Hexagram 51: The Arousing, Thunder

Line 1

Shock comes: oh, oh! Laughing words follow: ha, ha! Good fortune! The fear and trembling of the shock fall upon one first, so that one sees oneself at a disadvantage compared to others. But this is only temporary. When one has passed through the trial, relief follows. And thus the very terror into which one must first enter brings, viewed as a whole, good fortune.

Line 2

Shock comes bringing danger. A hundred thousand times you lose your treasures and must climb the nine hills. Do not pursue them. After seven days you get them back. A situation is depicted where one falls into danger through a shock and suffers great losses. Circumstances are such that resistance opposes the direction of the movement of the time and therefore meets with no success. Therefore one should simply withdraw to high ground inaccessible to the threatening dangers. One must accept the loss of possessions and should not worry excessively about them. Without pursuing the possessions, one will recover them of oneself once the time has passed whose shocks snatched them away.

Line 3

Shock comes and brings dismay. If one acts in consequence of the shock, one remains free of misfortune. There are three kinds of shock: the shock of heaven, which is thunder; further, the shock of fate; and finally, the shock of the heart. Here it is less a matter of inner shock than of the shock of fate. In such times of shock, one too easily loses composure, failing to recognize all possibilities for action and mutely letting fate take its course. If one allows oneself to be moved inwardly by the shock of fate, one will overcome the external blows of fate without great effort.

Line 4

Shock is mired in mud. The success of inner movement depends in part on circumstances. When circumstances are such that there is neither resistance that can be energetically combated, nor do things yield so that victory can be achieved, but everything is tough and sluggish like mud, the movement is paralyzed.

Line 5

Shock goes to and fro: danger. Yet one loses nothing at all, only there is business. Here there is not merely a single shock, but a repeated one that leaves no time to catch one's breath. Yet the shock brings no loss, because one takes care to remain at the center of movement and thereby is freed from the fate of being tossed helplessly to and fro.

Line 6

Shock brings ruin and anxious looking around. Advancing brings misfortune. If it has not yet reached one's own body, but has only reached the neighbor, there is no blame. Companions have words. Inner shock robs one of presence of mind and clarity of vision when it has risen to the highest pitch. In such a shock, it is naturally impossible to act prudently. The right course is to keep still until calm and clarity have returned. One is capable of this, however, only as long as one is not yet infected by the agitation oneself, while one can already observe the disastrous effects of such excitement in one's surroundings. If one withdraws from action in good time, one remains free of fault and injury. But companions in their excitement, refusing to heed warnings, will surely be dissatisfied with one. Yet one must pay no regard to that.