I Ching Study
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Signs and DegreesThis I Ching is aligned to the astrological zodiac. As in astrological tables called ephemerides, star signs of the zodiac (there are really 13 constellations along the zodiac, also counting Ophiuchus, or Ofiocos, the Serpent Holder) are given three-letter abbreviations throughout:
♈ Aries, the Ram – Ari The constellations are of stars, the star signs are given by the revolutions of the earth around the sun, and projected onto the "fixed stars" (they are moving and spreading apart, but slowly). The constellations of the zodiac are not thirty degrees each, unlike the star signs. Further, the allotted constellations in astrology are perhaps 25 degrees of arc earlier ("anti-clockwise") than the signs. The gap widens by one degree for every 70 year or so. Thus, when the sun is in the sign and degree Aries 1 at the vernal equinox, it is in the constellation Pisces too. Moreover, the actual lengths of the constellations vary from seven days [degrees] for Scorpius [if one is not combining it with Ophiuchus] to forty-five days for Virgo. Further, the star signs do not start and end on fixed dates, contrary to what you may have read in magazines: Due to the leap year cycle the dates differ by a degree or so on a four-yearly basis). [◦More] To me, nature expressions throughout the year and also natural human life utterances correlated to it, come first. It is possible to build up a loose "skeleton" (system) on such a basis. Note: degrees of a circle (the zodiac is one) may at times be marked by º and minutes by '. Vatican Council StandThe Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions ["found everywhere"] Religious and Other Beliefs of Americans in 2003
Many people believe in miracles (89%), . . . astrology (31%). [Source: The Harris Poll no. 11, February 26, 2003] Another US survey, conducted by the National Science Foundation, concluded that 40 percent believe in astrology, that is, that the position of the stars and planets can affect peoples' lives. Hence, belief in astrology is widespread, with 31 percent of Americans believing in it and according to another study - 39 percent considering it scientific. The chances are that over one third of those who elect the next US president, believe in astrology. There are many people in other countries who believe in astrology too. Astrology is a vital part of world religions too - and the Church rejects nothing that is true in it. Nor should we. Our task is to find truths and qualify them, that is, determine how tenable they may be in different settings and so on. That is not easy. And none or very few have done so to the general satisfaction of scientists. Also, I Ching and its cosmology is vital in Taoism, one more world religion. Now, what about tolerance from the Catholic Church? It seems like a dream come true - The Church reproves . . . any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their . . . religion. The Oracle-believer has protection from the Church, thenIt is good to try to make the best out of the regular circumstances confronting us. We can get trained in cracking open symbols and main ideas we deserve to access deeper. Many things should be resolved. The seemingly haphazard ways of the oracle-liker can lead to good uses or thankful routes. Each compass direction can be associated with at least one animal. The associated animals are to assist memorisation of the separate trigrams. AttributionsI Ching, also known as the Book of Changes, is traditionally used as a means of understanding, adjusting and maybe reaching control over impending events by oracle-obscure lines, an overall interpretation of them, and by allowing much leeway for trying to make sense out of it, and gauge the possible significance. The I Ching hexagrams are formed by joining basic trigrams. Each trigram has a name, a root meaning, and a symbolic meaning. Hexagrams ("six-liners") are had by combining two and two trigrams ("three-liners"). The I Ching system is traditionally ascribed to notables. Fu Hsi (24th century BC) is said to have discovered these trigrams. And according to tradition, most of the wisdom of the oracle book stems from Wen Wang (fl. 12th century BC). He was the father of the one who founded the Chou dynasty. Wen Wang is generally credited with having formed the hexagrams. However, many Modernist scholars of China doubt that the culture hero Fu Hsi actually existed, think Confucius had nothing to do with the I Ching at all, and contend that the hexagrams came before the trigrams. Scholars also find that the text cannot be attributed to King Wen, and that it is likely that it was not compiled until the late Western Zhou, perhaps ca. the late 9th century BC. [Eb, s.v. "I Ching" etc.]
Symbols and ParadigmsCarl Jung and Richard Wilhelm - a few wordsI Ching was translated from Chinese by the sinologist Richard Wilhelm, whose massive work has been translated into such as Danish and many other languages. [Rc] Dr. Carl Gustav Jung first met Wilhelm in Darmstadt "in the early twenties." In 1923 Wilhelm was "invited ... to Zurich and he spoke on the I Ching at the Psychology Club." Wilhelm died in 1930. Jung links "Self" to Wilhelm and Oriental philosophy in a preface to the book from 1934. The late Professor Wing-tsit Chan of Princeton University saw that Lao Tan's utterances were rooted in that sort of cognitive-universal world map that we should call a culture-forming matrix, yet we call it just a cosmogram [Ca]. The I Ching's deep phenomenology-map is also a template, a gauging mould that can establish conduct by enigmatic images put into pre-set patterns. In such an approach lie the awkwardness of stereotyped conduct instead of being free-wheeling. Sigmund Freud on Symbols"The analysis of the . . . dream shows that I recognized the symbolism in dreams from the very outset. . . . - This is what Freud said in his ◦The Interpretation of Dreams (3rd ed. 1911). Fit for physicistsThe I Ching is rife with half-obscure images with symbol-values to those who read such values into them. We find such mementos in what is a quite horoscope-like system - a cosmology preserved in the form of pictograms (symbol-etchings), commentaries and drawings to go along with them - all built on top of a binary system from antiquity. Modern physicists have taken an interest in this world-view. Among them are Drs. Fritjof Capra and Niels Bohr. [Ve; Thd; Tass] Dream Wisdom - BewareThe Bible claims God gave King Solomon wisdom in a dream, and later Jesus said king Solomon was the wisest on earth. Some proverbs are attributed to him. But let us not overlook that Solomon caused his dynastry to fall, and that he became an idol-worshipper with about a thousand wives and concubines. How wise was Jesus? He let himself be crucified . . . The answer may in part depend on the wisdom of those who answer the question, since wisdom "is in the eye of the beholder" too - not only beauty is there, according to a proverb. In other words, we tend to project "wise" onto others, but it may not be clever. Projecting things rarerely is.
Getting to Terms with Dreams We can learn to judge well on top of tenets that the I Ching serves. But we have to add good reservations to remain on the safe side and not assume too much. The hoary I Ching is an image-rooted data bank - a parade of very old symbols related to a cosmos-understanding stemming from about 3000 years ago, from what we know. ◊ Sigmund Freud: "The progressive experience of psycho-analysis has enabled us to discover (people) who have displayed in a surprising degree this immediate understanding of dream-symbolism" - in The Interpretation of Dreams Believe it or not, neither dream life nor virtual life is life at its peak. And being put into pre-set patterns of antiquated or stereotyped conduct - in that approach lie many dangers. (3) ⚴
Figurative Referrals by Language◦Dan Stackhouse has investigated I Ching's arrays, and writes that "Chinese writing is historically based on drawings - illustrations represent the oldest forms of the Chinese characters." For there are word-pictures inside all of them, and many reach metaphors. It should help to combine contemplation on drawings with sound instructions that are apt and to the point, where "A picture says more than a thousand words. (American)" Maybe not exactly that much, but there is something in it: A good picture expresses much, and some may be interpreted too. Metaphoric expressions may show expertise and skill in scientific presentation, Robert Barass points out. [Scw] A figurative expression that's well and to the point, enriches, highlights, is like an artistic flower on the bush of communication. Many dreams use the principle: visual presentation is the acme, somehow. The taxonomy of learning that was developed by Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues, shows six steps that may build up a sensible, well compressed (terse), figured representation. [Tece] And why? Because your mental prowess can be assisted in such a way. So it should help a man to come to terms with the intrinsic matters. ◊
The Chinese orientations and nature-alignments - perhaps 95 percent or so of the old descriptions and labels fit the King Kong arrangment - in part because they are overtly figurative.
On the ladder up to symbols
In figure 1 the added level of representation includes abstract-making, making evaluations or conclusions terse, and symbolisation is one such avenue. On such a well-founded level of learning intuitive grasps can slowly enter in, and learning help or advance profound understanding. If you seek to contemplate on symbols to get to their essential meanings, you have to have clues. They are hopefully embedded in some tradition. But vital parts may be lost in the course of time. Take, for example, the ancient Farohar and ask, "What does that mean?"
As luck would have it, in this case tradition talks of the meanings of the symbolic representation [More]. Various emblems, tokens, pictures, proverbs, and key notes may be tentatively or figuratively brought together in groups. And, further, to be methodically informed about a possible or likely setting (fit ground) for any tenet (seed), may be good help too. Very many words of our common language are deep pictures too, they serve to refer by allegorical or figurative means. For example, 'soap' can take on a new meaning, including 'flatter' (which is related to 'make flat', by the way. In 'soap opera' 'soap' has been included because such serial dramas of tangled interpersonal situations and melodramatic or sentimental treatment, first were sponsored by soap manufacturers. And the next "turn of the screw" is that 'soap opera' means a series of real-life events resembling a soap opera. (3) That is very often how things develop along a twisted track. Some core words are lifted into new meanings through metaphor-making, some get hybridised, some acquire added and new meanings that branch out and develop, as the case may be. ◊
Through concepts - by concrete and figurative referrals, and mixtures of them - we appear to understand - whereas "The wise man hides his wisdom". [Ap 662], and "He who thinks he is wise, is a fool." [Ap 661] - at least if he runs over his tender heart. There is some deep uncertainty involved in language communication anyway. In quantum physics, Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle explains one side to it [Thd]. We should allow for it too. (5) ⚴
Good Living Needs to be TaughtGood and sensible wisdom tends to resonate to someone deep inside. Education and self-development should include some fair blend of
We learn both by insights and study. Insight gives understanding, study gives learning, that is, things that can be recalled. Both insights and studied matter can be transmitted by words and pictures. The latter include symbols. Insight is from deep inside and is intuitive. We understand things by intuition. This needs to be taught. That does not mean intuition is infallible. Learning is by recall, all in all. Much depends on it, included handed-over wisdom teachings. Apt teaching steps up learning matter toward and into the reach of insights. Thus insight and schooling go hand in hand. Jerome Bruner on IntuitionThe psychologist Jerome Bruner devotes a chapter of his book The Process of Education to the student's intuitive understanding - the grasping of meanings - as compared to formal understanding of subjects. He says, "The development of effectiveness in intuitive thinking is an objective of many of the most highly regarded teachers in mathematics and science." He also thinks that "The good intuiter may have been born with something special, but his effectiveness rests upon a solid knowledge of the subject, a familiarity that gives intuition something to work with." [Proe 56-57] To develop intuitive thinking may be fruitful, he maintains. As he understands it, intuition takes off from limited cues and makes "jumps" of understanding, or short-cuts, as he calls them. Intuitive approaches helps solving problems, but reality testing needs to be added to the findings, probably. By such a process solid knowledge may be built. [Proe 55, 58, 62, 65] And by the way, the sense of "I" is intuitive too. It is not found by abstract reasoning. The Problem of Local CausesSome wisdom utterances try to warn against bad futures by offsetting nasty trends and bad positioning on our parts. Yet the tedium is often the best way of living that industrial man gets - Great wisdom can be stepped up. It is best to be wise in time. Hindsight may be overrated. [Ap 659] If you're losing health and esteem, you had better get more wisdom - practically applicable locally. [Cf. Ve] Astrology CorrespondencesCognitive enrichment has a good chance to last longer if thoroughly structured from bottom. Some think astrology - which is built up quite like that - is all bad. But there are some very fine sides to it, that is. One of them is training in thinking on a large scale and grapple with what is claimed to be true. According to teachings of astrology there is a deep connection between heavenly bodies and human events. Many emphasize that how the sun, moon, planets, rising star sign and further are positioned at the time of birth when the first breath is taken, co-determine the mental outfit of the one that is born, or that happening. But there is evidently room for changes of mind and heart in a life too. And great conformity seems to route out very much of what could otherwise have been budding in a person. That is, not everyone realises their deep and fine potensials, particularly where they deviate from what is called acceptable and fit in a culture, or locally. What lies behind tenets of astrology is this: Things do not only happen in time, but also in space - in space-time, that is. Time and space belong to one continuum, according to Einstein. How planets are spaced (angled) and positioned (against the constellations "out there") at the time of an occurrence, sustain or indicate that occurrence too. Not just the local environment does so - that is part of the good teaching. And, as a fine sceptic puts it, "Good astrologers give good advice, but that does not validate astrology . . . Astrology continues to maintain its popularity, despite the fact that there is" almost no scientific evidence in its favor. "Even the former First Lady of the United States, Nancy Reagan, and her husband, Ronald, consulted an astrologer while he was the leader of the free world" [Skeptic's Dictionary, sv "astrology"]. I Ching oracular answers may nourish and rejuvenate the mind similarly, as other kinds of having fun can too to persons of goodwill. Having fun ties in with one deep-going need and wish of humans. To get very professional is to attain business-like and matter-of-fact manners and very sturdy, apt ways of handling this and that - it is most often like that. Living is a fair art and cosmograms come in addition to that - not on top of it. Profitable living could be attuned to local, winning ways nearly every day. A proverb has another side of if: "Great words won't fatten the cabbage." Think of that seize the moment or day. Carpe diem. The sun shines in all directions day after day. As for possible multi-meanings in a oracular statement, there is ample scope for subjectivity and errors in interpreting oracles. The same goes for horoscopes. [LINK] There is room for smartness that sees to adequate handling too. A fresh approach to old habits of thinking may also serve mental rejuvenation, but only when enough vitality is mobilised in a life, can individual breakthroughs be achieved. A little JungianNot only the Reagans, but millions believe in some form of astrology; up to one quarter of mankind, do that, according to one book on the subject [Aeb]. My fundamental attitude resonates somewhat with that of Carl Gustav Jung, who wrote in one place that in his opinion, the sum of wisdom from our forefathers, was contained within astrology. Now I do not believe it is the sum who is there, only a small fraction, rather. Very much essential wisdom is found in other fields and other way too. Glenn Perry sums up at Jung recognized the vast potential of astrology as a tool for exploring the depths of the human mind. He often made reference to his profound respect for astrology, asserted that astrology had a great deal to contribute to psychology, and admitted to having employed it with some frequency in his analytic work with clients. In cases of difficult psychological diagnosis, Jung would draw up a horoscope in order to have a further point of view from an entirely different angle. "I must say," said Jung, "that I very often found that the astrological data elucidated certain points which I otherwise would have been unable to understand" (Jung 1948, in Per). Jung (1976, in Per) regarded the signs and planets of astrology as symbols of archetypal processes that originated in the collective unconscious. The archetypes of the collective unconscious were the universal organizing principles underlying and motivating all psychological life, according to him. He says, "Astrology, like the collective unconscious with which psychology is concerned, consists of symbolic configurations: the planets are the gods, symbols of the power of the unconscious." "There are many instances of striking analogies between astrological constellations and psychological events or between the horoscope and the characterological disposition," wrote Jung (1976, in Per). In a 1954 interview, Jung stated "One can expect with considerable assurance, that a given well-defined psychological situation will be accompanied by an analogous astrological configuration." (Per) Jung's observance of correlations between psychological phenomena and astrological data contributed to the formulation of his theory of synchronicity (1955, in Per). Jung never developed any systematic theory of astrology, but it appears that his own theory of analytical psychology was heavily influenced by it. At least some of his major concepts seem to be borrowed directly from astrology: The planets as archetypes, the theory of synchronicity as a means for explaining astrological coincidences, and his notion of two attitude types - extrovert and introvert - is recognisable by astrologers as how signs are thought of: Every other sign is called extrovert, and between them are introvert signs. The postulate has not been confirmed [Eysench] Jung's four function types - intuition, sensation, thinking, and feeling - are roughly parallelled in astrology by the four elements fire, earth, air, and water. There are additional correlations, as between the Jungian persona and the horoscope's Ascendant. Difficult astrological configurations seem similar to what Jung describes as psychic, largely unconscious complexes of a sort. To verify or falsify his dictums, meticulous comparisons help a lot, whereas assuming this and that does not, however. Carl G. Jung expounded what he considered sensible opinions, whereas Hans Eysenck tried to investigate tenets through research, and came up with very little from the field of astrology [LINK]. [Aeb]. Copenhagen InterpretationEnough astrology talk for now: Back to I Ching teachings. I have indicated several nature-attuned correspondences. However, nature is not only "out there"; it is also within, or within ourselves, at least to some degree. Our id system is of nature. Many sides to our fares - reactions and goals and the like, are still of nature, and our perception of the outer world are in us, ultimately. By structured raw sense data, our outer world is constructed and projected - but the experience of the sense data lies within ourselves. That is to say, your outer world - and nature is a part of it - is in part a projection from within you. The First Shankara speaks of these phenomenological tenets as the twin sides to maya (the figure-forming faculty): projecting the world experience and having that projectioning hidden too. Good news: Some aspects of maya (meting-out, forming ideations) should be cultivate and may be so too, in time. Niels Bohr concluded it's not possible to figure how an outer world can be in itself, per se, for as we see, we perceive and structure inside our deep minds. Impressions are met and taken care of by overt filtering-out, categories are used in building up memory stores (networks) from former experiences and so on. The order we experience around us, is much of us. That is a central point of the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum physics. That interpretation was the first consistent formulation of quantum mechanics and one of the most important statemetns in the history of science, Zukav tells. It says, in effect, that it does not matter what quantum mechanics is about. The important thing is that it works. The Copenhagen Interpretation does away with a one-to-one correspondence between reality and theory. The mind can ponder ideas about reality. However, a complete understanding of of reality lies beyond thought alone. Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg and other proponents of the Interpretation say the quantum theory is "a complete theory even though it does'nt provide any picture of the world separate from our observations of it." [Thd 62, 63, 301]. To throw in another interesting side to physics, according to John Stewart Bell's (1928-90) theorem from 1964, the principle of local causes must be false . . . The world is in ome way profoundly different from our ordinary ideas about it." [Thd 320, 321] And one and the same utterance can be more of a "both-and" thing than a mere "either-or" thing. Such a logic form may give rise to tenets we think are paradoxical. [Thd: index] It can be a great boon to learn the best and most fit for us locally, from careful, basic structuring that takes into account salient, probably best points from widely divergent cultures.
Among the caveats are: "If you stick to a hexagram, you may ignore the alternative outlets, your own risk-taking and possibly other routes or ways out than the Book presents. Some learn how to adjust to problems cybernetically, to maximise profit from them, for example.
Tao Te Ching and King KongEventually we are faced with unverified assertions - paradigmatic stands - within any field of science. accepted in the scientific community. [Cf. Edit, 1st and 2nd part; Nai; Lunt; Siah] In the novel King Kong arrangement of the hexagrams, their order has been rearranged to follow suit with astrology thinking. To do so, the King Wen gridwork had to be replaced and a more convenient synthesis formed. Of the best structures for coping and dealing with life, This penetrating Tao outlook also is in harmony with chapter 17 of the Tao Te Ching. But best books should hardly go unpublished - there is a problem here, one that is from basic premises of the Tao Te Ching. It is also possible to say: When the lowest types hear of the King Kong arrangement, they ridicule or laugh loudly - but frankly, if they did not laugh, such an order would not be worthy of much Tao . . . That "fine-sounding words are not true," is also taught in Tao Te Ching. (Tao Te Ching, chapter 81] Not only Tao Te Ching teachings but many in Zen can seem like humour at first glance or at face value, says Reginald Horace Blyth in his book Oriental Humor [Orh]. Just adjust to this to take heed and not be taken in thoroughly: Beneath the cosmos-understanding that is tied in with or expressed through schemes and drawings, lie beliefs. [Cf. Edit, part 1 and 2]. And what is more, where there are hidden beliefs, blunders often follow. But do not let it scare you: There would be no sciences without secret assumptions and reckonings that work as beliefs and are called paradigms [Lunt]. In many waters a bland proverb can help, in some waters not. Higher than words are the meticulous action to fit in and thrive locally, presumably. Do not bar exceptions. |
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