Hexagram 7 – Earth over Water – 8/6-8/11

Shih – The Army

Division – Guidance – Virtue .:. Codon Ring of Union

This week marks the beginning of Water season, meaning that the next 8 hexagrams in the calendar order have Water as the lower trigram. In this way the iChing divides the year into 8 seasons, one for each lower trigram.

Water is often translated as “the abysmal” alluding to its receptive depths, as well as its potential to drown, both physically and emotionally.

But as we all know, water is also the life spring from which all living organisms are sustained. It is the most essential element in a living system, community, or organism.

Water is primarily yin and receptive in nature, but it has one yang line in its center, giving it a balanced nature. This is perhaps why water has so many manifestations. It fills any space that it is in, a cup, a ravine, an ocean. Water also rushes, evaporates, rains, freezes, bursts through dams, and carves away canyon walls. Water appears yin, but deep within its hidden nature, it also contains yang energy.

This week is Shih – The Army – Earth over Water. The image evoked is of spring water emerging deep from under the earth.  This hexagram has a very powerful combination of lines which has much insight to give to the nature of leadership, community and social order. Five of the lines are yin lines, bound together by one yang line, but the position of the yang line is in a yin position. This indicates the profound power of the yin qualities of leadership. In our modern culture, we are so used to male leadership that we often forget the underlying pulsations of feminine power which run like currents through true leadership. These often manifest as a mysterious magnetism or resonance that we feel with someone. There is a deep trust we feel for a true leader that can’t always be explained by their attributes or accolades.

A leader who has taken power by force will not remain long, but if they gain power by proper conduct in accordance with the higher principles, they will have the continued support of the people. A righteous leader listens to the needs of the army, and heeds the laws of nature. This creates a power beyond force. The army gathers around a proper leader. Here is the archetype of the power behind the throne, which is able to have massive influence without needing to be in the limelight. We are naturally drawn to one who is living according to higher principles, in service to the whole. This is a part of the mystical power of the feminine, which draws its power like a spring from the deep within the earth.

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Division occurs everywhere in the modern world, in business, politics, religion, media, education, relationships, economics, social order, culture, region, etc. Division is the basis of hierarchy. When people are divided into separate groups, they fall victim to those who wield power over them, and also to those who claim to have the answers to the problems of the world. The dilemma of this shadow is Boundaries, and this issue of Boundary runs through all aspects of leadership from the ancient world into the modern, and from leaders of social groups to religious leaders, and despots and tyrants. In the shadow frequency there is a tendency for those with leadership potential to use fear to manipulate people to fulfill their own selfish desires. In the end they continue the Division for their own fear of losing power. It creates a seemingly never-ending cycle of power and abuse. However, true leaders are the ones who have what it takes to bring humanity out of this cycle and into the promise of a new world, where the Divisions fade and our unified reality comes into being. The shift is simple and it is a change from serving the selfish desires, to serving the benefit of All. When people with the 7th in their chart speak, people listen. There is a natural power that moves through their voice frequency, and often this power is used to manipulate. Even when initiated with good intentions, often selfish desire corrupts the original intention. Leaders who lead in order to serve, rather than for selfish pride, have the opportunity to leads us all into the Great Change.

Repressive – Hidden does not develop their natural leadership capacity and this repression leads to much frustration, resentment and lack of purpose. They must find their inner power and share it with the world.

Reactive – Dictatorial Are classic abusers of power. They manipulate others to believe that they need to be led.

The gift of Guidance is found in listening, much like one who seeks for a sacred spring as it bubbles up from under the earth. It doesn’t impose itself on others, instead it holds a larger vision for the whole and empowers others to find their way. True Guidance rests upon the ideals of service, which is why it is so important to listen. This Gift changes the order of organizations, creating opportunities for others to emerge into places of their own empowerment. There is a deep trust in the process of life, where one is able to surrender control over life and trust in the flow of the water. Cultivate presence in the moment and this gift naturally emerges.

At the highest level, the Alpha gene, the general of the Army is transformed into the highest frequency expression of Virtue. It is a rare gift to gain the heights of power and to use it fully to serve the whole. There is a great power in becoming one with nature, allowing the one consciousness to direct one’s every movement. There is no need for recognition, as Virtue is its own Reward. If society is not ready, then these Virtuous ones may go unnoticed. But they live their lives in pursuit of repairing what has been broken. An image is of the 10 spheres of the Kabbalah. The shadow frequency shatters this structure into Divided fragments, with no recollection of the whole. The gift begins the process of Guiding the shards back together, and the Siddhi reassembles the shards back into the Adam Kadmon, the perfected vehicle of divine realization. This is the power of Virtue, healing the fractures in our world and our self for the benefit of All.

Keys of the iChing .:. Jesse Chesnutt