08 - Holding Together

Contemporary Interpretation

08 - Holding Together

Paving the way for
intuitive knowledge

A
Place-Time-Space
That
[cools hot heads,
strengthens weak limbs,
quiets restless spirits
and hence]
Paves
The way
For intuitive
Knowledge.

Follow the Path of the Dao: A Western Approximation

The Hexagram's Inner Trigrams

yin yang yin yin yin yin

Upper Trigram: Kan, Water

2nd Core Character: Gen, Mountain

1st Core Character: Kun, Earth

Lower Trigram: Kun, Earth

The Hexagram's Inner Trigrams in the Context of Yin and Yang

The hexagram's inner trigrams within the fields of Yin and Yang

Changes and Impulses

Additional Resources

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Holding together (08) is cheerful.

The image

On earth there is water: the image of holding together. Thus the ancient kings awarded the individual states as fiefs and cultivated friendly relationships with the feudal lords.

The judgement

Holding together brings good fortune. Inquire of the oracle again whether you possess sublimity, constancy, and perseverance; then there is no blame. The uncertain join gradually. Whoever arrives too late experiences misfortune. Full text of Richard Wilhelm's 1924 translation by Cary F. Baynes