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◈ Primary hexagram: 34—A store of power.

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Name from “Language of the Lines”

A store of power.

Lines

Image created from the lines

Innerly, in lines 1 and 6, we accept a passive phase of the life energy and our interpretation of feeling is accepting this as well (lines 5 and 2). As, however, we do not accept the quietness of outer activity there is a tendency to desire action (lines 4 and 3).

The balance of this structure is towards accepting the experience of inactivity which makes this the positive drive of the tao for we then see our desire for action as an avoidance of the experience our circumstances can give us.

Image created from the trigrams

The emerging flow is stilled (Ch’ien) and does not move in the outer space (Ch’ien); this gives a hope of activity to identity (Tui) which may at first look outwards for expression but then accepts it innerly (Chên).

The flow shows that the rejection by identity (line 4) of being in a passive state is overcome by the potential energy itself, and this gives the hexagram its common name “power of the great”; the inner is always greater than the outer in the sense that it contains more possibilities of being real. Here its effect is powerful.

The Chinese Oracle

> The power of the great.

> Continuance in the tao brings reward.

Comments

The tao, or existent pattern of the way, of this hexagram is our growing acceptance of the potential, inner, reality. This is both source and setting for our outer conscious reality, but if we name it we will mistake its nature which is that it is undefined, unmanifest; manifest it and this is not the tao.

The reward of continuing in allowing and accepting this is a great leap in our ability to experience, a great expansion of our sense of the real. This is the power of the great.

Manifestations

The pattern

He watches,

comes late into action

with the power of great potential.

For humans

Slowly absorbing experience.

Quietly relating inner and outer.

Great power for action

when we are ready.

In nature

The seed, with great stores,

awaits in tranquillity,

then bursts upon the world.

In forms we make

Powerful government knows

the flexibility of new ideas

woven between the mature.

Moving lines

Line 1 goes yin — life force shows more change

Identity is looking for activity but our circumstances, the tao, provide none. The lack is so obvious that despite our natural urge to do something we have the possibility of restraining ourselves.

> Power in the toes.

> Advance brings misfortune.

> Inner truth remains.

The toes lead our steps, but at present we should not be stepping, this activity is not sensing the inner truth but turning it into outer action. The truth of inactivity still remains to be discovered, but a leap in understanding such as this is not easily made.

❧

Line 2 goes yin — intuitive feeling more active

Our feeling is of the life force and the life force is in its non-manifesting phase so we are feeling the great unknown. If we continue to open our feelings to the unknowable we shall find a sense of it that is not a definition, not even a defined feeling.

> Continuance in the tao is good fortune.

If we define what our feeling is doing, however, we will manifest it and lose the direction of the tao.

❧

Line 3 goes yin — outer world changes more

Where there are possibilities that are not yet manifest it is not the time to push ahead with action, it will not be supported by the life force so we will get stuck in a situation from which our own forcefulness will not allow us to escape. Action always lessens our awareness of possibilities for action and at present these are many and developing. This is a time for realizing the inactive as equally positive with the active and sometimes more appropriate.

> The inferior man uses activity.

> The superior man uses inactivity.

> A goat butts against a hedge

> and gets its horns entangled.

When we use activity we centre ourselves on this; the oracle image for this is inferior (narrowing). The wide way to experience is in not choosing so that more possibilities remain open to us.

❧

Line 4 goes yin — accepting the outer state more

Here we recognize the stillness of the outer and can separate our identity from activity. In this way we are available to the possibilities that are arising.

> Continuance in the way

> brings good fortune.

> Regret disappears.

> The hedge separates

> and entanglement ceases.

> Power, the axle (or wheel-spokes)

> of a large waggon.

The large waggon will carry many things at once. Our attention is not just at the rim of the wheel where action takes place but in the connections to the whole and so the entanglement with activity ceases.

❧

Line 5 goes yang — less awareness of intuition

Our intuitive feeling is inactive; if we were concerned about this we would be involved, but here we let it be what it will.

> He easily sacrifices the goat.

> No regret.

The goat in this tao is the one who gets entangled (moving line 3); here we are free.

❧

Line 6 goes yang — our inner being accepts less

In a tao of great possibilities yet to be realized we need to be aware of the emerging life force.

> The goat carelessly butts the hedge and cannot go backwards or forwards.

> No advantage.

> Realizing the difficulties brings advantage.

If we are not aware of possibilities arising we cannot move with them as they arise, so we get stuck, unchanged; awareness of this brings our awareness of possibilities back again.

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