Hexagram ䷵ GuiMei 歸妹 part 2
Returning Home part 2
ZeShangYouLei, GuiMei, JunZiYiYongZhongZhiBi.
澤上有雷，歸妹；君子以永終知敝。There are new lives over a marsh, which is the phenomenon represented by the GuiMei hexagram. Learn from this – be consistent in your daily cultivation practice and accept whatever obstacles you may encounter.
-my personal interpretation of hexagram GuiMei’s DaXiang sentence
In the previous article, ䷵ GuiMei 歸妹 - Returning Home, I presented my personal interpretation of the GuiMei hexagram’s DaXiang sentence for the first time. As always, my interpretation is based upon my perspective as a lifelong Daoist and internal cultivation practitioner. You might notice that instead of using the most common translation for the top trigram Zhen as “thunder”, I have chosen to translate it as “new lives”, primarily because the image of trigram Zhen is one of new lives emerging. Another reason is that the hexagram structure itself, LeiZe 雷澤, or Thunder-Marsh, to me relates to the Chinese mythology of the birth story of FuXi 伏羲. As many of you know, FuXi was the first shaman king of ancient China, who is credited for discovering the BaGua and Yijing prediction system through his careful observation of nature. His life also marks the movement of Chinese society from matriarchal to patriarchal. Here is a brief summary of that story:
In old matriarchal times, there was a young maiden named HuaXu 華胥, who visited a place called LeiZe 雷澤. As she was walking through nature, she stepped on a giant footprint belonging to the Thunder God, and in that moment resonated so strongly with the Thunder God’s energy that she became pregnant through immaculate conception. As an aside, it is interesting here to note that from the perspective of Daoist cosmology, thunder/lightning was the original power source that initiated new life in our universe. Later, she gave birth to FuXi. The very last song in my album QinXin II, called HuaXuYin - the Story of the Mother of the First Shaman King FuXi, is said to have been composed by King Wen during his ten years in prison (when he wrote the new version of the Yijing). For those of you who have the album, you may like to meditate with the song for a few minutes now, which may help you better understand what I am going to share next.
To me, the GuiMei hexagram carries the story of FuXi’s birth, which symbolizes universal creation and as well as the principle of maintaining wellbeing. From my internal cultivation perspective, I will explain this further:
By stepping on the Thunder God ‘s footprint, HuaXu became pregnant with FuXi, indicating that new life energy is generated from stepping. The top trigram Zhen/Thunder has the meaning of foot as well as of new life energy. This is the reason that our traditional cultivation practices place such a strong emphasis on working with the feet. Many of you are familiar with my Shamanic Thunder or Shaking Qigong form (a guided practice may be found on my Three Treasures CD), which for those of you who don’t know, basically involves beating the floor with your feet as if you are drumming or making thunder. While you are working with your feet during the practice of Thunder Qigong, you find your breathing rhythm, which is the symbolic meaning of the bottom trigram Dui/Marsh, and synchronize the breath with the rhythmic beating of your feet. This is an exact representation of the spiritual meaning of the GuiMei hexagram. Through this practice, your soul and body’s many spirits return home to their physical home in your body.
As I discussed in the previous article, the GuiMei hexagram’s DaXiang sentence provides us with guidance on how to keep ourselves physically and spiritually stable, which is the natural result of both body and spirit being settled in their home. If you recall, the last four words of the DaXiang sentence, YongZhongZhiBi 永終知敝, advises us to continue our daily cultivation practices until we come to the end of our lives. The sentence also reminds us that each of us will experience obstacles in life as we navigate our spiritual journey.
It is easy for anyone to start to learn a Qigong form and it is hard for all of us to dedicate to a daily practice. After over three decades of teaching, I have observed that people easily give up on their cultivation practices as soon as life presents them with an obstacle. Just as all of us will experience various life challenges, relationship challenges, financial challenges, and health challenges, all of us can learn from the wisdom of flowing water, and as the hexagram GuiMei guides us, find ways to work through any obstacles in order to reach our desired destination.
