I have had the time and Mind-space to reflect on the nature of change and how there is often resistance to this inevitable change. The approaching Solstice reminds me of certain natural laws and how they can apply to the everyday affairs of humanity.

The Summer Solstice is the time when symboically the light/yang principle reaches its peak, and the birth or arrival of the dark/yin principle occurs. This is reflected in the I Ching as hexagram 44, Kou.

Whilst the ancient commentaries suggest a time of danger, the translation (according to scholars such as Richard Wilhelm, 1968) refers to the idea of a union, or “coming to meet”. At the peak-moment of Yang, it is inevitable that transformation will bring about the arrival of the Yin, and that principle’s gradual development, until such time as the equinox, where the two are in equilibrium, and the Yin continues to grow and the Yang continues to decline.

The old Confucian advice to Emperors in regards to this hexagram was about coming together free of dishonest and ulterior motives. This time is seen as the beginning of decay. The lines of the Judgement state “The maiden is powerful; one should not marry such a maiden”. The maiden here is in reference to the yin element that is the first line of the hexagram. We can either be abused by such a situation, allowing the negative aspects of this situation to take a hold; or we can use this energy – this is what is being implied by “coming to meet”; for when this happens, and there is a meeting of equality, honesty, and integrity then it is a powerful time, when lots of good things can occur.

When things change…

Of course, nothing stays static. The old texts comment on this hexagram saying that the 5th line (2nd from the top) is the ruler of this hexagram, and the commentaries on this line state “A melon covered with willow leaves; hidden lines; then it drops down to one from heaven”. Richard Wilhelm (1968: p.613) comments on this text:

The line is the ruler of the hexagram, standing as a prince in its correct and honored place in the middle… here the fruit is a melon; it represents the yin line at the beginning and so belongs to the dark principle. It is protected and covered by willow leaves. No forcible interference takes place. The regulative lines of the laws upon which the beauty of life depends are covered over. We entrust the fruit in our care entirely to its own natural development. Then it ripens of its own accord. It falls to our lot. This is not contrived but is decreed by our accepted fate.

It means that the strong, upright (in Chinese, zheng) individual – symbolised by the Prince or Ruler – tolerates, protects, and nurtures those in their charge. Wise words for anyone in a leadership position!

The commentaries on  the 4th line are also interesting, in that they speak of the misfortune had when ministers (those below the ruler/5th line) neglect their duty of keeping in touch with the people they govern (the 1st yin line). This creates the situaton where the upper trigram (the top 3 lines) strive upwards and away from the people below (the lower trigram). The old texts state: “The misfortune… comes from having kept aloof from the people.”

In the system of the I Ching, when lines are unstable and change, this cause one hexagram to transform into another. I was interested in the fact that if the 4th and 5th lines changed polarity (from yang to yin), it followed on to hexagram 18, Ku.

This hexagram is about decay, what has been spoiled; but more importantly it teaches us about working on that which has become spoiled. In the instance of this hexagram, the decay has come about due to the abuse of human freedom. So in a sense, we are looking at decay and corruption. It teaches us the best method in dealing with this decay.

The commentaries speak of much hard work to do, and much danger surrounding it.  We must first know the causes of the corruption before we can do away with it. Hence, there is much caution before we start. Once we have started to work on treating this stagnation, we then must be cautious in ensuring it is safe to proceed. The confucianist commentaries note that stagnation/corruption/decay is removed by first stirring up public opinion (the lower trigram, symbolised by Wind, which stirs); the people thus stirred must then be strengthened and stabilised (the upper trigram, symbolised by the Mountain, which stands firm, silent, and strong).

How does this apply?

Clearly when situations arise where some difficulty in change arises (such as in a government or an organisation), people must be prepared to come together and meet with honesty and integrity. The leaders in such situation must be honourable and respectful of those in their care or under their jurisdiction: with great power comes even greater responsibilities! If this occurs, then together the people and their leaders can work hard and diligently to see that the stagnation (i.e., inability to change; for corruption is the maladaption to the natural state of flux in the universe) is removed and that harmony flows once again.

This seems to be vital advice for any form of organisation, be it a national government right down to a volunteer-run community group. Change is always inevitable; and conflicts usually arise when there is resistance to change. Sure, it’s human nature – but that is a reason, not an excuse!

It should also be noted that decay – merely an expression of this aforementioned universal flux – is inevitable in any system where change is occurring. Hence why the hexagram Ku refers to the idea of corruption and maladaption to change – not the change itself (referred to by the hexagram Kou ). There is nothing inherently bad or unfortunate about change: it just is! But it is how we all deal with that determines whether or not it will be good, easy transition into the next phase!

The last 12 months have seen tremendous change in our world, and this is being reflected on microcosmic as well as macrocosmic scale. Let’s hope we can all just get on with the act of ‘working on what has been spoiled’, instead of being caught up and obstructed by old and outdated patterns of behaviour and modes of thinking.