above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below CHêN THE AROUSING, THUNDER
The name of the hexagram, Chun, really connotes a blade of grass pushing against an obstacle as it sprouts out of the earth–hence the meaning, “difficulty at the beginning.” The hexagram indicates the way in which heaven and earth bring forth individual beings. It is their first meeting, which is beset with difficulties.
The lower trigram Chên is the Arousing; its motion is upward and its image is thunder. The upper trigram K’an stands for the Abysmal, the dangerous. Its motion is downward and its image is rain. The situation points to teeming, chaotic profusion; thunder and rain fill the air. But the chaos clears up. While the Abysmal sinks, the upward movement eventually passes beyond the danger. A thunderstorm brings release from tension, and all things breathe freely again.
CONTAINING CHAOS.
There is a wild mare trapped in a cage,
circling round and round.
Man studies its tracks,
trying to understand what makes it move.
The Mare is the symbol of the Receptive, the female. The Feminine energy is soft and furious, and it circles round and round in its cage of four dimensions. The Masculine is the structure of the cage, the boundary, that gives the formlessness a pattern. Creation is a constant process of chaotic Yin energy forming into a circular pattern, the turning of the ages, the precession of the equinoxes, and then breaking its bounds again to begin the chase anew (the Taming of the Shrew). Structure marries Chaos. The feminine energy is serpentine, and slippery. The nature of the feminine Life energy is evident in the nature of water, to which it is linked. Water has no shape, and can therefore assume any shape. It is clear, and can therefore reflect any image. It takes on the attributes of its environment. (hexagram, __) The Masculine Creative Principle is invisible, but it is what gives Feminine Life energy form. The mind of God is genderless, but will be found within each one as the Father principle, who begat the Mother in one timeless, reflexive instant. Nature patterns itself on this model, except for deviant Man, who is required to be not just instinctual, but intuitive, which calls for a meeting of the thinking (male) and feeling (female) functions. Once again, a union of opposites within. When this union is mirrored in the external world, sexual tension is a function of polarity, not duality.
The caduceus images a voluntary joining of these two forces. The two-headed snake wraps itself around the structure of the Pole/spine of consciousness, the central axis, to come face to face with itself. It eats itself and grows wings (ascends).
The caduceus is the symbol for healing. Rightly so. The feminine (ego) meets the masculine, (spirit) and recognizes the source of support within. this finding of central support, the center of axis-tense, the spine, the will, the well is a gesture that every man/woman makes within themselves. In finding this direct relationship to God, feminine energy which is by nature cloudy and formless, or watery and shapeless finds a Reason (RA-son) to be and shapes itself around the Central Principle or Spirit.
Studying the tracks of the wild mare will tell you about what’s Dead. Gone. Past.
Moving into the Present is a leap astraddle the mare: a chaotic battle ensues between the male dominator and the wild feminine force, until a moment of union, surrender, victory, death-birth when mare and rider are as One.
THE JUDGMENT
DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING works supreme
Success. Furthering through perseverance. Nothing should be undertaken. It furthers one to appoint helpers.
Times of growth are beset with difficulties. They resemble a first birth. But these difficulties arise from the very profusion of all that is struggling to attain form . Everything is in motion: therefore if one perseveres there is a prospect of great success, in spite of the existing danger. When it is one’s fate to undertake such new beginnings, everything is still unformed, dark.
Hence one must hold back, because any premature move might bring disaster. Likewise, it is very important not to remain alone; in order to overcome the chaos one needs helpers. this is not to say, however, that one should look on passively at what is happening. One must lend a hand and participate with inspiration and guidance.
THE IMAGE
Clouds and thunder: The image of DIFFICULTY AT THE BEGINNING. Thus the superior person Brings order out of confusion.
Clouds and thunder are represented by definite decorative lines; this means that in the chaos of difficulty at the beginning, order is already implicit. So too the superior person has to arrange and organize the inchoate profusion of such times of beginning, just as one sorts out silk threads from a knotted tangle and binds them into skeins. In order to find one’s place in the infinity of being, one must be able both to separate and to unite.
THE LINES
°Nine at the beginning means: Hesitation and hindrance. It furthers one to remain persevering. It furthers one to appoint helpers.
If you encounter a hindrance at the beginning of an enterprise, you must not try to force advance but must pause and take thought. However, nothing should put you off your course; you must persevere and constantly keep the goal in sight. It is important to seek out the right assistants, but you can find them only if you avoid arrogance and associate with your fellows in a spirit of humility. Only then will you attract those with whose help you can combat the difficulties. Six in the second place means: Difficulties pile up. Horse and wagon part. He is not a robber; He wants to woo when the time comes. The maiden is chaste, She does not pledge herself. Ten years–then she pledges herself.
We find ourselves beset by difficulties and hindrances. Suddenly there is a turn of affairs, as if someone were coming up with a horse and wagon and unhitching them. this event comes so unexpectedly that we assume the newcomer to be a robber. Gradually it becomes clear that he has no evil intentions but seeks to be friendly and to offer help. But this offer is not to be accepted, because it does not come from the right quarter. We must wait until the time is fulfilled; ten years is a fulfilled cycle of time. Then normal conditions return of themselves, and we can join forces with the friend intended for us.
Using the image of a betrothed girl who remains true to her lover in face of grave conflicts, the hexagram gives counsel for a special situation. When in times of difficulty a hindrance is encountered and unexpected relief is offered from a source unrelated to us, we must be careful and not take upon ourselves any obligations entailed by such help; otherwise our freedom of decision is impaired. If we bide our time, things will quiet down again, and we shall attain what we have hoped for.
Six in the third place means: Whoever hunts deer without the forester Only loses their way in the forest. The superior person understands the signs
of the time, And prefers to desist. To go on brings humiliation.
If one tries to hunt in a strange forest and has no guide, one loses the way. When one finds oneself in difficulties one must not try to steal out of them unthinkingly and without guidance. Fate cannot be duped; premature effort, without the necessary guidance, ends in failure and disgrace. Therefore the superior person, discerning the seeds of coming events, prefers to renounce a wish rather than to provoke failure and humiliation by trying to force its fulfillment.
Six in the fourth place means:
Horse and wagon part. Strive for union. To go brings good fortune. Everything acts to further.
We are in a situation in which it is our duty to act, but we lack sufficient power. However, an opportunity to make connections offers itself. It must be seized. Neither false pride nor false reserve should deter us. Bringing oneself to take the first step, even when it involves a certain degree of self-abnegation, is a sign of inner clarity. To accept help in a difficult situation is not a disgrace. If the right helper is found, all goes well.
° Nine in the fifth place means: Difficulties in blessing. A little perseverance brings good fortune. Great perseverance brings misfortune.
One is in a position in which one cannot so express one’s good intentions that they will actually take shape and be understood. Other people interpose and distort everything one does. One should then be cautious and proceed step by step. One must not try to force the consummation of a great undertaking, because success is possible only when general confidence already prevails. It is only through faithful and conscientious work, unobtrusively carried on, that the situation gradually clears up and the hindrance disappears.
Six at the top means: Horse and wagon part. Bloody tears flow.
The difficulties at the beginning are too great for some persons. They get stuck and never find their way out; they fold their hands and give up the struggle. Such resignation is the saddest of all things. Therefore Confucius says of this line: “Bloody tears flow: one should not persist in this.” index
In general the situation of Difficulty at the Beginning is about stopping and not forcing the situation, or forcing consummation, even if there is an offer of help early on, to wait until the ‘right’ helper is found who has confidence. this suggests that our own hesitation and hindrance or lack of clarity is reflected in the quality of the help that approaches us. Difficulty at the beginning is natural and when overcome can lead to being able to create something great.
