夬
GUA 43 · GUAI
DECISIVENESS
Overall Image (大象)
The lake rises into the sky
Decisiveness
The noble young one, accordingly,
Dispenses favor to reach those below
Resting on virtue is thereby avoided▼
Overall Image (大象)
The lake rises into the sky
Decisiveness
The noble young one, accordingly,
Dispenses favor to reach those below
Resting on virtue is thereby avoided
The lake is as full of itself as it gets. Whether had or made too much of, some of the surcharge or surfeit must go, right over the top and away. This niche is simply not big enough. This might be a cherished illusion, some nasty old habit, the next in a long line of last weaknesses, a thing that we thought we would want more, a thing we have now had enough of. Whatever it is, it is tempting to reason against it with passion, instead of just getting it wrapped up and letting it go. This is the best time to move on a little more lightly: the sage surrenders his wisdom, the magus his book of spells. The young noble makes less of himself, not taking this all so personally.
Main Judgment (Decisiveness) (卦辞)
A disclosure at the royal court
A truthful appeal
This will be serious
Inform the home town
Nothing worthwhile in resorting to hostilities
Worthwhile to have somewhere to go▼
Main Judgment (Decisiveness) (卦辞)
A disclosure at the royal court
A truthful appeal
This will be serious
Inform the home town
Nothing worthwhile in resorting to hostilities
Worthwhile to have somewhere to go
When we learn that something or someone among us must go, we do not then need to work ourselves into a frenzy or froth. Character and dignity should provide all of the force that we’ll need. We do not need not to hate a thing first in order to set it aside. Troubles are most effectively banished by clear definition, not by obsessive behavior. Our wiser wizards will tell us that even those devils and demons are best brought under control by speaking their proper names. This is nothing mysterious. To understand where things begin and end is great power. To set yourself against a thing might exalt it or make you its victim. Credulity gives it weight, aggression gives it force, gossip gives it a voice and vagueness lends it a wit. Just a simple no will often suffice, or else high, truthful words at court, to get our unspeakable things truthfully named and back into proper perspective - and the rest of life pointed back in its proper direction. Until then we are not rational beings. Some resolutions are made with great force and commitment, but the word refers also to a crisp and clear light, and to putting things where they belong. These two don’t need all that force.
Key Words (关键词)
Satiety, surfeit, having enough, finality, giving notice, parting verdicts and words▼
Key Words (关键词)
Satiety, surfeit, having enough, finality, giving notice, parting verdicts and words
Break off, conclude, uproot, expel, purge, express, denounce, renounce, condemn Discharge, remove corruption, vent, clean house, make a clean breast, outpouring Resolution, resolve, determination, commitment, single-mindedness, obsession Inclination to exaggeration, hyperbole, protesting too much; over the top; unload Indictment, disclosure, conviction, exposé, diagnostic; decisiveness, breakthrough
Structure & Connections
Structure Class
Sovereign Gua, 3rd Moon (Apr)
This classification indicates the hexagram's role in the 12 Sovereign Cycle (Earthly Branches) or its structural family.
Astrology
note:Pluto in Water
planet:Pluto
element:Water
Tarot
card:Ten of Cups
suit:Cups
Qabalah
note:Malkuth in Briah
sphere:Malkuth
The Lines
11st • YangVigorous in advancing the toes
Going forward is less than successful
Mistakes will be made▼
1
1st • YangVigorous in advancing the toes
Going forward is less than successful
Mistakes will be made
43.1x Without success and yet proceeding:
Erroneous
Maybe he wants to take a strong stand, or firm steps, or to stomp out that nameless threat, or even kick some troublesome butt here. There’s trouble afoot in these times, or something is stepping on toes and this makes him hopping mad. It is high time someone did something. But even when powerfully done, advancing the toes does not make for great strides. Here should the whole being stride, including its head for guidance. While toes can test for obstacles too, the head has two eyeballs for seeing where it is going and a brain for thinking things through. The thing he chases might have a head as well. A little bit of wisdom used in advance might pause long enough to get the bigger picture and locate the source of the trouble. Then one can run, even race with the facts. Or maybe small steps, one at a time, will set a more useful pace.
22nd • YangFrightened and calling out
This is not a night for battle
Do not worry▼
2
2nd • YangFrightened and calling out
This is not a night for battle
Do not worry
43.2x Do not worry about hostilities:
Find the middle path
There is a backlog of change overdue. One of these nights it might come without a clear warning. No need can be shown now for these haunted and sleepless nights. No unseen invader has given a sign. And yet he paces his floor, cries out for help and rattles his shields and swords at the night. Such guardedness, if not watched, becomes a way of life, already taking him prisoner. Of course he might be justified in fearing an attack might come soon, but even here his own worries will defeat him: his cries of alarm and his rattling swords are preventing him from listening for his enemy's approach, and it is also giving away all his defensive positions. If change is to come it can slip through this din unnoticed. Even defeat will not be this noisy. A foe worth fearing will be stealthier and darker than this. One wants to be rested.
33rd • YangVigorous in the cheekbones
Presuming the worst
The noble young one is resolved and decided
All alone in advancing, to greet the rain
As if getting wet
Were displeasure
Nothing is wrong▼
3
3rd • YangVigorous in the cheekbones
Presuming the worst
The noble young one is resolved and decided
All alone in advancing, to greet the rain
As if getting wet
Were displeasure
Nothing is wrong
43.3x The noble young one (is) resolved (and) decided:
In the end no harm (is) done
The relentless pursuer and the fugitive he pursues wear almost identical faces: too strong in the gaze, looking stubborn and obsessed, suspiciously nervous and tense. Their expressions of dark and mysterious purpose are not all that hard to confuse, except with each other. Both end their days much bespattered, and the subjects of much muddled gossip. The fugitive tries to look and act like a lawman, while the gendarme wants to think like his criminal. The signals they give are odd and unclear. Bystanders cannot decide who is who. They develop a very close bond in this way. This obsession of course has a purpose, hopefully one with an end and no future. Here and now is limited living and no place to be. This bad-looking hombre, with his wet-dog smell and his stubble, will not see the good life until the trial is over.
44th • YangA rump with no skin
One’s progress is inferior now
To be led like a sheep, regrets would pass
But to hear the words is not comprehension▼
4
4th • YangA rump with no skin
One’s progress is inferior now
To be led like a sheep, regrets would pass
But to hear the words is not comprehension
43.4x One’s progress (is) second-rate now:
The position (was) not appropriate
* To hear the words is not comprehension:
Quick to hear (but) not much clarity
In hottest pursuit, he chases his nameless, accursed, unspeakable thing into some deep, dark pit, thinking that he might have it cornered at last, all the while forgetting that accursed things thrive best and fight at their fiercest down in the deep, dark pits. Though now he is badly chewed up, and bloodied about the rear end, and moving forward is hard, he still remains resolute. And he still thinks that he is the predator here in this pursuit. He could try a new view of things, and wonder if he’s being led like a sheep, as the predator toys with his prey, and then he could return to his flock to follow the harmless old ram. And yet when he hears this he still won’t believe it. He really needs a new leader, one who is not such a menace to himself. If he would hand up our end of his leash we could drag him kicking and screaming to safety.
55th • YangWild greens on dry land
Determined to uproot
To balance the behavior
Is not a mistake▼
5
5th • YangWild greens on dry land
Determined to uproot
To balance the behavior
Is not a mistake
43.5x To balance the behavior is not a mistake:
The center has not yet been honored
Day after day the simple, old farmer wages his war of wills with the weeds, fighting the good fight on behalf of all of his crops, against that ever-encroaching wilderness. Too hard or too soft a pull will leave the weeds rooted; both too much and too little resolve will not work. Such care for his fields is not to be lightly dismissed. A firm resolution is called for in dealing with weeds. He will show them who is the boss. Of course the weeds would like to succeed as well, and so this big task will not end. This world needs all its small wills and stern frowns. But our farmer could use an epiphany here. Most of these weeds he uproots, like the wild spinach and purslane, are very fine things to put in a salad, and they volunteer up on the hillside where they never need any watering. Maybe all that he needs here is a better name than weed.
6Top • YangNo cry for help
The outcome will be unfortunate▼
6
Top • YangNo cry for help
The outcome will be unfortunate
43.6x No cry for help, approaching misfortune:
In the end, not fit to survive
He is lured far out and away, drawn way out to the distant frontier, to the limits of credibility, by his unspeakable thing. An obsession has taken complete control now. This far from his source, and just as far from rescue or help, his lines of supply are drawn increasingly thinner. He fades away with his footfalls and disappears with his vanishing trail. At this range his pride and presumptions run wild, and although he closes the gap on his prey, what seems an easy victory could become a silent end. To the cosmos he might have been always expendable, and possibly even unloved. But the unknown tree who falls for no ears at least has its forest to fall in, and the lonely stars in their waste of great power at least have the great sky to explode in. Without a sign or clue, the lost cause will be lost effect too, not intelligence gathered.
Reference in Original Text & Resources
This content is derived from Bradford Hatcher's THE BOOK OF CHANGES: Yijing, Word By Word.
Original text for Hexagram 43 begins on Page 318-326.
Help improve this resource
Spot a typo or have a suggestion? We'd love to hear from you.