ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explores the processes of change and balance as reflected in the hexagrams for the contemporary reader. The elements that comprise the hexagram of Opposition are fire (Li) and contained water (Tui). In order to safeguard the valuable qualities of each element they must be handled appropriately and with care. This hexagram is relevant to times when there is not open conflict or a question of a lack of love, as in hexagram six, Sung / Conflict. Neither is it similar to the hexagram representing Revolution, where the same two energies – Li and Tui –are reversed in the order in which they occur in the hexagram, creating the image of fire under water rather than above it. If we can be slow to judge and compassionate towards ourselves and others, then understanding, when it does come, need not be accompanied by shame or regret.
