Archetype 3: Hard Beginning
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.
—Luke 4:1–2
The Reading
This reading describes Jesus at the end of his forty days in the desert. Forty is a mystical number in the Bible. It is used to signify a period of hardship and testing resulting in new birth. Forty is the number of days and nights it rained during the Great Flood before the earth was reborn. Forty is the number of years the Israelites wandered through the desert before being reborn as the Nation of God. Forty is the number of days Moses fasted before returning with the Ten Commandments.
Forty captures the tension between what was and what is about to be. Something is about to die, and something, if it is able to surmount the difficulty, is about to be born. It is the moment the blade of grass pushes against a rock, struggling to spring forth onto the earth. It is the moment the newly formed bird beats against the eggshell, straining to be hatched. It is the moment the caterpillar pushes against the cocoon, struggling to emerge as a butterfly.
The Hexagram
The hexagram consists of the Word trigram below and the Chaos trigram above. The image of Word is Thunder, with an upward energy flow. The image of Chaos is Water, with a downward energy flow. Thus the energies of the two trigrams are in opposition to each other. Thunder and water fill the air. It is a frightening time. But eventually the rain ends, and new growth emerges from the parched earth.
The Archetype
There is a time...
- To recognize that the darkness and chaos before birth is a difficult time, and even more difficult because something great is struggling to be born.
- To remember that nothing can be born before its time. If the chick emerges before its struggle is complete, it will not have the strength to survive.
- To seek support from those who are wise in the ways of birth.
- To actively participate in the birth process.
- To take the time to sort through the chaos; to arrange and organize; and to separate and unite.
Now is that time.
Moving Lines
Other interpretations of Archetype 3:
- Tom Christensen's interpretation [click here]
- Cafe Au Soul's interpretation [click here]
- LiSe's interpretation [click here]
- Richard Wilhelm's interpretation [click here]
Internal Links:
- Return to the Hexagram Index Table [click here].
- Return to Consulting the Christian I Ching [click here].
- Purchase a printed copy of Wisdom's Way; The Christian I Ching [click here].
- Learn about our Online Christian I Ching Workshop [click here].
- Find out about personal consultations [click here].
Reproduced with permission from Wisdom's Way; The Christian I Ching copyright (c) 2015 Roger Sessions.