Transitioning

過渡

濟

6•3

V

𝚫

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VOID

V中𝚫

五中門

吾中關

也

五神中元神

Original Version versus Identifier ⇐ VO/ID ⇒ 50/14 L Output/Input Door ䷱/䷍

鼎／大有

Only one changing line between hexagram 50 and hexagram 14

Changing line #1

"Overturning the Cauldron"

翻箱倒鼎

初六：鼎顛趾，利出否，得妾以其子，無咎。

This will be a time when I easily let go of everything I no longer need.

I will rid myself, my organization, my system and my life of old ideas that no longer serve me.

Let me tip over the cauldron and receive anew all that is fresh and alive.

大有

This hexagram which is literally read to mean "Fire in the Heavens" symbolizes the life-giving "Sun". The Sun is the source of all wealth and abundance and references a time of prosperity and plenty.

With abundance comes the power to do great things and to create positive change.

At the same time, the Sun carries a warning not to create waste, or to use this time of plenty for personal gluttony.

An abundance of something is coming our way. Let us use it wisely. 

Also: Early mornings bring success.

神— apart from the deity, soul, or mind meanings — signifies consciousness too, specifically in the combination with 性 (nature)神性— and 情 (emotion) 神情/精神. So in this world view, consciousness— or perhaps the conscious mind — is made up of our nature and emotions —covering 神 — that is located in the heart and is constructed of the fire element ☲ 離 (lí) radiance =火, with the outer two 陽 lines being our nature and the inner broken line being our emotions (there are other ways to look at this, but this is the most germane to this post).

元神 is the time when 情 is replaced in the centre line of fire by the living jing essence of the water element (the solid 陽 line between two broken lines ☵ 坎 kǎn gorge = 水 water) and then it becomes ䷀ the 乾 Qián trigram representing the heavens.

So 元神 is the mind of pure 陽 connected energy, the original mind, and the mind before it has been affected by outside influences.

This can be further defined into 元性 and 元情 (Shui Jingzi wrote about this in 清靜經圖註 from the 太上清靜經), which still depicts the 乾 Qián trigram, though recognizing that the original 性 is still symbolized by the two 陽線 lines and that the 陽 which enters from the water trigram is called 元情 yuán qíng— a complicated theory that did not become as popular as the simple one described before from《中和津》by 李道春.

 

Simply put, 元神 ⩸ pure consciousness.

In Dàoism’s paradigm, consciousness pervades the universe, permeates space & time, and shapes matter. Consciousness is collective and is intrinsic to the human condition.  At conception, the classic Dàoist meeting of heaven and earth, a new human life is seeded with congenital or 先天 “pre-heavenly” 元性 and 元神, instilling a foetus with information and instinct. 元神 is seeded directly from the collective consciousness. Unlike our acquired or 後天 “post-heavenly” 神, 精, and other resources, 元神 does not recognize time or place.元神 is undifferentiated information: no cognition, memory or analysis is borne of the post-natal human psyche (Lifang & Garvey, 2006).

There is a distinction between 元神— which we attribute to 道Dào’s pervasive or collective consciousness — and the consciousness we attribute to our lifetime’s “acquired” psyche.  Let us posit that the “psyche” comprise our senses, thoughts, feelings, and perceptions.  At conception, the “三寶”, or three treasures (精 jīng、氣qì 、神 shén), govern our pre-natal resources.  As our development moves into 後天a post-heavenly phase which we recognize as physical existence, our originating 元神 differentiates into “五神” (five spirits), which mirrors the development of the “五臟ㄨˇ ㄗㄤˋ”.  This is the manifestation of the organ systems known as 臟腑 ㄗㄤˋ ㄈㄨˇ the Zàngfǔ 五臟六腑, driving cognitive processes of consciousness called “私神 sì shén”. (Lifang & Garvey, 2006).

Transcript in another way, 元神 is delegated at conception, becoming 精神 jīngshén in our physical development. 神 then manifests in 臟腑 the Zàngfǔ – our solid organs – heart, liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys."

☲ (離 lí) radiance = (火) fire, 後天 the post-heavenly, upper, spiritual status of humans.

☵ (坎 kǎn) gorge = (水) water, 後天 the post-heavenly, lower, physical status of humans

Combined, they symbolize ䷾ 既濟 下☲ (離 lí) radiance = (火) fire, and 上 ☵ (坎 kǎn) gorge = (水) water.

Or ䷿ 未濟 下☵ (坎 kǎn) gorge = (水) water and 上 ☲ (離 lí) radiance = (火) fire ⇔ 63/4

“Golden Elixir is another name for one’s fundamental nature. There is no other Golden Elixir outside one's fundamental nature. All human beings have this Golden Elixir complete in themselves: it is entirely realized in everybody. It is neither more in a sage nor less in an ordinary person. It is the seed of the Immortals and the Buddhas, the root of the worthies and the sages.”

― 劉一明 (1734-1821)