61 Sympathising, Softening, Yielding, Empathising In a context of self-reflection we utilise influence.

Trigrams : self-reflection (bottom), influence (top) : with/from self-reflection comes influence. [wind over lake]

The mud from which 61 has emerged is best described by analogy to the under-stated qualities of hexagram 29, containment/control

Commentary :

In hexagram 61 apparent firmness hides a forgiving heart. This is the point of switching from firm to yielding in inner truth. The text symbolizes a judge (apparent firmness) protracting discussion due to a forgiving heart and thus "..delay[ing] executions". Capturing the heart(centre) and thus sympathizing. Contextually combining containment and deference gives yielding. Note how the goal (see below) is to dispel illusions.

From the universal perspective, what is represented is a mix of the qualities of expansive bonding within which is operating contractive binding. Contractive binding maps to a sharing of time with another/others operating in expansive bonding and so a context of sharing of space with another/others.

Refine the terms and the focus is on becoming influential (wind in top) in a context of self-reflection (lake in bottom - and that reflection is literal as well as figurative)

Due to the ability to map the emotion of love/sex to lake, there is the sense of captivating the heart and so the sense of empathy (the love/sex focus leads into the focus on replication, mimic, copy, resonate)

The emotion of anticipation (of wrong doing) is associated with wind in lower, but the refinement of that, moving from reactive to proactive, and so from lower to upper position, allows for the sense of anticipation of right-doing, the consequences of cultivation and becoming influencing in some manner.

The capturing of the heart is reflected in such actions as a judge sympathising for a prisoner and going to bat for them.

The opposite to 61 is 62 where there is a focus on loyalty to the collective, the exaggerations of traditions etc are used to hold the collective together even if past its 'use by'/'best before' date; so again there is an appeal to the heart but in general.

61 is conditional, particular, in focus, 62 is unconditional.

61 shares space with 60 where the focus is on the unconditional setting of standards, and so limits. 60 opposes what pairs with 62, 56, where the focus on loyalty is conditional.

If you take the two pairs as a set, there is a general focus on qualities regarding issues of loyalties and being empathic to, sympathetic to 'whatever'.

As such there is included in the set a focus on the heart being captured so I can see how the traditional symbol associated with 61 mapped to 'captives' (note the ideogram description above) as well as 'inner truth' in that that symbol would be associated to the felt, generic, quality that includes a sense of 'capturing'.

If we review the spectrum of the quality labeled as '61' we find such associations as:

Its basic architecture, its 27-ness, is described by analogy to 29 where the focus is "with containment comes control" - so we can see the encapsulation element present that would go with 'captives' as well as 'inner truth' etc.

The quality 'begins', its 24-ness, through a state described by analogy to 59 - something being made, or in need of being made, 'clear'.

The quality 'completes', its 63-ness, through a state described by analogy to 18 - a focus on correcting some 'error', righting a wrong (and that can include capturing as well as empathising and going to bat for someone) - note 18 is associated with correcting errors in a collective sense all the way down to a pair (as in personal relationships) where the focus is on a need for continuous communications to ensure 'neglect' does not set in etc. and so misunderstandings avoided.

Goal of 61 - hexagram 59 (or 'how do I 59? - 61')

Five-Phase Relationships : The trigram of Lake reflects Exchange (through cooperation). The trigram of Wind reflects Production (through re-production, cultivation). The relationship is expressed as cultivation within cooperative exchange reflects emphathising, sympathising.

61 is the goal of 53 (or 'how do I 61? - 53' How do I sympathise, empathise, remain true? Through interactions that lead to maturing, gradual development))

The I Ching tells us about hexagram 61:

Some PAIRINGS of hexagram 61 with other hexagrams:

• In the binary sequence hexagram 61 pairs with hexagram 60.

The common theme here is on establishing a constant exterior, a constant expression, as in the introduction of standards reflected by 60, vs the hard exterior but soft interior (and so a source of yielding) of 61. 60 as such focuses on integration, 61 on differentiation where behind the cover is flexibility.

• In the binary sequence hexagram 61 opposes hexagram 62.

At the LOCAL level we are dealing with a sequence of hexagrams with LAKE as their base. In particular the pairing of 61 with 54 where the sharp distinction of exaggeration through being immature (54) is reflected in a more balanced format by a focus on maturity 'inside' as reflected by 61.

• In the traditional sequence hexagram 61 pairs with hexagram 62.

EXAGGERATE:

61 : exaggerate through yielding, softening, hard core-soft centre; 61 softening comes from a context described by hexagram 29 - containment/control

62 : exaggerate through traditions; 62 exaggerate traditions comes from a context described by hexagram 30 - guiding, directing (an ideology)

• In the traditional sequence hexagram 61 opposes hexagram 04.

The focus in 04 is on the exterior, the mask itself, the ensuring that it fits 'correctly'. The focus in 61 is on the interior, the soft core beneath the hard exterior where that core allows for expressions of sympathy/empathy to operate from 'behind' the mask.

• The generic properties of hexagram 61 reflect the mixing of the generic properties of hexagram 60 with the generic properties of hexagram 29.

A combination of imposition of standards (60) with a focus on control (29) is reflected in the 'covering up' of a soft interior by a hard exterior but the ability of the soft element to be sympathetic/empathic to others.

• In the variations on a theme sequence, hexagram 61 complements hexagram 59.

Copyright © 2003-2009 C. J. Lofting