Hexagram 36 – Earth over Fire – 3/13-3/18

Ming I – Darkening of the Light

Turbulence – Humanity – Compassion .:. Codon Ring of Divinity

Here lies the end of the Fire season, and the Earth tamps down the Fire and coals. In the iChing this comes as a dark omen, a time when all light is gone from the external world. Negative influences abound, and in this moment we have little power to change the energy. To fight against this time only exhausts our energy and patience. What is counseled is to turn our awareness inward to the light, which always burns within.

By nurturing our inner light, we stay strong, vital and unattached to the chaos and turbulence of the world. This is the dark night of the soul, a dark time of transformation that all on the mystical path must face at some point. The night is cold and long, filled with terrors, feelings of failure, depression, loss, nihilism, and all the darkest and loneliest states one can imagine. It takes great fortitude to weather the long, dark night, for it seeps in from all angles and uses many tricks of the mind to test our faith. But in the depth of darkness, any light, no matter how small brings comfort warmth and illumination.

In the depth of this dark night, the pilgrim is tested in many ways, and in the end finally has the opportunity to find his true nature glowing within. This darkness is there to strip us of our illusions and false beliefs. This is the apex of the transformation brought by the past weeks of the fire season, and it burns us to the quick, through all false ideologies to the essence of our being, which is eternal, luminous and compassionate.

.:.

In the Gene Keys this translates in a terrifying way in the shadow realm. This is the dark looming terror of Turbulence in the world. This shadow seems to swallow the light at times. It causes panic and a feeling of helplessness in the world. Like it or not, the dread of existence can be felt as low frequency vibrations looming in the recesses of the mind. There is a powerful magnetism to darkness that tends toward repeating cycles and attracting crisis. The dark night is a natural state, an emotional battle that all humans must go through at some point in life. The problem comes when we allow ourselves to get Overwhelmed. The shadow creates two states of being, Nervousness and Crisis Prone. Nervousness occurs when the turbulent emotions are resisted, making us terrified of change. Crisis Prone people thrive on drama and are often led into secret affairs and concealed intentions, leaving them riddled with guilt.

Going through a dark night of the soul is an excruciating process, but on the other side there is always an opening of the heart. Accepting our deep sexual and emotional waves allows us to be human. It can be easy to be blind to other people’s strife, and deaf to their pain, until you have lived through the depths of your own pain, failure, and loneliness. The process of feeling the depths of your own shadow often leads to compassion for all of Humanity. Simple gestures of kindness in the face of atrocity, creating beautiful art in the midst of suffering, sharing with others even when your own needs are barely being met, the power of song created from heartache – these are hallmarks of the beauty of Humanity. As we accept our pain instead of running from it we become powerful allies for others to turn to in their dark times. The turbulence cracks open our heart, and by keeping our heart open through the pains of life, we find Compassion for all beings.

By surrendering the heart to the depths of pain and fear in the pit of darkness, our heart shatters and the light of Compassion bursts out to all who suffer, all who seem to be lost, confused or in need. This is a great Boddhisatva key where the suffering in one’s self awakens to the suffering of all Humanity, which awakens the eternal light living in every cell of every being. Compassion is a liquid light which penetrates, subsumes and nurtures all beings eternally.

Keys of the iChing .:. Jesse Chesnutt