A Reading through the SPA Method of the I Ching
The Judgement — Kun: Yuan · Heng · Li · the Chastity of the Mare
Kun is the many, the receptive, the obscured.
By Segments, the upper image is Earth as night, as chaos, as the troubled age;
the lower image is Earth as the herd of mares.
All three Phases remain Earth as Earth.
Mares follow Heaven with quiet precision.
Whether beneath dark storm clouds or in the pitch of night,
they know when to halt and when to move —
thus Yuan · Heng.
By day, following the lead mare keeps the herd safe;
at night, resting against her warmth dispels danger.
If the lead mare walks the right path, the herd survives.
Thus: Li the chastity of the mare.
In troubled times, the noble one is like the mare:
bearing responsibility, traveling outward to seek a worthy lord for the people.
The world is vast and obscured;
yet the noble one, holding to inner rectitude,
wanders, loses direction, and finally finds the true sovereign.
Thus: “The noble one journeys forth; first lost, then finding his lord.”
By directional symbolism of the I Ching:
- 5th line = South
- 4th line = East
- 3rd line = West
- 2nd line = North
When the third line (West) moves, Kun becomes Qian → Qian over Mountain = Modesty, gaining sincere companions.
When the fifth line (South) moves, Kun becomes Pi (Affinity), forming strong support.
Thus: Southwest gains friends.
When the fourth line (East) moves, Kun becomes Yu (Delight) — movement of thunder emerging from earth, dispersing the group, losing companions.
When the second line (North) moves, Kun becomes Shi (the Army) — crowd, confusion, chaos.
Thus: Northeast loses friends.
In the chaos of the world, one who rests in destiny and holds to rectitude finds safety.
Thus: An Zhen Ji — Peaceful constancy brings fortune.
I. Segment Image — Earth Above, Earth Below
By Segment Images, Kun presents two aspects of Earth:
- Upper Segment: Earth as night, obscurity, troubled times
- Lower Segment: Earth as the herd — collective life, mutual reliance
Kun therefore does not describe passive submission,
but coordinated following:
a multitude sustained by alignment rather than command.
II. Phase Image — Earth Enduring Through Time
By Phase Images, Kun is unique among the hexagrams:
All three Phases remain Earth as Earth.
Yet Earth is not static.
It condenses, bears, restrains, and—when pressed beyond its limit—ruptures.
The six lines below unfold this single Phase logic of endurance, accumulation, and reversal.
III. Archetypal Images — The Fourfold Structure of Kun
By Archetypal Images, Kun contains a fourfold Earth structure:
- Lower Trigram: Earth (Kun)
- Lower Nuclear Trigram: Earth
- Upper Nuclear Trigram: Earth
- Upper Trigram: Earth
Kun is pure duration:
time bearing all things,
until bearing itself reaches exhaustion.
IV. Line-by-Line Unfolding (SPA Reading)
The following six lines are read as a continuous unfolding of Kun’s Phase Image,
rather than as isolated events.
Initial Six — 履霜，坚冰至 · Treading Frost, Hard Ice Arrives
Segments
- Upper Segment: Kun → unchanged (the world remains chaotic)
- Lower Segment: Kun → “Earth over Thunder / Fu (Return)”
The mare steps out from the stable, touches the frost, then turns back — returning in caution.
For the noble one living in chaotic times, preparing for departure,
treading frost means understanding the laws of Heaven:
from frost comes ice; from subtle signs comes certain consequence.
The first line is “treading” because Heaven is carried above and Earth is trodden below.
Frost forms when yin condenses; the first line is the beginning of yin’s accumulation.
When frost appears in the far north (line 1 beyond line 2),
one knows that when the south (line 5) freezes,
the north must already be sealed in winter’s grip.
Thus: from frost one foresees the hard ice to come.
Six in the Second — 直方大，不习，无不利 · Straight, Square, Great
Segments
- Upper Segment: Kun → Fu (Return)
- Lower Segment: Kun → Shi (the Army)
- Whole hexagram becomes Shi
Straight (直) — the mare stands facing one direction, alert.
At night, horses often sleep standing, eyes half open, always ready.
Square (方) — the herd rests in open ground, arranging mares at the four quarters for defense.
Great (大) — they do not isolate themselves; the herd gathers, combining strength.
Kun at rest contracts inward, at movement expands outward.
Earth, quiet and contained, supports all things.
Thus “not practicing” (不习) means remaining still, returning to one’s natural stance.
If the herd rests in concentric circles, unmoving,
all is favorable.
The noble one, traveling abroad, must likewise:
remain vigilant (straight),
guard all directions (square),
move with companions (great),
and maintain stillness amid change (not practicing).
One who achieves straight, square, and great
is fit to lead an army.
Six in the Third — 含章可贞 · Holding One’s Radiance Within
Segments
- Upper Segment: Kun → Shi
- Lower Segment: Kun → Xiao guo “Thunder over Mountain / Small Exceeding”
- Whole hexagram becomes Qian (Modesty)
The third line is the end of the lower trigram of Kun — the place of hidden brilliance.
Kun is literary grace; gathered, it forms a “chapter.”
Thus: “holding the radiance within.”
For the mare, pregnancy is “holding the essence.”
At night she may stand guard or rest — either is proper.
For the noble one:
the true lord not yet found,
he preserves rectitude and waits for the moment.
A modest person can dwell anywhere.
“Following the king’s service” means yielding upward for instruction —
a small exceeding, a small bending.
Thus: no grand accomplishment,
and yet, with Modesty, there is a proper end.
Hence: 无成有终 — Nothing achieved, yet a worthy conclusion.
Six in the Fourth — 括囊，无咎无誉 · Tying the Bag Shut
Segments
- Upper Segment: Kun → Xiao guo (Small Exceeding)
- Lower Segment: Kun → Bi (Affinity)
- Whole hexagram becomes Yu (Delight)
If the upper Phase moves, release occurs (“解”);
if not, things remain closed — thus “tying shut.”
Kun in the lower Segment is the bag, the container.
The fourth line is a minister near the ruler.
Seeing the ruler’s small mistakes,
he knows that too many words create disaster.
Thus he closes his mouth,
aids quietly (Bi),
acts with care — and avoids blame.
Yet because he takes no bold action,
he earns no praise.
But the purpose of such restraint is freedom —
Yu: joyful release, great gain.
Six in the Fifth — 黄裳，元吉 · The Yellow Skirt—Primordial Good Fortune
Segments
- Upper Segment: Kun → Bi
- Lower Segment: Kun →Po (Mountain over Earth / Stripping)
- Whole hexagram becomes Bi
The fifth line is the end of the lower Segment:
the end of confusion, the place of knowledge.
Knowledge unshown,
willing to assist the ruler (Bi),
is the height of virtue.
Qian is the upper garment;
Kun the lower garment — the skirt (shang).
Yellow is the color of Earth, of the Center.
Thus the noble minister at the fifth line,
dwelling in dignity yet remaining unseen,
supports above and guides below,
like the yellow skirt — unobtrusive yet essential.
Therefore: great and primordial fortune.
Top Six — 龙战于野，其血玄黄 · The Dragon Battles in the Wild
Segments
- Upper Segment: Kun → Po (Stripping)
- Lower Segment: Kun unchanged
- Whole hexagram becomes Po (Stripping)
When receptivity (Kun) reaches its extreme,
it no longer receives — it resists and fights.
The lower Segment — the confused masses —
pushes upward.
The top line attempts to halt their chaos,
yet is instead stripped by the many.
Stripping means cracking, splitting.
As ice, gathered to extremity, must break;
as a mountain, grown too steep, must collapse.
Kun conceals Qian;
Qian is the dragon.
When yin accumulates to extremity, it clashes with yang.
At the outermost edge of Kun,
where earth meets the distant mountain,
the dragon’s defeat appears only as traces —
black mixed with yellow:
the dark of Heaven,
the yellow of Earth.
Thus: “its blood is dark and yellow.”
Use of the Six — 利永贞 · Advantageous to Maintain Lasting Constancy
With all six lines moving, Kun becomes Qian.
Both Qian and Kun contain Yuan · Heng · Li · Zhen,
but their emphasis differs:
- Qian’s use is “Yuan”:
circular, heavenly, the cycle without beginning or end —
thus dragons with no head. - Kun’s use is “Zhen”:
square, steadfast, bearing all things —
thus lasting constancy.
When yin reaches its limit, it may transform into yang.
One outcome is conflict.
Another — through broad-hearted rectitude —
is gentleness:
Earth embracing Heaven,
yin softening into yang without rupture.
Qian is the beginning —
from the deep to the heights —
the dimension of space.
Kun is the ending —
from frost (early winter) to hard ice (deep winter) —
the dimension of time.
Qian brings things into being;
Kun carries them through time.
All beings live in Qian’s expanse
and are nourished by Kun’s duration.
Thus: 利永贞 — Lasting constancy is favorable.
© 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).
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