I Ching Secrets 16.03. to 05.04.2011: One of the deep secrets of the I Ching: Why are the eight hexagrams, constituted of two identical trigrams, assigned to the ordinal numbers 1 / 2, 29/30, 51/52 and 57/58?

One of the deep secrets of the I Ching: Why are the eight hexagrams (four hexagram-pairs), constituted of two identical trigrams, assigned to the ordinal numbers 1 / 2, 29/30, 51/52 and 57/58.

The distribution of these eight hexagrams on the 24 Solar periods, the three annual cycles and the three pair-groups of hexagrams according to the nature of their ordinal numbers. 

The positions of the hexagrams composed of two   identical trigrams are not arbitrary.At the three annual cycles, the position of each of them is at the beginning as the first of its pair-group of hexagrams.   Each hexagram can be understood as composed of two constituent trigrams that consist of three lines. (There are two different kinds of lines, broken or not broken, Yin or Yang.) Eight hexagrams are constructed out of a single trigram that is doubled. The Chinese names of the resulting hexagrams are the same as the trigrams. Although the meanings are something different, the interpretation of these eight hexagrams has been strongly influenced by the meanings associated with their constituent trigrams.         1069-hexagrams-heaven-and-earth.jpg 

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1075-the-abysmal-and-the-brightness.jpg1069-hexagrams-thunder-and-mountain.jpg

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1071-symbols-of-the-gentle-and-the-yoy.jpg 

The eight trigrams that constitute these eight hexagrams which are double signs are characterized as follows:God comes forth in the sign of Arousing; he brings all things to completion in the sign of Gentle; he causes creatures to perceive one another in the sign of Radiation (light); he causes them to serve one another in the sign of the Perceptive. He gives them joy in the sign of the Joyous; he battles in the sign of the Creative; he toils in the sign of the Abysmal; he brings them to perfection in the sign of Keeping Still.” “The Creative acts in the horse,the Receptive in the cow,the Arousing in the dragon,the Gentle in the cock,the Abysmal in the pig,the Radiation in the pheasant,Keeping Still in the dog,the Joyous in the sheep.”  (Discussion of the Trigrams in the Shuo Kua, translated by Richard Wilhelm) Are the positions of the eight hexagrams, constituted of two identical trigrams, within the 64 hexagrams reached by chance or by a rule? The positions of the atomic numbers of these eight hexagrams are1 / 2, 29 / 30, 51 / 52 and 57 / 58. They are arranged symmetrically on the Bagua of the Early Heaven and furthermore also symmetrically distributed on the three annual cycles as well as on the three pair-groups of hexagrams, according to the nature of their ordinals. Apart from this, however their positions seem to be arbitrary. In reality, this is not the case. How can this be shown? One comes closer to the solution of this question, if one looks at the positions of the four hexagram-pairs on the Solar cycle with its 24 Solar periods. 1069-the-8-hexagrams-represent-the-solar-periods-1-to-6-and-9-to-10.jpg The hexagram-pair 1 / 2 corresponds to the  Solar periods 1 and 2 of spring-beginning in the first year (hexagrams 1 to 24), the hexagram-pair 29 / 30 corresponds to theSolar cycles 5 and 6 of the end of spring time in the second year (hexagrams 25 to 48), the hexagram-pair 51 / 52 corresponds to the Solar periods 3 and 4 of the Spring Equinox in the third year (hexagrams 49 to 64) and the hexagram-pair 57 / 58 corresponds  to theSolar periods 9 and 10 of the summer solstice in the third year (hexagrams 49 to 64).  The hexagram-pair 1 / 2 is a member of the pair group Heaven / Earth which represents the beginnings of seasons, according to the nature of their ordinals. It corresponds to the first beginning of seasons in the first year, which is the beginning of spring-time in the first year. The hexagram-pair 29 / 30 is a member of the pair group Heaven / Man which represents the ends of seasons, according to the nature of their ordinals. It corresponds to the first end of seasons in the second year, which is the end of spring-time in the second year. The hexagram-pairs 51 / 52 and 57 / 58 are members of the pair-group Man / Earth which represents the equinoxes and the solstices, according to the nature of their ordinals. The hexagram-pair 51 / 52 corresponds to the first equinox in the third year which is the spring equinox in the third year. The hexagram-pair 57 / 58 corresponds to the first solstice in the third year which is the summer solstice in the third year. The positions of the eight hexagrams (four hexagram-pairs), constituted of two identical trigrams, therefore are outstanding. The I Ching seems to emphasize that they are the leaders of the different groups of hexagrams within the I Ching, the book of wisdom. 

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