One seems to be occupied by worldly questions so one asks others to stop praying. taoscopy.com
Small Powers62
Focus on the details. Embrace humility and small steps to achieve success. Avoid overreaching or taking on too much to prevent failure.
↓ Line 2
This line suggests that one should focus on immediate and attainable goals rather than distant or ambitious ones. It advises contentment with modest achievements.
↓ Line 4
This line suggests that one should avoid unnecessary actions and remain cautious. It advises maintaining a steady course and being prepared for potential challenges.
↓ Line 5
This line indicates that while conditions may seem unfavorable, success is still possible through careful and precise actions. It suggests that one should focus on what can be achieved rather than what seems impossible.
↓ Line 6
This line warns against missing opportunities or failing to connect with others. It suggests that one should be mindful of their actions and avoid isolation or detachment.
↓ Penetration57
Adapt influence like the wind; subtle shifts bring progress. Consistency and endurance will penetrate barriers.
62 Small Powers
Other titles: Preponderance of the Small, The Symbol of Excess in Small Things, The Small get by, Slight Excess, Small Exceeding, Small Surpassing, Excess of the Small, Small gains, Conscientiousness, Smallness in Excess, Exceeding the Mean, Proliferation of Details, "Like a bird, do not fly too high or attempt too much because this will lead to disaster." -- D.F. Hook
Judgment
Legge:Small Powers indicates that there will be progress and attainment in small affairs, but not in great affairs. It will be advantageous to be firm and correct. It is like the song of a flying bird: It is better to descend than to ascend. In this way there will be good fortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Preponderance of the Small. Success. Perseverance furthers. Small things may be done; great things should not be done. The flying bird brings the message: It is not well to strive upward, it is well to remain below. Great good fortune.
Blofeld:The Small Get By -- success! Persistence in a righteous course brings reward. Small things can be accomplished now, but not great ones. When birds fly high, their singing is out of tune. The humble, but not the mighty, are favored now with great good fortune. [To aim high now would be to put ourselves out of accord with the times.]
Liu:Slight Excess. Success. Continuing is of benefit. Undertaking small things, not great things. The song of the flying bird. It is not good to go up; it is good to stay below. Great good fortune. [Slight Excess signifies the slight excess or small mistake that can prevent the achievement of great things.]
Ritsema/Karcher:Small Exceeding, Growing. Harvesting Trial. Permitting Small
Affairs. Not permitting Great Affairs. Flying bird: abandoning's sound. Above not proper, below proper. The great significant. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of an overwhelming variety of encounters and details. It emphasizes that an excessive concern with adapting yourself to these inner and outer events is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Small Surpassing : Receipt; beneficial to determine; possible for little service, but not possible for great service. The sound left by the flying bird is not proper for ascent but is proper for descent; greatly auspicious.
Cleary (1):Predominance of the small is developmental, beneficial if correct. It is suitable for a small affair but not for a great one. The call left by a flying bird should not rise but descend. This is very auspicious.
Cleary (2):Small excess turns out all right. It is beneficial to be correct. It is all right for small matters, not for great matters. A flying bird leaves its cry; it should not ascend but descend – then there will be great good fortune.
Wu: Excess of the Small indicates pervasiveness and the advantage of being persevering. One may succeed in doing small business, but not big one. Like the lingering sound of a bird flying by, it is not suitable to go upward, but suitable to go downward. Great fortune.
The Image
Legge: The image of thunder above a hill forms Small Powers. The superior man, in accordance with this, in his conduct exceeds in humility, in mourning exceeds in sorrow, and in his expenditure exceeds in economy.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Thunder on the mountain: the image of Preponderance of the Small. Thus in his conduct the superior man gives preponderance to reverence. In bereavement he gives preponderance to grief. In his expenditures he gives preponderance to thrift. [The superior man derives an imperative from this image: he must always fix his eyes more closely and more directly on duty than does the ordinary man, even though this might make his behavior seem petty to the outside world. He is exceptionally conscientious in his actions.]
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes thunder over the mountains. The Superior Man now acts with too much reverence, experiences too much sorrow from bereavement and is overly thrifty in satisfying his needs.
Liu: Thunder over the mountain symbolizes Slight Excess. The superior man's conduct is overly humble; In mourning he laments exceedingly, and he is stingy in his spending.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above mountain possessing thunder. Small Exceeding. A chun tzu uses moving Exceeding to reach-to courtesy. A chun tzu uses losing Exceeding to reach-to mourning. A chun tzu uses availing of Exceeding to reach-to parsimony.
Cleary (1): There is thunder over a mountain, exessively small. Thus superior people are excessively deferential in conduct, excessively sad in mourning, excessively frugal in consumption.
Cleary (2): Thunder over a mountain – small excess. Genteel people are exceedingly deferential in conduct, exceedingly sad in mourning, and exceedingly abstemious in consumption.
Wu: Thunder rolls over the mountain; this is Excess of the Small. Thus the jun zi conducts himself with a little excess in respect to others, a little excess in sorrow at mourning, and a little excess in frugality in expenditure.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: In Small Powers we see the magnetic lines exceeding the others, and giving the intimation of progress and attainment. To be advantageous, such excesses must be associated with firm correctness, and must always be in harmony with the requirements of the time. The magnetic lines are in the central places, and hence it is said that small excesses may be done in small affairs with good effect. Of the dynamic lines, one is not in its proper place, and the other is not central; thus it is said that small excesses should not be done in great affairs. In the hexagram we have the symbol of the flying bird, whose song reminds us that it is better to descend than ascend. To ascend is contrary to what is reasonable in the case, while to descend is natural and right.
Legge: The meaning of this hexagram in which an excess of yin lines prevails, may be grasped by contrasting its image with that of hexagram number twenty-eight, Critical Mass, in which an excess of yang lines prevails. Here the idea is the prevalence of small or inferior powers, and the lesson to be learned is how to distinguish essentials from non-essentials. Is it ever good to deviate from the established course of procedure? The answer is that it is permissible only in small matters, but never in matters of import. Sometimes form may be dispensed with, but never substance, and the thing must always be done responsibly and with appropriate humility. The symbol of the bird is to teach humility -- it is better for it to descend, keeping near to where it can perch and rest, than to ascend into the homeless regions of the upper air.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Ground your flights of fancy.
The Superior Man bends over backwards to be correct.
Small Powers shows the preceding figure of Inner Truth turned inside-out. Here the magnetic lines are all on the outside -- uncontained and uncontrolled. The hexagram often reflects a situation in which the "archetypes": the passions, appetites, emotions, drives and instincts have left their proper places within the psyche and are flying free like birds escaped from the zoo. Most of the lines either depict the danger of such a situation or warn about how to control it.
In this inflated, compulsive state of identity, we and the drive are at our most harmful; the drive will unfold and we will act out its extreme, inappropriate and destructive side. In the process we get the worst of it, along with the other people involved. The wrong thing usually happens at the wrong time and in the wrong place. A capacity for moving toward differentiation and transforming the drive will not arise until the state of identity has been dissolved. This requires a confrontation of the drive as a Thou, as something that is not I, as something separate from ourselves. Only at this point can the inner dialogue begin. Until then the drive remains unconscious, primitive and destructive. Only after the identity has been dissolved by learning to experience the drive as an autonomous entity that is separate from the ego, do we get a chance to choose a right time and place and to develop the positive potential of the drive. E.C. Whitmont --The Symbolic Quest
Interestingly, the only line that seems to be correctly "out of its cage" is the second -- suggesting a situation in which an intuitive inner wisdom takes proper precedence over the usual firm correctness of "reason."
Line 2
Legge: The second line, magnetic, shows its subject passing by her grandfather, and meeting with her grandmother; not attempting anything against her ruler, but meeting her as her minister. There will be no error.
Wilhelm/Baynes: She passes by her ancestor and meets her ancestress. He does not reach his prince and meets the official. No blame.
Blofeld: Passing by the spirit tablets of his ancestors, he encountered the ghost of (or else the tablet of) his late mother. He did not get as far as the Prince but encountered one of the ministers -- no error!
Liu: He passes over his deceased grandfather and meets his deceased grandmother. He does not reach the king but meets an official. No blame.
Ritsema/Karcher: Exceeding one's grandfather. Meeting one's grandmother. Not extending-to one's chief. Meeting one's servant. Without fault.
Shaughnessy: Surpassing his grandfather, meeting his grandmother: Not reaching his lord, meeting his servant; there is no trouble.
Cleary (1): Passing the grandfather, you meet the mother; not reaching the lord, you meet the retainer. No fault.
Cleary (2): Going past the grandfather, etc. ... you meet the administrator, etc.
Wu: He passes by his grandfather and meets with his grandmother. He does not reach the ruler, but meets with the minister. No error.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: A minister should not overpass the ruler. Wilhelm/Baynes: The official should not wish to surpass the prince. Blofeld: He did not reach the Prince because he was unable to get by the minister. [We fail, but through no fault of ours, to reach as high as we'd hoped.] Ritsema/Karcher: Not extending to one's chief. A servant not permitted Exceeding indeed. Cleary (2): The administrator is not to be surpassed. Wu: Because the minister should not be bypassed.
Legge: The second line is magnetic but in her proper central place. Her correlate is the magnetic fifth-line ruler of the hexagram. The dynamic lines separating them represent her father and grandfather, but she passes by them to meet with her grandmother in line five. She moves toward the grandmother-ruler not as an enemy, but with the loyal humility of a proper minister.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man fails to meet the chief executive, but goes about his duties among other officials. He does not force his way into the limelight.
Wing: Use whatever common affiliations you have with others to bring you into a secure position. No matter what kind of connection you make, it is the connection itself that is important. Hold as closely as possible, however, to traditional methods.
Editor: Blofeld, Liu, Ritsema/Karcher (and Wilhelm by implication) all state that the "grandfather" and "grandmother" are deceased ancestors. Ritsema/Karcher translate "grandmother" as: "Second ancestor generation ... venerated as source of her many descendants." Psychologically, we can assume that the "ancestral grandmother" relates to a primal Yin archetype. Here, a female (Eros principle) passes by two males (logos principle) to unite (correctly in this instance) with another yin line -- which also rules the hexagram. Psychologically, the image suggests the subordination of intellect to a deeper source of wisdom within the psyche. A fair paraphrase of the Confucian commentary might be: "Don't exceed your authority." Perhaps a warning to the ego not to impose its preconceived ideas on the unusual situation portrayed by this line. If this is the only changing line, the corresponding line in the new hexagram, 32 – Consistency, is: Remorse disappears . The relationship between correlate lines in these two hexagrams helps explain each other. Siu’s paraphrase in the latter case is often useful: The man endures by keeping his force of character within the bounds of available power.
The utterances of the heart -- unlike those of the discriminating intellect -- always relate to the whole. The heartstrings sing like an Aeolian harp only to the gentle breath of a premonitory mood, which does not drown the song but listens. Jung -- The Symbolic Life
A. The intellect defers to the wisdom of the heart.
B. Go with your intuition.
C. Don't get ahead of yourself.
Line 4
Legge: The fourth line, dynamic, shows its subject falling into no error, but meeting the exigency of his situation without exceeding in his natural course. If he goes forward, there will be peril, and he must be cautious. There is no occasion to be using firmness perpetually.
Wilhelm/Baynes: No blame. He meets him without passing by. Going brings danger. One must be on guard. Do not act. Be constantly persevering. [Hardness of character is tempered by yielding position, so that no mistakes are made.]
Blofeld: No error! Instead of passing him by, he accosts him. Advancing now entails dangers which have to be guarded against. This is not a time for action, but for unwavering determination.
Liu: He meets things without excessive reactions. No blame. He will meet danger if he advances. There must be caution. Do not continue.
Ritsema/Karcher: Without fault. Nowhere Exceeding meeting it. Going adversity necessarily warning. No availing-of perpetual Trial.
Shaughnessy: There is no trouble. Not surpassing him, but meeting him; to go is dangerous, there necessarily being a revolt. Do not herewith determine permanently.
Cleary (1): No fault. Do not dally with it too much; it is dangerous to go on. Caution is necessary. Don’t persist forever.
Cleary (2): No fault, meeting here without excess. To go is dangerous; it is necessary to be cautious and not do it. Always be correct.
Wu: There will be no blame, when he encounters a chance meeting with someone without exceeding the spirit of small excess. Any excessive effort must be curtailed. Nor it is proper to be persevering.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The position is inappropriate for a dynamic line. If he goes forward the result would be that his course would not be long pursued. Wilhelm/ Baynes: The place is not the appropriate one. Blofeld: Accosting someone instead of passing him by is now inappropriate or, is indicated by the unsuitable position of this line. The danger of going forward and the need for precaution imply that we should not continue long in our present course. Ritsema/ Karcher: Situation not appropriate indeed. Going adversity necessarily warning. Completing not permitting long-living indeed. Cleary (2): The position is not right. After all, it cannot last. Wu: This means that his position is improper. Because it will not last.
Legge: Line four is dynamic, but the exercise of his strength is tempered by his position in a magnetic place. He is warned however, to continue quiet and restrain himself.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man exercises restraint and caution. He meets the exigencies of the situation without exceeding the natural bounds.
Wing: Caution: Do not forge ahead toward your goals or force issues at this time. Stay low and remain inwardly persevering.
Editor: The image portrays a dynamic minister who might be inclined to surpass his magnetic ruler, but who is counseled to temper his impulse to advance. "He meets him without passing by" in Wilhelm's translation is another way of saying not to ignore the danger in the situation. Legge's rendering: "There is no occasion to be using firmness perpetually," Ritsema/Karcher's: "No availing-of perpetual Trial," and Shaughnessy’s "Do not herewith determine permanently," all contradict Wilhelm, Blofeld and Liu, who translate constant perseverance. The logic of the imagery and Confucian commentary argue for this latter rendering, though the circumstances of your query may leave the other interpretation open for consideration. Indeed, Cleary’s Taoist and Buddhist translations offer each version!
To put it in psychological terms, it is the unawareness of danger that constitutes the greatest threat to one who is assailed by an uprush of primitive libido from the unconscious. If he could see the threat or temptation clearly enough to call it by its true name, half the battle would be won. M.E. Harding -- Psychic Energy
A. Don't get ahead of yourself or exceed your authority. Unilateral action is inappropriate.
B. "Modesty is the best policy."
Line 5
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows its subject not meeting the exigency of her situation, and exceeding her proper course. It suggests the idea of a bird flying far aloft. There will be evil. The case is one of calamity and self-inflicted injury.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He passes him by, not meeting him. The flying bird leaves him. Misfortune. This means bad luck and injury.
Blofeld: Instead of accosting him, he passed him by, The bird flew away from him -- misfortune in the form of natural calamity and deliberate injury.
Liu: He passes over someone, not meeting him. The birds fly away. Misfortune. There will be disaster.
Ritsema/Karcher: Nowhere meeting, Exceeding it. Flying bird radiating it. Pitfall. That designates Calamity and Blunder.
Shaughnessy: Not meeting him, but surpassing him; the flying bird is netted in it; inauspicious. This is called calamitous imperfection.
Cleary (1): Don’t overstay here. The flying bird is gone. This is called calamity.
Cleary (2): The flying birds leave. This is unfortunate. This is called calamity.
Wu: He meets with no one even though he applies the spirit of small excess. Like a bird flying away from other birds, he is alone. Foreboding. It will be catastrophic.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The position indicates the habit of domineering. Wilhelm/ Baynes: He is already arrogant. Blofeld: The first sentence suggests that we behave too arrogantly. Ritsema/Karcher: Climaxing overbearing indeed. Cleary (2): Passing by without meeting is because of arrogance. Wu: Because he is too arrogant.
Legge: Line six is magnetic at the top of the trigram of Movement. She is possessed by the idea of the hexagram to an extreme degree, and is incapable of keeping herself under restraint.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man does not know how to control his preoccupation with trivia. His overshooting and restlessly pressing on bring disappointment and calamity to himself and his people.
Wing: Your ambitions may be too great. In an aggressive attempt to reach an unrealistic goal you will meet with disaster.
Editor: Wilhelm and Blofeld both translate "domineering" as "arrogance," thus creating an image of rising above one's proper station (exceeding the mean) through over-confidence or pride. If we accept the universal symbol of the bird as emblematic of thoughts or thought processes, the line becomes a commentary on the dangers of excessive intellectualism. Compare this line with the sixth line of hexagram number fifty-six.
Wherever there is identity, as we have seen, there is compulsiveness. When we are identical with a drive we never question why we are moving or where we are going: there is only automatic response to an impulse. This state of compulsiveness, moreover, gives us the feeling of being carried by a tremendous force of energy, in much the same way that an automobile going at the speed of eighty miles an hour may give us a feeling of exhilaration: We are really going fast now! This exhilaration, this unquestioning feeling of assurance that "I'm really going, and I'm going fine and well" is called inflation. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
A. You have missed the mark. Arrogance or overconfidence have put your head in the clouds.
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows its subject not meeting the exigency of her situation, and exceeding her proper course. It suggests the idea of a bird flying far aloft. There will be evil. The case is one of calamity and self-inflicted injury.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He passes him by, not meeting him. The flying bird leaves him. Misfortune. This means bad luck and injury.
Blofeld: Instead of accosting him, he passed him by, The bird flew away from him -- misfortune in the form of natural calamity and deliberate injury.
Liu: He passes over someone, not meeting him. The birds fly away. Misfortune. There will be disaster.
Ritsema/Karcher: Nowhere meeting, Exceeding it. Flying bird radiating it. Pitfall. That designates Calamity and Blunder.
Shaughnessy: Not meeting him, but surpassing him; the flying bird is netted in it; inauspicious. This is called calamitous imperfection.
Cleary (1): Don’t overstay here. The flying bird is gone. This is called calamity.
Cleary (2): The flying birds leave. This is unfortunate. This is called calamity.
Wu: He meets with no one even though he applies the spirit of small excess. Like a bird flying away from other birds, he is alone. Foreboding. It will be catastrophic.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: The position indicates the habit of domineering. Wilhelm/ Baynes: He is already arrogant. Blofeld: The first sentence suggests that we behave too arrogantly. Ritsema/Karcher: Climaxing overbearing indeed. Cleary (2): Passing by without meeting is because of arrogance. Wu: Because he is too arrogant.
Legge: Line six is magnetic at the top of the trigram of Movement. She is possessed by the idea of the hexagram to an extreme degree, and is incapable of keeping herself under restraint.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The man does not know how to control his preoccupation with trivia. His overshooting and restlessly pressing on bring disappointment and calamity to himself and his people.
Wing: Your ambitions may be too great. In an aggressive attempt to reach an unrealistic goal you will meet with disaster.
Editor: Wilhelm and Blofeld both translate "domineering" as "arrogance," thus creating an image of rising above one's proper station (exceeding the mean) through over-confidence or pride. If we accept the universal symbol of the bird as emblematic of thoughts or thought processes, the line becomes a commentary on the dangers of excessive intellectualism. Compare this line with the sixth line of hexagram number fifty-six.
Wherever there is identity, as we have seen, there is compulsiveness. When we are identical with a drive we never question why we are moving or where we are going: there is only automatic response to an impulse. This state of compulsiveness, moreover, gives us the feeling of being carried by a tremendous force of energy, in much the same way that an automobile going at the speed of eighty miles an hour may give us a feeling of exhilaration: We are really going fast now! This exhilaration, this unquestioning feeling of assurance that "I'm really going, and I'm going fine and well" is called inflation. E.C. Whitmont -- The Symbolic Quest
A. You have missed the mark. Arrogance or overconfidence have put your head in the clouds.
57 Penetration
Other titles: The Gentle, The Penetrating, Wind, The Symbol of Bending to Enter, Willing Submission, Gentle Penetration, Ground, Calculations, Complaisance, Penetrating Influence, The Penetration of the Wind, Humility, Devoted Service, Submission
Judgment
Legge:Penetration indicates modest success. See the great man and move in the direction that implies.
Wilhelm/Baynes:The Gentle. Success through what is small. It furthers one to have somewhere to go. It furthers one to see the great man.
Blofeld:Willing Submission -- success in small matters. It is advantageous to have in view a goal (or destination) and to visit a great man. [This is a reasonably auspicious hexagram; it augurs a certain amount of success for those who submit to circumstances -- unless a moving line indicating the contrary is received. This is not a time for resistance but for submission.]
Liu:Penetration. Small success. It is beneficial to go somewhere. It is beneficial to see a great man.
Ritsema/Karcher: Ground, the small: Growing. Harvesting: possessing directed going. Harvesting: visualizing Great People. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of providing an underlying support. It emphasizes that subtly penetrating and nourishing things from below, the action of Ground, is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to enter the situation from below!]
Shaughnessy: Calculations: Little receipt; beneficial to have someplace to go; beneficial to see the great man.
Cleary (1):Wind is small but developmental. It is beneficial to have somewhere to go. It is beneficial to see a great man.
Cleary (2):The small comes through successfully. It is beneficial to have a place to go. It is beneficial to see great people.
Wu: Complaisance indicates that the small are pervasive. It is advantageous to have undertakings. It is also advantageous to see the great man.
The Image
Legge: Two wind trigrams following each other form Penetration. The superior man proclaims his commands and undertakes his work.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Winds following one upon the other: the image of the gently penetrating. Thus the superior man spreads his commands abroad and carries out his undertakings.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes a favorable wind. The Superior Man performs his allotted tasks in consonance with heaven's (or the sovereign's) will. [The component trigrams combine the concepts of wind and blandness -- hence a favorable wind.]
Liu: Wind following wind symbolizes Penetration. The superior man proclaims his directives and executes his affairs.
Ritsema/Karcher: Following winds. Ground. A chun tzu uses distributing fate to move affairs.
Cleary (1): Wind following wind.Thus do superior people articulate directions and carry out tasks.
Wu: One breeze follows the other; this is Complaisance. Thus the jun zi gives further injunctions in order to administer public affairs.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Repeated wind trigrams show the repetition of governmental orders. The dynamic fifth line has penetrated to his correct central place and carries his will into action. The magnetic first and fourth lines obey the dynamic lines above them. Hence it is said that there will be success in small matters.
Legge: Penetration symbolizes both wind and wood, and has the attributes of Docility, Flexibility and Penetration. We are to think of it as wind with its penetrating power which finds its way into every nook and cranny.
Confucius said: "The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend when the wind blows upon it." In accordance with this, the hexagram must be understood as the influence and orders of the government designed to remedy what is wrong in the people. The upper trigram denotes the orders issuing from the ruler, and the lower the obedience rendered to them by the people.
Ch'eng-tzu says:"Superiors, in harmony with the duty of inferiors, issue their commands; inferiors, in harmony with the wishes of their superiors, follow them. Above and below there are that harmony and deference; and this is the significance of the redoubled Wind trigram. When governmental commands and business are in accordance with what is right, they agree with the tendencies of the minds of the people who follow them."
Anthony: Getting this hexagram often refers to the presence of inferior elements that obstruct our having a good influence ... Because this hexagram is concerned with self-correction, we often get it together with Work on What has been Spoiled. [Hex. 18: Repair.]
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Get to the heart of the matter and act on the information obtained.
The Superior Man acts on his understanding by implementing it in the world.
The hexagram ofPenetration, made up of two trigrams symbolizing Wind (which is air in motion), suggests the activity of thought (the realm of air) trying to comprehend or "penetrate" something. Thus, each line of the figure may be seen as some aspect of an act of mental endeavor.
Therefore the student must exert his own mind to the utmost. If he does so, he will know his own nature. And if he knows his own nature, examines his own self and makes it sincere, he becomes a sage. Therefore the "Great Norm" says, "The virtue of thinking is penetration and profundity ... Penetration and profundity lead to sageness.” -- Ch'eng I
The first line depicts vacillation and indecisiveness; the second shows one trying to "get to the bottom" of a matter. Line three is an image of futile hypothesizing; four and five show two aspects of successful comprehension, and the sixth line symbolizes an inability to understand.
Man's intellect -- the greatest but most dangerous gift he has received from God -- builds a bridge across the seemingly unconquerable chasm between that which is personal and mortal and that which is impersonal and eternal. Through man's intellect he succumbed to the temptation to fall out of divine unity with his consciousness. But by the same token, his intellect gives him the possibility of bringing back his consciousness into full union with divinity. By means of his intellect, man is able to understand truth, and when he has understood, he will seek and keep on seeking and trying until he some day succeeds in finding the only path to the realization of his self. Elisabeth Haich -- Initiation
The hexagram can also symbolize humble submission and devoted service, thus suggesting the role of the ego in the Work. To truly comprehend the nature of the Work is to serve it with devotion. There are some interesting associations between the act of penetration and that of submission – when dynamic and magnetic are in full harmony they lose their individual identities and become one force which is both and neither.