Hexagram 23 and 24

Article by Frank Rosen, acupuncturist, about hexagram 23

The Time Spirit

The only way of real living is to use our Heart in a proper way. To make this possible we humans have a power or energy to adjust us to this moment of time.

The Time Spirit and the TAO

When we are born there is one thing that’s the same for everybody, we are living the same time.

All  what is living now is experiencing the same moment, but the perception of this moment is different for everybody.

How is it possible that we can live this moment?

In Chinese philosophy all humans have a power which connect them with the TAO.

The power of the TAO is the power of our heart, this is the energy which connect us with the past and will survive when we die, this power will never disappear. This part isn’t changing during lifetime. When we are a baby or a adult the connection with the TAO stays the same, only time is changing.

The power of the TAO is so powerful that he needs to be adjusted to live on earth. This is the function of the Pericardium. The energy of the Pericardium can let us live during this time. The human Heart is the House of the TAO, and the Pericardium energy can close the heart when it is under attack and it opens the heart when it feels safe.

This pericardium energy can be expressed with a trigram and a body hexagram.

Trigram Lake

Lake stands for reflection, it holds water, is joyfully, is smiling.

Because it holds the water (the tears) , it is always cheerful and it forces itself to survive no matter what is happening.

It is trying to express itself and there is always hope. It has a connection with the tongue and talking. But because it is protecting water it can be moody and starting discussions and quarrels.

The body hexagram of the pericardium

 Hexagram 23 is the expression of the body function of  the pericardium energy.

This hexagram belongs to the months October/November in the year cycle.

It has the name Splitting apart and has one yang line at the top. This is the changing line.

This is the line of Heaven, it’s meaning is easy to grasp. The line of the Wise, from whom everybody knows they are right.

In this hexagram one should let everything go. It brings everything to the essential.

In the I Ching book of Karcher and Ritsema one can read under ideogram: “knife and cutting, a sufficient action.

Richard Wilhelm writes at the 6 line: “But the inferior man’s wickedness is visited upon himself. His house is split apart. A law of nature is at work here. Evil is not destructive to the good alone but inevitable destroys itself as well. For evil, which lives solely by negation, cannot continue to exist on its own strength alone”.

The energy of the pericardium provides a profound defence what is necessary for  protection of the Heart, the most pure energy humans have.

It’s also the hexagram of falling or causing to fall, and is used for overthrowing something or somebody. The matter is trying to get rid of the last vital energy, the structure is at it’s maximum. And because matter is at it’s maximum the Pericardium energy can give the biggest protection.

Inner Gate

With the Pericardium energy we can live in time, it is protecting us so that we can live with the TAO from this time.

Now we can live in a satisfactionary way, and although many humans divide time in small mechanical fragments the art of living is to find something new what is outside the ordinary.

The 6^th point of the pericardium meridian is called inner gate, and through this point we come in our most personal spot there is. It’s a point with a great impact.  In our inner self we can come in contact with the reason why we are on earth at this moment, here we can find what we have lost before.

Frank Roosen

Hex.24
A Tao can only be followed if one flows along with it. Trying to stick to one road all the time will not work. Every Tao always is a never-ending succession of days and nights, of coming and going, of cycles, endings and new beginnings. Moving in cycles, eternally, that is what Tao looks like.