The image I include is one from my book, I Ching Prescriptions, showing the “Pre-heaven” and the “Post-heaven” arrangement of the trigrams that Kartar Diamond discusses in the article.

Which Came First, Feng Shui or the I-Ching?

You may be familiar with the practice of Feng Shui and some of the symbolism associated with the eight Trigrams. Each “trigram” is associated with a part of the body, colors, an element, a family member, and a direction. These trigrams are each symbolized with three lines. The word “tri-gram” means “three lines.” The lines can be broken or solid and in a certain order to depict the unique trigram and direction.

For instance, the Qian Trigram is three solid lines stacked on top of each other and associated with the direction of Northwest (post-heaven sequence) and the father in the family structure. The Kun trigram is three broken lines, symbolic of the direction of Southwest (post-heaven sequence) and the image of a mother.

What the heck is “post-heaven sequence?” Some people reading this know what this means, but for the lay person let’s just say that there are two versions of the trigrams in relation to the directions associated with them. We have something called the “pre-heaven sequence” which is used for different types of insight in a Feng Shui analysis and it is the more “obscure” arrangement of the eight trigrams when a person studies these theories.

These same three-lined symbols are grouped in pairs to form “hexagrams.” And it is the 64 hexagrams of the I-Ching which are symbolic of profound and mystical advice that adherents seek when they turn to the I-Ching for inspiration. We can say that the I-Ching, (also spelled Yi Jing) is an ancient Oracle or Book of Divination closely related to the fundamentals of Feng Shui. There is even a ring on the Chinese Feng Shui compass that identifies the 64 hexagrams.

When I was first trying to decide if Feng Shui was really my destined professional calling, I threw the coins to do the simple calculations on the energy assigned to the timing of my question. The answer I got from the I-Ching? I got hexagram #55 which translates as “Feng.” It is the pairing of the two trigrams: Thunder above (Zhen Trigram) and Fire Below (Li trigram). It was more than ironic. This might be the equivalent of wondering what you should do with your life and randomly opening up a book to a Chapter Title that says “You Are Already Doing What You Are Meant to Do.”

You may assume the trigrams and the I-Ching are irrelevant to modern times, but early on in my studies of Chinese metaphysics, an acquaintance sent me a book on the trigrams in relation to DNA. We don’t know who or how many people originally figured out these mathematical correlations, but they surely happened over long periods of time and after meticulous observation of the cycles of nature. More theories about the trigrams are continuing to evolve in modern applications and interpretations.

Eight Trigram theory is quite practical and predictable and there are many applications that can be used to help people. For example, the Zhen trigram is associated with the direction of east and the eldest son. If a house is missing the east sector of the floor plan, it can make it harder for a couple living there to conceive a baby boy. If a family moves into a house with a missing east sector, the eldest son in the family may have some struggles or some thing wrong with his health. If the east sector of a house has something wrong with it or in ill-repair, like a crack in the foundation, this could also harm the eldest son in the family. The more you learn about the trigrams, the more you will see them as a mirror to our lives.

No related posts.

José Argüelles died in Australia on March 23, 2011. I learned of the death on March 27th when I saw the post on Rob and Trish MacGregor’s synchronicity blog. I had been in the middle of writing the last Chapter, an Afterword for my new book, I Ching Prescriptions, when I read this shocking new of José’s death. This Afterword includes a discussion of my I Ching reading with all six lines changing as it related to completing this book, as well as a dream about José just 4 days before he died.

I first met José shortly after he and his wife Miriam had published their beautiful book, Mandala. I had painted a series of Mandalas in 1968 but at that time I had no idea these circular paintings had a name. I began reading the works of Carl Jung and found his reference to Mandalas and discovered that what I was painting had a name as well as a psychological purpose. Since I was painting Mandalas I decided to write a paper about them for an art history class. I could find only one reference book on the subject of Mandalas in my library in 1968. There was no Internet or Wikipedia to make research easy. So four years later when I saw the Argüelles’ book, Mandala in the front window of a book store on West 57th street in New York City I exclaimed, “Where was this book when I needed it?” I ran into the store and bought the book. I wrote to José and Miriam about the possibility of doing a workshop on Mandalas for Magic Circle Press. That never happened but I subsequently met José in early 1973 in his mother-in-law’s apartment when he was on a trip to New York.

I have an old photocopy of an article called, Compute and Evolve by José Argüelles. The re-print states that it originated in, Main Currents in Modern Thought , Jan-Feb 1969. The subtile of the article is, Some reflections on the I-Ching as a prelude to a post-scientific system. I was just beginning my I Ching journey so finding a person who created and wrote about Mandalas, art and the I Ching was a nourishing gift for my psyche.

Five more years passed before I would encounter José again. I had moved to California where I figured the intellectual atmosphere would be more in tune with my interests. I was not disappointed. On January 24,1978 I found myself in a two week colloquium at The Union Graduate School where José would be my core faculty working towards a Ph.D. in Art and the Personal Symbolic Process. January 24th was also José’s 39th birthday.

My relationship with José began before I ever met him through his art and writing. He reflected in his creative projects the embodiment of my own interests. José’s knowledge of the I Ching would sometimes pop up in mundane situations. For example, I remember a time in a building at the Oakland air port. José was on his way home to Boulder. We were in an elevator where there was a glass box on the wall with a big tortoise shell exhibited inside. José pointed to the display and said, “Adele, hexagram twenty-seven, line one.” Only another I Ching geek would know that he was referring to the hexagram of Providing Nourishment and the line that says, “You let your magic tortoise go.” And no one other than another I Chinger would even want to know this form of “magical thinking.“

I came from a family that either ignored anything that truly interested me or worse, they put me in their negative camp they referred to as “magical thinking.” No matter how I was defined, these attitudes were less than nourishing. So José, just by his existence, was a validation that I needed, enjoyed and appreciated. Long live José Argüelles!

If anyone reading this posting about José knows of any one who studied with him, please pass on this link. It would be wonderful if José Argüelles’s former learners post something about what creative project they worked on with José or anything they would like to share.

I am posting a link for a free download of that Afterword I wrote that tells about my amazing I Ching reading where I had six changing lines and issues of synchronicity, dreams, and José.

This picture is one found on several of José's obituary notices.

José Argüelles, January, 1981 at Adele Aldridge's Ph.D. graduation.

October 13, 1985 - Joan Halifax, (?) Jill Caire, José Argüelles, Adele Aldridge at Adrian Ravarou's PhD graduation in Ojai CA

Adele Aldridge, Jose Arguelles, January, 1981 at Adele's PhD graduation

Related posts:

1. José Argüelles Speaking about 2012
2. Hexagram 02 – K’Kun / The Receptive Earth

I have a few review copies so if you are interested in reviewing the book on Amazon send me a message with your email.

I have also created a PDF interactive version of the Record book as a companion for this book so that you can print out your questions and responses. Sty tuned for that information.

I Ching Record Book

Related posts:

1. I Ching Record Book
2. Changes for I Ching Record Book
3. How to Use Your I Ching Record Book

Assuming that you are reading my review in this I Ching blog you will find it no secret that I have a long time interest in Syncronicity, the I Ching being a quintessential synchronicity tool. I also assume that any reader of this blog is an I Ching devotee and has does not have to be convinced of the existence of synchronicity. Since two of my own experiences are included in this book my challenge is how to be objective in this review and what to write to those seasoned in synchronicity to convince you to buy the book.

I discovered the MacGregor’s blogs in early 2009 when I found a site called Astro Yoga. I had just finished creating a series of designs for T-shirts on Cafe Press, called Astro Yoga Babes. I fell into a vortex of synchronicity when I discovered that while I had two blogs, one on Yoga and one on the I Ching, the MacGregors had their two with not only related subject matter but one with the same name of what I was working on.

While waiting for The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity to arrive, and before I knew that two of my experiences were in it, I dreamed about a man I had not seen in 20 years who had a major impact on my life and in my synchronicity experiences. So I was stunned to see the episode on page 35 – 36 in the MacGregor’s book. I had no idea that story was going to be included because Rob had not posted it on his blog. You can read his post HERE.

Bones

The bones of The Seven Secrets are in two sections:

The Secrets

Knowing, Heart, Theory, Creative, Clusters, Trickster, and Global

The Magic

Diving Synchronically, Animal Oracles, Journeys and Engaging the Divine.

Meat

The meat of the book introduces us to various ways we experience synchronicity. Each chapter gives examples and instructions for developing or enhancing synchronicity experience. There are many exercises for developing synchronicity. Here’s a list of some of them:

Developing Awareness
Breath work
Pay Attention to Your Feelings
a check list for, How Attuned are you?
Hints on Sensing the future
Telepathic Sending
Remote Viewing
Psychometry
How Open Are You?
Engaging Your Creativity

In the Chapter on Clusters there is a discussion about the appearance of numbers in groups. I was particularly interested in the discussion about the number 23.

I’m convinced that the I Ching is connected to the structure of our basic DNA. The MacGregors’ book discusses how the number 23 is often related to death. In the Wilhelm version of the I Ching Hexagram 23 is named Splitting Apart. This seems appropriate to point to the “split” that comes before joining with another set of 23 chromosomes to become a new embryo. I learned that it takes 23 seconds for blood to circulate through the human body and that the axis of the earth is 23.5 degrees or more amazing, that the DNA pattern shows irregular connections at every twenty-third section.

As for the question, How could the I Ching possibly work?” Carl Jung said in his forward to Wilhelm’s I Ching, “The less one thinks about the theory of the I Ching, the more soundly one sleeps.”

The Chapter on Global Synchronicites has a Healing Energy Exercise that is synchronistic for this time. It’s an exercise on healing for global disasters. I am sure that this exercise had to be written well before the recent oil spill catastrophe that has been going on for well over a month now.

The four chapters in the section on Magic, begins with, Divining Synchronicity, a discussion of the I Ching which includes another one of my experiences of synchronicity that was pretty amazing as it not only included an I Ching reading but a dream. This experience is an example of synchronicity that keeps me hooked into both the I Ching and dreams. The chapter also talks about Astrology, Tarot, Stichomancy and a way of using colors for divination synchronicities.

I was unaware that Rob had co-written a book called The Book of Color Divination which is mentioned in this chapter and something I must try. As an artist, I love color and at various times in my life have had obsessions about different colors. So now I have a new synchronicity game to look forward to.

Heart

At the heart of The 7 Secrets of synchronicity are the many amazind true stories that people have experienced and shared with us.

I know people who never experience synchronicity. Their minds are not only closed to the fact that these things happen to people, they are adamant about that with derision. Once I had a dream about a relative in which she had a specific operation. I was perplexed since the dream made no sense to me and the prevailing view in the culture of most therapists was that every thing you dream is a projection about yourself. Since I have been recording my dreams and checking up on people I dream about, I have found that about 80% of my dreams about other people are about the person in the dream. P.S. I found out later that the relative who had the operation in my dream, in fact had that operation. When I wrote and told her about it, hoping to open up the conversation about the subject of dreaming, she handled it by ignoring my letter.

I’m taking the time to elaborate on this subject of why non believers do not have synchronistic experiences because they shut themselves out from the possibility. You have to take the time to notice what is going on and then open your mind to what ever it is you find. Drop logic!

Just in this process of reading the MacGregor’s book on synchronicity I have had a rash of them, some relating to what was written in the book. I am here to testify, that the more one focuses on the fact of synchronicites as a part of life, the more you will experience them. Reading MacGregor’s book is a way of opening up to more experiences of synchronicity.

Skin

Since I’m using the human body as a metaphor for an overview of The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity, I can’t resist talking about the the physical look of the book. So I add to this review that the skin – what we see on the outside – the choice of type, the subtle printing on the paper to make the edges look patterned, the highlighting and setting apart of the exercises and general design all add to my enjoyment of reading The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity.

Sight / Insight

I have had many experiences of synchroncity, the most powerful of which have been through dreams where I have dreamed a future event. I would not have been aware of this at the time but keeping a record of dreams, along with a daily journal, helped me to discover that. I end here with a question. The MacGregors refer to dream knowing as sychronicity. The definition of synchronicty in Secret 1:

Synchronicty: the coming together of inner and outer events in a way that can’t be explained by cause and effect and that is meaningful to the observer.

When I dream of an event ahead of time, even if I have no clue that this is what the dream is until later, this does not feel or look the same as an I Ching reading that hits the mark. It feels like my psyche has traveled out of time. That looks different to me than any other kind of synchronistic event. These dreams, while certainly not daily events, have been numerous enough so that I cannot dismiss them no matter how much disbelief I get from telling these dream experiences to people who do not have these experiences and do not believe that I do even though I have proof. The capacity for denial seems to be even larger than the capacity for belief.

While dreaming about an event before it happens that it not something I could possibly know or influence at the time feels to me like something more than, or other than the other synchronicity experiences. Does any one out there want to talk about that?

As I post this I note on the MacGregor’s Synchronicity blog that it is Trish’s birthday today.

A Happy HAPPY Birthday Trish!

The MacGregor writing duo has a list of many books and various literary awards including Rob’s well known Indiana Jones series of novels. Besides being prolific writers, Rob is a Yoga instructor and Trish an Astrologer.

From the book:

Trish MacGregor and Rob MacGregor have been professional writers for twenty-five years. One synchronicity after another led to their many nonfiction books on dreams, psychic development, astrology, yoga, the tarot, divination, and animal symbolism. In 2003, they took over the writing of the popular Sydney Omarr astrology series. This acclaimed, award-winning author team has appeared on the Learning Channel, the History Channel, and the Sci-Fi Channel; in April 2009, Rob was filmed for the History Channel’s UFO series.
Rob also wrote Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and six other original Indiana Jones novels, which have sold millions of copies. He won the coveted Edgar Award for Prophecy Rock, a YA mystery, and its sequel, Hawk Moon, was an Edgar finalist.

Trish, writing as T.J. MacGregor, won the Edgar in 2003 for best original paperback for Out of Sight. Her books have been translated into thirteen languages. They live in Wellington, Florida.

Related posts:

1. Carl Jung, Synchronicity and I Ching
2. I Ching Record Book
3. I Ching Prescriptions: Choosing Change

Review: Divination: Sacred Tools for Reading the Mind of God
by Paul O’Brien, Visionary Networks Press

I first came across the name of Paul O’Brian years ago when I was living in Sausalito, California and discovered his first software for the I Ching called, Synchronicity. I bought his later illustrated version, Oracle of Changes, on CD which no longer works on my MAC operating system. I have always wondered why Paul didn’t update that version, but while reading this book, Divination: Sacred Tools for Reading the Mind of God, I cruised around his website, Tarot.com and saw a big section on using the I Ching there which perhaps replaces the need for a CD edition.

I begin my review by saying that the title of the book hooked me before I had it in my hand. I had not thought of Divination as being a sacred tool for reading the mind of God. Once said, how logical! In the past when doing I Ching readings for people, I more than once encountered people of various religious beliefs that had a prejudice about the I Ching, assuming it was something that went against their religion and what ever their “God” is. The Introduction chapter for the O’Brien’s book begins with, “Divination is controversial. . . ” and continues with a history of divination and how it was used and viewed by ancient religions. Since my I Ching work and this Blog is called, I Ching Meditations, I resonated with his sentence, “Authentic divination is more like a form of meditation and prayer than predicting the future. . . and . . . Divination is a two-way conversation whereby we get feed back on the divine order behind appearances.”

I had a difficult time completing this review of Paul O’Brien’s book, not just for the reasons I wrote about in my last post – the usual of being so busy – but because I kept taking side trips to Paul’s web page, Tarot.com, and the links there. I thought of Paul O’Brien as an I Ching person. I’ve been out of touch focusing on my own I Ching work here so I enjoyed seeing all that he has been doing in the scope of divination systems.

Paul O’Brien started the web site, Tarot.com. This name is misleading for me because the site has pages about Astrology, Numerology, I Ching, Feng Shui, Love and a link for Psychics. Note that the category links included “Love” along with the other subjects, implying that Love is also a tool of divination. Come to think about it, I think it is and should be another book.

Paul O’Brien’s book, Divination is a good balance and adjunct to the website that contains pages on the systems that he writes about in the book. The book is an advertisement for the website and the website an advertisement for O’Brien’s book. At the end of this review I include a video of Paul O’Brien talking about why he wrote this book and he says that for himself better than I can.

The Tarot.com website is a commercial one with advertisements, links to buy various readings as well as divination tools to use. The book give us information, explanation and history of these divination systems. While I was familiar with more or less degrees of these various systems, I Ching being my long time devotion, I learned more about the history of these other divination systems. I also learned about Paul O’Brien which I found of interest as well.

Since any one reading my comments here is doing so by means of a computer, you probably will find the chapter, “The Evolving Technology of Divination” of interest. The I Ching has been described as the first computer with its binary system. Since I Ching was the first book perhaps it was the first interactive tool as well. So it was fascinating to me that Paul was introduced to the I Ching as a young student at the same time he was introduced to computers which was in those early days of computing. How lucky for him! How lucky for us to have the perfect combination of skills and talent combined with a journey of the study of Buddhism and meditation including training in monasteries.

I also learned how Paul O’Brien developed that first I Ching program, Synchronicity, that I used with my MAC in the early days of personal computers. If I recall correctly, his  program went viral and was copied a lot by the other Macintosh users. In those early days of the Macintosh and developing software, the fact that I could find a program on the I Ching confirmed that this new found technology for me was awesome magic. I have Paul O’Brien to thank for his contribution to the magic.

The book, Divination, has 9 Chapters and  8 Appendices. The Introduction has a lot of information about the history of divination in general, and reminds us that the word divination derives from the Latin, divinare, meaning to “to inspire by the divine.”

Chapter 1: Your Heart’s Desire is Your Destiny – This chapter title is another hook into the book for me. Being a Leo I have been run by my heart’s desires. Paul tells us about his experience with Buddhism and takes this subject into a deeper level than what one usually thinks of in terms of desire. This chapter explains desire from the Buddhist perspective and is an example of what I mean by the book being a balance to the Tarot.com web page, giving history and depth of understanding to the subject.

Chapter 2: Troubled Times Calls for Wisdom - A discussion of decision-making; developing wisdom; belief systems based on various religions; and a discussion on which religions supported cultivating wisdom based on the intuitive process of an inquiring mind rather than blindly following a doctrine.

Chapter 3: How Divination Systems Work – Discussion about quantum physics, Jung, Freud, Archetypes of I Ching, Tarot, the Synchronicity principle and Jung’s contribution to it. O’Brien shares with us here his first inquiry to the I Ching, the results being here for us all to enjoy in his work.

Chapter 4: Origins of Divination – Brief history of Astrology, I Ching, Numerology, Runes and Tarot.  I can’t resist including a quote from the section about Numerology: “Pythagoras was the founder of Numerology and practiced it to divine the fates of individuals, predict the events of certain locations and use name changing as a means to alter destiny.” Wow! I had no idea!

Chapter 5: Enemies of Divination

Chapter 6: The Gift of Prophecy—Divination in the Bible

Chapter 7: Divination Practice Today – Advice on when and how to use divination; How to choose a Divination reader; Do-It-Yourself Divination discussion of using on-line readings or buying the I Ching book. How to Frame a Question is addressed. This is most important when consulting the I Ching and true for any method of divination. This section also talks about creating your own ritual.

Chapter 8: The Evolving Technology of Divination - Begins with a picture of the Tarot card of the High Priestess, holding a laptop in her lap as she sits on her thrown (shown above.) I Love it! O’Brien tells us about developing his divination software as he was using divination. This chapter contains interesting history about the software industry as well as Paul’s involvement with it.

Chapter 9: Destiny, Fate and Creativity – Encompasses 3 subjects of particular interest to me. I have been studying and keeping a record of my dreams for the past 40 years, as long as I have been consulting the I Ching. Some of my dreams have been precognitive and the only way I know that is because I write them down. Having such dreams has caused a lot of speculation in my mind about the subject of fate. I think I’m running the show, and then I have cause to wonder a lot about how can I know something before it happens even when I don’t know I know. This is a subject for a book in itself. O’Brien discusses the difference between the terms fate and destiny and incorporates that with the use of divination.

The Appendices are an important part of the book.

A: Archetypes of Divination – Outlines of the systems of Numerology, I Ching, Tarot, Astrology and Runes.

B: How to Give Yourself a Reading - Gives a brief description of “how to” for all the 5 Divination systems listed above with references of where to go for more in-depth information. This includes instructions for doing an I Ching reading by using the yarrow stalks as well as using the coins.

C: Divination in the Bible -  Lists Verses Condemning Divination and Verses Supporting Divination.

D: Tarot: The Shrink-in-the-Box – An article re-printed from a column in the Trends Journal, a financial investor newsletter.

E: The Use of I-Ching, Tarot and Other Divination Tools for Everyday Life - An article by Deepak Chopra

F: Tarot and I-Ching for Relationships - An article by John Gray

Bottom line:

Divination: Sacred Tools for Reading the Mind of God has many illustrations and quotes from other sources. Each chapter is compact yet full of information and history. There are useful “cheat sheets” of the different divination systems. You will find the book of interest, whether you are new to the I Ching or any of the other divination practices described, or if, like myself, have been working with the I Ching for a long time.

You can get a free I Ching reading by going to Tarot.com and click on the I Ching tab. There are so many subjects to investigate on Tarot.com that while I didn’t look at everything, there was enough there to pleasantly distract me again from writing this review. I found there the following video of Paul O’Brien telling us his own views of why he wrote his book.

Related posts:

1. I Ching Meditations News Notes
2. The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity
3. I Ching Record Book

Yesterday I posted a video by Richard C Hoagland about the findings of Hexagon shapes on the North Pole of Saturn. I signed off wondering what other people think about this discovery, especially if they had any ideas in connection to I Ching. So far I am not eliciting any speculation or interest in this subject. However, the idea of Hexagons which are mathematical measurements found in gases on Saturn is a mind bending concept for me to contemplate.

Another perplexing idea is now sitting in my head. If you listened to the tape on yesterday’s post, you will hear where Hoagland is talking about the power, significance and mystery of 19.5 degrees. He explains that on every planet in our solar system a major disturbance occurs 19.5 degrees north or south of its equator.

The video also discusses how this number 19.5 in the bible symbolizes faith, grace and hope. I don’t know where that is but will take his word for it.

The number of 19 degrees struck a cord with me. My birth day is 19 degrees Leo. I looked up my astrological birth chart in several places and got several different but very close answers. One chart reading said that it was 19.39 degrees, another 19.34 and another 19.5. Bingo! I wasn’t born at 19.5 degrees north or south of the equator. But I was born at 19.5 degrees within the sign of Leo. So what? You might ask. I’m just saying that is a synchronicity for me. I have no clue if it has meaning. The more I delve into this subject the more I am pulled in. HELP!

And yet another note about Hexagons, me and the I Ching. Anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows how deeply involved I am with the I Ching over a very long period of time. In 2003 I did a portrait of myself embedded in Hexagons.  No wonder I found this information so fascinating. Am I living in some kind of Hexagon vortex?

Related posts:

1. Cassini Spacecraft Discovered Hexagon Shape on Saturn’s North Pole

I have been sick with the flu since the beginning of the month and have not been able to post until now. I had been working on updating Hexagram Eleven – Peace, but when I began to get well I first checked on my favorite Astrology site, Astrodynamics by Lynn Hayes. She has posted an article and video about some of the findings of the Cassini space mission and the discovery of a gigantic hexagon shape on the north pole of Saturn. From time to time Lynn posts astronomy articles which I find of equal interest. Astrologers were, after all, the original astronomers. You can read Lynn’s full article and see the video she posted about the Cassini discoveries HERE

I am posting a different video, part 1 of the 4 part series by Richard C Hoagland, Hyperdimensional Hexagon in 4 parts. Hoagland is a former space science museum curator; a former NASA consultant, and during the historic Apollo Missions to the Moon, was science advisor to Walter Cronkite and CBS News. If you find this video as interesting as I did, you can click on the other three parts.

I enjoyed this remark by Hoagland about the Hexagon in the video, “The Hexagon is deep, nested like a Chinese puzzle box.” I can’t help but wonder about these hexagon and hexagram shapes and a connection to the I Ching.

I post here part of the article that NASA Cassini wrote about it these discovers with a link to the rest of the article.

“After waiting years for the sun to illuminate Saturn’s north pole again, cameras aboard NASA’s Cassini spacecraft have captured the most detailed images yet of the intriguing hexagon shape crowning the planet.

The enormous aurora over Saturn's north pole, seen in infrared.

“The new images of the hexagon, whose shape is the path of a jet stream flowing around the north pole, reveal concentric circles, curlicues, walls and streamers not seen in previous images. Images and the three-frame animation are available at http://www.nasa.gov/cassini , http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://ciclops.org .

“The last visible-light images of the entire hexagon were captured by NASA’s Voyager spacecraft nearly 30 years ago, the last time spring began on Saturn. After the sunlight faded, darkness shrouded the north pole for 15 years. Much to the delight and bafflement of Cassini scientists, the location and shape of the hexagon in the latest images match up with what they saw in the Voyager pictures.

“The longevity of the hexagon makes this something special, given that weather on Earth lasts on the order of weeks,” said Kunio Sayanagi, a Cassini imaging team associate at the California Institute of Technology. “It’s a mystery on par with the strange weather conditions that give rise to the long-lived Great Red Spot of Jupiter.”

“The hexagon was originally discovered in images taken by the Voyager spacecraft in the early 1980s. It encircles Saturn at about 77 degrees north latitude and has been estimated to have a diameter wider than two Earths. The jet stream is believed to whip along the hexagon at around 100 meters per second (220 miles per hour).

“Early hexagon images from Voyager and ground-based telescopes suffered from poor viewing perspectives. Cassini, which has been orbiting Saturn since 2004, has a better angle for viewing the north pole. But the long darkness of Saturnian winter hid the hexagon from Cassini’s visible-light cameras for years. Infrared instruments, however, were able to obtain images by using heat patterns. Those images showed the hexagon is nearly stationary and extends deep into the atmosphere. They also discovered a hotspot and cyclone in the same region.

Complete article here:

I spent a lot of time immersed with all the information I found on this subject. I am an artist, not a scientist so my question to any viewer here, is what do you think about these hexagons on Saturn and apparently also on Jupiter in relation to the I Ching, if anything?  In the realm of synchronicity don’t you find this amazing and relevant. But What?

Related posts:

1. More on Cassini Findings of Hexagons on Saturn

Photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson

I just read the long 10 page article in The New York Times about the book that Carl Jung wrote in a big red-leather book 100 years ago. The Red Book will be published by W.W. Norton & Co. on October 7, 2009.  Jung worked on this secret  book for 16 years. I’ve excerpted the beginning of this long and interesting article with a link to the article for a must read if one is interested in Jung. There may be I Ching devotees out there who have not heard of Carl Jung and his contribution to its publication in the United States but so far, I haven’t met one.

From The New York Times, September 16, 2009

The Holy Grail of the Unconscious

By Sara Corbett

This is a story about a nearly 100-year-old book, bound in red leather, which has spent the last quarter century secreted away in a bank vault in Switzerland. The book is big and heavy and its spine is etched with gold letters that say “Liber Novus,” which is Latin for “New Book.” Its pages are made from thick cream-colored parchment and filled with paintings of otherworldly creatures and handwritten dialogues with gods and devils. If you didn’t know the book’s vintage, you might confuse it for a lost medieval tome.

Illustration by Carl Jung in "The Red Book"

Some people feel that nobody should read the book, and some feel that everybody should read it. The truth is, nobody really knows. Most of what has been said about the book — what it is, what it means — is the product of guesswork, because from the time it was begun in 1914 in a smallish town in Switzerland, it seems that only about two dozen people have managed to read or even have much of a look at it.

Read full  article . . .

The Red Book

Related posts:

1. More on Carl Jung’s “The Red Book”
2. Carl Jung, Synchronicity and I Ching
3. Changes for I Ching Record Book

One of my favorite Leo’s is Carl Jung whose birthday is today. He was born on July 26, 1875, died June 6, 1961.

When I first attempted to understand the I Ching I had come across several versions and couldn’t really get into it until I read Jung’s forward in the now classic I Ching interpretation published in 1950 by Princeton University Press.

I can’t image anyone reading this page who does not know who Carl Jung is and his contribution to furthering the I Ching in the Western world. You can read more about Jung on the Wikipedia site.

It was Richard Wilhem whose translation of the I Ching from the chinese which many people feel is still the best interpretation. He was born on May 10, 1873, Tübingen, Germany and died on March 2, 1930. I didn’t realize that Wilhelm was so close in age to Jung and that must have been a most rewarding relationship – two pioneers of the mind and soul who could understand each other.

Jung coined the word Synchronicity as an “acausal connecting principle“, which is what one is engaged in by consulting the I Ching.

There are many videos on YouTube of Jung. I include a short one here on “Death is Not The End.”

Related posts:

1. Carl Jung’s Secret Red Book to be Published
2. More on Carl Jung’s “The Red Book”
3. The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity