ABSTRACT
K'un is a calendar hexagram representing the ninth month, November–December. In the northern hemisphere it is the season of the year when the days are shortest and growth appears to have ceased. All four trigrams that constitute the hexagram are K'un. There are no light, yang lines. This is the opposite of the month represented by Ch'ien, May–June, where there are no dark, yin lines remaining in the hexagram. The relationship of the Receptive to the Creative is best illustrated not by words, but by the Taoist symbol, t'ai chi, which represents the complementarity of the two within an overall unity. If Ch'ien is Life as infinite creative energy, K'un is Life as limitless capacity, boundless receptivity. The lack of differentiation in the hexagram may point to a lack of balance, excessive passivity or an absence of complementarity.
