Hexagram 64 – Fire over Water – 9/3-9/8

Wei Chi – Before Completion

Confusion – Imagination – Illumination .:. Codon Ring of Alchemy

The order of elements is confused, but close to perfection. With patience, use your imagination to bring completion to the cycle, illuminating the whole with love.

This 64th hexagram is the last key in the modern iChing (King Wen). This is the final chapter of the whole transmission, and therefore it is quite special. Along with its programming partner the 63rd, these two keys sum up the dance of yin and yang in their alternating lines. The 1st and 2nd hexagrams are similar in that they begin the transmission, and they carry the full essence of the dance of the primal yang and primal yin. The 63 and 64 embody the whole transmission as well, but as their yin and yang lines are woven together, they sum up the dance in an integrated way.

In the original order of the iChing (Fu Hsi), which is what the calendar order is based on, the 64th is at the core of the geometric arrangement of the 64 hexagrams. This is the first key which touches the vortex in the very center of the transmission. So it is both the final key and the first central key.

This hexagram signifies that a time of darkness is giving way to the bounteous nature of light and the harvests of summer. The fruits of a long season are nearing fruition but are not yet complete. The character of this energy is still in a pivot stage of transformation between pause and movement, but it is edging closer to the point of merging with flow.

The image of Fire over Water classically evokes a red fox crossing a river, and much care must be taken in order for the fox’s tail to not get wet. The fox must wait til the season is right to cross the water when the river has dried up in the late summer. To rush a crossing before the time is right will invite misfortune.

Water is made up of yin lines with a hidden yang line in the center, and fire is yang with a hidden yin. In this way, these polar opposites create a perfect combination of alternating yin and yang, but in the 64, the alchemical union hasn’t yet been perfected. It is before completion. Fire rises and Water falls, so in this placement, the elements are not integrated, and they separate from each other. This is why the hexagram is named Before Completion. The lines of the hexagram alternate between yin and yang in perfect procession, but all the yang lines are in yin positions and vice versa. In the programing partner, 63 After Completion, the lines are in perfect order. The elements in 63 are also balanced with water placed above the fire. In this way the cauldron is warmed, triggering an alchemical union. This hexagram often comes as a sign that we are near perfection, and yet there is much left to complete our balance.

Much caution and patience must be brought to our presence now. The urge to rush out toward the finish line across the water is premature. Instead, we are counseled to look within at our every thought, feeling, intuition and passion to attune the fire of our desires to the highest order: the benefit of the whole. To serve the selfish desires of the ego now brings a further imbalance to the elemental order in our being. We are called to model inner calm, clarity, modesty and acceptance, while focusing on cultivating the way toward balance within. Spend time illuminating the inner light, and our way forward will be clear.

Focusing outward in the external world and its many manifest forms brings confusion in this time. All energy changes; it shifts over time. Each moment contains the seeds of the next hidden in its depths. To attach to the appearance of any form will only cause confusion as the sands of time shift one form into the next. Be patient with the natural flow of time. Instead of identifying with the forms that we see, recognize the energy of the immutable essence hidden within all manifest forms. In this way, we are led to know the eternal presence within all things, feel it in our own being, and be illuminated by its light. Regardless of the external circumstance, we are called to adapt our inner light to any situation through the power of Imagination. Use creativity to imagine the radiant truth for the benefit of All.

We are now before completion, so you must write the ending. The whole world depends upon your thoughts and actions now. Illuminate us with the fire of your love!

.:.

When the inner light becomes obscured, there is confusion. This is the primordial swirl of elements before the universe was born, the Massa Confusa. It is this pure potentiality that has such great power, as long as the mind doesn’t try to register it. The mind gets in the way of processing universal energy, it is the whole being that is equipped to feel the cosmic whole, not the mind and so it leads to Confusion. When the mind engages, it is unable to make sense of the enormity of energy so it develops defense mechanisms that help us cope with the cosmic whole. Many unconscious patterns are created in these moments in early childhood, but most of them are passed down from parents and peers. This avoidance triggers doubt (63) and a shadow spiral between Confusion and Doubt. What it takes is to sit with the energy without giving in to the defenses of the mind. When we stop thinking, the Confusion disappears naturally overtime, and the deep hidden light of our true nature shines out. As long as we continue trying to think our way through life, we are destined to become confused by the mysteries of life, to choose safety, the known, and the illusion of certainty. We collapse into the illusion of the past, rather than stretching forward into the possibilities of the unknown. To embrace not knowing and staying present with the uncomfortable feelings of uncertainty allows for Confusion to collapse over time into the true path.

Repressive – Imitating – The status quo creates an energy for us all to hide from truth together. It is easy to just go along with the crowd, parents, society, friends.

Reactive – Confused – They rage against the status quo but in anger they have no more clarity. They are self-deluded and end up causing much more confusion for all.

Deep in the heart of this shadow lies a great hidden truth for humanity. Pain exists, but when the mind thinks about pain it becomes an unbearable illusion. When we let go of the mind and just feel it, the heart and the whole being is able to process any amount of pain. When we turn toward our trauma and pain, and face the reality of our inner world with our feelings rather than with our thoughts, we can finally see the phantasms of the mind that lead to Confusion. It is the mind that distorts the pain into all manner of distractions and defense mechanisms. These endless loops of Confusion take a lot of energy to sustain, so as we leave the logical mind behind a massive rush of creative energy is released. By using a creative outlet for the right brain to express its creativity is part of this path. Begin by exploring the pain, the monsters, the shadows of your psyche and see how they transform. This is the codon ring of Alchemy and the process of trusting the dark archetypes to share their voices with the whole begins a process of transmutation into pure light. Trust in the process and let it lead you to where no one has dreamed to go. This is the pure energy of creation expressed through the holistic being. The mind shuts down the process, so practice patience, presence and persistence.

In the highest state of Illumination the eternal truths shine out in the stillness between brush strokes, and the silence between notes. Here the mind is lulled into rest as the hidden light behind all form shines forth. This is the Illumined state of mystical union with the Divine Mind. One of the traps of this energy is when the divine light or mind shines out from within we must not identify with the energy or archetype that is expressing itself. This is another phantasm of the mind, to be filled with illusions of grandeur, where someone feels that they are God or the messiah. The high frequency of this light is too much for the mind or body to hold onto, so we are to remain open to be filled with the dancing light of the universe. Allow the divine to paint through your aura, sing through your voice, create through your vessel. Stay with the process of co-creation with the divine and every cell of your being will course with light. Here the coarse material is transmuted into pure gold, our experiences, our DNA, our psyche and self back into the Divine Light!

Keys of the iChing .:. Jesse Chesnutt