Hexagram 29, Xí Kăn

象曰 the great images says:
君子 noble one
以 use
常德 constant virtue
行 move, perform
習 exercise, habit, expertise in a certain field
教事 teach events

Ban Xiang (trigrams) water-water
Hu Gua (nuclear hex) 27
Qian Gua (inverse hex) 29
Jiao Gua (reverse hex) 29
Pang Tong Gua (opposite/complementary hex) 30

  Kan is about that, which is hidden and often dangerous, which can evoke fear or disbelief. But the name of this hexagram is not only kan, danger, but also xi, repeating. One of the meanings of xi is teaching or learning, and danger is a powerful incentive and tool to learn.
  Kan is also a sound. Kankan is the sound of hammering or percussion. In the face of danger, the heart "kankans". Everything which repeats itself is governed by kan: vibrations, memories, patterns, habits, skills.

  XI KAN: The name of the hexagram is not Kan - it is Xi Kan. Xi is repeating, skill, routine, learning something by training or exercise. The same character is used in hex.2 line 2. Xi is composed of 1: 'wings' or flying, and 2: nose ("me": MY wings).
  Kan is a bank, ridge, pit or danger, crisis, a burial pit, physical deficiency, depression; the sound of percussion; a snare. Kan is composed of 3: earth, and 4: exhale, exhausted, lack (of breath or money), debts.

  So Xi Kan means repeated pit, habitual danger, but it may also mean: the danger of routine.  In the MaWangDui YiJing this hexagram has the name Gan: pay taxes. A distress that will come back again and again, and certainly in old times it could be life-threatening. Its other meaning is to pay for the music, maybe also like 'to pay the piper'. 

 See "The patterns of hexagram 29"

  The trigrams: Water repeated:
All living creatures are mostly water. We humans about 70 to 80 percent. The substance of memory. When water is shaken, it will 'remember' the situation of that moment. Not as facts, but as vibrations, patterns. It is why the moment of birth decides a lot about your mind: the water in your body is shaken by the birth itself. Every moment of high intensity will resonate for a long time - until a new shock brings new patterns.

Story (old):
  To get out of dangers or misery is not by solving problems. It is by leaving the fear. In the arts of fighting one learns to get used to danger, so it does not call up fear anymore, and defense can come entirely out of one's skill. No fear interfering.
  Then one can be like water, adapting, fitting into any form. Water in a cup acquires the form of the cup, in a lake the form of the lake. It is smooth and flowing - and can be terribly crushing. Deep inside one has a stable, quiet and safe core, but in the course of life, most people forget about it. Just remember it and no danger can afflict you. Visit the dark secret depths of your heart and bring the wisdom of your soul back to life.
  Water is the primeval chaos, the great mother of everything, without form or limit, eternal. It is a gift of the gods, and to go to its source is to return to whole(ness). To follow its course is to reach one's skills and courage.

to hexagram 29

Hexagram 30, Lí

象曰 the great images says:
大人 great man
以 use
繼明 continuous brightness
照 shine
于四方 to four regions

Ban Xiang (trigrams) fire-fire
Hu Gua (nuclear hex) 28
Qian Gua (inverse hex) 30
Jiao Gua (reverse hex) 30
Pang Tong Gua (opposite/complementary hex) 29

  Moments fly past like birds. You will have to catch them right now, to enjoy something when it happens, to seize an opportunity, to realize a flash of insight. Life is full of those bright little birds. If you can seize them and care for them, they may turn into big things, feeding your life and soul. The sum of all those small things will make your life to a bright and shining one.
    The mind can discern and catch those moments. It filters out what is not relevant by letting it slip through the net. The Bright Birds are what is relevant and visible.
  Lí is about the moment, the one bright opportunity. As opposed to water which talks about dark patterns and memories.

  LÍ: At right a bird, and at left a bird-net: to catch or having caught a bird. Nowadays the net-part means: a bogey, bright, elegant, to oppose.  Meanings: name of a bird, Oriole. Loan for leave, depart from, to be dispersed, distribute, arrange, vis à vis, meet with, fall into, fasten, attach, pass through, droop, hang down, light, brilliance, to be separated from, differ from, to defy, to go against, paired, hedge.  In the MaWangDui YiJing the name of this hexagram is Luo, a snare, net, to catch: the picture at right. 

  The trigrams: Fire repeated.
Brightness doubled brings the Bright Bird. The great man illumines the four regions by his continuous brightness.
Fire brings clarity and order and a solid footing. Raise female cattle to create a herd, a living. Male cattle is for sacrifices, for showing off.

to hexagram 30