Structure of Hexagrams
1. Thus the Book of Changes consists of images. The images are reproductions.
Thus the Book of Changes consists of images. The images are reproductions.
The changes consist of heavenly images, images of light in the darkness.
These are the zodiac constellations or heavenly lights of the year, and the moving lights of the sun, moon and planets.
The images are reproductions of these heavenly lights.
They are reproductions of the zodiac.
Each hexagram is a section of the heavens, or a portion or subsection of the year.
They are similar to weeks of the year, but are six day sections of the year, and six degree divisions of the zodiac.
2. The decisions provide the material.
The decisions provide the material.
The material here refers to the information and implications of each phase or hexagram of change.
It explains the implications of each six day phase of the year, and of each six degree portion of the zodiac.
The material explains the nature of the heavenly lights and the time of year, or where and how it affects forms on the earth and the subsequent implications for man who lives between the creative heavenly lights and the dark receptive earth.
3. The lines are imitations of movements on earth.
The lines are imitations of movements on earth.
The lines are imitations of the portions of the day or earth cycle.
They represent the astrological houses which are the divisions of the earth’s daily cycle.
Each line represents two houses.
There are twelve houses and six lines.
Line 1: The first place represents houses 1 and 2
Line 2: The second place represents houses 3 and 4
Line 3: The third place represents houses 5 and 6
Line 4: The fourth place represents houses 7 and 8
Line 5: The fifth place represents houses 9 and 10
Line 6: The sixth place represents houses 11 and 12
Line 1 represents Houses 1 and 2
These are the four hours before sunrise.
These houses represent:
House 1 represents the initial impression of any situation, the basic identity or appearance, and the first step.
House 2 represents the immediate circumstances or the material immediately available in the situation for the person or identity.
They also represent the values which the person signifies.
These houses are below the horizon.
They will be the first area to rise from beneath the earth in the east as the world turns, to be exposed to the heavens above.
Line 2 represents Houses 3 and 4
This will be the second area to rise from below the earth as the world turns, to be exposed to the heavens above.
It represents the two hours before and the two hours after midnight.
House three represents one’s common sense and how one expresses oneself.
The IC or lowest point in the sky is here.
It represents one’s home or personal security.
It is the point of one’s personal motivation and integrity.
House four continues this theme and represents one’s home and sense of security, where one lives and is coming from.
Our personal motivation is the determining factor in the houses below the horizon.
The third and fourth houses represent the ruling line of the lower trigram.
Line 3 represents houses 5 and 6
This will be the third area to rise from below the earth as the world turns, to be exposed to the heavens above.
It represents the four hours after sunset.
House five represents one’s personal performance, style of play, and romance.
It also represents one’s children.
House six represents our ability to make adjustments and fix or improve things.
This covers one’s ability to be of service and to be healthy.
Line 4 represents houses 7 and 8
This is the first phase or area about to set or go below the western horizon.
It represents the four hours before sunset.
House seven represents relationships, partners and marriage.
It reveals where we are conscious of being related to others and how other people see us.
House eight represents the resources of the relationship or community one is involved in.
This represents social values, business (other people’s money), trust, transformation, issues of custody, and inheritances.
It reveals what resources are available to you and the subsequent requirements or expectations.
Line 5 represents houses 9 and 10
This is the highest phase or highest area closest to heaven.
It represents the two hours before and the two hours after noon.
It signifies the peak of status or of prominence in life.
This area covers the two hours before and the two hours after noon, the peak of the day, the maximum influence of light on the earth, the honoured place of the emperor or ruler.
House nine represents principles, philosophy and legal implications.
It is the justice of the courts or advisor of one in authority.
House ten represents authority, honour, dignity and those in authority.
The MC is in the fifth line.
The MC is the point in the heavens that is directly above us on earth, or the highest point of the zodiac in the sky above.
It represents the place of the ruler or the emperor.
Line five is the ruling line of the hexagram
Line 6 represents houses 11 and 12
This represents the area above the eastern horizon.
It covers four hours of the early morning from sunrise to about ten AM.
House eleven refers to the friends and enemies one gets because of one’s position or status in life, or one’s relationship to the boss or emperor.
House twelve represents the end of things, for better or worse.
It reveals the karma or consequences of the situation.
It is often referred to as the house of one’s own undoing, or the house of failure and transcendence.
This is the top line of the hexagram in the sixth place.
4. Thus do good fortune and misfortune arise, and remorse and humiliation appear.
Thus do good fortune and misfortune arise, and remorse and humiliation appear.
From the influence of the heavenly light upon the worldly circumstances, or the lines and forms of the earth, good fortune (light) and misfortune (darkness) appear.
From the influence of the zodiac and moving lights to the houses, one can observe the increasing and decreasing light and subsequent gains (good fortune) and losses (misfortune).
Depending on how well or virtuously one lives, according to the dictates of the gods or those on high, and whether one elevates one’s nature or not, or lives up to responsibilities or not, one will be able to see when or if remorse and humiliation arise.
This is an affirmation of the nature of astrology and of the corresponding ways of the heavenly lights, and the earthly darkness to our lives in between.
This confirms the astrological nature of the changes, or hexagrams.