Earth above – Fire below
The Chinese name of this hexagram is Ming Yi. Ming can be translated as brightness, clarity, consciousness. Yi translates to hidden, obscure, injured, suppressed. Brightness or light (Fire) is generally understood as having attributes of discernment, intelligence, perceptiveness. Fire hidden beneath Earth shows a situation where one’s own perception or intelligence is being strategically or deliberately hidden to avoid risking undue setback or injury. Brightness Hidden describes a period darkness or difficulty (akin to the dark night of the soul or the Sun hidden at midnight) where the best course of action is to hide, suppress or hold back.
Breaking down the symbolism of the 3-line trigrams helps with understanding the ancient teachings:
When trigram Fire is below (the bottom 3 lines in image below right), it references the inner realm of the person or situation. Although the outer environment is dark, there is light within. There are difficult circumstances and periods of time where for safety, the light of your perception, intelligence, intentions must be kept out of sight. The ancients noted that, especially at such times, one must pay careful attention to their surroundings.
Trigram Earth is on top of trigram Fire as shown in the top 3 lines of the hexagram (below right). Earth shows the external environment, the masses (the population), the reality, the place and space where you live. Earth also implies the reality of you in the environment and the importance of maintaining an outwardly humble and gentle attitude, even while maintaining discerning receptivity.
The ancient ideograph is on the upper left portion of the image below. The upper portion contains the Sun on the left and Moon on the right, standing for brightness. The lower portion shows a man which means “great”. He is pictured as an archer with a bow, indicating some kind of defense against injury.
In summary: Ming Yi generally indicates this is not a time to be pressing forward or making new beginnings. It could, however, also indicate you are in the dark about a current situation (which may be harmful at some level). Other times, it is possible you are the one who is burning conspicuously bright and maybe even triggering others to become unsupportive. This lack of support could be due to their own fears or insecurities or because you are pushing toward burnout and must take time out to stoke your own inner fires. Regardless, there is a need to keep vital inner power (Fire) protected by disguising it in a kind of “covert intelligence” or camouflage and bide your time in a modest, unassuming way (Earth).
Following are a few ideas for interpretations of each line:
Line 1 – Experiencing the potential for difficult circumstances, such as a hit to your ego or hostile interference with your plans, can cause confusion. The advice is to emulate a bird with drooping wings, flying low as you stay on your path. This is done without drawing undue attention, by turning down offers of benefit, ignoring criticism and shoring up any unclear reasoning during this dark period.
Line 2 – There is a sense of being injured, but more in the way of a vexation. This is the moment to utilize adversity as an opportunity. Support is available, even if only from your own inborn instincts, if you look for it. Eventually, from these lessons you may assist others in their suffering. Listen to your intuition and use caution.
Line 3 – You may be hunting for and discovering the reasons for your setbacks, but it is good to remember you are not yet out of the danger which darkness represents (despite the fact that you may have gained some great insight). What is of greatest value to you is acceptance of life’s realities, your own culpability, and patience to allow for new ways of moving forward to unfold. Gaining insight is only the first step, the other steps must follow in an orderly manner.
Line 4 – Bringing illumination or enlightenment into the heart of a very dark matter, especially at a deep emotional level within yourself or those close to you can be overwhelming. Looking straight at the nature of that oppressive darkness, aligning with the necessary quality of the light (consciousness) and maintaining the steadiness of your own heart can be, for some, too challenging. If you are able to, focus on the intelligence gleaned from facing the source of the darkness and move yourself out of victimhood.
Line 5 – Your own consciousness burns bright, but it is important to know when to conceal your light, perception and aspirations from others. One who does not look for approval from others is in a position of strength and able to shield their integrity through dark and difficult times and circumstances.
Line 6 – If this is a time where you have fallen into darkness it may be because you may have tried to always be “at the top” or to be the “most enlightened”. This type of striving does not allow for the reality of both light and dark in life. The ancient diviners stress the importance of the middle path where light and dark experiences are natural and welcomed, giving life depth and dimension.