Reading
Judgment
Splitting Apart. It is not favorable to have somewhere to go.
It is a time when the petty are on the rise and are just on the point of displacing the last strong and noble ones. Because this is grounded in the course of the time, it is not favorable, under such circumstances, for the noble one to undertake anything. From the images and their attributes the right conduct in such adverse times is to be drawn. The lower hexagram signifies earth, whose attribute is pliancy and devotion; the upper hexagram signifies the mountain, whose attribute is stillness. This suggests the counsel to submit to the evil time and to be still. It is not a matter here of human action, but of conditions of the time, which by heavenly laws also show a change of increase and decrease, fullness and emptiness. One cannot act against these conditions of the time. It is therefore not cowardice but wisdom to submit and avoid action.
Image
The mountain rests on the earth: the image of Splitting Apart.
Thus those above can secure their position only through rich giving to
those below.
The mountain rests on the earth. If it is steep and narrow and has no broad base, it must collapse. Only by rising broad and great out of the earth, not proud and steep, is its position secured. So too do rulers rest on the broad foundation of the people. For them too it is a matter of being generous and openhanded, like the earth that bears all; then they will bring their position to security like the stillness of a mountain.
Commentary
The dark lines are on the point of rising and of bringing down even the last firm, light line, by eroding it through their influence. The base and dark combats the noble and strong not directly but hollows it out gradually through imperceptible effect, so that it finally collapses.
The hexagram represents the image of a house. The topmost line is the roof. As the roof breaks apart, the house collapses.
The hexagram is assigned to the ninth month (October-November). The Yin force presses in ever more powerfully and is on the point of wholly displacing the Yang force.
Changing Lines
Line 1
A six at the beginning means:
The bed is split apart at the leg.
Those who persevere are destroyed. Misfortune.
Commentary
The petty come in and begin secretly from below with their destructive undermining, in order thus to undermine the place on which the noble one rests. The ruler's adherents, who remain true to him, are destroyed by slander and all sorts of machinations. The situation is ominous. Yet nothing can be done but to wait.
Line 2
A six in the second place means:
The bed is split apart at the edge.
Those who persevere are destroyed. Misfortune.
Commentary
The power of the petty grows. The danger to one's own person is already drawing near. There are already clear signs. The calm is disturbed. Being in this dangerous situation, one is moreover without help and responsiveness from above and below. In this isolation utmost caution is needed. One must orient oneself to the time and withdraw in good time. Were one to maintain one's standpoint, unbending and persevering, this would lead to ruin.
Line 3
A six in the third place means:
He splits apart with them. No blame.
Commentary
One stands in the midst of bad surroundings with which one is connected by outward ties as well. But there is an inner relationship to a higher person. Through it one gains the inner hold that lets one free oneself from the character of the people in the surroundings. One comes thereby into opposition with them, but this is no fault.
Line 4
A six in the fourth place means:
The bed is split apart up to the skin. Misfortune.
Commentary
Misfortune reaches the body itself here, no longer merely the resting place. No warning or other addition is appended. The misfortune is at its height; it can no longer be averted.
Line 5
A six in the fifth place means:
A string of fishes. Through the palace ladies favor comes.
Everything is furthering.
Commentary
Here, in immediate proximity to the upper strong and light principle, the nature of the dark changes. It no longer resists the strong principle by intrigue, but submits to its leadership. Indeed, as head of the other weak ones, it leads them all to the strong, just as a princess leads her handmaidens to her husband like a string of fishes, and thereby gains his favor. As the lower thus voluntarily subordinates itself to the higher, it finds its happiness, and the higher too comes into its own. Therefore all goes well.
Line 6
A nine at the top means:
A great fruit still uneaten is there.
The noble one receives a wagon.
The petty one's house is split apart.
Commentary
Here the end of Splitting Apart is reached. When the misfortune has spent itself, better times come again. The seed of the good still remains. Precisely when the fruit falls to the earth, from its seed the good grows up anew. The noble one comes once more to influence and effectiveness. They are borne by public opinion as on a wagon. Upon the petty one, however, their wickedness avenges itself. Their house is split apart. Herein lies a natural law. Evil is not only destructive to the good; it destroys itself in its ultimate consequences, for evil, which lives only on negation, cannot exist of itself. The petty one also fares best when they are held in discipline by a noble one.