Bob Schwartz

Sun rises behind the hill
Sets behind the mountains
Sitting in the middle
I see the arc of a bright yellow bird
Fire above
Fire below
As the earth turns

© 2024 by Bob Schwartz

“During times of darkness and danger people should cling to one another. When they do, things get brighter.”

Hexagram 30
Li – Brightness

The left half of this ideograph is an ancient animal named li; the right half is an ancient bird with bright yellow feathers called zhui.

The ancients picked the bright color of the bird to signify the character Li; thus, Li symbolizes brightness, though that is not its literal meaning. It is associated with Fire, the sun, and the most yang energy….

When falling into darkness, one is certain to attach to something. Thus, after Darkness comes attaching to each other and to Brightness.

The structure of the gua is Fire above, Fire below. The attribute of Fire is attachment as well as brightness. When two Fire gua are combined, the Brightness is doubled. During times of darkness and danger people should cling to one another. When they do, things get brighter.

Taoist Master Alfred Huang