Light over the Earth:
Rich gifts come to true leaders;
their light shines on all.
6
Advancing with horns:
an unenlightened path. First
correct your domain.
5
Freely advancing,
fearless of loss or gain. Great
joy will follow you.
4
A rodent’s advance:
empty, out of place and time,
inappropriate.
3
Advancing with peers,
to everyone’s approval.
Great upward progress.
2
Advancing in grief:
good luck follows your efforts.
Ancestors approve.
1
Advance is blocked; still
you must remain upright. Find
confidence. Succeed.
Fire over Earth presents an image of a peaceful sunrise and the beginning of a long and productive time. In the traditional description, a noble is presented with the gift of horses by the king, and permitted audience three times in a day. This suggests one who is advancing from vassal to trusted adviser.
The lines tell a somewhat different story, concerned more with the blockages -- both mental and physical -- to advancement. The ruling lines (2 and 5) indicate real advance, though not without resistance. The ram of Hexagram 34* appears again in Line 6, reminding us of the lesson of too much force.
That creature of line 4 is the source of much speculation, and is variously interpreted as a mouse or rat, a marmot, a hamster, etc. One credible historical analysis suggests a species of burrowing cockroach. In terms of image, a nervous backyard visitor comes to mind:
Hollow nuts
Hollow tree
Hollow life
Who do you impress
as you quiver in the dark
Supercilious Squirrel?
*https://gnostix.wordpress.com/looking-out-hexagrams-31-64/34-great-power/
