Mountain above – Earth below
The Chinese name of this hexagram is Bō which means peeling, decaying or falling away. Other names include: Peeling Off, Decomposing, Splitting Apart. The ancient diviners understood nature. Their wisdom teachings show how both sides, severe and nurturing, are necessary steps in maintaining life. An example of Bō is when autumn leaves turn beautiful colors and then fall (stripped from the trees) to decay and ultimately fertilize the ground below.
Breaking down the symbolism of the 3-line trigrams helps with understanding the ancient teachings:
When trigram Earth is below (the bottom 3 lines in image below right), it references the inner realm of the person or situation. Earth is the place where creatures and multitudes of people live and the space where everything is nurtured and grows. The point here is that life and growth automatically includes the other side; decay and death.
Trigram Mountain is on top of trigram Earth, the outer manifestation of the hexagram in the top 3 lines below right. Mountain represents solid form (borders which resist letting anything in); but there comes a time where firm exterior structures must be broken through in the course of natural cycles. One of the ancient teachings shows Mountain eroding to share its mineral wealth with the valley below illustrating: “those above ensure their own stability through generosity to those below”.
The ancient ideograph is on the upper left portion of the image below. The right portion portrays a knife and the left portion, a piece of carved wood. Together they represent what must be stripped away in the act of carving.
In summary: Nature, in the cycles of life, endures. Endurance means what is old must die off, what is too heavy must be relinquished, what is weak tends to be destroyed. This is the stark reality of nature and Earth, as the inner trigram, ensures the endurance of life as we know it. Mountains, buildings, relationships, plants and nations are all subject to being cut back or reduced. Things which no longer serve us within our lives (jobs, relationships, belief patterns) inevitably need to be trimmed back also. Sometimes it is possible to voluntarily discard or remove outgrown elements if there is an opportunity. If this option is not available it takes courage to allow a time of emptiness, but there is success in remaining patient, staying “in place” and trusting the process when it occurs as part of the natural cycles of life.
Following are a few ideas for interpretations of each line:
Line 1 – What is unfolding has been compared to the leg of a bed deteriorating. This analogy shows something not yet a very large problem, but leaving it to fester would not bode well. It is strongly suggested not to underestimate or fool oneself about this matter. Take action and address what needs to be done.
Line 2 – A decay has been growing to the point where, unlike the previous line where the leg of the bed was disintegrating, now it has extended to the “frame of the bed”. This is analogous to the very place where you feel safe and at rest is crumbling in some way. Guidance strongly suggests to resist rationalization and deal with the reality of what needs to be trimmed back or discarded to remove the decay.
Line 3 – You may be called to break with those who are trying to influence your life in ways that are not in alignment with your higher purposes, even if they are not saying it out loud.
Line 4 – Indications show current (and past) behavior being unsustainable and one is walking very close to difficulty that is irreversible and destructive. Superficiality, restlessness or similar attitudes have imperiled the situation; peeling those away is imperative.
Line 5 – A difficult situation is moving closer to a change for the better. Bring together the correct support and resources and relinquish anything that does not accord with your purposes. Careful contemplation will assist in this process.
Line 6 – At this time there exists an opportunity for access to “as yet untapped” potential. Your own worth or the worth of the situation will be revealed through your choice. If your choice is the higher path, you utilize resourcefulness and keep the longer goal in view while moving on to the untapped potential (after the paring down or natural pruning process has completed). A choice for the lower path covets and fights, destroying relations and results in self-destruction.