Hexagram 12 – Heaven over Earth – 6/14-6/19

P’i – Standstill (Stagnation)

Vanity – Discrimination – Purity .:. Codon Ring of Secrets (& Ring of Trials)

Heaven rises and Earth descends, so these forces separate leading to decay. These times of Standstill are inevitable, when the heavenly influences retreat from the Earth. In these times, the lower nature emerges in our own being and in others as well.

This hexagram evokes an image of a disconnection from the upper and lower parts of a culture or society. The upper trigram is made up of the leader, and council, where the lower is the people and in this hexagram they are split. The laws and rules from government do not have the support of the people. There is a disconnect between worlds.

This hexagram often comes as a sign of bad luck or misfortune, so it is best to focus within and cultivate our own character rather than to look for clarity or peace in the outer world. The world descends into spiritual decay and the light may not seem so available. In time, the harsh cold of winter warms to spring, and so too this time of stagnation will eventually end as the Heavenly energy merges with Earth once again.

.:.

This is the final trial in the Ring of Trials. This shadow of Vanity is the first human vice and the last shadow that we give up. It clings to us until the very end of time, and is the final stop codon in the genetic code. It is interesting how the ancient meaning is Standstill and it codes genetically as a stop at the end of a protein production sequence. In this shadow we fall in love with our own uniqueness and this love of self becomes a trap to our own transcendence. In the end we must make a quantum leap to recognize that truly loving oneself is loving all of creation. Falling in love with ourself can create great amounts of beautiful art, music and gifts to the world, but it stops us from opening our heart to the whole all the way. The development of this key is connected to the larynx where we are able to speak our unique truth into the world, but vanity becomes enamored with our own voice. It takes a highly honest being of great purity to root out Vanity, because as we raise our vibration higher and higher our Vanity persists but it becomes so subtle that it is easily overlooked. A great trap along the spiritual path is that we come so far and are moving closer to the highest aspect of our being, but our Vanity feels like it is higher and better than others.

Repressive – Elitist feel higher, purer, truer than all they meet, inwardly judging others as not as evolved.

Reactive – Malicious use the gift of Discernment to judge and condemn others. They see others flaw and know how to push their buttons.

In the heart of these polarities lies the hidden gift of Discernment. This gift is able to Discern what comes from the mind and what comes from the heart. In the shadow we must this perfectionism to judge others, and in the gift we use it with deep honesty on ourselves. This allows us to become highly refined and it melts away the boundaries and limitations we have placed around our hearts. As we trust in the power of the Purity of our heart, we are able to let go our judgements and fully trust ourselves and all of life, letting it all in. This trust in love allows us to become an embodiment of love itself, and this resounds through our voice. It awakens the field of love in others. This gift has a knack for feeling authenticity, and it is able to Discern the finest creations, from music to pieces of art, cuisine and culture. This Discernment has the ability to stop one way of being and begin a new one.

This process of refinement culminates in the great siddhi of Purity. Vanity and Purity exist as great mirrors of consciousness at either end of the spectrum. With Vanity the lower self falls in love with itself, and in Purity the higher self falls in love with itself. We are swallowed into the divine. Throat chakra is the clearing house of the lower dimensions into the higher. Beyond our individual karma and ancestral lineage we are able to tap into the infinite heart of purity of the cosmos itself.

Keys of the iChing .:. Jesse Chesnutt