Our identity accepts an inactive outer world (lines 4 and 3) while it does not accept our active intuitive feeling (lines 5 and 2); this does not favour our taking new directions, but acceptance by our inner being (line 6) creates change there, so although the tao restrains outer activity we are furthered by experiencing it.
Trigram image
The life force seeks to be still (Kên) and there is little flow in our outer world (K’an), so we are unable to act effectively; we hesitate (Li). The K’an, Li, K’an sequence on top of the stillness of Kên contradicts itself, giving the hexagram its common name of “obstruction” as no direction can be usefully taken.
The Chinese Oracle
Comments
The sun traverses the south and west from midday to night; the north and east is traversed through darkness to morning; so the south and west is activity becoming tranquil and the north and east is tranquility becoming active, so it is better to complete works rather than start new ones. It is an advantage to experience widely (the great man) when obstructed and work through the situation so that our inner experience is enriched.
Manifestations
Changing Lines
Line 1 goes yang
life force shows less change
When the life force is inactive less activity is possible, especially when we are in the tao of obstruction.
Remaining involves being still, being alert, being aware; more being, less doing.
❦
Line 2 goes yang
intuitive feeling less active
The natural reaction of feeling to troubled times is to become less sensitive; it is an instinctive move to balance sensitivity with aggravating circumstance.
The minister supplies the king with advice and information, as feeling does for identifying. Feeling is suffering under the stress of our circumstances but this is not a fault in the way we feel.
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Line 3 goes yin
outer world changes more
Here we act out to overcome our frustration although there is no path there; our objectives cannot be reached so we will then give up the attempt.
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Line 4 goes yang
accepting the outer state less
The unflowing state of outer action appears to us to be an obstruction. By becoming less involved in this we can be more aware of what is actually going on around us.
Connecting things together is a state of awareness, not of outer activity; here we try to understand our situation instead of battling against it.
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Line 5 goes yin
more awareness of intuition
The obstruction is so great that we turn to our intuitive feeling, which we have been ignoring.
Feeling our circumstances helps as a friend would, be relating innerly. Our ignorance of this feeling was part of the obstruction so this improves matters.
❦
Line 6 goes yang
our inner being accepts less
The obstruction in this tao is about our not being able to be still nor to act. Here our inner being becomes still, which is helpful.
Remaining is also keeping still and to see the great man is to see widely, not narrowing our view by choice; this is the good fortune.
Plentiful relationship.
Line image
As our inner being (line 6) links with an inactive emerging life force (line 1) and the outer part of the hexagram (lines 3 and 4) is yang, the activity we are concerned with is feeling (lines 2 and 5); the inactivity we are concerned about is that of the emerging life force. The feeling line 2 is between two yang lines so it is contained by not being able to feel activity; the tao is full of feeling, great in feeling, and its common name is “abundance” or “fullness”.
Trigram image
The flow starts hesitantly (Li), becomes firm in the outer world (Sun) so does not cause movement there, then there is a budding of hope in our identified self (about activity) shown by Tui which turns into a torrent of change in our inner being (Chên). This is a fullsome flow that is occurring within ourselves, the abundance is there in the way we experience but it is not at present an abundance of outer activity.
This is a time when we can feel gladly, the outside is secure and we could think this to be an inevitably good experience; unfortunately our identity may be looking to outer achievement and this is a misunderstanding of where the abundance is; we are it, we have no need to seek, if we remain within, outer action follows in its natural course.
The Chinese Oracle
Comments
What we usually call success is the happy conclusion of outer activity; the abundance is not there but the success follows out of the abundance which is inner. The inner identifying process which rules our identity is the king who has abundance, there is an abundance of material to identify amongst because it is feeling that is identified and the tao is full of feeling. It is all here and now, so we should be feeling complete like the sun at its zenith, but if our habit is to live for the future, planning always the next move and desire, we will be anxious.
Manifestations
Changing Lines
Line 1 goes yin
life force shows more change
When the life force is actively changing we can take part in this. We find it easier to take part in activity, which we see as progress, than in the inactive phase where we tend to create activity by planning.
Our prince of equal rank is the unexpressed half of ourself. When the life force is active there is no barrier to conscious expression of the inner self so it is favourable to go forward with this for its full cycle (the ten days).
❦
Line 2 goes yang
intuitive feeling less active
To feel less in this tao is to misunderstand, and to act on such misunderstanding courts disaster. When we do not feel the present we look to the future to seek a direction; we avoid feeling, but feeling is the essence of our present situation. We have arrived, we are here now and need no direction.
A star is the guiding light of navigators, so here we are trying to navigate, mistaking the sun, the abundance, for a direction. Going forward, which is following the mood of looking forward, is a mistrust of the life force, an aversion to feeling the present.
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Line 3 goes yin
outer world changes more
If we are engrossed in outer activity we are avoiding the abundance of feeling; abundance may seem to risk being overwhelmed by feeling, but go with it, it is the tao and outer action is not fruitful at present.
The abundance of feeling is obscured so as to seem tiny and far away, a guide to direction and not a warmth to bask in. We cannot act out in this tao and this symbolically breaks our right arm, our arm of action.
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Line 4 goes yin
accepting the outer state more
The outer state which we are now taking to be a centre of interest is distracting us from feeling; we are asking where the abundance is when it is there inside. This line deals with our outer identity so here we are projecting the feeling of the tao to our outer reality; it will find a response, a reflection of the tao.
We are still not seeing the tao for what it is and we still look for a direction, mistaking the sun that warms for a guiding star to some future event. Here we face the outer world as our reality and it becomes our ruler; its appearances are a reflection of our point of view, we see them through the filters of our choice. Our good fortune is being able to move (change) by accepting the tranquil (line 3, outer, as a substitute for line 1, inner).
❦
Line 5 goes yang
less awareness of intuition
Here the fullness of feeling is ending with the end of the resonance between the second and fifth lines. The abundance goes on to its next phase, the outer manifestation which we call success.
The variations which fill us with wonder are the changes that come to our outer lives as though undeserved, like blessings, they are not caused out there but come from the inner abundance.
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Line 6 goes yang
our inner being accepts less
Our inner being does not accept the abundance of feeling so it is inhibited from flowing in the next cycle of our being.
The abundance stays inside so he cannot share it outside his person. Until we change (the three years is a cycle of change) we can find no one to share with. We need to learn to allow the abundance within to flow outwards; this follows its inner acceptance.
Incomplete change.
Line image
Here the personal self has withdrawn from both inner and outer activity (lines 4 and 6) and we are in the peace of inactive feeling (lines 2 and 5). This uninvolvement and quiet feeling comes at the end of a cycle of involvement and the common name of the hexagram is “before completion”.
Trigram image
In this flow the energy is hesitant in our outer expression and inner being (both Li) so we will be unsure how to express in a situation that is somewhat empty and confusing. The emerging energy is low (K’an) and so is the energy in our identity (also K’an) which pictures our situation at the end of something we have been involved in, the energy has run out but it is not all completed yet and we are hesitant to invest more energy in it.
The Chinese Oracle
Comments
No chosen direction means not starting something new—for to do that we choose. The tail is in the water because the crossing is not yet complete and it is by keeping our choosing mind frozen that we can complete what we have been engaged in (when this becomes liquid the tail gets wet). So the success is in completing (the crossing) and the little fox is he who is learning to take advantage of his circumstances.
Manifestations
Changing Lines
Line 1 goes yang
life force shows less change
Here we are not moving sufficiently with the tao we are in; the drive in the tao diminishes before we have completed our transition out of a habit-reality.
We are in transition so it is essential to keep moving, if we stop to consider our position we get submerged in where we are and the transition ceases.
❦
Line 2 goes yin
intuitive feeling more active
With our intuitive feelings active we are more aware, and to be more aware when in transition means witnessing, not being involved in action; we just feel our situation.
We stop our outer movement; it is this that carries us in the world and so is our carriage. Transition continues here while the old way of moving is stopped, so continuing with this is the way through.
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Line 3 goes yang
outer world changes less
If we stop movement during transition we may start off in a new direction to save ourselves the effort of inner change.
Change in our mode of being is not complete so to start any new movement now will be moving from our old motivations and endanger the change that is nearly complete.
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Line 4 goes yin
accepting the outer state more
When a change is happening in our identifying pattern our old motivations turn up all sorts of new activities to keep themselves in being; these are the stumbling blocks to change.
We have to continue through the change (three years symbolically is a cycle of change) continually preventing old and habitual ways from keeping their footholds. Before completion means that we are on our way in a process of change and to complete the transition we must persist.
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Line 5 goes yang
less awareness of intuition
Our intuitive feeling is quiet in this tao; we have needed to accept this quietness also so that new action did not arise. Now we are further along the path of change and do not need this vigilance.
The transition has passed its doubting phase where we were subject to going back to the old ways. We now have confidence in the wider experience which is the reward of transition.
❦
Line 6 goes yin
our inner being accepts more
The life energy of this tao moves to create change, and here we go with the movement, identifying in it. We need to be careful of this identifying.
Confidence and over-confidence; in the first we trust providence and in the second we trust our heads.