Oracle for the Week of 3.11.24
“No person who is enthusiastic about his work has anything to fear from life.” Samuel Goldwyn
Yü
Enthusiasm
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THE JUDGMENT
ENTHUSIASM. It furthers one to install helpers
And to set armies marching.
The time of enthusiasm derives from the fact that there is at hand an eminent man who is in sympathy with the spirit of the people and acts in accord with it. Hence he finds universal and willing obedience. To arouse enthusiasm it is necessary for a man to adjust himself and his ordinances to the character of those whom he has to lead. The inviolability of natural laws rests on this principle of movement along the line of least resistance. These laws are not forces external to things but represent the harmony of movement immanent in them and why celestial bodies do not deviate from their orbits and why all events in nature occur with fixed regularity. It is the same with human society: only such laws as are rooted in popular sentiment can be enforced, while laws violating this sentiment merely arouse resentment.
Again, it is enthusiasm that enables us to install helpers for the completion of an undertaking without fear of secret opposition. It is enthusiasm too that can unify mass movements, as in war, so that they achieve victory.
THE IMAGE
Thunder comes resounding out of the earth:
The image of ENTHUSIASM.
Thus the ancient kings made music
In order to honor merit,
And offered it with splendor
T the Supreme Deity,
Inviting their ancestors to be present.
When, at the beginning of summer, thunder — electrical energy — comes rushing forth from the earth again, and the first thunderstorm refreshes nature, a profound state of tension is resolved. Joy and relief make themselves felt. So too, music has power to relieve tension within the heart and to loosen the grip of obscure emotions. The enthusiasm of the heart expresses itself involuntarily in a burst of song, in dance and rhythmic movement of the body. From immemorial times the inspiring effect of the invisible sound that moves all hearts, and draws them together, has mystified mankind.
Rulers have made use of this natural taste for music; they elevated and regulated it. Music was looked upon as something serious and holy, designed to purify the feelings of men. It fell to music to glorify the virtues of heroes and thus to construct a bridge to the unseen. In the temple men drew near to God with music and pantomimes (out of this later the theater developed). Religious feeling for the Creator of the world was united with the most sacred of human feelings, that of reverence for the ancestors. The ancestors were invited to these divine services as guests of the Ruler of Heaven and as representatives of humanity in the higher regions. This uniting of the human past with the Divinity in solemn moments of religious inspiration established the bond between God and man. The ruler who revered the Divinity in revering his ancestors became thereby the Son of Heaven, in whom the heavenly and earthly world met in mystical contact.
These ideas are the final summation of Chinese culture. Confucius has said at the great sacrifice at which these rites were performed: “He who could wholly comprehend this sacrifice could rule the world as though it were spinning on his hand.”
THE LINES
Six at the top means:
Deluded enthusiasm.
But if after completion one changes,
There is no blame.
It is a bad thing for a man to let himself be deluded by enthusiasm. But if this delusion has run its course, and he is still capable of changing, he is freed of error. A sober awakening from false enthusiasm is quite possible and very favorable.
(See below for the specific line’s significance and how to interpret it.)
SIGNIFICANCE OF SPECIFIC LINES DETERMINES
ITS STATUS AND FUNCTION IN A HEXAGRAM
LINE 1
Lines one and two are of the earth’s domain.
Line 1 represents an ordinary intellectual or a commoner.
In present times, it is perceived as the people.
At the position difficult to understand: as it just arrives at a hexagram, what will happen later is unknown at this point.
LINE 2
Lines one and two are of the earth’s domain.
Line 2 represents the courtier of the duke, or a domestic official, or a low ranking official
In present times, it is interpreted as the elite of civilians.
At the position for starting action: it possesses the principle of moderation. It is ready for the assigned mission, but what it can do is still limited.
LINE 3
Lines three and four are of the human domain.
Line three represents the feudal lord, i.e., the duke.
In present times, it is interpreted as a civilian leader.
The line is at a position full of ill omens, but it teems with ambition and is very active.
In this case the line is also the hexagram’s constituting ruler. Unable to help the ruler because he lacks ability and goodness of character the line is resolutely to be cast out.
LINE 4
Lines three and four are of the human domain.
Line four represents the courtier of the king, or the official of the central government, or a high-ranking official.
In present times, it can be interpreted as the official.
At a position full of fear it stays next to the king and acts as a courtier
Its mode of conduct is at a position of resting, as it just arrives at the upper trigram after a hard march.
In this specific oracle it is its governing ruler; it does not indicate ability and goodness of character, and will be cast out.
LINE 5
Lines five and six are of the heavenly domain.
Line five represents the king
In present times, it can be interpreted as the president
It is at the core of a hexagram and possesses the principle of moderation; or at the peak of a hexagram where the line reaches its full development.
LINE 6
Lines five and six are of the heavenly domain.
At the top position: the shrine, line six is the symbol of a clan or dynasty. Or is some cases, position six refers to a very honored position, but without title, power, responsibility or obligation.
In present times, it may be interpreted as the country, or a retired official.
Its characteristic is easy to understand. It is at the end of a hexagram, what has happened at each phase is known to it.
Mode of conduct: At the top and end, the mission of the hexagram is going to be completed, and its norm is about to change.