Hexagram 30: The Clinging, Fire

Structure of the sign

This hexagram is likewise a double sign. The primary trigram Li denotes 'clinging to something,' 'being conditioned,' 'resting upon something,' and 'clarity.' A dark line clings to a luminous line above and below—the image of an empty space between two firm lines, whereby these become luminous. It represents the middle daughter. The Creative has incorporated the central line of the Receptive into itself, and thus Li comes into being. As an image, it is fire. Fire possesses no definite form of its own, but clings to burning objects and is thereby bright. Just as water descends from heaven, so fire flames upward from the earth. While Kan signifies the soul imprisoned within the body, Li signifies nature in its transfiguration.

The Judgment

The Clinging. Perseverance furthers. It brings success. Care of the cow brings good fortune. The dark adheres to the luminous and thereby perfects its brightness. Since that which is luminous radiates light, it requires something steadfast within so that it does not consume itself entirely, but can shine continually. All that is luminous in the world is dependent on something to which it clings, so that it may endure in shining. Thus the sun and the moon cling to heaven; grain, grass, and trees cling to the earth. So too does the twofold clarity of the dedicated man cling to what is right, and is thereby able to shape the world. When man, who stands conditioned and not independent in the world, acknowledges this dependence and makes himself reliant upon the harmonious and good forces of the cosmic order, he attains success. The cow is the symbol of extreme docility. By cultivating this docility and willing dependence within himself, man attains clarity without sharpness and finds his place in the world. Note: It is a remarkable coincidence worthy of notice that here, just as in the Parsi religion, fire and the care of the cow are joined together.

The Image

Brightness rises twice: the image of Fire. Thus the great man, by perpetuating this brightness, illuminates the four quarters of the world. Each of the two single trigrams depicts the sun in its daily course. A repeated activity of the sun is thus represented. Through this, the enduring effect of light over time is indicated. The great man carries forward the work of nature within the human world. Through the clarity of his being, he causes the light to spread ever further and to penetrate human nature ever more deeply from within.

The lines