3/18/2024 0 Comments Meaning of i ching hexagramsIt is most likely from their appearance that the lines got their forms - yang as full and yin as broken - from the visual impression. The only exceptions are the Heaven and Earth trigrams, representing pure yang and yin respectively. That's not all there is to the combinations of lines in the trigrams, but it indicates that their combinations of yin and yang are not necessarily to be interpreted as saying something definite about their characteristics. The Earth trigram, with its three broken lines, show an abyss without end, and the Heaven trigram with its three full lines is an image of the impenetrable sky. Also, they are probably combined into trigrams not as much for their yin-yang values as for the image they form.įor example, the Mountain trigram to the right has the very crude form of a mountain, like for example the letter n. If the hexagram is the molecule and the trigrams are its atoms, then the lines are the nucleus and electrons of the atom.īut this binary system of lines is not what gives concrete meaning to the hexagrams. Of course, the trigrams are in turn made up of three full or broken lines, which represent yin and yang, the old polarities of Chinese cosmology. The trigrams carry concrete and specific meanings, which when combined lead to the characteristics of the hexagram. They are, so to speak, the atoms making up the molecule. The trigrams are the basic working component in the hexagrams. Then it's just to look up the hexagram in the book and read its text.īut that text, and the meaning of the hexagram, is decided by the two trigrams it contains, with particular consideration of which one is the upper and which one is below. When using the I Ching for divination, a hexagram is chosen by one or other method of chance - like throwing sticks or coins, or simply by using a random number generator, as does the online app on this website. And each of the hexagrams is a unique combination of two trigrams. Since the trigrams consist of three lines that can either be broken or whole, the number of possible combination of lines is eight (2 x 2 x 2). And those trigrams are the real keys to the I Ching and its logics.Įach of the eight trigrams represents a basic force of nature. But they in turn are made up of pairs of trigrams, with three lines each. Each hexagram has its specific meaning and divination text. There are 64 hexagrams in the I Ching, which are used in divination, consisting of six lines that are either full or broken. Here they are, and the principles they represent. The trigrams explain the nature of each hexagram. I Ching consists of 64 hexagrams, but it's really the eight trigrams they are combinations of that are the basic components of the I Ching.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |