More yin and yang

And now, we will start to get a little more deeply into the meaning of the I Ching per se. There is much to say about yin and yang, but it is hard for me to think right now. As a homework assignment, I suggest reading the commentary on the first two hexagrams of the I Ching. They are the only ones, that, the first being pure yang, and the second being pure yin. Because of this, we can take a look at the meaning of the individual lines, and that gives us a hint as to how to interpret the individual lines in the rest of the hexagrams. As a rule, it is in the nuclear hexagram, described later, but basically the second, third, fourth, and fifth line, where most of the action takes place. The first line is generally considered to show premature action, the sixth line, action that either comes too late, or is excessive. More on this later.

In reality, the real changes do not start until hexagram 3, the first mixed hexagram, mixed with yin and yang that is. The book really ends with hexagram 62, which tells us of small actions, and extreme caution. This is a theme to a certain extent throughout the book. The sixty third and sixty fourth hexagrams also, are outside the book as a whole, showing a balanced condition, but one that can remain that way, only with effort. The sixty third hexagram teaches us of the second law of thermodynamics, that everything left to itself, witll tend to disintegrate, or breakdown into a lesser order. The sixty fourth hexagram teaches us that even though everything breaks down, there is a form of energy which causes the broken down forms to rearrange in an even higher, though different order. These hexagrams are indicative, among other things as a form and time of transition from one form to another. The third and fourth lines in all hexagrams also have a secondary theme of transition. We will get into this later, for all forms of reality, illusion though it may be, is controlled and dictated to by the laws of inertia, involution, and evolution.

If not tonight, within the next day or so, I hope to go through the lines of the first and second hexagram and show how they teach us the meanings of the various lines throughout the book.