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◈ Primary hexagram: 16—In rest.

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Name from “Language of the Lines”

In rest.

Lines

Image created from the lines

As our active feelings in line 2 have the attention of identity in line 5 and our inner being in line 6 is involved in the life force, our attention is turned inwards and rejects activity in the outer world as shown by line 4 which is the only yang line. It is from the inner that new impulses arise and new cycles of activity manifest, so our attention is focused on a change of cycle and we withhold our involvement to be ready for something new.

Image created from the trigrams

The only trigram that is not fully flowing is that showing our identified self as K’an—this has low energy and doubtfulness. The identified self is at the bottom of a wave of activity, between one wave and another; it is time for rest.

A common name of the hexagram is “repose”; we should not go too quickly towards activity but neither lose sight of its coming rise. It is a time when we can widen our sense of time and, while being in the moment, be aware of other moments. Being at the node of a cycle (a point about which our reality swings) the tao will seem different when it is seen from one side of the node or the other; if we look ahead it is about excitement in outer involvement whereas if we are in the present it is about inner involvement.

What we need to do in this situation is to allow ourselves to be carried by activity when it comes to us and thus neither get stuck in a stance of repose nor create premature activity.

The Chinese Oracle

> Reposeful attention benefits preparation and sending forth of armies.

Comments

Armies being sent forth are symbolic of our outer action, action that comes out of our point of view. A point of view that enables us to act effectively is developed during periods of rest such as this one we are in, so if we act too soon we are not going to be prepared innerly and the conditions will not be right for our action to be beneficial.

Manifestations

The pattern

The wave of the life force

nourishes its source.

For humans

The sabbath, the completion.

each cycle has its period of rest.

In nature

The seed results from the growth

and decay of the plant.

In forms we make

Without an amnesty

how is the knot to be untied?

Moving lines

Line 1 goes yang — life force shows less change

Repose in this tao means awaiting a new cycle of activity with calm confidence, but here in this moving line the life force produces inactivity that we do not like (line 6 is accepting activity).

> A cock crows about repose.

> misfortune.

Because we do not like the inactivity of this moment we become busy about it. The misfortune is that we miss the experience of peace in the present and are ill-prepared for the next movement of the life force.

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Line 2 goes yang — intuitive feeling less active

Our intuitive feeling goes into repose, and this is quite in keeping with this tao but we may get stuck in this if we fix our minds on resting.

> The firmness of rock.

> A day not completed.

> Continuance in the way

> brings good fortune.

Rock is the underlying truth of our surface world which we feel here as our feelings go into repose, but we do not feel this for the whole cycle, the whole day, surface activity will again manifest. We need to stay with our present circumstances as they change.

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Line 3 goes yang — outer world changes less

In this tao it is our involvement in outer activity shown by line 4 that is in repose, not the activity itself. Here outer activity is lessened so we are involved in making it less which is still an involvement and not repose; to let it go will enable us to find a new cycle.

> He gazes upwards

> which brings remorse.

> He acts too late

> which brings remorse.

Looking upwards is to look away from the matter in hand, looking for something that is not in our circumstances brings remorse because it is not available and we miss what is available (we come to it too late).

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Line 4 goes yin — accepting the outer state more

As the tao of repose is marked by this line being the only yang line, here we are involving ourselves in a new phase which is the natural development out of the phase of repose.

> Calm confidence manifests success.

> being without doubt he gathers friends.

If, now that repose is ending, we carry our calm confidence on into activity, we can expect the support of others.

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Line 5 goes yang — less awareness of intuition

As we become less aware of what our intuitive feelings are doing we are more likely to be unaware when there is change, when something new arises, so we are more likely to carry on with old feelings when they have lost their vitality.

> There is illness but not death.

This applies to the feelings, but physical illness often accompanies our identifying with stale feelings over a long period.

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Line 6 goes yang — our inner being accepts less

When we lose interest in a transition while it is happening to us we lose touch with the flow and become confused.

> Excessive repose (or over-confidence).

> At completion there is change

> and no error.

The transition is in us, it happens despite the confusion of identity because identity is not its cause but is what is being affected. As the transition completes itself we see more clearly again.

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