Abysmal Links
The Abysmal
Abysmal Links
Annual Daylight and the I-Ching
Tao Te Ching 1
Two-by-two
I-Ching Hexagrams – the King Wen Sequence
I-Ching Hexagram 1 – the Creative
I-Ching Hexagram 2 – the Receptive
I-Ching Hexagram 3 – Difficulty at the Beginning
I-Ching Hexagram 4 – Youthful Folly
I-Ching Hexagram 5 – Waiting [Nourishment]
I-Ching Hexagram 6 – Conflict
I-Ching Hexagram 7 – the Army
I-Ching Hexagram 8 – Holding Together [Union]
I-Ching Hexagram 9 – The Taming Power of Small
I-Ching Hexagram 10 – Treading [Conduct]
I-Ching Hexagram 11 – Peace
I-Ching Hexagram 12 – Standstill [Stagnation]
I-Ching Hexagram 13 – Fellowship with Men
I-Ching Hexagram 14 – Possession in Great Measure
I-Ching Hexagram 15 – Modesty
I-Ching Hexagram 16 – Enthusiasm
I-Ching Hexagram 17 – Following
I-Ching Hexagram 18 – Work on What has been Spoiled [Decay]
I-Ching Hexagram 19 – Approach
I-Ching Hexagram 20 – Contemplation [View]
I-Ching Hexagram 21 – Biting Through
I-Ching Hexagram 22 – Grace
I-Ching Hexagram 23 – Splitting Apart
I-Ching Hexagram 24 – Return [The Turning Point]
I-Ching Hexagram 25 – Innocence [The Unexpected]
I-Ching Hexagram 26 – The Taming Power of Great
I-Ching Hexagram 27 – The Corners of the Mouth [Providing Nourishment]
I-Ching Hexagram 28 – Preponderance of the Great
I-Ching Hexagram 29 – The Abysmal
I-Ching Hexagram 30 – The Clinging, Fire
I-Ching Hexagram 31 – Influence [Wooing]
I-Ching Hexagram 32 – Duration
I-Ching Hexagram 33 – Retreat
I-Ching Hexagram 34 – The Power of the Great
I-Ching Hexagram 35 – Progress
I-Ching Hexagram 36 – Darkening of the Light
I-Ching Hexagram 37 – The Family [The Clan]
I-Ching Hexagram 38 – Opposition
I-Ching Hexagram 39 – Obstruction
I-Ching Hexagram 40 – Deliverance
I-Ching Hexagram 41 – Decrease
I-Ching Hexagram 42 – Increase
I-Ching Hexagram 43 – Break-through [Resoluteness]
I-Ching Hexagram 44 – Coming to Meet
I-Ching Hexagram 45 – Gathering Together [Massing]
I-Ching Hexagram 46 – Pushing Upwards
I-Ching Hexagram 47 – Oppression [Exhaustion]
I-Ching Hexagram 48 – The Well
I-Ching Hexagram 49 – Revolution
I-Ching Hexagram 50 – The Caldron
I-Ching Hexagram 51 – The Arousing [Shock, Thunder]
I-Ching Hexagram 52 – Keeping Still, Mountain
I-Ching Hexagram 53 – Development [Gradual Progress]
I-Ching Hexagram 54 – The Marrying Maiden
I-Ching Hexagram 55 – Abundance [Fullness]
I-Ching Hexagram 56 – The Wanderer
I-Ching Hexagram 57 – The Gentle [Penetrating, Wind]
I-Ching Hexagram 58 – The Joyous, Lake
I-Ching Hexagram 59 – Dispersion [Dissolution]
I-Ching Hexagram 60 – Limitation
I-Ching Hexagram 61 – Inner Truth
I-Ching Hexagram 62 – Preponderance of the Small
I-Ching Hexagram 63 – After Completion
I-Ching Hexagram 64 – Before Completion
20 October 2008 at 4:49 am |
thank you.
4 February 2009 at 1:35 pm |
Wonder-full. I am curious to know why there are 64, in total. If I double the numbers starting with one, then we have 1,2,4,8,16,32,64, seven digits, corresponding to our septenary system, but that is all I can surmise. Do you have a theory you can share? In any event, I am very impressed with your work. Thank you.
4 February 2009 at 3:28 pm |
Each line has 2 options – either firm/yielding (also known as unbroken/broken or light/dark)
So 1 line = 2 possibilities. The origins of the I-Ching was as an oracle, so 1 line probably began as meaning either “yes/no.” Later a second line was added, giving 4 possibilities, then a third giving 8. These 8 trigrams are the basis of the I Ching. One trigram was placed above the other, creating 64 combinations.
So, the progression wasn’t 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 but rather 2, 4, 8, 64.
The I Ching is about the change from one hexagram to another, moreso than the hexagrams themselves. So really, we’re looking at 64 x 64 = 4096 possible states of change (including the 64 cases where the hexagram doesn’t change).
That’s my take on it anyway. Hope that isn’t too far off the mark, and is of some help.
2 April 2009 at 7:58 am |
As far as i know
It was going like this.
There where to options voor old seers yes or no.
Then heaven and earth thats four, human animal makes six and then another one wich i cant remember.
For a total of 8 answers or …… (only know the dutch word) and 8 times 8 is 64 so 64 hexagrams
4 April 2009 at 3:55 pm |
thank you Michael – where did you learn this? do you have a book title to share???
20 April 2009 at 12:02 pm |
Love your site. Been a regular visitor for 6 months now. Hexagram descriptions are wonderful.
23 April 2009 at 11:40 am |
glad you’ve found it useful.
the Hexagram descriptions are from the Wilhelm/Baynes translation.
18 August 2009 at 7:20 am |
I’m surprised no one mentioned this yet, so..
It’s binary system.
Exactly the same thing as digital technology used in computers and everything electronic, but in 6 bits grouping (instead of multiples of 4) which is uncommon in digital applications.
000 001, 000 010, 000 011, 000 100… etc.
2^6 = 64 possible values.
2 hexagrams will be 2^12 = 4096 possible values.
Abacus is the same system as well.
19 August 2009 at 6:33 am |
well said Marc. Thank you for pointing that out. The I Ching is a binary system, whereby there are a total of 4096 different “changes” from one hexagram to another (or in 64 cases, the hexagram remains the same)
19 August 2009 at 9:06 am |
Binary system – interesting! 4096 reduces to One, all is one and one is all.
22 August 2009 at 1:52 am |
Actually the representations are binary, but the groupings of three (bits) can be regarded as Octal (base8, 0 to 7 represented using binary), which is also used in digital technology but less common:
000 = 0
001 = 1
010 = 2
011 = 3
100 = 4
101 = 5
110 = 6
111 = 7
It may be interesting to also note that all these has some relations to music as well.
(Western) scales has 7 notes, with the 8th being the 1st repeated an octave higher. Basic chord structures, which are called traids, consists of 3 notes are also constructed based on major and/or minor intervals, just like 0s and 1s, ying and yang.
Bigger, complex chords are formed by “stacking” triads.. 3 on 3 which also resembles I-Ching’s upper on lower.
Either way, it may make more sense to treat it as an Octal system instead of pure binary, groups of 6 makes no sense.
Together with the fibonacci sequence, this system is the most commonly seen pattern in the world; or at least fibonacci being related to nature and I-ching/Octal being related to humans.
Now I wonder if these two have any connections…
P.S. sorry for the long post.. these just pops up in my mind.
3 November 2009 at 3:24 pm |
Has anyone ever turned the I Ching Hexagrams into music notes and composed a song? This is very interesting.
3 November 2009 at 3:58 pm
not that I know of – but I did read something about reconfiguring our music scale using the I-Ching to replace the western one developed by Bach.
22 August 2009 at 2:09 am |
One more thing:
The line changes from one hexagram to another is also similar to music cadences, tension-suspension/resolution. These harmonic/rhythmic movements are what makes music as it is; just like the hexagram changes is what I-Ching is all about.
Change is good. Change = movement/flow, yet another related concept: feng shui.
23 August 2009 at 6:50 am |
thanks for the comments Marc.
change is inevitable – it’s the nature of nature. I’ve mostly been looking at the I Ching in terms of Dark-Light as relating to the change of seasons (at least outside of the Equator), but interesting to note the other patterns inherent in the system.
Also, a university in Japan just calculated Pi to about 1.5 trillion digits… fun with numbers.
23 August 2009 at 6:04 am |
I notice one of your reference books is Etienne Klein’s “Chronos” which I am now reading. Remarkable book. And this is a remarkable site.
23 August 2009 at 6:48 am |
thanks Katie – it’s been a while since I read “Chronos” – I wish my French was good enough to have read it untranslated, but whacha gonna do?
glad you like the site – it’s come a long way since June 2006.
27 September 2009 at 4:19 pm |
Wow! Just found your site. Thank you for all of this
27 September 2009 at 6:55 pm |
it has been my pleasure
9 October 2009 at 12:20 pm |
The number of hexagrams came about through a long period of time, not just overnight. It is well explained I think in the book itself.
First there were only two possible answers: yes and no. That was two single lines:
______ for yes
and
__ __ for no.
Then someone whose name I can’t remember, made that into trigrams according to 8 elements recognized in Chinese philosophy: earth, water, fire, wind, mountain, heaven, valley, thunder.
That gave 8 possible answers.
Then someone else, who spent most of his life in a jail due to his being very smart and advanced, combined those trigrams into hexagrams. 8 trigrams times 8 = 64 combinations.
That is how the Book of changes came to have 64 hexagrams.