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I Ching, the Book of Changes

The I Ching is a highly complex yet simple philosophical system which describes our world’s immanent change and declares change itself as the basic principle of the universe (cf. Govinda 1983). And the wisest thing for us to do is to subordinate  to this change, these changes, to adapt  to bring ourselves into harmony with the world around us.

So it is not at all about subjecting the world. We cannot. But what we can do is make changes where we can make them: in our own consciousness.

The hexagrams of the I Ching show us these possible developmental paths of our inner being. If one follows the interpretation model, the steps towards the solution can be discerned in the sequence of the individual trigrams and core characters.

The Images Stem from the Ideas: Pictograms

Since I started to work more intensively on deciphering the hexagrams, one of the most important sources that showed me the way was the quote from Wang Bi in which he talks about the fish trap. He says:

The images stem from the ideas.… The images are the trap for the ideas… once you have captured the ideas, you can forget the images. Wang Bi (from Zimmermann 2007, 64 and note 14)

Hexagramm 11 – Der Friede
Hexagram 11 – peace with pictograms
Weiterlesen: The Images Stem from the Ideas: Pictograms

What does the Hexagram want to tell me? Deciphering the Path of Transformations

We have seen earlier that the hexagrams with which the I Ching responds to us are messages from our unconscious to our daily consciousness. This sounds beautiful at first. In practice, however, it quickly becomes clear how challenging it is: How should one understand the meaning of the I Ching’s response to the question formulated during the consultation? And how can one work with or implement these answers concretely?

Weiterlesen: What does the Hexagram want to tell me? Deciphering the Path of Transformations

Follow the Path of the Dao: A Western Approximation

The interpretations of individual hexagrams (as for example hexagram 11 – peace ) start out with Eastern concepts, but from there successively move on . If one wants to follow this approach further and interpret the hexagrams from a perspective that is even stronger rooted in Western thinking, philosophical anthropology provides a good framework.

Weiterlesen: Follow the Path of the Dao: A Western Approximation

01 – determination

“I, I, all I!” – How does it feel when I suddenly find myself at the very center, all by myself, undisturbed by the votes of others? Is it really quiet? Or do I still hear their voices in my head, defending myself in fiery speeches before absent parties? An interesting observation: I justify myself… why? Because I’m not the way I believe that they want me to be? But, here the consolation: awareness is already part of the healing.

Weiterlesen: 01 – determination

02 – the receptive

Some Reflections

Usually, we act, we do and push things Trusting receptiveness is a rather unusual practice for most of us. Hexagram 02 – the receptive invites us to trust the process, the natural course of things. And in the meantime take stock: Where exactly am I? What have I already achieved? How secure is my own standing? What are my resources? What supports me, what holds me? What are my goals?

Weiterlesen: 02 – the receptive

04 – youthful folly

Hexagram 04 – youthful folly is auspicious, the judgement states: “Youthful folly has success…” But that only is true as long as we follow the path of the DAO, the way of the world – rather than to forcing our way onto the world. Or, as most usual, hand control over to our autopilot: unconscious control mechanisms and automated action patterns that may have had validity long time ago but that may be meaningless here and now.

Weiterlesen: 04 – youthful folly

05 – waiting

“I, I, all I!” – No, this is not an ego trip, but: I am all one with myself, I am entirely centered… All right? OK, so, again: I, I, all I, all centered, completely calm, rooted within myself. And right here-and-now I am turning towards… the world.

What a variety of possibilities! How on earth should I choose? What is right, what is important, what does (not) matter? My head may help me to sort it out: What corresponds to me? What distracts me from my path? Yet some cases remain undecidable, they lie beyond my intellect’s grasp: I simply do not know all the facts.

Weiterlesen: 05 – waiting

07 – the army


These days – and just as this last question on the list below reached me – I have been thinking about the process of selfactualization. Our self, what-we-are, is a dynamic process that constantly evolves, progresses, “actualizes”, bringing our goals, our desires and intentions into harmony with the realities of life.
But let us first make it concrete. Here are various questions that reached me regarding 07 – The Army.

Weiterlesen: 07 – the army

08 – holding together

Scope of Questions

  • A user asks, “Where are my limits?” The I Ching’s answer is 08 – holding together.
  • A user asks, “What happens if I sign the license agreement now?”
  • A user receives hexagram 8 – holding together regarding his situation, which is characterized by great physical and psychological pain.
  • A user asks the I Ching: “How will I feel if I buy this house and live there?” She explains further: “On Monday, I have to decide whether I want to buy a house or not. And as this is a very far-reaching decision, I’m afraid of making the wrong choice. My current living situation has become unpleasant since I have a 16-year-old living below me who parties from Friday night to Sunday night. Reading a book or meditating has become difficult, trying to talk to the parents has failed. I don’t want to fight, I just want to live in peace.”
  • One user asks: “How do I behave sensibly in view of the current zeitgeist and my life situation?”
Weiterlesen: 08 – holding together

09 – the taming power of the small

“I, I, all I!” – Now it is me at the very center: all one with myself, concentrated, well rooted. That is the starting point. And from here, as soon as I feel ready to do so, I turn towards… the world.

What an immense variety of possibilities storms up on me! How in the world should I choose? What is right, what is important, what is superfluous? How should I make a choice? My head can help me: what corresponds to me? What is my path – and what possibly distracts me from my path?

Weiterlesen: 09 – the taming power of the small

10 – treading (conduct)

I was told two job stories these days. Both situations involve encroaching employers. In one case, extra (unpaid) hours are demanded with a flimsy justification; in the other, extra tasks were assigned that require extra work, which is then not paid. The I Ching‘s commentary in both cases is 10 – the treading.

Weiterlesen: 10 – treading (conduct)

11 – peace

“I, I, all I!” – did I get the message? Did I hear this fine, clear, subtle voice… and the message it speaks to me, deep from within my heart? Let us listen again carefully: what does it tell me?

If I am honest, I have long understood the message. Maybe I did not want it to be true, hoping I misunderstood. But I did not misunderstand. The voice is there, and I have understood its message.

Weiterlesen: 11 – peace

13 – fellowship with men

Our mental clarity, our ability to differentiate between important and unimportant, is the pivotal point of this hexagram. Our clarity allows us to analyze a situation and the various aspects it comprises: What are my options in this situation? Which of these options should I choose to achieve best results? What or who will help me, give me strength, promote my growth? What aspects of this situation are blocking me or lead me to a dead end in the long term? Sometimes it is enough to have just mental clarity. Sometimes, however, we must take action for the situation to develop and to gain momentum.

Weiterlesen: 13 – fellowship with men

14 – possession in great measure

“I, I, all I!” – No, this is not an ego trip. It simply means to be all one with ourselves, knowing who we truly are, deep inside. To quietly and contentedly sit smiling. Just like… a Buddha.

And then, with inner peace and well rooted: return to the world. A world that constantly storms up on us, in all its richness. A world that touches us, inspires, enriches us, affects and sometimes presses us… What a diversity – what a chaos!

Weiterlesen: 14 – possession in great measure

15 – modesty

Scope of Questions

  • A user is very exhausted by the situation he is in at the moment: a lot of (creative) chaos, construction sites, everything is very demanding. He knows that he should let go of all kinds of things, but he doesn’t know where to start. He asks the I Ching for advice and receives hexagram 15 – Modesty as an answer.
  • After a phone call with her husband a user got stomach cramps and vomiting. And suddenly she had the answer in her head: “You have to get a divorce.” Since then she feels deep inner peace, contentment – and no resentment at all. When she later consults the I Ching, the answer is hexagram 15 – Modesty.
  • “Where does the poison in my life come from?” asks a user. “Does it come from the outside or the inside? What is the source of my blockages – and what is it that always gets me tripped up in the end?”
  • One user describes his situation as follows: “We don’t feel very comfortable here in the village and in our house and wonder whether we should change. However, our daughter enjoys the location here very much.”
Weiterlesen: 15 – modesty

16 – enthusiasm

Scope of Questions

Regarding hexagram 16 – Enthusiasm I received a couple of questions concerning quite different issues:

  • “How should I interpret my physical symptoms?”
  • “What point am I at right now?”
  • “Without success, I can not keep living. But success always includes some failure. How can I deal with this?”
  • “What do I have to give up to be happy?”
  • A user asks the I Ching about a medical procedure.
Weiterlesen: 16 – enthusiasm

17 – following

Something new is coming to light decisively and powerfully. It will transform the entire situation. However, this new beginning has a price: we must disengage and let go of what is outdated, obsolete, an old pattern – even if it is hard to abandon something that was trusted and familiar for such a long time now. Eventually this image helps: a tree discarding old foliage, getting ready for a new cycle of life, with the old foliage serving as a fertilizer for new growth. We also need this fertilizer which is generated by disengagement: for our own forward bursting growth, which soon will interweave with the world, resonating with it in giving and taking.

Weiterlesen: 17 – following

18 – work on what has been spoiled

Is something wrong here? And if so: what is it? A dynamic development ends unexpectedly with a reality check – why? Momentum is basically positive. It turns unpleasant if the autopilot takes control. Autopilot occurs when a situation’s dynamic no longer comes from our own interior, but is determined by external (eventually cultural) imprint. A reality check is quite beneficial: Do I really enjoy what is currently happening? Does it make sense? Does it corresponds to my very heart – or is it a copy of someone else’s life? The answers to these questions will lead to a decision. And probably you must let go of something: maybe the autopilot, which was in control until now?

Weiterlesen: 18 – work on what has been spoiled

19 – approach

We open ourselves to our environment – and become inspired… Not an easy task, if our head and mind are full. Ok, once again: we open ourselves, make ourselves empty and perceptive, curious, without prejudiced, without any prior knowledge. We listen carefully: What does the external world want to tell us? And all off a sudden: we perceive it – and are inspired! Nourished, fertilized, refreshed… connected with what previously was alien, non-familiar. From this contact with the external world a decision arises, followed by a long period of growth and materialization. Maybe it will take some time before we see results. But we need not do anything. Only trust: in our inspiration, in our decision.

Weiterlesen: 19 – approach

20 – contemplation

Here. Now. At this moment it is wise to withdraw into our own root. To withdraw from the world. To turn our gaze inwards. Just as a plant does in winter. To do nothing. This moment belongs to us alone. We draw strength. Like a wave, which stretches back into the sea, concentrating its energy. And even though it may look as if we surrender – we do not surrender. We gather our strength. We focus our energy. In non-action (Wu Wei) we are provides with everything we may need at this moment. Incidentally letting go of a few old, unnecessary things / thoughts / attitudes… before we powerfully rush back into life.

Weiterlesen: 20 – contemplation

21 – biting through

Usually, when we take a decision and want to make a change, we assume that we have to act in a completely new way, to add something unprecedented to the already existing.

Sometimes, however, the solution lies in just the opposite: to do nothing – and to let go of something. Maybe of our self-image, a habit, our accustomed view on something, our habitual “but we always…”. Perhaps it is also our impulse to bang with our fist on the table and to push our will through.

Weiterlesen: 21 – biting through

23 – splitting apart

Here and now… where exactly am I – and with whom or what do I share this here-and-now?

Kun is navel gazing. It is a call to retreat to our own origins as a source of power and to calm down. But what does it look like, this intimate place, our inner source of strength? Do you like what you see? Does it give you strength – or it is just a collection of things (or people, or options, or, or), which creates an illusion of security? Things never give security. And at worst they clutter and block our lives.

Weiterlesen: 23 – splitting apart

25 – innocence

Scope of Questions

I received the following questions and descriptions of situations that resulted in hexagram 25 – innocence:

  • One user writes: “After an unpleasant event a few months ago, I am more or less in a kind of crisis. I have my life under control and am getting along reasonably well, but emotionally I am still very much shaken. Since then I try to understand the best I can what actually happened – also by questioning the I Ching.”
  • Another user asks: “Please, tell me how the story between me and x will develop further during the upcoming year!”
  • A users has met a person in a quite unique way who later on turned out to be very important for her. Her question: “Will we meet again? Or: what’s the point?”
  • One user asks: “What’s next?”
Weiterlesen: 25 – innocence

26 – the taming power of the great

“I, I, all I!” – I am standing at the summit, I have achieved something. And now? For a moment I rest, enjoying spectacular views. And then?
I’m standing at the summit. I have achieved something. I enjoy the views… What else do I see? More summits. Summits which I could set out for. And reenter the course of the world.

Weiterlesen: 26 – the taming power of the great

27 – providing nourishment

Scope of Questions

So far I received the following inquiries regarding hexagram 27 – Providing Nourishment:

  • A user asks: “What I should do regarding a man, who I would like to know better?”
  • For more than a year now a user is dealing with all kinds of challenges: selling her home, finding an apartment, a new job, a new partnership. She asks: “What else should and/or must I do?” She suffers from the situation’s uncertainty and constantly encounters blockades. And: slowly she feels very exhausted.
  • Cooperating with a smug and manipulative colleague is putting a strain on a user. So far, she could protect herself and concentrate on her job’s core tasks. But her colleague regularly disturbs her. She refuses to engage in games or fall into her old patterns as a victim. How can she be true to herself and gain respect in her professional environment?

The current interpretation can be found here: https://www.no2do.com/hexagramme_en/788887.htm