a danger to which one is not necessarily exposed; it can be avoided if one understands the demands of the time, which call in an extraordinary way for attention to what is small and insignificant.
No blame. Without passing by, he meets him.Going brings danger. One must be on guard.Do not act. Be constantly persevering.
The situation calls for the utmost restraint: you cannot bring about what you want now on your own initiative. Going at it by force would bring danger. So do not act, guard against pushing ahead, and stay inwardly steady and constant; that way you make no mistake.
The hardness of character is tempered by the softness of the position, so that one makes no mistake. One is in a situation in which one must hold back to the utmost. One must not undertake anything of one’s own accord to reach what one desires. And if one were to go forward to attain one’s goal by force, one would come into danger. Therefore one must be on guard and not act, but constantly preserve one’s inner perseverance.
Thick clouds,no rain from our western lands.The prince shoots and strikes the one in the cave.
Thick clouds that bring no rain stand for someone called to a great task who is standing alone. Find helpers who can do the work with you, and look for them modestly, even where they have withdrawn from view. Real achievement is what counts here; a great name matters little.
Since this is a high place, the image of the flying bird has become that of flying clouds. But however dense the clouds may be, they drift across the sky and give no rain. So in extraordinary times there may well be a born ruler who would be called to set the world in order, but he can accomplish nothing and cannot bestow his blessing on the people, because he stands alone and has no helpers.
In such times one must look for helpers with whom one can accomplish the work. But these helpers must be sought modestly in the obscurity into which they have withdrawn. What matters is not fame and a great name but real achievement.
Through such modesty one finds the right man and is able to complete the extraordinary work despite every difficulty.
He passes him by without meeting him.The flying bird leaves him. Misfortune!This means calamity and injury.
Overshoot the goal and you miss it, like a bird that will not go to its nest and keeps climbing until it ends up in the net. If you cannot stop at a time that calls for restraint in small things, you drift away from the natural order. Stop in good time, or it turns out badly.
If one overshoots the goal, one cannot hit it. If the bird will not go to its nest but keeps rising higher and higher, in the end it falls into the hunter’s net. Whoever, in times of the extraordinary, does not know how to stop at small things, but restlessly keeps wanting to go further, brings misfortune upon himself from gods and men, because he departs from the order of nature.
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.