I Ching 22 Hexagram bì (Adorning)

I Ching 22 Hexagram bì (Adorning)

I Ching 22 Hexagram bì (Adorning)

Keywords
Celebration. Beauty. Grace. Ornament.
Short interpretation of the hexagram 22 – The attractiveness
Art and in general the activities that require creativity and imagination are now to be cultivated. Also because you feel in excellent psycho-physical shape. For love, wait to make final decisions. Give yourself some time.

I Ching – General Description

The sign shows a fire that erupts from the mysterious depths of the earth and blazes up the mountain, the celestial altitude, and embellishes it. The attractiveness, the beautiful form, is necessary in every union so that this is orderly and graceful and not chaotic and disordered.

I Ching – Comment on sentence

Attractiveness has succeeded. On a small scale it is favorable to undertake something.

Attractiveness brings success. However, it is not the essential thing, being only the ornament. So it should be used sparingly, in a small way. In the lower sign, fire, a soft line appears between two strong ones and makes them beautiful; but the strong are the essence, and the weak line is the embellishing form. In the upper sign, mountain, the strong line is the determining factor at the apex, so that even here it is to be considered decisive. In nature you can see the strong sunlight in the sky. The life of the world is based on this. But this strong, essential thing is transformed and undergoes graceful variations by means of the moon and stars. In human life the beautiful form consists in the existence of strong orders, firm as mountains that are made attractive by clear beauty. The contemplation of shapes in the sky gives the ability to understand the moment and its changing needs. Contemplation of forms in human life confers the possibility of shaping the world. Observation: The sign shows quiet beauty: within clarity and outside peace. This is the stillness of pure contemplation. When the craving is silent, when the will is stilled, then the world manifests itself as representation. As such it is beautiful and removed from the struggle for existence. This is the world of art. But mere contemplation means that the will does not settle down definitively. It will awaken, and then all the good will have been just a passing moment of elevation. Therefore this is not the true way of redemption. In fact, Kung Tse felt very uncomfortable when, having consulted the oracle on an important matter.

I Ching – Image

At the foot of the mountain is the fire: the image of attractiveness.
Thus the noble proceeds to clarify the current affairs, But he does not dare to decide with this the great disputed questions.

The fire, whose light illuminates the mountain and makes it graceful, does not shine at a great distance. Thus the attractive form is enough, it is true, to calm and clarify minor matters, but important matters cannot be decided in this way. The latter require greater seriousness.

I Ching – Series

Things must never come together suddenly and brutally. For this he follows the sign: Beauty. Beauty means ornament.

I Ching – Single Lines

Analytical description of each individual line

I Ching – First line:

Nine at the beginning means:
Makes his toes handsome, leaves the carriage and walks.

The situation, initial and in a subordinate position, implies that one has to undertake the effort of proceeding alone. There would be an opportunity to get a facility on hand – represented under the image of a carriage. But a man steadfast in himself disdains the facilities obtained in this dubious way. He finds that it suits him more to walk than to use the carriage when he has no right to do so.

I Ching – Second line:

Six in the second place means:
Makes her lace attractive.

The beard is not an independent thing. It can only move together with the chin. The image therefore means that the form must be taken into account only after the content, and as its accompanying phenomenon. The beard is a superfluous ornament. His care, independent – without regard to the inner content to be adorned – would therefore be an indication of a certain vanity.

I Ching – Third line:

Nine in the third place means:
Attractive and moist. Enduring perseverance brings health.

We live in a highly refined situation. You are surrounded by a gracefulness equal to the humid splendor of a dewy morning. This gracefulness can certainly adorn, but it can also make us sink. Hence the warning not to sink into humid comfort, but to remain persistently persevering. Health is based on this.

I Ching – Fourth line:

Six in the fourth place means:
Attractiveness or simplicity? A white horse comes as if it were flying. He is not a raider, He wants to promise himself in due time.

We find ourselves in a situation in which doubts arise whether we should further seek the gracefulness of external splendor, or whether it is better to return to simplicity. And even if in the first moment the lack of the comforts that could be obtained in another way, will perhaps cause a disappointment; in the faithful union with the friend and suitor will be found calm. The flying horse is the image of thought that overcomes the barriers of space and time.

I Ching – Fifth line:

Six in the fifth place means:
Attractiveness in hills and gardens. The silk bundle is mean and small. Shameful, but finally health!

We withdraw from contact with low men, who seek only glitz and luxury, in the solitude of heights. There you meet a man towards whom you look up and who would like to make friends. But the gifts that can be offered are only mean and miserable, so that one feels ashamed. But the external gift does not count, only the true feeling is valid, so in the end everything goes well.

I Ching – Sixth line:

Nine above means:
Straightforward attractiveness. No stains.

Here on the supreme step every ornament is placed. The form no longer covers the content, but lets it appear in its full value. The supreme attractiveness does not consist in an external ornament of the material, but in forming it with frankness and objectivity.