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Your reading

◈ Primary hexagram: 25—Natural innocence.

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Name from “Language of the Lines”

Natural innocence.

Lines

Image created from the lines

The top half of the hexagram, which deals with the responses of identity, is not involved, not connected with the manifesting half, all the lines are yang. This lack of being in touch with what is going on gives us a lack of guile or calculated wisdom and we act simply with what is there—an active outer world, line 3, and an active intuitive feel for our situation, line 2. Without premeditation we meet the unexpected, and an established identity has some qualms about that.

Image created from the trigrams

The tao is experienced as a very gentle flow, shown by Sun in the place of identity and then Ch’ien for our inner being indicating an inner non-involvement. The state of innocence is both vulnerable and protected—vulnerable to being influenced by the active life force (Chên) but as it does not entangle itself with the influence it is rarely damaged; it flows by disaster with breathtaking ease. The problems we have in this tao come from identity being unable to let go and enter the flow; this is indicated by the unflowing nature of Sun which stills the outer flow, Kên.

The Chinese Oracle

> Innocent integrity.

> Great success.

> Continuing (in the tao) brings reward.

> Action without the best (innocent) motives brings misfortune.

> Having goals is not favourable.

Comments

Innocence is about not knowing, not having attitudes but relying on a trust in life. Integrity is being one in this trust, not doubting that the natural flow of happenings will carry us. Continuing in this trust brings its reward of harmonious activity, for in this tao we in identity are unaware of the forces acting around us; then thought-out or non-innocent activity becomes cunning and guile which is always against something and so is misfortunate. This activity is having goals, missing fortune.

Manifestations

The pattern

Confusion does not disturb

those without involvement.

For humans

Purified of motive

has no need with which to fear.

Innocence

holds the hand of anger smiling,

steps lightly through confusion.

In nature

When the storm roars

the animal sleeps

in its dry cave.

In forms we make

The need of form

makes ways to map.

Mapped confusion—guile.

Moving lines

Line 1 goes yin — life force shows more change

As the life force manifests actively here, it is easy to follow it innocently. There is no complication because innocence does not try to manipulate or identify itself anywhere but simply experiences; identity finds it easiest to do this with a new activity.

> Truly innocent activity.

> Progress.

> Good fortune.

The life force becomes active in its natural cycle so that a clear flow will appear within it which is easy to follow.

❧

Line 2 goes yang — intuitive feeling less active

When our feeling does not interpret the life force, we act innocently; there is no basis for planning what to do with our situation

> He reaps not having sown with a thought for harvest.

> He collects the third year’s harvest but did not cultivate to this end.

> Advantage in every direction.

Truly innocent activity cannot be planned; the changes (third year symbolizes changing in cycles) come of their own accord although we also reap what we sow. Being like this our direction is not confined, there is advantage in any direction that happens.

❧

Line 3 goes yang — outer world changes less

It is the nature of identity to identify the life flow and give it form. Here the outer flow is fixed and so is lost.

> Unexpected calamity.

> Rope, and an ox taken away.

> Gain to the traveller,

> loss to the resident.

The unexpected comes to us when we are not in the flow (when in the flow the unexpected is normality). By roping the ox we lose it; when we travel in the flow the unexpected is a gain, a step forward, but when we settle down we turn it into a loss because we do not want change expect that which we plan for.

❧

Line 4 goes yin — accepting the outer state more

It is in this line that identity monitors our outer activity, so we may also manipulate it for our own ends.

> Continuing correctly (in the tao) is blameless.

It is necessary to follow the tao, it is fine to be involved in outer activity if we do this innocently; if we see a gain for ourselves we will lose our innocence.

❧

Line 5 goes yin — more awareness of intuition

Here we absorb ourselves in the feeling of stillness from the emerging life force and hope to gain something, but the life force will move again when it will, and all we will gain by our interest in its inactivity is an entanglement in feeling stillness which creates a blockage of activity.

> Unexpected illness should not be treated but will cure itself.

Illness is at base always an interruption in the flow of something, a blockage of function. Being involved in the stillness of the life force causes us to manifest it, but it will pass as the life energy flows again.

❧

Line 6 goes yin — our inner being accepts more

Innocence brings on the unexpected, but to intentionally travel out to meet the unexpected is not innocence, it is a sort of cunning to defeat its unexpectedness. In the whole of this tao the harmonious is uncomplicated by desires and goals, identity is carried by the life force and has problems if it imposes its will.

> Action amongst innocence (or the unexpected) brings injury.

Any action that we take through our interest in the unexpected flow is bound to be an interference with it. As in the fifth line we are acting out of discomfort and not allowing it to pass through our experience.

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