Letting the most efficient repair the deficiencies
If one misses the beginning, the end will be shaky. taoscopy.com
Union8
Collaboration and uniting with others bring strength. Commit to shared goals and build alliances.
↓ Line 6
Lack of leadership or direction in relationships leads to misfortune. Seek clarity and purpose.
↓ Contemplation 20
Pause and observe the world around you. Gain clarity by distancing yourself from immediate involvement, allowing for a broader perspective. Insight comes from seeing both the big picture and the subtle details.
8 Union
Other titles: The Symbol of Subaltern Assistance, Union, Unity, Grouping, Alliance, Co-ordination, Leadership, Merging (as with tributaries of a river), Seeking Union, Unification, Accord, Subservience, Individuation, Integration
Judgment
Legge:Holding Together indicates good fortune, but let the querent re-examine himself by divination whether his virtue is great, un-intermitting and firm. If so, there will be no error. Those who are ready will then join him, but those who delay will meet with misfortune.
Wilhelm/Baynes:Holding Together brings good fortune. Inquire of the oracle once again whether you possess sublimity, constancy, and perseverance; then there is no blame. Those who are uncertain gradually join. Whoever comes too late meets with misfortune.
Blofeld:Unity (or co-ordination). Good fortune! Further consultation of the oracle will provide an omen of great and lasting value. No error! Those whose hearts are troubled assemble. The laggards suffer disaster. [Just as the last hexagram deals ostensibly with military affairs, so does this one largely concern administration. For divination purposes, it should be regarded figuratively -- unless a problem of administration is actually involved in the enquiry.]
Liu: Union. Good fortune. The prediction for one attempting union should be greatness, continuation, and constancy; no blame. If one hesitates, then joins late: misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher:Grouping, significant. Retracing the oracle-consulting: Spring, perpetual Trial. Without fault. Not soothing, on-all-sides coming. Afterwards, husbanding: pitfall. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of how you categorize people and things and how you relate to these categories. It emphasizes that joining people and things through recognizing their essential qualities is the adequate way to handle it.]
Shaughnessy:Alliance: auspicious. The original milfoil divination: prime; permanent determination is no trouble. The un-tranquil land comes; for the latter fellow inauspicious.
Cleary (1):Accord is auspicious. Investigating and ascertaining, if the basis is always right, there is no error: Then the uneasy will come; but the dilatory are unfortunate.
Cleary (2): Accord bodes well. Make sure the basis is always right, so that there will be no fault. Then the uneasy will come. Latecomers are unfortunate.
Wu: Subservience indicates auspiciousness. Seeking to confirm the intent and motivation of allegiance by divination is without fault. Those who seek peace can all come, but those who hesitate and come late will have ill fortune.
The Image
Legge: The image of the earth, and over it water, form Holding Together. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, established the various states and maintained an affectionate relation to their princes.
Wilhelm/Baynes: On the earth is water: the image of Holding Together. Thus the kings of antiquity bestowed the different states as fiefs and cultivated friendly relations with the feudal lords.
Blofeld: The hexagram symbolizes water lying upon the land -- co-ordination. [This is indicated by the nature of the component trigrams. It is by co-operation between the fertile earth and the water which irrigates it that growth is achieved.] The ancient rulers strengthened the realm by being on affectionate terms with the feudal lords. [This may suggest dealing kindly with immediate subordinates.]
Liu: Water over the earth symbolizes Union. The ancient kings established many states and were friendly with the feudal lords.
Ritsema/Karcher: Above earth possessing stream. Grouping. The Earlier Kings used installing myriad cities to connect the connoted feudatories.
Cleary (1): There is water on the earth, in accord. Thus did the kings of yore establish myriad realms and associate with their representatives.
Wu: There is water on the ground; this is Subservience. Thus the late kings founded the states and kept a personal relationship with all the princes.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: Holding Together denotes help, and we see in the figure inferiors docilely following their superior. All that is said in the Judgment follows from the position of the dynamic line in the center of the upper trigram. Those who do not respond to him have exhausted their good fortune.
Legge: The idea of union between the different members and classes of a state and how it can be secured, is the subject of Holding Together. The dynamic line in the fifth place of authority represents the ruler to whom the subjects of all the other lines offer a ready submission. Generally, the second line is the proper correlate of the fifth, but here all of the other lines are also his subjects. Harmonious union is secured by the sovereign authority of the ruler, but he is warned to see that his virtue is worthy of his position, and his subjects are warned not to delay in submitting to him. Those who do not seek to promote and enjoy union until it is too late are left out in the cold. The sentiment is the same as that in the lines of Shakespeare about the tide in the affairs of men. In the Image, "water upon the face of the earth" suggests an emblem of close union.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: The success of the Work is determined by the proper integration of intrapsychic forces. Separated and disparate forces are an index of its failure. Unremitting willpower is the catalyst for unity. Do you have the requisite will to facilitate this goal? Ask the oracle.
The Image: Archetypal intelligences (the gods) created many dimensions of awareness (Jung's collective unconscious or objective psyche), maintaining benevolent contact with them all. ("Benevolent" refers to original intent -- Plato's realm of ideal forms -- "The Good." This is the image of an evolving multiverse of awareness – a human psyche.)
Psychologically interpreted,Holding Together depicts the Self as the fifth-line ruler surrounded by its satellite complexes. Astrologically rendered, we see the same image in the solar system with its Sun surrounded by planets -- each symbolizing a faculty within the psyche (e.g., Mercury is intellect, Mars is aggression, etc). Viewed this way, the eighth hexagram portrays the functioning of a divine process. (Whenever the "ancient kings" are mentioned in the I Ching,we can take them as the symbolic architects of a primordial ideal of perfection.)
The Image in Holding Together is an allegory of the Self establishing the various complexes within the psyche (the Sun establishing its planets) so that they can evolve into a reflection of the ideal intent of the Work. (In the timeless realms of hyperspace, the Garden of Eden and the New Jerusalem exist simultaneously, although here in spacetime, as key facilitators in a “work in progress,” we labor somewhere between cause and effect.)
Although the psyche of a functional human being is held together relatively coherently, its inner relationships are continuously orbiting each other in cycles of change. (Astrological transits symbolize such changes.) The Tao of psychic evolution (the Work) is to respond to the changes consciously and coherently so that all forces eventually become synchronized with the will of their source. The ego’s sole responsibility is to do this in the spacetime dimension for the benefit of the Self.
In whatever way one may conceive the relationship between the individual self and the universal Self, be they regarded as identical or similar, distinct or united, it is most important to recognize clearly, and to retain ever present in theory and practice, the difference that exists between the Self in its essential nature -- that which has been called the ‘fount', the ‘center', the ‘deeper being', the ‘apex' of ourselves -- and the small ordinary personality, the little ‘self' or ego, of which we are normally conscious. The disregard of this vital distinction leads to absurd and dangerous consequences. Roberto Assagioli – Psychosynthesis
The message for the superior man in this hexagram is the only injunction in the Book of Changesto re-consult the oracle. Implicit in this curious challenge is a need to evaluate your competence to further the Work. The answer should tell you the condition of your will.
The will is, curiously, not recognized as the central and fundamental function of the ego. It has often been depreciated as being ineffective against the various drives and the power of the imagination, or it has been considered with suspicion as leading to self-assertion (will-to-power). But the latter is only a perverted use of the will, while the apparent futility of the will is due only to a faulty and unintelligent use. The will is ineffective only when it attempts to act in oppositionto the imagination and to the other psychological functions, while its skillful and consequently successful use consists in regulating and directing all other functions toward a deliberately chosen and affirmed aim. Roberto Assagioli – Psychosynthesis
The differences between hexagrams number seven and number eight are the differences between a geocentric and a heliocentric frame of reference – emphasizing the fact that the ego and the Self each perceive the psyche from an entirely different point of view.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
my ways not your ways -- it is Yahweh who speaks.
Yes, the heavens are as high above earth
as my ways are above your ways,
my thoughts above your thoughts.
Isaiah 55: 6-9
Line 6
Legge: The sixth line, magnetic, shows one seeking union and attachment without having taken the first step to such an end. There will be evil.
Wilhelm/Baynes: He finds no head for holding together. Misfortune.
Blofeld: Attempts to bring about unity when there is no one at the head result in disaster. [This suggests a general lack of co-ordination due to poor leadership.]
Liu: Union without a leader. Misfortune.
Ritsema/Karcher: Without a head, Grouping it. Pitfall.
Shaughnessy: The ally does not have a head: inauspicious.
Cleary (2): Accord without leadership bodes ill.
Wu: The association leads to nowhere. It will be foreboding.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge: There is no possibility of a good issue. Wilhelm/ Baynes: Therefore he also fails to find the right end. Blofeld: No one at the head means anyone to complete the work of administration. Ritsema/ Karcher: Without a place to complete indeed. Cleary (2): Accord without leadership has no conclusion. Wu: The association leads to nowhere, because it is a dead-end.
Legge: The magnetic sixth line is trying to promote union with the lines below after the time for union has passed. It is too late -- she is symbolized as "without a head," that is, as not having taken the first step, from which her action should begin and go on to completion.
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Siu: The situation bodes ill. No good ending can be expected in the absence of the right beginning. It is too late.
Wing: The moment for Unity has passed. Right from the beginning something was amiss and all attempts toward union inspired failure. Examine the situation to determine the extent of your error.
Editor: This line echoes the last phrase of the Judgment: "With those who are too late in coming it will be ill." That is: one who cannot hold together, by definition cannot participate in unification. (Cf. Wu’s Confucian Commentary: “The association leads to nowhere, because it is a dead-end.”)
He who is not with me is against me; and he who does not gather with me scatters. -- Luke 11: 23
A. Without disciplined organization, unification is impossible.
B. You've lost your connection.
20 Contemplation
Other titles: View, The Symbol of Steady Observation, Looking Down, Observation, Viewing, Looking Up, Observing, Admiration, To Examine, Rulers and Their Subjects, Introspection, Perception, Contemplation of the Work
Judgment
Legge: Contemplation shows us a worshipper who has purified himself, but must still present his sacrifice with that dignified sincerity which inspires reverence.
Wilhelm/Baynes: Contemplation . The ablution has been made, but not yet the offering. Full of trust they look up to him.
Blofeld: Lookingdown.[This word often means “contemplation" and I have so translated it when the context so requires.] The ablution has been performed, but not the sacrifice. Sincerity inspires respect. [This is generally understood to mean that the first step has been taken or that one has bound oneself to follow a certain course...but that the main duties are yet to be performed.]
Liu:Observation. The hand-washing ritual is completed, but the sacrifice is still to come. All done and looked upon with sincerity.
Ritsema/Karcher:Viewing: hand-washing and-also not worshipping. Possessing conformity, like a presence. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of something seen from a distance, out of immediate reach. It emphasizes that carefully observing and divining the meaning is the adequate way to handle it...]
Shaughnessy: Looking Up. Washing the hands but not making offering; there is a return with head held high.
Cleary (1): Observing, one has washed the hands but not made the offering; there is sincerity, which is reverent.
Wu:Admiration indicates a worshipper washing his hands in preparation for the offerings, but not participating in it. He shows sincerity and awe.
The Image
Legge: The image of earth and wind moving above it form Contemplation. The ancient kings, in accordance with this, examined the different regions of the kingdom to see the ways of the people, and set forth their instructions.
Wilhelm/Baynes: The wind blows over the earth: the image of Contemplation. Thus the kings of old visited the regions of the world, contemplated the people, and gave them instruction.
Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes wind blowing across the earth. The ancient rulers visited the different regions to keep watch over their people and carefully instruct them.
Liu: The wind blowing over the earth symbolizes Observation. The ancient kings visited their territories, observed the people, and gave instruction.
Ritsema/Karcher: Wind moving above earth. Viewing. The Earlier Kings used inspecting on-all-sides, viewing the commoners to set-up teaching.
Cleary (1): Wind is over the earth, observing. Thus did the kings of yore set up education after examination of the region and observation of the people.
Cleary (2): Wind travels over the earth – observing.Kings of yore examined the regions and observed the people to set up education. [In Buddhist terms, the ancient Buddhas examined the “regions” of possible experience and observed the people in various states of being, then set up various teachings to accommodate them, just as the wind travels over the earth reaching everywhere.]
Wu: The wind pervades above the earth; this is Admiration. Thus the ancient kings inspected various regions of the country, observed the sentiments of the people, and laid down their instructions.
COMMENTARY
Confucius/Legge:Observation from above -- from the trigram of Flexibility surmounting the trigram of Docility. The ruler is in his correct central position, and thus exhibits his lessons to all below. He has purified himself, but not yet sacrificed. All beneath look to him and are transformed. When we contemplate the spirit-like way of heaven, we see how the four seasons proceed without error. The sages, in accordance with this spirit-like way, laid down their instructions, and all under heaven yield submission to them.
Legge: The Chinese character from which this hexagram is named is used in the sense of both seeing and being seen. The theme is the sovereign and his people -- how he shows himself to them, and how they in turn perceive him. The two dynamic lines at the top belong to the ruler, and the four magnetic lines below represent his subjects. In the Judgment the ruler is portrayed as a worshipper at the commencement of a sacrifice. He is the great Manifester in line five.
The lower trigram symbolizes earth, with the attribute of Docility; the upper trigram symbolizes wind, with the attributes of Flexibility and Penetration. Wind moving above the earth has the widest sweep, and nothing escapes its influence. The personal influence of the ruler effects much, but the ancient kings wished to add to that the power of published instructions which were specially adapted to the character and circumstances of the people.
The spirit-like way of heaven is the invisible order underlying the laws of nature. [Ed. Note: Ritsema/Karcher use the phrase: "Viewing Heaven's spirit tao... The all-wise person uses spirit tao to set-up teaching." Spirit(s), SHEN: independent spiritual powers that confer intensity on heart and mind by acting on the soul, KUEI; gods, daimons. Tao: way or path; ongoing process of being and the course it traces for each specific person or thing; keyword. The ideogram: go and head, leading and the path it creates.]
NOTES AND PARAPHRASES
Judgment: Contemplate your motivations and discern the purity of your intent. "Put your money where your mouth is.” or "Walk your talk.”
The Superior Man evaluates and rectifies his attitudes.
The "ancient kings” in the Image symbolize the creators of an original state of perfection -- an archetypal model toward which the superior man aspires. This idea is common to all mystical traditions, many of which depict this state in the image of an ideal or prototypical man. Here is a summary of the Gnostic conception:
Not only the body but also the "soul" is a product of the cosmic powers, which shaped the body in the image of the divine Primal (or Archetypal) Man and animated it with their own psychical forces: these are the appetites and passions of natural man, each of which stems from and corresponds to one of the cosmic spheres [i.e., planets] and all of which together make up the astral soul of man, his "psyche." H. Jonas -- The Gnostic Religion
In the Kabbalah, the template of this archetypal man (named Adam Kadmon) exists in each of the four realms of consciousness corresponding to intuition, intellect, emotion and sensation, and "he" is perceived as androgynous in all of these worlds except the last -- the "sensation” world of our physical spacetime reality.
The Adam of these first three worlds was androgynous. The Adam of the fourth world is the Adam of the expulsion, the Adam of flesh traversing the desert of his exile, and the Adam capable of reproducing himself now that he is no longer androgynous. C. Ponce -- Kabbalah
Considering that androgyny is one of the symbols used in the Western Mystery Tradition to depict the correct union of male and female forces within the psyche, we quickly recognize that the properly matched male and female correlate lines in theI Ching are a Chinese depiction of the identical concept. Note that the messages of the following three quotations are in complete accord with the goal of the Work as outlined in theI Ching:
Somewhere there is an Adam within each of us in need of restoration, in exile from the Garden. The aim of Kabbalism is the restoration of the divine man in the medium of mortal man. We are the laboratory and we are the workers who work in that space. C. Ponce --Kabbalah
Within our six-foot body we must strive for the form which existed before the laying down of heaven and earth. The Secret of the Golden Flower
The destiny of man is to build the Heavenly Jerusalem on Earth. In other words, to civilize a planet. It is the aim of the occultist, in consort with all men of good will, to bring about this heavenly fact into earthly reality. And the only way it will come about is by every man doing the right thing at the right time for twenty-four hours a day. Gareth Knight -- The Work of a Modern Occult Fraternity
The ancient kings in hexagram number-20 base their laws upon their recognition of diversity among the various forces which make up the kingdom of the psyche. Their divine regulations therefore represent the proper ecology existing between heaven and earth, yin and yang, male and female, Logos and Eros. In this regard, theI Ching's version of the Archetypal Man might be seen as hexagram number-63, Completion, in which the polarity of each of the lines is in perfect correlation. (See the editor's commentary on Hexagram number 11 for further insights into this idea.)
The theme of the hexagram is Contemplationof your situation to see if your attitude meets the archetypal standards of the Work. The worshipper in the Judgment has purified himself for sacrifice but has not yet carried it out. Wilhelm uses the word "ablution” in his translation of the Judgment. An ablution is a ritual cleansing associated with a religious rite:
Ablution: In alchemy ... the adept worker achieves [success] only by purifying his soul of all that commonly agitates it. Washing, then, symbolizes the purification not so much of objective and external evil as of subjective and inner evils ... The principle involved in this alchemic process is that implied in the maxim "Deny thyself." J. E. Cirlot --Dictionary of Symbols
It is important to note that the sacrifice has yet to be performed: preparation is meaningless until it is acted upon. Psychologically, this refers to intellectual "gnosis" which still needs to be grounded in behavior.
Wisdom is achieved very slowly. This is because intellectual knowledge, easily acquired, must be transformed into `emotional,' or subconscious, knowledge. Once transformed, the imprint is permanent. Behavioral practice is the necessary catalyst of this reaction. Without action, the concept will wither and fade. Theoretical knowledge without practical application is not enough ... Intellectually the answers have always been there, but this need to actualize by experience, to make the subconscious imprint permanent by `emotionalizing' and practicing the concept, is the key. Brian L. Weiss, MD -- Many Lives, Many Masters
Without changing lines, Contemplation is an oracular invitation for you to consider your situation and especially your motivations in regard to it. One way of doing this is to reduce everything to a brief written statement, including your best conscious conclusions. Then ask for a comment from the oracle -- often it will become apparent that you have been undergoing a kind of examination.
SUGGESTIONS FOR MEDITATION
The ancient kings are mentioned in the Images of both this figure and number twenty-one, Discernment, immediately following. What are the differences between Contemplation and Discernment, as depicted in these images? How does the concept of sacrifice relate to this, as mentioned in the Judgment? Compare the Judgment of this hexagram with hexagrams and lines 17:6, 45:2, 46:2, 46:4, 47:2, 47:5 and 63:5 for further insights on this extremely important tenet of the Work.