AJ

44 - Hexagram Forty-Four: Kou Compulsion

A playful Zephyr dances and delights beneath indulgent Heaven: A Prince who shouts orders but will not walk among his people may as well try to command the four winds.

A strong, addictive temptation, much more dangerous than it seems.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

You are ignoring a clear and present danger to your well-being. If this threat emanated from a heavy-handed oppressor, you would see it coming. But this danger comes to you in the form of a seduction, an amusement, a diversion, an indulgence that is eating away at the fiber of your secure little world. You are too cocksure. You underestimate the tribute this dalliance will demand.

This hexagram indicates a situation in which the principle of darkness, after having been eliminated, furtively and unexpectedly obtrudes again from within and below. Of its own accord the female principle comes to meet the male. It is an unfavourable and dangerous situation, and we must understand and promptly prevent the possible consequences. The hexagram is linked with the fifth month [June-July], because at the summer solstice the principle of darkness gradually becomes ascendant again.

THE JUDGEMENT

COMING TO MEET. The maiden is powerful. One should not marry such a maiden.

The rise of the inferior element is pictured here in the image of a bold girl who lightly surrenders herself and thus seizes power. This would not be possible if the strong and light-giving element hadn't in turn come halfway. The inferior thing seems so harmless and inviting that a man delights in it; it looks so small and weak that he imagines he may dally with it and come to no harm. The inferior man rises only because the superior man does not regard him as dangerous and so lends him power. If he were resisted from the first, he could never gain influence. The time of COMING TO MEET is important in still another way. Although as a general rule the weak should not come to meet the strong, there are times when this has great significance. When heaven and earth come to meet each other, all creatures prosper; when a prince and his official come to meet each other, the world is put in order. It is necessary for elements predestined to be joined and mutually dependent to come to meet one another halfway. But the coming together must be free of dishonest ulterior motives, otherwise harm will result.

THE IMAGE

Under heaven, wind: The image of COMING TO MEET. Thus does the prince act when disseminating his commands And proclaiming them to the four quarters of heaven.

The situation here resembles that in hexagram 20, Kuan, CONTEMPLATION ( VIEW). In the latter the wind blows over the earth, here it blows under heaven; in both cases it goes everywhere. There the wind is on the earth and symbolises the ruler taking note of the conditions in his kingdom; here the wind blows from above and symbolises the influence exercised by the ruler through his commands. Heaven is far from the things of earth, but it sets them in motion by means of the wind. The ruler is far from his people, but he sets them in motion by means of his commands and decrees.

Attraction

The joyous Lake is cradled by the tranquil Mountain: The Superior Person takes great satisfaction in encouraging others along their journey. He draws them to him with his welcoming nature and genuine interest.

Supreme success. This course leads to marriage.

SITUATION ANALYSIS:

There is no greater natural law in the Cosmos than Attraction. From the magnetic pull of an atom's nucleus to the centrifugal force that spirals a galaxy, the face of the universe is shaped by Attraction. On a human scale, it is Attraction that fuels procreation and furthers our species. Yet it is also Attraction that spawns greed and covetousness, threatening our extinction. Attraction is the underlying force of the situation in question. You are refined or debased by the objects of your desire. What gravitational pull are you now under? Around what sphere of influence do you circle? Can you use your own ability to attract?