I Ching Sphere (Part 6): Levels 4, 5, 6

I love to read.

I read all kinds of books, mostly for entertainment.  I hated non-fiction because I wanted to be entertained, not bored to death.  Unfortunately, nowadays, I read more non-fiction than I do anything else, not because I want to be bored but because I write fiction, and the only way to get the fiction to read accurately and believably is to have a very firm grasp on the truth, the non-fictional aspects with which to weave my tale around.

Sometimes, the research is very dry and dull, with the contents listed as basic ingredients in a recipe.  Sometimes, it is translated from ancient texts and it is a slog to read through.  Sometimes, it is a highly technical paper, in which case, it requires extra tangential research for me to comprehend the more complicated sections.

The various layers of the I Ching form has to take the cake as one of the most intricate reads that I have tried to do thus far.  Still, I am really glad I did it because it now gives me a more in-depth understanding  of how this mathematical system works.  I am getting really close to the end of this so I am going to push forward and get the last three Levels done in this final posting.  I can do this because much of the complexity of this level has been explained in previous levels so I will not belabor the points yet again.

Onward and upward to Level 4.

Level 4

Level 4 is very similar to Level 2 with the only difference being that the hexagrams now occupying this level has more yang lines than yin lines.  This is because the change has already occurred at Level 3, and it is getting closer to the father, Càn, the Creative Heaven at level 6.  

Immediate Excess

The first layer is the outermost ring of Level 4 called Immediate Excess.  It comprises four yang lines and two yin lines and it holds up the outer rings in a stable formation.  Hmm, wonder what the ‘excess’ is stemming from.  Methinks it’s just too much male energy here, but who am I to judge what’s excessive and what’s not.

As with Layer 2, Immediate Excess shares this layer with another set of siblings, but in a different dimension.

Water Circulating

As with Level 2, this layer is very similar, except it is no longer fire ascending but water circulating.  The Changes are diametrically opposite to that of level 2, with which it rises from.

It pulls inward, toward the center, and as it does, it moves faster.

Doubled Yin

As it speeds up, it becomes Doubled Yin.

This is represented by A4, occupying the central axis of the hexagram at this level.

A4 = {,  ,  }

Once it has reached the central axis, it continues to move upwards until it breaks through into Level 5.

Level 5

Level 5 is called Bubble Circulating.

It occupies this level all by itself.  There is only one other layer to rise upward towards.  Level 6.

Level 6

And of course, we are back to Level 6, Heaven.

At this level, on top of the sphere sits Càn, the Creative Heaven is at level 6.   

Next post, I am going to tie all of these Levels and Layers together.

…

The Teikemeier/Drasny Sphere.  Dr Andreas Schöter. 2012