Four Pairs of Self-Opposing Hexagrams — Zheng Yi Xin Fa (Part 9)

By Ma Yi · Chen Tuan · Hu Yixuan

Eight hexagrams — when inverted, their line arrangement remains unchanged. This means they have no subject-object distinction; they are complete in themselves. Self-opposing Qi returns to itself, requiring nothing external.

I. Qian ☰ ↔ Kun ☷ — The Extremes of Heaven and Earth

Qian is the source of issuing Qi; Kun is the field of receiving Qi. Qian's exhale and Kun's inhale exist simultaneously. Breathing continues — creation proceeds.

Heaven has no guest — there is no heaven above heaven. Earth has no guest — there is no earth below earth. Thus inversion returns to itself.

II. Kan ☵ ↔ Li ☲ — The Pivot of Creation

Kan is invisible penetration (Yang hidden in Yin, moistening silently); Li is visible illumination (Yin attached to Yang, shining everywhere). Inner moistening, outer brightness — one dark, one light — uniting as the complete function of water-fire intermingling.

III. Yi (Nourishment) ☳☶ ↔ Da Guo (Excess) ☴☱

Yi is nourishment — hollow within to receive, firm without to guard. Da Guo is action — strong within to bear weight, soft without to adapt. One stillness, one movement; one guarding, one venturing.

IV. Zhong Fu (Inner Trust) ☱☴ ↔ Xiao Guo (Small Excess) ☶☳

Zhong Fu is trust — emptiness enables reception, reception enables trust. Xiao Guo is action — solidity enables movement, movement necessarily overshoots.

These four self-opposing pairs — none stands alone. Each has its counterpart, and the pairs themselves stand in opposition to each other — such is the precision of creation.

Originally published on WeChat Official Account "谛观".