The Image of Earth over Heaven

Related posts:

1. Question about Hexagram 12 – Standstill
2. Hexagram Twelve, Pi / Standstill
3. Hexagram 12 – P’i / Standstill

“i am an i ching practitioner since 12 years ago. however, i still some lines confusing, specially the six in the second place of hexagram 12, Stagnation, in the wilhelm edition.

¿Could you give an alternative text or explanation? regards.”

The comment didn’t say what the question was, if there were any other changing lines, or if the person just wanted more insight into that particular line.

I later received an email from the commentator explaining that this was not really a question but an inquiry about a difficult work situation that involved a nasty confrontation and, I gather, an unethical work situation. When asking the I Ching about the situation the response had the second line change in Hexagram of Standstill which left the inquirer confused by the meaning of that line.

The commentator used the Wilhelm interpretation which can be seen HERE.

The reader asked for an alternative explanation other than the Wilhelm interpretation. I will post my response here instead of in the Comment section. It appears to me that I Ching is reflecting back just what the situation is. When consulting I Ching I find that to be true most of the time.

I think Steven Tarcher’s line 2, Hexagram 12 is an interesting one here:

“Do not disturb the flock. Accept that you are isolated, Make a hidden offering to the retreating spirit. Adapt to what crosses your path. Your great idea is obstructed. Do not worry. Stay true to yourself, like a fetus in the womb, and the Way will soon open. Direction: Retreat from conflict. Find supportive friends. Gather energy for a decisive new move.”

As I wrote in my History of working with I Ching, I am in the process of re-working the images for I Ching Meditations. I have not finished  translating some of my original drawings into color. So I will post a new image for the main image of Standstill and my old black and white drawings with the words. I plan on re-doing these images but will use these for now.

The questioner asks if I have another interpretation for line two. But to do that I need to explain my process for how I arrived at the meaning by showing the entire Hexagram.

Hexagram 11, Peace, the image of Earth Over Heaven is the opposite of Hexagram 12, Standsill, the image of Heaven over Earth.  I used the image of a flower in the process of developing for Peace which is about flowering and prosperity. In the Wilhelm version the first lines of both Hexagram 11 and 12 are the same,

“When ribbon grass is pulled up, the sod comes with it.
Each according to his kind.”

I see Standstill as part of the organic process of what preceded it with Peace and flowering. When I get around to translating these images into color in a style to match the Hexagrams now posted 1 through 8, they most likely will change a bit. But this is what I have for now which can be found under the category for Hexagram 12.

Like all I Ching readings, a changing line within any given Hexagram needs to be understood with the context of the whole. For the questioner, line 2 can be seen HERE.

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Related posts:

1. Hexagram Twelve, Pi / Standstill
2. New page for Hexagram 12, Standstill
3. A question about I Ching Hexagrams 63 and 64

Related posts:

1. Hexagram 12 – Nine in the Fifth Place
2. Hexagram 12 – Six in the First Place
3. Hexagram 12 – Six in the Second Place

Slowly . . .
I become aware and realize
My soul is as organic as all life,
My re-birth as mysterious
And inevitable as death.

Related posts:

1. Hexagram 12 – Six in the First Place
2. Hexagram 12 – Six in the Second Place
3. Hexagram 12 – Six in the Third Place

Related posts:

1. Hexagram 12 – Six in the First Place
2. Hexagram 12 – Six in the Second Place
3. Hexagram 12 – Nine in the Fifth Place

Related posts:

1. Hexagram 12 – Six in the Second Place
2. Hexagram 12 – Nine in the Fifth Place
3. Hexagram 12 – Six in the First Place

Related posts:

1. Hexagram 12 – Six in the Third Place
2. Hexagram 12 – Nine in the Fourth Place
3. Hexagram 12 – Six in the First Place

I am the roots
And the earth
Created by the decay
Of my past blooms.
Only time creates the illusion
That soil and flower
Are not one.

I die to the senses
And find an inner light.

Related posts:

1. Hexagram 12 – Nine in the Fifth Place
2. Hexagram 12 – Nine in the Fourth Place
3. Hexagram 12 – Six in the Second Place

The Image of Heaven Over Earth

The flower of creation dies and
I fall from peace
Into stagnation.

Yet …
I am so much a part of
This experience I cannot see.
In the blackness of
Transformation
I stand still.

This natural process follows
The decay of the
Product of union.
I die to the world
And go inward.
I am numb. I am a shadow.
I am hidden and confused.
I am unconscious
And see no light.
It would help me at this time
To know that
I am a seed
At the beginning
Of a new awakening.

Related posts:

1. Hexagram 12 – P’i / Standstill
2. Question about Hexagram 12 – Standstill
3. New page for Hexagram 12, Standstill