Difficulty at the Beginning
The Sprouting Blade
Every real beginning is confusion. The counsel is to appoint helpers, not to force through it alone.
Zhun places Kan, the Abysmal Water, above Zhen, the Arousing Thunder, and the Image is read as clouds and thunder, a storm gathered but not yet resolved into rain. The Chinese name is written as a blade of grass pushing against the soil as it sprouts, and the hexagram describes the confusion that accompanies any first growth. The Judgement holds that nothing should be undertaken and that it furthers one to appoint helpers, since the difficulty is not to be forced through alone. From the same Image the superior man is said to bring order out of confusion.
Light
Marks a genuine beginning, dense with potential, in which perseverance and the appointing of helpers turn early confusion into order and growth.
Shadow
Warns of chaos, hesitation, and effort spent before conditions will carry it. Pressing forward alone through obstruction squanders the strength a beginning most needs.
