12 story

The image of hexagram 12
Pĭ, oppose

Hexagram 12 has trigram Earth below or inside, Heaven above or outside. Earth is nurturing, but can be very severe, because she only allows which agrees with Heaven's laws.

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

When trigram Heaven is above (popup)

When trigram Earth is below (popup)

Earth below Heaven: your inner wish to care and grow has to answer to laws and rules and borders which restrict you. But the ability to say no can be valuable to live your life the way you want it to be. You will hear many no's, but you also have the power to say ‘no’ yourself.
But if you negate Heaven's will, Earth will tell you "no".

The old diviners gave this combination of trigrams a name: Pĭ. It means go against, oppose (heaven’s will), bad, obstruct, clogged, stopped. Negation, none, end of speech, blocked, evil, humble. On bronzes it can mean grand, receive with respect (negating oneself?).

Ideogram of the hexagram name: the top part is a cut-off sprout, the bottom part is a mouth. The meaning is straightforward: "no".

The ‘Great Image’ says: Heaven and Earth do not interact: obstruction. The noble one holds back his virtue and avoids disaster. He does not allow honor by an official salary.

Hex.12 is the contrast of 11, which is about blessings. Hex.12 is the hardship (or occasionally the rescue) of being stopped. Of obstructions and impossibilities and others who don't agree or maybe like to say no, no matter what. But you can also say no yourself, you can refuse things which you don't want.

Saying no seems a negative thing, but without the art of saying no one is a victim of everything that one passes on one’s road. Receiving ‘no’, being denied something – even those are necessary things in life. They make one strong, one learns there are borders and best of all: one learns to cope with them or to overcome them. The right reaction to a ‘no’ builds up inner strength. Saying no is the prerequisite for individuality, for inner peace and for a rich and creative existence.

The image of hexagram 12Pĭ, oppose

The image of hexagram 12
Pĭ, oppose