Archetype 43: Resolution
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?”
The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
—Acts 9:1–6
The Reading
This reading describes the conversion of Saul, who would later be known as Saint Paul. This reading occurs at the greatest point of tension. Saul had been a fundamentalist Pharisee who persecuted the early Christians without mercy. The fledgling Christian community had been under terrible stress. But then there is a breakthrough, and Saul has the most celebrated conversion experience in history.
The Hexagram
This hexagram consists of the lower trigram God and the upper trigram Wonder. The God trigram consists of three strong lines. The Wonder trigram consists of two strong lower lines and a weak upper line. The net result is five strong lines pushing upward against a single weak line. The weak line cannot hold long against this force, and a breakthrough is inevitable
The Archetype
There is a time...
- To celebrate the turning of the tide against the forces of darkness.
- To be grateful that ignorance is now on the wane.
- To realize that darkness cannot coexist with light; if light is to win, darkness must be completely vanquished.
- To know that darkness can only be overcome by adhering to God’s laws, the first of which is that love is the only way.
- To banish all signs of darkness in oneself before looking for the darkness in others.
- To be sure that all accumulation is accompanied by distribution.
- To be guided by Wisdom as one develops one’s character.
Now is that time.
Moving Lines
Other interpretations of Archetype 43:
- 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.