Articulating the Crossings. Make an offering and you will succeed.
Bitter articulation will not allow putting your ideas to the Trial.
The Image
The old character shows two bamboo segments and a person charged with ritual responsibility kneeling in front of a vessel full of cooked food.
Set measures and limits, distinguish and join things; measure, economise, moderate, articulate speech and thought; chapters, musical intervals, rhythms; the months of the year, the signs of the zodiac, the nodes on a bamboo stalk; expressing what life has taught you; a joint or crossing, the right time to intervene. Inner self-reflection now gives you the ability to manage the flow and flux of events. Heart Theme: 27 Clearing the channels.
Spirit Helpers
Lake below the Ghost River. Youngest Daughter and Middle Son, the Mediator and the Groundbreaker, deliberate and measure things. Carefully consider the various parts of your life in order to articulate a more effective structure. Separate and distinguish things. Express real needs and feelings. Make the spiritual connections clear. Joyously turn these units and sections into a harmonious whole and a deep rhythm in which each thing has its place. Apportion what is strong and what is supple to see the times to intervene. Harsh rules and bitter speech measures now will cut you off from the Way and alienate the people with whom you wish to connect. Express things, reflect and stay in the center. By articulating the times and the measures now, the people around you are kept from harm.
Voice of the Mothers
Set measures and limits. Articulate speech and thought. Find the right moments to express what life has taught you. Inner self-reflection now gives you the ability to manage the flow and flux of events. Gather the armies and launch an expedition (7). Do not simply wait for the right moment to act (5).
Here joyous words are organized and given an enduring form. Jie, Articulating refers primarily to a joint or juncture in time, a crossing of the horizontal and the vertical, of the power of Heaven and Earth. These crossings are critical moments in time through which the flow of events can be influenced and movement harmonized with the Way, like acupuncture points that give access to the meridians and the flow of energies in the body. The root of the word is bamboo: the nodes or joints of the growing plant, the strips of bamboo used for books, a bamboo flute and its natural measures or intervals. The term suggests a chapter, a paragraph, a musical interval, a key or significant detail, a tablet attesting to a mandate, the annual or seasonal feasts and rituals that articulate sacred time. Through these crossings or joints, the energy that animates the Myriad Beings condenses and displays itself as symbols (xiang), symbols of transformation that give access to primal energy of the Way, joyous words from the other shore. The roots of the pair Dispersing and Articulating are water and bamboo. Together they signify the sprouts of virtue that lead to the second birth, a spirit that grows in the heart.
Spring (60): Rouse new growth by articulating the new time. Reinvent yourself. Be modest and do what has to be done.
Summer (61): Ripen the fruits by connecting your inner and outer goals. Focus on what you really need. The connections you make will reward you.
Fall (59): Harvest the crop by shedding your old identity. Get rid of causes for conflict. Be open and do what must be done.
Winter (29): Find the seed of the new by facing challenges. Don’t respond the old way. Learn the lessons and do what you have to do.
Voice of the Fathers
This is a Realizing Figure, part of the Sacred Sickness Pathways that connect personal disorders with cultural change. It is a Zone of Radical Transformation where the Ghost River flows through the Opened Heart and is purified. It is a Transition from the time when we deal with power and our responsibilities to the human community to the final stage of the Symbolic Life, birth into the life of the spirit.
The Situation: Create a balance between structure and creative energy.
Caring for Others: See what energy and resources are available. Organize yourself. Get a clear idea of what you are and what you can achieve. Set limits on goals, projects and aspirations then cautiously expand. Think of your family as a creative body and keep communication flowing. Focus on self-fulfillment for all.
Setting Intentions: Avoid sticking to rigid plans or schedules. The balance between activity and rest needs revising. Don’t jump to conclusions. Do not be weighed down by pragmatics.
Communication and Interaction: Do your own thinking first. Be clear. Discuss plans thoroughly.
Change from the Inside Out: Balance the situation. Explore places to focus your energy and expand. Do your homework well. Find a balance between what is fair and what is practical. Take only calculated risks.
- Immediate Future: things take shape out of past confusion.
- Personal Development: turn your life into a dance of the great symbols
- Working within the Family: guide and shape the emerging new awareness.
- Expanding the Circle: provide for real human needs and goals.
- Partnership: do things together with grace and elegance.
Pairing: Bringing Change to Life
Each hexagram is part of a Pair that that activates hidden paths of transformative energy through the interaction of the trigrams or Spirit Helpers, connecting phases of Inspiration and Realization. You are in the Realizing phase of this Pair.
The transformative process of the pair 59:60 Dispersing and Articulating develops a willingness to let go of the past and the inner joy that creates a new world for all.
Outer to Inner: The process transforms the Matchmaker trigram in the outer world of 59 into the Mediator trigram in the inner world of 60. This turns your need to influence the world into inner self reflection.
Inner to Outer: This interiorisation shifts the Navigator trigram from the inner world of 59 to the outer world of 60. It turns your inner containment of fear and impulse into the ability to manage the flux of events.
Transforming Lines
Mothering Change presents Transforming Lines as Steps of Change that show you where and how to focus your energy. Click on the links to connect with the Relating Figure generated by each line.
Inner World
Do not come out of the inner door and chamber.
This is not a mistake.
Stay in your place and contemplate what is truly important. Get rid of the causes for conflict and you can emerge and find the place you deserve. Do not enter the tomb of hidden rage. Take in the lessons of the past. Be open and provide what is needed. (29 Ghost River/Navigator)
Not coming out of the outer gate and chamber.
Trap! The Way closes.
You are involved in a great project. Work hard to disperse the obstacles to achievement. There are hidden processes at work. You have been reaching out to people then turning away. Those you confront are not outlaws. Seek an alliance. It will be a while before the connection bears fruit but in the end nothing can stop you. Strip away your old ideas. Be open and provide what is needed. (3 Sprouting)
If it is not like Articulating, it will be like lamenting!
This is not a mistake.
Consider things carefully. Let go of the flock of thoughts that usually surrounds you. You have a great opportunity and you need to see it clearly. Find a place to ponder things deeply and the new will come shining through. Do not appeal to authority. Re-imagine the situation. These comings and goings release the energy now bound up in the past. Co-operate with the on-going process of change. (5 Attending)
Outer World
Quiet Articulating, peaceful and secure.
Make an offering and you will succeed.
Articulate your ideas quietly and you will meet a warm response. Do not identify with your need to express yourself or your craving for personal power. Focus entirely on the needs of the work. There is an opening now, but everyone is striving for their own ends. Simply separate yourself from this and you will have cause to rejoice. Gather energy for a decisive new move. (58 Opening/Mediator)
Sweet Articulating. The Way is open.
Going on like this brings honor.
Articulate your thoughts with sweetness, grace and delight. Let go of what you habitually depend on. Take the woman’s perspective, watching from hiding to catch a sight of the new. The knowledge proper to a great leader is nearing now. Your sorrows will disappear. Something important is returning. (19 Nearing)
Bitter Articulating. Trap! The Way closes.
Repent this and sorrow disappears.
You want to impose harsh measures. You will do nothing but harm. Give up your bitterness and the cause for sorrow will disappear. This affair is in trouble and you must come to the rescue. Stay grounded. Do not take on other people’s problems. If you soar away you will fall into the hunter’s net. Take in the lessons of the past. Be open and provide what is needed. (61 Opened Heart/Connect to Center)