A Reading through the SPA Method of the I Ching
By / Lü An
The Judgement — Qian: Yuan · Heng · Li · Zhen
In traditional commentary, these four words — Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen — are honored as the Four Virtues of the I Ching.
Yet according to the SPA Method:
- “Yuan” can be read not only as “origin,”
but as the whole, the unbroken totality formed by the two Segments.
(Because Shuowen offers no clear evidence of “wholeness,” “origin” remains the closest classical gloss.)
Both upper and lower Segments are Qian as Heaven,
and all three Phases are likewise Qian as Heaven.
It is a hexagram of pure clarity—dragon above, dragon below.
Legend holds that dragons possess a fierce territorial sense — stronger even than tigers.
If each dragon remains within its own Heaven,
each prospers without conflict.
Where strength walks in rectitude,
and boundaries are mutually honored,
the world is at peace.
The Pacific Ocean is vast enough to hold both China and the United States.
This is Yuan · Heng · Li · Zhen in worldly form.
I. Segment Image — Power Below, Power Above
By Segment Images, Qian divides into two poles:
- Lower Segment (Lines 5→1):
Strength concealed, potential gathered, direction not yet taken - Upper Segment (Lines 6→2):
Strength revealed, authority exercised, influence extended
Qian therefore does not begin with action,
but with containment.
The dragon is present from the first line,
yet remains unseen until Heaven calls.
II. Phase Image — The Arc of Creative Power
By Phase Images, Qian unfolds in three movements:
- Concealment and Preparation
- Manifestation and Rightful Use
- Excess and Conscious Return
This arc governs not only rulers,
but all who carry strength, talent, or authority.
Creation that does not know how to stop
inevitably turns against itself.
III. Archetypal Images — The Fourfold Structure of Qian
By Archetypal Images, Qian forms a fourfold creative structure:
- Lower Trigram: Heaven (Qian)
- Lower Nuclear Trigram: Heaven
- Upper Nuclear Trigram: Heaven
- Upper Trigram: Heaven
Qian is pure space —
boundless extension, unbroken initiative.
Yet even pure Heaven requires measure,
or it becomes destructive.
IV. Line-by-Line Unfolding (SPA Reading)
The six lines below are read as a continuous unfolding
of creative power through restraint, action, excess, and return.
1. Initial Nine — 潜龙勿用 · The Dragon Hidden in the Deep
Segments:
- Upper Segment: Qian → unchanged
- Lower Segment: Qian → “Heaven over Wind / Gou”
Phases：
- Opening Phase transforms toward Gou; the rest remain Qian.
Although the line is yang in a yang place — seemingly ideal —
double yang above blocks its rise.
Like a strong boar caught in a wooden yoke, movement brings danger.
Thus the dragon chooses withdrawal:
not weakness, but strategic yielding — “Gou”: to meet, to join, to avoid collision.
It returns to its own deep domain,
gathering strength, nurturing lineage, expanding quietly beneath the waters.
Had it rushed upward,
it would not have become a sovereign—
but a follower.
So the judgement says: 勿用 — Do not act.
2. Nine in the Second — 见龙在田 · The Dragon in the Fields
Segments：
- Upper Segment: Qian → Gou
- Lower Segment: Qian → Tongren
Phases：
- Opening Phase: Qian →Jia ren (Family)
- Middle Phase: Qian → Gou
- Concluding Phase: unchanged
- Whole Hexagram becomes Tongren (Heaven over Fire)
Second line: yang in yin place — central but not in position.
This is the human world, the fields.
Fire (Li) can mean an egg, emerging from the thighs of Xun.
Thus the story unfolds:
The upper dragon accepts peace (Gou).
The mother dragon descends to meet humanity (Tongren in the wild).
Fearful of danger, she lays her egg in the fields — a safe, open place.
Villagers find the egg and bring it to the ancestral hall (Tongren in the clan),
not knowing what to do — hence “lin吝” (difficulty, hesitation).
Only a great person may judge rightly.
So the text says: 利见大人 — Advantageous to see the great person.
3. Nine in the Third — 君子终日乾乾 · The Noble One Works Tirelessly
Segments：
- Upper Segment: Qian → Tongren
- Lower Segment: Qian → Zhongfu
Phases：
- Opening Phase: Qian → Kui
- Middle Phase: Qian → Jia ren (Family)
- Concluding Phase: Qian → Gou
- Whole Hexagram becomes Lü 履(Heaven over Lake)
Qian is movement.
Zhongfu is trust — the heart of sincerity.
The noble one receives the dragon’s trust,
and decides to use his own body heat to hatch the egg (Zhongfu = “central womb”).
By day he holds it close wherever he walks (乾乾).
By night he guards it with utmost care (夕惕若).
He sharpens himself through this vigilance (厉).
To fulfill the dragon’s trust is to practice Lü — to tread with reverence.
Thus: 无咎 — no blame.
4. Nine in the Fourth — 或跃在渊 · At Times Leaping in the Deep
Segments：
- Upper Segment: Qian → Zhongfu
- Lower Segment: Qian → Dayou
Phases：
- Opening Phase: Qian → Guai
- Middle Phase: Qian → Kui
- Concluding Phase: Qian → Jia ren (Family)
- Whole Hexagram becomes Xiaoxu 小畜(Wind over Heaven)
The young dragon has hatched.
With full sincerity (Zhongfu) it practices the art of rising.
It gathers clouds (Dayou — Great Accumulation),
testing ascent by repeated leaps.
On cliffs, a misstep means disaster.
But in the deep waters, even a fall is safe.
The clouds do not yet rain —
not because Heaven withholds,
but because the young dragon is still practicing its flight.
Thus: 或跃在渊，无咎 — Leaping in the deep brings no blame.
5. Nine in the Fifth — 飞龙在天 · The Dragon Ascends to Heaven
Segments：
- Upper Segment: Qian → Dayou
- Lower Segment: Qian → Guai
Phases：
- Opening Phase: Qian (unchanged)
- Middle Phase: Qian → Guai
- Concluding Phase: Qian → Kui
- Whole Hexagram becomes Dayou
Having mastered the gathering of clouds (Dayou),
the dragon finally rises skyward — 飞龙在天.
Before returning to its own kin,
it descends once more to bid farewell to the great person (Guai — decisive parting).
There, dragon and human confirm a covenant of protection (Dayou = abundance, blessing).
Thus: 利见大人 — It is favorable to meet the great person.
6. Top Nine — 亢龙有悔 · The Overreaching Dragon Has Regret
Segments：
- Upper Segment: Qian → Guai
- Lower Segment: Qian unchanged
- Whole Hexagram becomes Guai
A dragon is a guardian deity over a domain.
When it rises, rain follows; the land receives life; harmony is complete.
But if it continues to soar higher still,
clouds do not disperse,
rain does not cease,
and blessing becomes calamity.
At fullness comes decline;
at the zenith comes the turn.
To preserve the world’s balance,
the dragon must know when to withdraw,
when to hide its radiance.
Thus: 亢龙有悔 — The overreaching dragon has regret.
Use of the Nine — 见群龙无首 · Seeing a Group of Dragons Without a Leader
All six lines moving: Qian transforms into Kun.
Kun is the collective, the receptive, the harmonious.
A host of dragons gather,
none contending for supremacy,
deliberating great matters together.
This is the world without war,
without domination —
peace through mutual respect.
Whenever world leaders sit together at a round table
to discuss the fate of nations,
that is “seeing dragons without a head.”
吉 — Auspicious.
© Author of this article: Lü An
First published on “Lü An’s Night Talks”
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).
Reposting is welcome; please credit the original source.
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