Fifty-Two
艮 :: Quiescence / Motionless :: Mountain / Mountain
Channelled Mandala for Hexagram 52 of the I-Ching
Mountain over Mountain - this is a pure feminine elemental, it brings to mind a huge boulder, motionless, receptive, still. It blocks out the movement, sunlight, rain, fire, and winds, all yang forces that bring about motion and movement. The chinese word for this is 止, which almost looks like an obstacle course, doesn't it? An arrangement of straight lines containing perpendicular force, which stops the original direction of energetic flow.
It reminds me of this story I heard when I was living in Australia and learning the indigenous stories - at the beginning of our world, the Creator gave humans 2 gifts to ensure survival - fire, used to cook food, for warmth and protection, and boulder or stone to contain the fire so it never gets out of control.
Hexagram 52 does not only refer to a state of dormancy, but an inner and outer quietude that allows for the feminine impulse of receptivity, the conditions of silence and darkness of the void (yin) that is the balance, and therefore birthing ground, to the emergence of the light and movement (yang).
The Mountain is one of my favourite elementals, wise and protective, it is NOT the absence of movement, but the containment of it all, holding space for us to BE without the pressures of passing time. It is a deep nourishing sense of peace, a feeling we get when we meditate upon the sound of silence and the light of black. It also reminds me of the Buddhist wisdom practice of Non-Action as Action rather than nonchalance.
So let’s begin with the word Quiescence. It is defined in the dictionaries as "the state of being temporarily quiet and not active". It feels like the sacred pause, the point of transition between inhale and exhale, where all exchanges come to a halt, a moment so profound it leads both to silence and service. It is the temporary and self-imposed inaction for the benefit of assessment, understanding, and realisation.
Entitled "Listen to the Wind", The Oracle has one of the most poetic descriptions for this hexagram.
"Quiet your heart and be calm. Remember that even stillness can be a form of movement. The sage contemplates the situation in stillness. It is natural for the heart to fluctuate and a mind to flutter, but exercise restraint. Listen to the wind. That is how you will hear the answer to your inquiry—the wind will carry an important omen to you. Silence is the way to self-mastery. You show your strength to others when you sit tall like a mountain, walk with the formidable presence of a mountain, all the while calm and serene. Think before you speak. Silence is the way to prevailing in your endeavor. Present inaction paves the way for future gains."
- I Ching - The Oracle, Benebell Wen
This is a gateway that offers us the gift of coming to a standstill, almost like pressing pause during a movie so we can catch up to the storyline or process the emotions, in order to figure out the entire plot. It is like an eagle that soars high above the forests to become the passive observer, gliding, barely flapping its wings, waiting for the right moment to strike.
It is a contemplative state where the busy chatter of the analytical mind ends, and the brain empties itself out, making space for the inspiration, epiphany, and wisdom to arise from within and flow through. Possibly the reason why some of us get our best ideas when simply soaking in the tub.
The energetic shift is internal and passive; we learn to BE instead of "efforting". When our frequencies change, our perception shifts, which causes our reality to transform because we see things in a whole new light. As within, So without. That inner, unseen moment of enlightenment changes everything in the outer world. Rationalisation gives way to true inner wisdom when we stop being confined by the exertion of the mind, and become a pure vessel of the limitless universal FLOW.
In the eastern mysteries, the mountain is also associated with the proper form of meditation. Benebell Wen has this really interesting interpretation of Hexagram 52 being a shamanic key to astral projection.
"The lines are describing a mystical out-of-body experience. What’s more, the progressing lines of the hexagram read like traditional step-by-step instructions for how to astrally project. … When Hexagram 52 comes up in divination by or for a Taoist mystic, bring the physical energy body to stillness to awaken the psychic or astral energy body. The Oracle becomes the voice of a spirit messenger, announcing that an astral journey will take you to an ascended master or divinity, who awaits with an important spiritual directive for you."
For those of us who are drawn to the feminine mysteries, for the mystics who find knowledge through the abstract whispers of the plants and the nebulous shapes of the clouds, this hexagram serves as a portal to help us transcend the limits of the physical material world, to touch something in the unseen liminal.
The momentary quiescent takes away external distractions, we remain passive in order to access the sensory aspects of our multi-dimensional self. The depth of this Yin state opens a doorway into the cosmic womb, where a new impulse is waiting to be birthed through our receptivity. Through the NOW, we trasnc
" The expression stilling of the wave refers to the stilling of the chaotic emotional energy field that currently dominates our planet. One of the Siddhis we will see coming into the world more and more is the 52nd Siddhi. Remember that this 52nd Gene Key is a seed archetype and it concerns the unfolding of intention into individual destiny through service. As all Siddhis are collective in nature, the 52nd Siddhi also contains the seed of a great new beginning, and the original intention and dream of mankind — to realise our position as the still point at the heart of creation itself.
The 52nd Siddhi contains within itself the power to focus humanity into a single unified pattern. It emanates a collective energy field that will eventually pacify the human emotional system."
- Gene Keys, Richard Rudd
A quick snapshot of the description of the hexagram from various sources:
The Oracle: Listen to the Wind
The Rave I-Ching, Human Design: Keeping Still (Mountain) - The Gate of Inaction
Book of Lines: Keeping Still - Your inner stillness and quietness allow you to gain perspective over all life’s circumstances
Gene Keys: Stress | Restraint | Stillness
You can find most of my work-in-progress artwork and astrological musings on my daily posts on Instagram @lemuriandreamweaver and personal contemplation and applications @numinous_reverie
Artprints are available on inPRNT and if you would like to help support all of this work that is put out to the collective for free, you could consider a donation or order a commissioned artwork on Ko-Fi.
i so appreciate your presence, thank you for being here.