Unhitching the wagon

Hello everyone

In continuance with hexagram three...

The issue here is one of a struggle. When spirit falls into matter, (or Adam and Eve falls into sin, or onto the material plain, or duality becomes part of our psyche) there is by nature at this point a struggle to find oneself. The fall, as it can be called, entails a bit of amnesia. We do not remember who we truly are, or what our true spiritual heritage is because we fall become as a result of the fall, esoterically speaking, separated from our true spirit. This is the meaning in the book of Genesis when God says, "in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." The serpent says, "Yeah, does God say... Ye shall not surely die for in the day... Your eyes shall be opened to know good and evil." And every since then esotericists, and literalists have been arguing over the true meaning. For obviously man did not die on that day, in fact, his eyes were opened, so who was lying and who was telling the truth? It would appear at first glance that God was the one that was really lying. But was he? Perhaps there is a different meaning to the death that he was talking about. The death, perhaps, entailed a bit of amnesia. Man forgot his true spiritual heritage, where yin and yang are not separate, and now live in separation, not only from God, but from one another, being split in two. (The esoteric meaning of the taking of a rib from Adam.

Well, we could discourse about this for a while, but let's get back to the I Ching. In hexagram three, the split has occurred. Man now sees himself as separate. Separate from God, separate from the observed universe, and separate from his female counterpart. Since he has forgotten who he is, now there is a sense of urgency in the sense that he needs to find his way in the world. (We will shortly be discussing this concept in a discussion of hexagram 53 also, and then later from all the first lines in the I Ching,) More than this, we see not only the story of the fall of man in hexagram three, but also a hidden discussion of the separation of man from woman. When we seek (unconsciously) to reunite our male and female side, we run into confusion for some time. As a result of the fall, or the separation, there is a natural tendency to be wary of our fellow man, as well as even our own soul mate. The first impression is that the other is a robber. The other has come to steal from us or take something away from us if even only our virtue. It is only in the course of deep events and incarnations full of experience, that we begin to see others in their more positive form. (For it is the way we ((inwardly)) see others that ultimately shapes the experience that we have with others.) For a more detailed discussion of this, see hexagram thirty eight.

Since we tend for the most part, and pretty readily, to misperceive the intentions of others, it is often in our own best interests not to immediately except the help that is offered until we have matured enough to recognize the good in others. In a discussion I remember, there was a question presented to the I Ching about a woman's relationship with a man, and hexagram 3 line 2 was at least part of the answer. Some said she should not accept that man but wait on another. This depends a great deal on the situation, for though there is a hint of this in the Wilhelm/Baynes commentary, the real question is, have conditions settled down? Have they settled down enough that we see clearly? Are we now in a position where we can make proper judgments?

More on hexagram 3 later