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Monad as the holistic archetype of its entire Decad
Monad, the first and prime example of the four perspectives of the Pythagorean Tetraktys and the Taoist Tai Chi, is the holistic unity overall. The circle within which the rest of the Tai Chi is drawn is just one element of this dynamic symbol. The Tai Chi as a whole is the entire symbol with its four elements: the circle, the two swirls of opposite colors, and the two eyes of opposite colors contrasting the color of each of the swirls they are in. The Tai Chi or Taiji is the total gestalt that integrates and encompasses all its elements—altogether and all-at-once.
These four perspectives form the background context of the King Wen Sequence for the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching or Flux Tome. Together these four perspectives require ten hexagrams (1 + 2 +3 + 4 = 10 which is also the Tetraktys) thus forming the Decad or set of ten which explains the King Wen Sequence. It is also the basis of the importance of the base 10 number system—not the detail that humans have ten fingers (as well as ten toes arranged at the end of their four limbs with five digits each).
The Monad is the integrated gestalt of all at one fell swoop. The Dyad is the pair of polar opposites, like Yin and Yang or male and female that expresses the overall reality of the entity by specifying each side of the coin. Of course, this ignores the edge of the coin and the single piece of precious metal that is the substance of the traditional coin.
Together the Monad and the Dyad represent the first gestalt of the Tetraktys, the two rows of dots that form a triangle. In common parlance, the overall symbol of the Tai Chi is known by two images, one of the whole inscribed in a circle, and the pair of swirls representing Yang and Yin. Western philosophy and ‘modern’ science is filled with polar opposites used to form a scale upon which to measure details and entities. Temperature measures the degrees between hot and cold. Various meters are developed to measure details of sine wave functions used to represent electricity, magnetism, etc.
The Triad is the perspective of the beginning, middle and end result of a development process. Process perspective is less clearly established in ‘modern’ science since it requires a higher order Piaget stage attainment than the general concrete operations realm. Initial conditions then internal development resulting in a concrete product is a systems perspective first made explicit in the middle of the 20th century in the West.
The Tetrad perspective of the double dichotomy is best known in the West through the perpendicular axes of Cartesian analytical geometry with their central point or Origin. Little emphasis is given to the meaning and implications of the Origin, it is simply the universal zero point from which the graphic representation of algebraic equations is centered. This mysterious origin or navel is the portal to the unknown within the graphing. In the Taiji, this perspective of the double dichotomy is shown by the twin swirls of Yang and Yin with the center points of the circles from which they are constructed also highlighted Yang and Yin in contrast.
The Monad is the entire Decad or set of ten in a single hexagram. Each monad in the King Wen Sequence has a number ending in 1. Only monads have sequence numbers that end in the number one; the last digit of the sequence number gives the hexagram place within the decad. The first number plus one of the two-digit sequence numbers describe which decad. Hex 61 is the monad of the final set of four hexagrams, which comprises the seventh set.
Hexagram Sunshine, hex 01 is the monad of the first Decad as well as the first hexagram of the entire Yi, I Ching or Flux Tome. This six-Yang line gua or matrix has many special features as well as also being just a single hexagram that happens to be first in the KWS and first in its decad. It is the background context chosen that distinguishes each of these various aspects for each hexagram.
As a Monad, first or second hexagram of a Dyad, first middle or final hexagram of a Triad, or negative/positive pole of the double dichotomies of the Tetrad; each hexagram has a precise philosophical context within its decad. When this context is made explicit as the background to the line patterns and meaning (name) of each hexagram a depth and richness springs forth that is amazing.
Unfortunately, this background context of the Tetraktys is rarely stated in Western expositions of the King Wen Sequence. Finding this context becomes even more difficult since the standard arrangement of the hexagrams is a neat 8 X 8 checkerboard pattern. This leaves the philosophical structure hidden while avoiding the difficulties of having the inconvenient 6 decads and a final four hexagrams.
The 8 x 8 checkerboard arrangement of the hexagrams, though not arranged by the KWS is very useful for learning the names of the 64 hexagrams. Its sequence starts with the doubled trigram Sunshine or the Creative and then keeps that trigram on top and places each of the other seven trigrams under it. There is a variant of this simple arrangement to help students called the Arrangement of the Hexagrams by Houses given in Appendix II of the Wilhelm. There are no images I could find through Google of the hexagrams arranged into the decads, perhaps since the set does not fit neatly into a square and leaves a final four hexagrams. This makes the decad structure an esoteric secret only briefly alluded to in the Wilhelm classic in the preliminary remarks upon hex 42 in Book III. From this brief allusion to the arrangement of the hexagrams in decads or sets of 10the simple, elegant depth of the entire system comes into clear focus.
Not that I figured out any of this from those early beginnings. I did notice that reference to hexagrams after 10 changes coming back to a basic refinement of the combination of trigram Sunshine and trigram Home Land. The next quantum leap began with the availability through Amazon.com of The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library compiled and translated by Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie in a new paperback edition (ISBN 0-933999-51-8).
There was a bit of a contradiction in the source material, the Pythagoreans swore upon their Tetraktys, and sang the praises of these most marvelous innovation created by Pythagoras. However, the only description of the Tetraktys was a graphic of four rows of dots forming a triangle of 10 dots and the simple equation of 10 = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4.
Fortunately, there were illustrations and associations to the technical terms, Monad, Dyad, Triad, Tetrad, and Decad. One in particular struck me forcefully: an illustration of Unit, Duality, and Harmony as drawings of small circles within the same outer circumference. What struck me was that the illustration of duality was also the background to the Taiji drawing, the compass-and-straight edge drawing that would then be painted to create the total Tai Chi.
The connection between the Tai Chi and the Pythagorean Tetraktys opened the portal to discover the explanation of the Source of the King Wen Sequence and how the Tai Chi symbol exemplified the integration of the Monad, Dyad, Triad, and Tetrad perspectives. Applying this insight to the King Wen Sequence was as much of a revelation as applying the line sequence and Yang focus/Yin line place matrix was to reveal the explanation of the meaning of each hexagram.
Separating the 64 Hexagrams into sets of ten and then within each set of 10 to ignore the even numbered line patterns being the inverse of the prior odd numbered hexagram, allowed creating the hexagram ending in One to represent the Monad of the Decad, those ending in two and three to represent the Dyad, those ending in four, five, and six to represent the beginning, middle and final product of the process Triad, and finally, those ending in seven and eight to represent the x-axis while the final pair ending in nine and ten the y-axis of the double dichotomy of the Tetrad.
Hexagram 01 Sunshine (the Creative in Wilhelm)
Monad of the first decad:
The Water Cycle
This hexagram is six Yang lines with no Yin line places at all. As a result this represents pure focus without any background places. A gestalt can not form without both focus and background, so the background becomes the blank space between and around the six Yang lines thus representing pure process without any specific substance.
This is the Monad of the first decad, the motivating process. Thus it gets the name The Creative in the Wilhelm. In concrete terms, it is Sunshine that motivates and powers the Water Cycle which determines all the details of the weather, the seasons, crop growth, water flow, and human survival. The interaction between Planet Earth topography and solar flux from Sunshine is recognized by all indigenous peoples as the expression of the Benevolent Divine.
This overall meaning can also be expressed through the positions of the two trigrams making up each hexagram. Within the decad of the Water Cycle, the first hexagram, its monad, is two trigrams of Sunshine representing the sun shining through the day and through the 4 seasons powering the entire decad of the Water Cycle.
The ancient ideogram for the Chinese name of this hexagram is given in Weiger, S.J Chinese Characters as a drawing of a ray of sunshine penetrating the miasmal mists of a swamp, burning off the water vapor to form clouds which then travel the weather patterns to bring nourishing rains to the fields of crops. Once the rain fall upon the land, the topography of Planet Earth determines how much stays in the fields, how much is stored underground, how much runs off to form rivulets, streams, and great rivers running to the sea. This is the entirety of this decad in a single ancient Chinese ideogram.
As just the first hexagram of the ten in this decad, hex one is the beginning of the overall decad theme, Sunshine within the Water Cycle. In this aspect, what begins in the first hexagram or monad is completed in the 10th or final hexagram of the set or decad. Hex ten is composed of the Trigram Sunshine above the Trigram Lake. It symbolizes the quiet lake or the open sea under the rays of sunshine, evaporating water vapor to end one phase of the water cycle and begin the next.
Hex 11 Dream Land (Peace in the Wilhelm)
The Monad of the Second Decad:
Social Energy (Fertility).
The Monad of the second set of ten or decad is Hexagram 11 called Peace traditionally and Dreamland in my Flux Tome. There are three Yang lines in the first three line places of the gua matrix with open Yin places above them. This is a hexagram of powerful quest as the heart line pair (line places 3 & 4), the will line pair (line places 2 & 5) and the environment line pair (line places 1 & 6) are all yin over yang and therefore moving forward, pushing along, questing, and developing.
The three focus line places in the beginning, structure, and passion line places are attracted by the open space above them in sequence; but also balanced by it. There is only background context to this quest from the heart line place, the organization or mind line place, and the final transition to the next line place. This overall balance between powerful dynamic to move forward and the vast openness not yet committed to that quest creates the Monad of the second decad of Social Energy, fertility, opportunity, and community motivation.
Broken into trigrams, hex 11 is composed of the trigram of Sunshine under the trigram of Home Land representing the fields of the Homeland filled within with the fertile energy of solar flux which will combine with the seeds sown into the Home Land to produce crops germinating. The sun shines upon the entire surface of Planet Earth. It is only where that sunshine penetrates into the land to germinate seeds sown in the fields that the crops required to sustain civilization have any hope.
Hex 11 Dreamland is also the first hexagram of its decad which culminates in Hex 20 whose trigrams are Sun or Streaks over K’un or Homeland. It is the tree that grows out of the fertile soil to attain a height and development that is the fruition of the potential of fertility achieving the goal of exemplary and outstanding perfection.
Hex 21 Digging In: The Monad of the Third Decad
Divine Principles manifest in Human Society
Justice, Karma, Cause-and-Effect.
The Monad of the third Decad is hexagram 21 Digging In or Biting Through (Wilhelm). There are three Yang lines in the beginning, fourth and top line places with the other three line places remaining open Yin. Overall, this line pattern looks like an open mouth digging into its food or attempting to bite through an obstruction like a stick.
The three Yang or focus line places together indicate the process of development from first beginnings to final transition to the next being carried out only with the 4th line place of the heart or soul involved. Personal passions, local structures or overall organization have faded into the background to allow for the application of blind justice or the natural flow from causes to results or the accumulation of Karma. Justice or Biting through obstructions or Digging In to achieve the truth in the depths beneath and beyond the loose fluff of appearances is what this Monad of the third Decad is all about.
Broken into trigrams hex 21 has the trigram Li or Flames over the trigram chen or Swoops. The flash of lightning is always accompanied by the power of thunder. The Ancient Chinese saw thunder as coming out of the Earth causing great effects and accompanied by lightning to give folks warning about it. This impact of the total experience of the thunder and lightning event was seen as the expression of Divine Power in the human experience.
Hex 21 Digging In is also the first hexagram of the Decad of Justice, Karma or natural consequences which culminates in the hex 30 or the natural order of sunshine moving from dawn to sunset and from Spring equinox through Summer, fall and winter to return with the next spring (when in Ancient China the spring growing season began with thunderstorms). There is also the natural consequence of fire clinging to its wood fuel and destroying it to produce fire, heat and light for human use.
What begins with the thunder and lightning of the spring rains culminates in the home fires fueled with the wood grown in that growth process. The justice that solves the problems of social disturbance or crime culminates in the clarity of ongoing domestic life and the realization that social life continues peacefully on as the sun rises, shines, and sets eternally.
These three decades complete the first half of the King Wen Sequence illustrating principles that maintain Chinese civilization in its three fundamental components: The Planet Earth Water Cycle, the Social Dynamic of fertility managed for continuing survival of humans and crops, and the Divine principles of Justice and Karma that keep society aligned with Heaven.
Hexagram 31 Moonshine (Influence or Wooing in Wilhelm):
Monad of the fourth decad The attraction between husband and wife
The Monad of the 4th decad is hexagram 31 Moonshine (or Influence/Wooing). There are three Yang lines in the third, fourth, and fifth line places. This leaves open Yin places in the first, second and final line places. The focus of this hexagram is upon the personal passion, the feelings of the heart and soul, and the overall organization in the mind with the transition from prior and the transition to next open and ignored as is the structure upon which one stands.
This hexagram is not mere sexual attraction or being swept off one’s feet. It is the formal plan (5th line place) to bring together one’s personal passions and heart’s feelings to make the engagement which will become the foundation of the couple’s new household. It may require the romantic scene in the moon shine or the inhibition dissolving impact of ardent spirits to take this leap from living within the parents’ household to establish a new household for a new family life. This monad is the beginning of the second half of the Yi the foundation of Chinese society in the primal realities of human relationship.
Broken into trigrams, hexagram 31 is the youngest sun kneeling to the youngest daughter to propose marriage. Trigram Ken (Mountain) or Peaks under trigram Tui Contents or Joyous, Lake forming the special situation of a crater lake in a mountain peak or a ancient volcano now filled with rain fall. Here is an exceptional landmark, a high mountain without a peak; rather it is open to accumulate contents of rainfall. As the first hexagram of the 4th decad of the family basis of Chinese society, it represents the formal marriage proposal that begins the next generation of family. The tenth hexagram of this decad is hex 40 Release or Re-lease representing the trigram thunder over the trigram rain. Nothing is more vital to the success of the harvest than the spring thunder causing the clouds to not just scuttle by but rather to bring the drenching rains to begin the germination and growth of the crops. Several hexagrams (cf. hex 9 Wilhelm) mention the difficulty of ‘dense clouds, no rain from our Western region’ a taunting reality in the weather patterns of traditional China.
In terms of human dynamics the 40th hexagram is the final quiescent state after the intense energy potential of hex 39. Hexagram 39 implies the sexual tension building while hex 40 is the release of marriage orgasm that also re-leases or rebinds the husband and wife to the family dynamic. What begins in the formal marriage proposal culminates in the regular sexual relations that is the foundation of the family, the cause of the next generation of children, and the quiescent ultimate state of family happiness and stability.
Hex 41 Sacrifice: The Monad representing
human aspiration toward the Divine.
The Monad of the 5th decad is hex 41 Sacrifice (Decrease in Wilhelm). There are three Yang lines in the first, second, and final line places with the third, fourth, and fifth line places open Yin. The mind has no plan, the heart is open, and the passions are quiet. In this meditative state the structure (line place 2) of the formal sacrifice achieves the transition from prior toward next (line places first and 6th).
His hexagram overall also shows the development from the fertility of Dreamland toward the human aspiration for the Divine. The third line of personal passions, the top line of trigram Sunshine has been sublimated to the final line of the hexagram overall. The sacrifice assets have been destroyed and given toward the highest realm of Heaven, leaving the personal passions attached to these valuable mundane things emptied and purified.
In broken into trigrams, hexagram 41 is the Mountain Ken or Peaks over the trigram Tui Lake or Contents. The Lake accumulates the water runoff or contents of the surrounding topography creating a reservoir of life giving water. The mountain peaks represents the extreme of gravitational potential energy. Together the concept of potential is highlighted, and what is the meaning of formal religious sacrifices more than the accumulation of pennies in heaven or potential alignment with the will of Heaven which will bring benefits eventually.
As the first hexagram of the decad of human aspirations toward the Divine hex 41 begins the process of using formal sacrifice to keep human life and society connected to the Will of Heaven. The final hexagram of this decad is hexagram 50 The Ting in Wilhelm or Altar in my Flux Tome, the final quiescent state of the process of formal religious sacrifice. The Ting in Ancient China was a bronze serving dish placed upon the family table to hold the regular food offerings that were part of the formal family meal bringing the overall process of religious observance to integrate the current family with their ancestors. In contemporary terms hexagram 50 represents the alter of religious observance and the alteration or transformation achieved by religious sacrifice.
Hexagram 51 Swoops (Arousing, Thunder in Wilhelm)
the Monad of the 6th decad of the Divine manifest in Society
Hexagram 51 Swoops (The Arousing, Shock, Thunder in Wilhelm) is the Monad of the 6th decad the last of the complete sets of 10 in the Yi or Flux Tome. Hex 51 Swoops has only two Yang lines in the first and fourth line places. The first Yang line place focuses upon the transition from prior conditions, a Yang energy that has the momentum of two open Yin places above it. The second Yang line in the fourth place focuses upon the heart or soul also with two Yin line places above it to give serious open space for its expansion. Overall this hexagram is the monad of the 6th decad of the Divine presence making itself powerfully manifest in human life and within the human soul.
Here the focus upon the depth of feeling in the heart (4th line place) is felt as transformational creating a new beginning or transition from prior conditions to a new reality. The sudden insight and heartfelt realization is the beginning of religious feeling that changes how one feels about everything and acts in your own life, family, community and society.
Broken into trigrams, hexagram 51 is the trigram of thunder or swoops repeated. It is thus the hexagram of the thunder strike with its cosmic impact making a great and lasting impression upon those hit or nearly hit by its power. In ancient Chinese thought, it was the thunder that comes rumbling out of the Earth and created the impact and damage of cosmic electricity. The power represented is not the objective impact of electrical discharge but the subjective power of being thunder stuck by sudden, unexpected change of heart or religious realization.
As the first hexagram of the decad set of religious realization and the Divine power expressing cosmic impact in human life in society hexagram 51 begins the realization of how the Divine imbues all of human life and social development. This first step of the active process of Divine awareness comes to its quiescent final development in hexagram 60 the Lake as the expression of the natural limits of Planet Earth topography and the active flow of the water cycle brought together. That the water rushing along the gravity gradient down the mountainside as it rains should find its natural limit of motion in the quiet lake or the enveloping sea level is the final expression of the energy dynamics begun in the spring thunderstorm.
Hexagram 61 Love’s Root (Inner Truth in Wilhelm):
the Monad of the seventh and final set of four hexagrams.
Hexagram 61 the monad of the final set of four hexagrams finishes the Flux Tome or Yi. These four cardinal symbols take their meaning from their overall structure, not the specific location of their Yang lines. Those Yang lines will explain the meaning of the individual hexagrams; however, they are in this set as overall cardinal symbols first and foremost.
The entire set of Overall Gua Symbolism comes to its complete quiescent expression in the last hexagram of the Yi, hex 64 with a complete mix of alternating Yang and Yin lines. Beginning with Yin line in the first place and continuing with Yang lines in the even-numbered places forming a stack of Yang over Yin line pairings and each of the three line pairs heart, will, and environment are also Yang over Yin which is the energy dynamic of completion. However, the hexagram in its structure is Eve of the launching of Potential in a new beginning. When all is working towards completion the result is a new initiative.
Its structure of two open Yin line places at the core of four Yang lines represents what appears in the open heart of continuing process. The four Yang lines blend together symbolizing process in the abstract. The two open line places of the heart line pair, the personal passion and feelings of the soul are both open and receptive. This is process guided by open meditation working toward the evolutionary transition from prior conditions towards the next. It represents pure potential of the seed or egg.
Broken into two trigrams hexagram 61 is trigram Sun or Streaks above trigram Tui or Contents. The wind blows across the lake making waves the display the mood of the weather. Feelings from the depths of Self are made manifest and cause results throughout the individual’s actions and activities.
As the first of the final four hexagrams, hex 61 Love’s Root (or Route) demonstrates the overall symbolic principle of the Inner or Inside. This is one of the four cardinal hexagram symbols, the others being the Outer (hexagram 62 The Razor’s Edge), the completion or Morning After and the final, hopeful symbolism of the new initiative of Eve or the evening before the Next Begins.
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