AUTUMN EQUINOX Animism

yoking to the seasonal qi: hexagrams, dream yoga, etc

Housekeeping

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Disclaimer:

This article and my work are directed towards people who practice cultivation deliberately.

My writing is primarily written to and for people who can take responsibility for their own life. People who work to help others - their students, clients, communities, etc. As such it may “skip over” very beginner level skills and ideas. You can search the vast archives of articles, YouTube videos, podcasts etc for more content that may help you if you are a beginner at managing internal phenomena/symptoms/pathologies. It’s my intent that by setting a higher standard your natural upright qi will follow and align to the standard! My work is for everyone, but not everyone is for my work. Thanks for practicing with me.

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Intro

Autumn is about maturation, putting away the toys of spring/summer and growing up, having a sold plan (harvesting and storing food) for the winter (symbolizing death, restraint, conservation). I spoke at length about this in the Night Gardeners monthly talk which is available for premium subscribers. There is 3 hours of content related to this post in that video, so if you are too confused with this post, watch that first and this article will be clarifying.

The trigram for the autumn equinox (one of the 4 pivots of the years) is trigram dui: lake or marsh

Dui doubled is the hexagram 58 Dui: Pleasuring

Doubling the trigram gives us the “mysterious gate” for the pivot.

We read the whole hexagram as preparation for the equinox.

First the Trigram Correspondences

Trigram Dui/Tui

(info from liu ming)

West (metal)

Lake (or marsh), Youngest daughter, sea, enchantment, joy, love, sensuality

Mid-autumn, evening

mouth, tongue, lips

mirror-reflections, fleeting image, magic, wu shaman, concubines

pink, pale

mangrove, water plants, lilies

birds, antelope, sheep, goats, lambs

the heraldic west is ruled by the white Tiger (Baihu) and represents the resolving and resolution of the dead (ancestors). It is the place of the setting sun and our ultimate “home”.

Gate of the Resolved Dead, deities and lineage ancestors — dryness, completion, harvest.

Wind: ‘chang he’, a collapsing or dry wind

Commentary by me:

Mid-autumn moon festival happens in the week before the equinox proper. Full moon this year is on sept 17th, equinox is on the 22nd. Festivals for the moon happen during this swath of time. Time to say goodbye to summer (yang, sun, life) and hello to yin (night, moon, death). It is the gateway festival to the time of the dead, which progresses in various ways through the winter solstice. Most emblematic in the west being “Halloween/Samhain/Dia de Los Muertos” where we do many ghost rituals and honoring of the dead.

The Ullumbana festival (see ghost festivals) happened on Sept 6th, and the double 9 festival happens on Oct 11th. Then of course Halloween on oct 31st and Dia de los Muertos on Nov 1 & 2. Regardless of your culture or religion this spread of time is all viewed the same! IMAGINE THAT. almost like real animism predates all religion or something. hmmmm.

So, the autumn equinox is the yin pivot, the calendrical qi of the world/year entering into the “underworld”, night and death. What began in august (the decline of yang) continues and strengthens now, where the equinox shifts the balance from yang dominance to yin dominance. And we have one magical night of equanimity between yin and yang, which we won’t see again until the spring equinox.

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Hexagram 58: Dui: Pleasuring

(translations by liu ming)

Guaci: Offerings, Auspicious

first line: Pleasuring in harmony.
You experience joy. Humbly taking pleasure in a simple life is truly rewarding. Simple friendship is a delight.

second line: Pleasuring in confidence.
You enjoy doing the right thing. There is pleasure in being capable, honest and loyal.

third line: Excess pleasuring. Flattery. Misfortune.
Too much joy is harmful to your heart. A selfish interest in pleasure leads to artifice, dishonesty and flattery and that, in turn, leads to loss.

fourth line: Displeasure. There are disagreements. Illness is contained. Ultimate success.
You take pleasure in new or renewed alliance. In this case, however, alliance is “hard won” — there is much to negotiate. Disagreements may arise, but ultimately, a new alliance takes place. Illness may arise, but ultimately, there is recovery.

fifth line: Pleasuring on dominance. Sacrificing captives. Danger.
Do not seek pleasure too aggressively. Taking sadistic pleasure in winning and stripping others of their power is not a sustainable form of pleasure.

top line: Pleasuring in following.
Joy is a gift from heaven (ancestors) and you know it. Happiness that is either gained or made through effort does not compare favorably with the happiness that is simply found in ordinary daily life.

image: Dui is about the simple nature of pleasure, an exchange with nature. When ordinary happiness is found, it can expand and turn into the more profound feeling of joy. Joy is the radiance that rises naturally from the happiness derived from synchronicity and harmony. Dui is delicate and not a thing to be won by force.

auspices: Generally auspicious and associated with a light handed approach to things. It is not how you find pleasure, but how you express it that will determine the longevity of your happiness.

comment: Dui has the shortest line statements of any hexagram in the text. The pithiness of the line statement says volumes about the Zhouyi's idea of pleasure. It tells us that pleasure is not the outcome of effort or a sensible goal in life. It even goes so far as to say that if we make personal pleasure our goal, we will find only danger and loss and yet Dui is not pessimistic. Instead, we are told that the secret of pleasure is that it is found in the simple, ordinary appreciation of life as it is.

Rooster/8th moon

This gateway takes place during rooster moon, the tidal hexagram of rooster is 20: guan: observance.

We can say that 58 is happening inside (nested, like a chicken egg or bird aka rooster represents bird) of 20.

Rooster is the judgment that leads to editing. Observance leads to good judgment, hence good editing. The negative aspect of rooster is debating and arguing. That the election/debates happen during the rooster, dog and pig moons (8th, 9th, 10th moons) is probably inauspicious, but this makes sense for American ghost/monkey dynamics (constant misconduct as normal, a monkey mantra is “how much can i get away with?”).

So: Observe, don’t argue. Maintain ritual hygiene but don’t give too many offerings (leave those for the festivals). Keep your qi in the channels and your mind in the body. Return. Introspection and Reflection are not the same as neurotic rumination or indulgence in ghostly patterns.

Hexagram 20: Guan: Observance

(translations by liu ming)

Guaci: Ritual purity but no offering. Sincere, dignified and kind.

first line: Childishness is acceptable in an ordinary person, but inauspicious for a Prince.
Your conduct or practice is immature. Sloppy or negligent observance of procedures is acceptable from an uneducated child, but the same negligence from a person in a position of responsibility is unacceptable. 

second line: Peeking through a crack in the door is acceptable for an unmarried girl.
Your bad manners or incomplete observance is excusable. No serious consequences. For those who have no responsibilities an innocent oversight or error may be forgiven. Girlishness is not punished.

third line: Self-reflection. Advance and then retreat.
In a time of indecision, it is important to self-reflect. Lurching one way, then another is not effective. Steady yourself with self-reflection or a solitary retreat. Observe your surroundings closely and then act accordingly.

fourth line: When observing a state, it is best to be the guest of the Lord. 
If you want to join a group, observe their precepts and conduct and then meet with their leader. Observing the leader, a teacher, is to observe the group/community. In learning about a person, observe what they favor in food and clothing.

fifth line: Mutual observance. Observe the wise as they observe themselves. No mistakes.
Join with the wise leader/teacher and or become one yourself (lineage). To learn from and join forces with a self-reflective person (teacher) is beneficial. Realistic self-assessment is a vital part of maintaining leadership.

top line: Observe everyone, no mistakes.
A wise person can learn from observing anyone or anything. Observing the constant flow of cause and effect around you, you can attain wisdom and avoid error. Practice meditation in action.

image: Early Chinese astronomical astrological observatory towers were called Guan. It also refers to an ancient method of divining auspices from the flight patterns of birds. The term later came to mean to watch, view or examine in an ordinary sense. In this hexagram, Guan means to observe in the sense of following the exacting protocols of ritual, meditation and or the auspicious indicators of time and place (astrogeomancy). The “Grand Tours” of the Chinese emperors were based on this idea of Guan. The emperor traveled around the country carefully observing the people and places that he ruled. The journey recalibrated his qi (influence/rulership), like the resetting and rewinding of a watch.

auspices: The situation is delicate and one in which the observance of details and tradition is of great importance. Progress is based on concentration.

comment: The Zhouyi says that a ruler must have Guan, a bird's eye view, contemplative composure, even if the situation is not supportive, Guan describes the proper and improper ways of maintaining tradition through authentic observance, personal deportment and meditation, careful observance of one's relationship to the environment (Astrogeomancy) provides the education needed to sustain order, indeed life itself. Dynamic observation of this sort is a full-time job, as subtle adjustments to protocol must be made constantly.

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Synergy Commentary by me:

Because this pivot is so useful to align to, we should spend some time daily with these two hexagrams. Really get into it! Not to solve problems or increase our morbid self-development project, but to really transform along with nature at this time.

How can Observance (the rooster’s sharp, precise/metallic judgment & eloquent analysis) and Pleasuring (lakes/marshes have the most co-emergent biodiversity) merge? What are the common or repeated motifs and symbols we can “peck out” of the text?

One that jumps out at me is the moon as a mirror, lakes as mirror, and the lake reflecting the moon as “mirror, mirror”. The pleasure of reflection itself. How can I hang out in that ordinary joy without it becoming part of “self-development”? Toasting the moon, composing improvised poetry, entering into dream yoga (Dao of The Night) are all here in this.

As the geese fly south for the winter (bird’s eye view), what is possible to enjoy from this natural cycle of increasing cold/yin/dark called fall & winter? How can we allow the dead to also “fly home”? Without aggression and without remorse, let it be pleasurable and let us observe this basic ordinary pleasure. Let us “cock’s crow” to/with the sun and moon. We can be like the lake, like the moon, and like a bird, perhaps even like the night sky. We can observe the protocols and enjoy enacting them as a reward unto themselves.

When there is nothing to “gain” there is also nothing to “lose”.

The true measure of enlightenment is our simple conduct in accordance with nature - This is what Daoism offers us as an antidote to the poisons of ambition, greed, self-absorption and addiction.

Poetry and poetic acts spring forth spontaneously when our composure is cultivated. Not too porous and not too defensive, somewhere in the middle we are appropriately managed. That middle ground appropriateness is relative to the season/place we are in, so it isn’t rigidly dogmatic doctrine, but it’s also not laissez faire personal preference.

Enjoy the season as a mature version of yourself. Call on that elder/ly version/vision to help you refine your conduct. Begin to prepare for the winter. Don’t try to pretend its summer in December and January. Don’t try to be a night owl when it’s night. Do the rituals for the unsettled dead and create some real internal boundaries (precise editing/discernment) for those emotions, thoughts, habits and preferences you think are “yours”.

Educate yourself this season — begin reading classics, poetry, philosophy… restart your meditation practices, perhaps even join a lineage or group (music, meditation, dance, book club). What does an old/mature person truly value and express? Begin training this aspect of yourself now and use the equinox qi to strengthen this resolve and enjoyment of natural integrity (animism, ganying principle).

A lifetime of mismanagement (misconduct) is a terrible burden on self and other (ecosystem resonance). This misconduct is due to miseducation and mis-nourishment (poor digestion). Our parents feed us (information and food) based on their level of intelligence/nourishment. This is spleen-liver quality (as far as i know…. i’m still learning how to translate some of this into medical terms). The cycle perpetuates itself via momentum. It can take a sharp action to break/cut out of this momentum. Maybe many sharp actions over lifetimes/generations. All the while the accumulation of karma rolls on like a snowball down a mountain. What does it take to become liberated? The Daoists say it is both gradual and sudden, both cultivated (practiced) and inherently available regardless of ancestral momentum.

This means that it is always with us, like our shadows. Like our breathing. All the things we do whether we feel good or bad about it all. This constancy of nature’s rhythms (bodily cycles) is the lever by which we can move the world (our karmic patterns, what we value and how we behave). The grace/mercy is discovered as always present, not earned, gained, won or lost. But the responsibility is revealed. One we perceive we cannot un-perceive, so we may cloud ourselves in excesses to dull this clarity and avoid our responsibility, our natural maturity. The culture may also aid us in staying drunk, perceiving enemies everywhere or turning the paranoia inward. Anything to keep our little “one ring”, our “precioussssss”.

The dry winds of autumn herald the cold yin of winter. They can dry up fluids and that can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your prior conduct, your parent’s and ancestor’s conduct. This does not mean that you are at war, but sometimes we play at that game to fabricate meaning.

The sky, the moon, water… all reflect what is played out. Basic space is not holy/sacred or mundane/profane, it just accepts whatever we project about it and waits until we exhaust ourselves (die/return). The clarity of autumn invites us back down from the high ledge of summer’s yang, where we felt so powerful and so able to “get a leg up” on the obstacles and enemies. What comes around, goes around. Cultivation is about having discernment and cutting the legs off of runaway monstrosities. Not with vicious revenge or notions of righteous salvation, but seeing what is best for all beings, no matter what situation we find ourselves in, no matter what pain we may experience. Take a BIG BREATH often and enjoy the ride…

Changing Moon
Calling to you, you turn away
Each night, a different face
My heart pleads, with the dark
Dancing in the Tomb of the Sky
These self-defenses shatter
The ease of letting go
Discovered right now!