I Ching, Yijing or Zhou Yi
"Oracle of the moon": © 2000 LiSe
Yi Jing, Oracle of the Moon
The image of hexagram 18
Gŭ, decay
What does it mean, 'inner' and 'outer trigram' (popup)
Wind (or Wood) below Mountain: when wind cannot move, shut in by Mountain, things tend to stagnate. Mountain wards off, or closes off. When it shuts its door too tight, things get mouldy or musty inside. If it lets Wind in and Wind can move around, the stale air is chased out, carrying dust and toxins with it. When Wood cannot grow, it stops living and decays. Both Wind and Wood have to move and enter and change things.
Ideogram of the hexagram name: an image of a pot or vase with worms or vermin.
The 'Great Image' says: Below the mountain is the wind: decay. The noble one inspires the people to raise virtue.
Hex.18 is the contrast of 17, which is about following, listening, complying with the way things are and finding one's way in it.
Hex.18 intervenes, solves or spoils things, but doesn't leave them alone and doesn't obey what others prescribe.
Everybody has alien influences embedded in his/her soul. Many are hidden; one does not even know they exist. It seems as if they are part of one's personality. Especially those one collected in childhood.
In order to live one’s own life and one’s own fate, one has to get rid of them. The more one succeeds, the more happiness, strength and health will come back.
Every influence makes a distance between one’s mind and real self, one’s genuine essential being. Really reaching it is very difficult – except when one does, and then it turns out to be the easiest thing in the world. You wonder why you did not know – it is because distance is made of knowing, but to reach yourself is made of being.