Thirty-Nine
蹇 :: Impasse :: Water/Mountain
Channelled Mandala for Hexagram 39 of the I-Ching
The elements for this trigram are Water (not Lake) over Mountain, both Yin elementals bringing things to a halt. The imagery that comes to mind is that one has to overcome mountains and rushing rivers in one’s travels, both are incredibly difficult to overcome, and will require special skills (mountain climbing abilities) or additional assistance (a mode of transportation like a ferry or helicopter, perhaps).
These trials test our adaptability, resourcefulness, and resilience - Adversity being a necessary element of the hero’s journey, serving as a catalyst for growth, transformation, and empowerment.
The attribute of Water is Darkness, and Mountain is Keeping Still. This gate asks of us to stop and either wait for the right time or the right tools, or assistance before attempting this undertaking.
"Water above Mountain is an image of hardship following hardship. There is no way to totally avoid hardship in one’s life. Hardship should be overcome; calamity can be prevented. One should not always let things take their own course and resign oneself to one’s fate. This gua tells us how to deal with hardship. The ancient sages experienced the hardship of climbing a mountain as well as crossing a river. They also experienced all kinds of hardship in their life journey. Some hardships were avoidable, but others were unavoidable. If one has the right attitude, no matter what kind of hardships there are, they can be overcome."
- The Complete I Ching, Taoist Master Alfred Huang
Here we are reminded that patience, observation and strategy are virtues to be cultivated, and that sometimes waiting and taking a step back to assess the situation is not a sign of defeat but is the smarter choice that allows us to consider different perspectives in order to find the best solution, one that guarantees a higher rate of success. "Only fools rush in" is a phrase that comes to mind.
"Progress comes to a standstill. Every movement forward is blocked by an opposing force. Personal difficulties. When extenuating circumstances physically obstruct your path, yield to the standstill and take pause. Channel a power far beyond the reach of that obstruction, and grow it outward from within. This can only be achieved in stillness, beneficence, and calm. A favorable outcome when water carves its path through the depth of its obstruction.
Water seeks movement and momentum. The Mountain seeks to remain still. An impasse. The sage cultivates virtue through self-reflection."
- I Ching, the Oracle, Benebell Wen
In Human Design, Gate 39 sits in the Root Chakra, creating the pressure that links to the evolution of Gate 55 in the Solar Plexus. Described in the Rave I-Ching as "The Value of Obstruction in Provoking Analysis, Assessment and Re-Evaluation", this gate advises Patience to withstand the pressures from the Root Chakra, in order to unlock true Potential.
"Like its mirror, the 38th gate of the Fighter (they are in exact opposition in the Zodiac), Obstruction is a combative fuel. Sometime between the birth of Buddha and Jesus, the Solar Plexus Center began to evolve into our third Awareness center. The Awareness of the 'Spirit’.
Rarely experienced in our time, Emotional Awareness is our collective destiny. The energy to provoke is an essential ingredient It is in the design that the individual must fight, is provoked and must provoke to find the spirit. The provocateur is seeking out the spirit, trying to provoke it into expression.
Since this gate is always looking for its spirit, this fuel also gives it the energy to persevere, to deal with the moods that this process releases. With this energy, whoever you can provoke is not for you!
- Ra Ura Hu
Ra speaks to how when the wave frequency of the Solar Plexus is not seen for what it is, it results in eating disorders. This is also explained in the Gene Keys which sites that the 39th shadow influences the shape of the human body, since that is determined by the way we metabolise the food we consume. When we are operating at a low frequency, our metabolisation is poor and we will continually feel hungrier than we are. It is the spirit that is hungry for creative expression, rather than the body needing more calories, and so no matter how much one eats, it never seems "enough". Whether this manifests as obesity or malnutrition, the 39th Shadow manifests at a collective genetic level.
"All patterns held at a low frequency trap the human life force deep within your body. The 39th Shadow ensures that you do not breathe deeply. When you do not breathe fully, you deplete your energy and reduce your capacities. One of the sure signs of the 39th Shadow is fatigue. People who lack dynamism in life are people who have allowed themselves to feel trapped in some way. The irony is that the solution does not lie in changing their outer lives, but in changing their attitude. When your attitude changes, then your outer life begins to reflect this. If you just change your outer circumstances without changing your attitude, you will simply end up feeling trapped again."
The Gift of the 39th Gate is how one uses the pressure to create Dynamism, unafraid of doing what needs to be done in order to help people break out of their traps into higher levels of freedom and energy. And so the Siddhi of this gate is Liberation - breaking free of all conditioned patterns in order to step into our unique, individuated, creative genius. The irony is that true liberation of BEing occurs when we give up the illusion of our individual freedom, which is why transcendence comes when one gives in to the pure impulse of creative expression and forgets oneself entirely.
"Few people are able to make the transition from creative genius to divinity because you must give up the very thing that appears to fuel your creativity — your individuality. To the genius, the giving up of one’s individuality seems akin to death. But in order to attain a siddhic state, you must pass through the Gift level of consciousness and give up your seeking. This means that with every one of the 64 Gene Keys, you will have to give up your hard-earned Gift in all its glory in order to make the leap to the final level." - Gene Keys, Richard Rudd
A quick snapshot of the description of the hexagram from various sources:
The Oracle: An Impasse
The Rave I-Ching, Human Design: Obstruction - The Gate of Provocateur
Book of Lines: Provocation - Hardship - Finding a way through obstacles of all sorts opens you to challenges that promote personal growth
Gene Keys: Provocation | Dynamism | Liberation
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