32 story

The image of hexagram 32
Héng, persevering

Hexagram 32 has trigram Xún, Wind, below or inside, Zhèn, Thunder, above or outside. When the inner 'seal or core' steers the outer actions, they will all concur with your real destiny, without straying from your road.

What does it mean, 'inner' and 'outer trigram' (popup)

When trigram Wind is below (popup)

When trigram Thunder is above (popup)

Xún below Zhèn: Xún is the blueprint of your character, your nature. It will influence everything you do and direct it towards your destiny. Zhèn is your creativity and energy to act. Zhèn can be impulsive and sudden, but with the steady influence of your deepest nature its actions will all be in accord with your dao, making your road a steady one.

The old diviners gave this combination of trigrams a name: Héng, a ferry, or the moon with its phases. It is a description of things which always follow the same basic pattern, with the result that they are steady and persevering.

Ideogram of the hexagram name: the right part, 亙 or 亘, is a boat or the moon between (top and bottom) two shores, sides or limits: crescent moon, extreme limit, the ultimate, extend, experience, long. The left part is a heart. Héng's meanings: long term, fixed, perseverance, law, often, stretch, continuous, appearance of the moon, last quarter of the moon, weeks. Héng is also the name of a big mountain and of a sacrifice. The 'heart' part makes it apply to human affairs as well, which also have cycles, repeating themselves over and over. (see also 46 line 5)

The 'Great Image' says: Thunder and wind: Héng. The noble one stands and does not change his bearings.

Hex.32 is the contrast of 42, which is about increase.
Hex.32 does not care about increase or decrease. It follows its own course.

More about hexagrams 31 and 32

  Story:
  Stay on your own course, steadying your boat on the big river of your life. Never deviate from your own conscience, feelings, ethics.
  A young man decided to leave the world of society. He started to fish for eel as a living. Every day he fished for bait and prepared his lines, 1100 hooks. The first day he caught many eels, but after that - never again anything. He kept going on and on for 2 years, every day putting out his lines.
   Now he is an artist, famous for his etchings of fishing boats and the harbor. More than 20 years later he learned the cause of catching no eel: he did not pickle the lines, so the eel smelled death and stayed away.
   His dedication did not change, and it brought him what belongs to him, even if it did not make any sense rationally.

The image of hexagram 32Héng, persevering

The image of hexagram 32
Héng, persevering