Wiki I Ching

Union 8.1.6 → 42 Increase

From
8
Union
To
42
Increase

Paying the price for lack of backup
One has relied on supports that are reluctant to be held accountable.
 taoscopy.com


Union 8
Collaboration and uniting with others bring strength.
Commit to shared goals and build alliances.

↓
Line 1
Sincerity and loyalty in relationships bring good fortune.
Trust and integrity are essential.

↓
Line 6
Lack of leadership or direction in relationships leads to misfortune.
Seek clarity and purpose.

↓
Increase 42
Growth and progress: Favorable conditions and efforts lead to increase and success.
Be generous, share your gains, and stay humble.



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 1

Legge: The first line, magnetic, shows its subject seeking by her sincerity to win the attachment of her object. There will be no error. Let the breast be full of sincerity as an earthenware vessel is of its contents, and it will in the end bring other advantages.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Hold to him in truth and loyalty; this is without blame. Truth, like a full earthen bowl: thus in the end good fortune comes from without.

Blofeld: Where there is confidence, the work of unification is carried on faultlessly, for confidence is like a flowing bowl. There is a windfall yet to come.

Liu: Union with confidence. No blame. Full of confidence, like a bowl full of water. Good fortune in the end.

Ritsema/Karcher: Possessing conformity, Grouping it. Without fault.

Possessing conformity , overfilling the jar. Completing coming possesses more significance.[Possessing conformity: "Inner and outer are in accord; confidence of the spirits has been captured..."]

Shaughnessy: There is a return. Ally with him; there is no trouble. There is a return; fill the earthenware; when winter comes perhaps it will be harmful; auspicious.

Cleary (1): When there is truthfulness, accord is impeccable. When there is truthfulness filling a plain vessel, ultimately there will come other blessings.

Cleary (2): When there is truthfulness, accord with it is blameless. When there is truthfulness filling a plain vessel, when the end comes there is good fortune.

Wu: Having confidence in the person to whom support is given is without fault. Confidence can grow to fill one’s heart like water gradually filling empty earthenware. Eventually others may join to give their support. There will be good fortune.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: From seeking union there will be other advantages. Wilhelm/Baynes: Encounters good fortune from another quarter. Blofeld: Indicates unexpected good fortune. Ritsema/Karcher: Possessing more significance indeed. Cleary (2): The first yin of accord has other good fortune. Wu: There will be good fortune when others join to give support.

Legge: The earthenware vessel describes the plain, unadorned character of the sincerity called for. The other advantages are all the benefits that result from sincerity and union, which are themselves good.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Siu: At the outset, the man is filled with sincerity in his associations with others. He resembles an unadorned bowl which is full.

Wing: An honest, unaffected attitude is an excellent basis for forming associations. With such an attitude you can be confident that others will be attracted to you. Unexpected good luck is indicated here.

Editor: Note the idea of humble containment -- one collects the disparate elements of the situation together in a plain clay bowl. Metaphorically, this suggests that the simplest, most elementary approach to the problem is the correct one. The line can refer to mental comprehension ("holding together"), involving basic principles, unvarnished truth, etc.

Thus the individual psyche is an indefinite formation of unknown or largely unknown constitution and extent. If it is to be consolidated -- individuated, to use the technical term -- it is necessary first of all to determine its boundaries. Then all that belongs to the psyche must be brought within these boundaries. Finally, a center must be established that can control the functioning of the whole structure.
M.E. Harding --Psychic Energy

A. Sincere devotion to the Work brings eventual reward: "Modesty is the best policy."

B. "Seek, and ye shall find."

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.

42
Increase


Other titles: The Symbol of Addition, Gain, Augmenting, Help from Above, Benefit, Advantage, Profit, Expansion

 

Judgment

Legge: Increase denotes advantage in every movement which shall be undertaken -- it will be advantageous even to cross the great stream.

Wilhelm/Baynes:Increase. It furthers one to undertake something. It furthers one to cross the great water.

Blofeld: Gain. It is favorable to have in view some goal (or destination) and to cross the great water (or sea).

Liu:Increase. It is of benefit to set forth. It is of benefit to cross the great water.

Ritsema/Karcher: Augmenting , Harvesting: possessing directed going. Harvesting: wading the Great River. [This hexagram describes your situation in terms of increase and advance. It emphasizes that expanding the quantity and quality of your involvement is the adequate way to handle it. To be in accord with the time, you are told to augment!]

Shaughnessy:Increase:Beneficial herewith to have someplace to go; beneficial to find the great river.

Cleary (1): For Increase, it is beneficial to go somewhere; it is beneficial to cross great rivers.

Wu: Gain indicates an advantage in having undertakings and in crossing a big river.

 

The Image

Legge: Wind over thunder -- the image of Increase. When the superior man perceives good, he moves toward it; when he perceives his faults, he eliminates them.

Wilhelm/Baynes: Wind and thunder: the image of Increase. Thus the superior man: if he sees good, he imitates it; if he has faults, he rids himself of them.

Blofeld: This hexagram symbolizes wind and thunder. The Superior Man, seeing what is good, imitates it; seeing what is bad, he corrects it.

Liu: Wind and thunder symbolize Increase. When the superior man discovers good, he follows it. When he has errors, he corrects them.

Ritsema/Karcher: Wind, thunder. Augmenting. A chun tzu uses visualizing improvement, by-consequence shifting. A chun tzu uses possessing excess, by-consequence amending.

Cleary (1): Wind and thunder increase. Thus do superior people take to good when they see it, and correct whatever faults they have.

Wu: Wind and thunder make Gain. Thus, when the jun zi sees a good deed, he improves his own at once; when he realizes he is making a mistake, he corrects it at once.

 

COMMENTARY

Confucius/Legge: Increase shows the upper trigram brilliantly decreased to augment the lower. What descends from above reaches to all below, and the satisfaction of the people is without limit. Advantage in movement is shown in the blessings dispensed by the second and fifth lines from their correct positions. The action of Wood shows that it is advantageous to cross the great stream. Through the trigrams of Movement and Humility there is unlimited daily advancement -- heaven dispenses and earth produces, and all proceeds according to the requirements of the time.

Legge: Increase has the opposite meaning to hexagram number forty-one, Compensating Sacrifice [Decrease]. What king Wen had in mind was a ruler or a government operating to dispense benefits to the people and increase their resources. The two important lines in the figure are the correlates two and five. The general auspice of the hexagram is one of being successful in one's enterprises and of overcoming the greatest difficulties.

The formation of the trigrams here is the reverse of that in the preceding hexagram. The people are full of pleasure in the labors of the ruler for their good. "The action of Wood" in the Confucian commentary refers to the upper trigram, which is the symbol of Wind and Wood. From wood boats are made on which the great stream may be crossed. In three hexagrams, this, fifty-nine and sixty-one, in which this is the upper trigram, we find mention made of crossing the great stream. In the Image thunder and wind are seen to increase one another, and their combination gives the idea of Increase.

 

NOTES AND PARAPHRASES

Judgment: Take advantage of your opportunities.

The Superior Man recognizes his duty and rectifies his mistakes. Or: "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative."

If the ego's sacrifices for the good of the Work are described in the previous hexagram, here we see the inverse image of that figure in which it is the Self who bestows its blessings upon the psyche. The one implies the other -- in the words of an old Blues lyric: "If you don't put somethin' in, you can't get nothin' out..." The forty-first and forty-second hexagrams are intimately related, and in their interaction portray the active progress of the Work. To paraphrase the last sentence of the Confucian commentary: "The Self dispenses and the ego produces, and all proceeds according to the requirements of the time."

If a man continually weighs his actions and aims at the mean, he is in the highest of human ranks. In that way, he will come close to God and will attain what belongs to Him. This is the most perfect of the ways of worship.
Maimonides -- Eight Chapters