55. Fēng 豐
ABUNDANCE, OPPORTUNITY
ABUNDANCE, OPPORTUNITY
A time of great strength and great successes. Act! Shine, but do not succumb to excessive self-satisfaction.
A time of great strength and great successes. Act! Shine, but do not succumb to excessive self-satisfaction.
Hexagram Structure
Inside the sign stands the trigram Li, light and clarity; outside, Zhen, movement. The structure reads simply: clear understanding within gives an outward push, and what has been gathered begins to be spent. The aphorism marks the highest point of the process: accomplishment has taken place, the king himself approaches the prosperity attained, and there is nothing to worry about — one need only stand where the sun stands at the middle of its course and shine on everything around.
Abundance here is not a store but a flow: it counts as genuine only when it passes beyond one household and is distributed outward. Hence the second condition of fullness — the ability to be a center of gravity for others without fuss.
The sign also has a structural peculiarity: the correspondence between positions, for instance the first and the fourth, is built on their sameness rather than the usual polarity, so one's ally turns out to be an equal, not an opposite. The old tradition also saw in this sign a school of governance: fullness is maintained by impulses of will passed on to people.
How It Works in Practice
Affairs in this period run evenly and successfully, and this evenness has a reserve: the course of events may become more favorable still. Three fields are especially responsive now — agriculture, art, and everything connected with the stage and the public.
The sign's warning is sober: success attends you already, but there is no full certainty that your wishes will come true. Between "things are going well" and "everything will come to pass" a gap remains, and it is wise to act with that gap in mind: enjoy what has been achieved without betting on what has not yet happened.
Two practical rules follow from this gap. The first is information: try to stay constantly abreast of what is going on. Decisions in a period of fullness are expensive, and making them blind is wasteful; a well-informed person spends strength on choosing, not on repairing mistakes. Fresh knowledge in such a phase works like lighting: in full light both the opportunities and the potholes show up sooner.
The second rule is reserve. Set aside a certain part of what you earn for the future. Fullness is a phase, not a permanent state: past the middle of its course the sun begins its descent, and a cushion is more reliably gathered in good times than sought in hard ones. Generosity toward those around you and a reserve for yourself do not contradict each other — the first spends the flow, the second insures its source.
Traditional Description
Above is the trigram Zhen (Thunder), below is the trigram Li (Fire). The metaphorical image of this hexagram is the dazzling lightning striking the earth during a storm, symbolizing immense power in action. In this capacity, Feng embodies a time of highest achievements, abundance, success. This is the metaphorical image of this hexagram. Feng signifies grandeur and bloom (fullness, might). Feng points to abundance and wealth, fullness and greatness. Clarity and light animate and set in motion. Thunder shakes the space, the sun shines – this is a symbol of greatness and fullness.
Since this is the peak of our energy, it will not be prolonged, and a decrease in strength must inevitably follow. This is no reason for regret, but we should make full use of this atmosphere of prevailing triumph, implement those tactics and strategies that will contribute to achieving our goals.
Feng warns us against excess and complacency during our triumph. Like a wise ruler who, coming to power, establishes justice and order, we should not waste opportunities indulging in ecstasies over our victories.
At the same time, we should not allow our sense of responsibility to take away our enjoyment of this favorable period of our life. We must invite our supporters and loved ones to participate in these celebrations. Be like the Sun for yourself, and most importantly, for others: spread your light in all possible directions.nnnnn
I Ching Talking
You will make curtains in your house. Look at your door, and in the silence, there will be no one. For three years, you will not see anyone. Misfortune.
Hexagram Line Descriptions
Read more
The top line shows the reverse side of fullness. Wealth is turned upon one's own dwelling; the curtains are drawn no longer by doubt but by arrogance. The person peers out the door — and in the silence there is no one: pride itself has cut him off from people. A long isolation, measured at three years, completes the decay of his ties. Abundance locked within four walls degenerates into its opposite — want and loneliness, and the step's outcome is named misfortune outright.
Read more
The fifth position is the culmination of the sign. Inner content and outward brilliance finally coincide: you come bearing light, and that light is recognized. Support arrives on its own, followed by acknowledgment and praise. Abundance ceases to be personal property and begins to bear fruit for everyone around, which is what calls forth general approval. Of the six steps this is the only one where success is unconditional and needs no reservations: giving light away is here the very multiplying of it.
Read more
At the fourth position the murk still holds — stars keep showing through by day — but the person already finds strength to push through the fog of uncertainty. What decides is not a solitary effort but an encounter: a partner of equal scale appears, and his support gives the stored potential an outlet. Thus the ground is prepared for abundance to show itself outwardly at last. The step's outcome is happiness — not because the dark has vanished, but because a companion has been found within it.
Read more
The darkness reaches its limit — even the Pole Star, the dimmest of night's daytime tokens, is visible by day. The breaking of the right arm means enforced paralysis: there is nothing now to distribute the gathered abundance with. There is nothing to blame oneself for — this step carries no reproach. The meaning of the moment is honest acknowledgment: conditions have not ripened, and trying to force them will only multiply the damage. What remains is to wait it out, keeping what has been collected until the arm obeys again.
Read more
Then the picture darkens: the curtains of doubt thicken until the Big Dipper shows through at noon. The surroundings are not yet ready to accept your steps — an open move now will draw suspicion and hostility. Distrust cannot be forced through by pressure; it can only be dissolved: reveal your inner truth as fully as possible, so that people see your motives instead of guessing at them. For the one who possesses that truth the way is open, and the step's outcome is happiness.
Read more
The activity of the first step is dictated by the very surplus of gathered forces: there are so many that they ask to be put to work. Here a person meets a host who is his equal, and equality proves not a flaw but a condition: two equally strong participants strengthen each other instead of contesting precedence. Such a union draws no reproach. A decisive move forward at the very start of the situation is directly encouraged — a reward is promised for it, and there is no reason to delay.
The six steps fold into a single lesson. Fullness behaves like the sun at its zenith: it is real while it radiates, and goes out the moment one tries to lock it up. Below, abundance seeks an equal partner and grows from the union; in the middle it passes through a strip of doubt and forced idleness; at the summit it shines on all — and perishes as soon as it closes upon itself. The difference between the fifth line and the sixth is the difference between light given away and light hidden: the force is one and the same; only the direction tells them apart.