Trigram of the Day - Water
Today I've decided to draw a Trigram instead of a Hexagram. There are only eight Trigrams as opposed to sixty-four Hexagrams.
Each Hexagram has six lines and is made of two Trigrams, which have three lines.
Today's Trigram is Water: One solid Male Yang line between two broken Female Yin lines. Chinese: Kan
The Abysmal (Water) is dangerous: The Abysmal is water, ditches, ambush, bending and straightening out, bow and wheel. Among men it means the melancholy, those with sick hearts, those with earache. It is the blood sign; it is red. Among horses it means those with beautiful backs, those with wild courage, those which let their heads hang, those with thin hoofs, those which stumble. Among chariots it means those with many defects.
It is penetration, the moon. It means thieves. Among varieties of wood it means those which are firm and have much pith. Bending and straightening out are implied by the winding course of water; this leads to the thought of something bent, of bow and wheel. Melancholy is expressed by the fact that one strong line is hemmed in between two weak lines; thus also sickness of the heart. The trigram signifies toil and also the ear. Pains in the ear come from laborious listening. Blood is the fluid of the body, therefore the symbolic color of K’an is red, though a somewhat brighter red than that of Ch’ien, the Creative. Because of its penetrating quality K’an, when applied to a carriage, is made to symbolize a broken-down vehicle that serves as a wagon. Penetration is suggested by the penetrating line in the middle wedged in between the two weak lines. As a water element, K’an means the moon, which therefore appears as masculine. Persons who secretly penetrate a place and sneak away are thieves. The pithiness of wood is also connected with the attribute of penetration.
Ba Gua 2, 0I0, Kan, Exposure
Key Words: Venturing, stretching, sounding, listening, worrying, braving, daring, pressing, hazarding, stressing, problem solving, plunging in, focusing, overcoming, insecurity, commitment, expedience, exigency, tension, self-reliance, constraints, straits, depression, predicament, luck, tenacity, relevance, confidence, fear, ambush, vulnerable, mysterious, hearty, severe, tenacious, challenging, unpredictable, vital, engulfing, dauntless, unfamiliar, wild, relentless, haunting, probabilistic, inundated, unknown, dangerous, reckless, inescapable, stout-hearted, risky, uncertain, urgent
The Symbolism: Kan, as water in action, cutting a river canyon or filling a pit, symbolizes a fluid response to context, the deliberate changing of self and shape to meet needs and necessities. From above, the human perspective, there arise feelings in the pit of the stomach, and a pounding of the heart, when one wishes to cross this tricky ground, the challenge ahead. The point is, of course, that the teacher is at work below, patient yet opportunistic. The solution to the problem ahead is not a single leap in a single direction, but a series of risks, decisions and choices. These will call upon memory (second-hand if not first) and concentration, meaning to locate oneself around something central, such as one’s courage, heart, or balance.
Wind: From the West, The Lasting Wind
Time:
Hou Tian (late heaven) Midnight, Early Winter
Xian Tian (early heaven) Sunset, Early Fall
Space:
Hou Tian (late heaven) North
Xian Tian (early heaven) West
Body: Ears, Circulatory system, Reflexes
Senses: Hearing, Audio space-time, Reticular formation
Arts: Dreaming, Intuiting, Timing
Tarot: The High Priestess; Nines; of Cups
Astrology: Luna
==========================================
I use the "Method of Sixteen" to draw a Hexagram. The "Method of Sixteen" is superior to the popular "Three Coin Toss Method" because it preserves the original statistical probability of throwing Yarrow Stalks, the traditional method. The "Three Coin Toss Method" does not preserve this probability.
To draw a Trigram, I just toss a coin three times. Heads is Yang (solid line) whereas Tails is Yin (broken line.
If you have a question that you'd like answered with the I Ching, let me know. I'm glad to answer questions in exchange for a donation of Steem cryptocurrency!