Hexagram fifty three line three

In hexagram fifty three line three it is said, "It furthers one to fight off robbers." The third line is almost always in a position of relative danger. It is yang and properly yang so the prototype for it is in hexagram one line three. Here it is said, "Danger. No blame." Yang lines tend to rise, and the third line, being properly a yang line, tends to rise, or wants to rise into the upper trigram. The upper trigram relates to heaven or a place of power. In order to rise to this position one must be careful of his actions and attitudes, or it can be struck down in its attempt to rise. (See hexagram sixty two line three) But if it does get struck down it is because it has acted in a way that is "contrary to the law of development." Line three does not have a correlation with line six, and line two is already taken by line five. Line four is its only connection, but this line is not appropriate for it. (That can give you a hint as to the meaning of the reading if you get line three and four changing.) Therefore, it is said, "The woman carries a child but does not bring it forth." In other words, speaking in terms of relationships, though the relationship is there, it really carries no weight. Nothing comes of the relationship. Not being a proper match, the best that can be hoped for is minor satisfaction. ("A safe place in which life can go on, although he may be surrounded by danger.")

In other terms, it is also said, "The man goes forth and does not return." This normally can be translated into, he tried to enter the higher realms,(of the king or whatever,) and did not make it. Perhaps he was struck down. But the reason is this: He tried to enter rashly through struggle. He did not heed the meaning of the timing, and did not wait for the proper time. He tried to do it on his own without acceding to the wisdom and planning of the deeper self. The conscious mind does not have the resources to know all of the "hidden lines," (Hidden dragon, do not act) and plunges in of his own choice. We must always wait for the right timing. We do this through preparation, but in all things being aware that our conscious powers are not enough, we must have the humility to wait for that inner prompting, for only it knows the right timing for an event to occur.

There is a theme here, in all the pages of the I Ching, that teaches us that all things depend on a higher power of which we are not fully aware. The key is to tap into that higher power and open a connection. This is normally done through meditation, combined with understanding the spiritual power inherent in sacred literature, including the I Ching, the Bible, the Tao Teh Ching, and multiple other sources. All of these sources should be consulted in relationship to one another. They should not be taken alone, or literally, or at face value. Their deeper messages are not meant for the masses or the unready. They are only meant for those who are ready to concede to a higher power in their lives and allow that higher power to be their guidance systems.

Gene