Hexagram 04

Méng

Not knowing

Ignorance, expansion
Not me seeking the young and ignorant
the young and ignorant seeking me
The first oracle-consulting is informing
two or three times: confusing
Confusing and therefore not informing
Harvest: determination

The great image says:
At the foot of the mountain a spring wells up: Ignorance
A noble one nurtures virtue by reliable conduct

Mountain
Water

day 2 of a yang moon

   One has to care for the ignorant, the formless. It still has unlimited possibilities. Without it, life would die away by lack of renewal.
   Blessed are those who have something of this in their mind, how little it may be.
   And listen carefully to those who speak from out this unborn thing. They are the true sages. Lao-Tze said: “I am ignorant, like a baby that has never yet laughed ...the people are bright, bright, I alone am dumb, dumb”. (DaoDeJing verse 20).

Méng: a pig SHI³ (3), covered MI² or MAO⁴ (2) with or by plants CAO³ (1). On OB there is no grass radical. According to Wang HongYuan: hunters disguised in animal skins. It seems the pig might not be a pig, but another animal, maybe a tiger. The two images resemble each other and are easily confused.
MENG²: to cover, ignorant (child), illiterate, immature, inexperienced; receive; meet with; a darkened mind, a cloudy sky, unconscious, senseless. Meng¹: cheat, deceive, make wild guess. More about 3 and 4 HERE
Photos of the moon: Michael Myers www.netaxs.com/~mhmyers

6 at 3: No benefit of taking a woman who, when she sees a rich man, loses control of herself. No ground for harvest. Imitating slavishly or running after urges causes loss of one's own character and dignity. In your own eyes as well as in other's eyes. When you are looking for a partner, do not choose the one who runs after you, because you will be carrying a burden for the rest of your life. Take the one who stands on own legs. (Changes to hex.18)		Above 9: Beating the ignorant. No harvest: making violence. Harvest: preventing violence. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. Trying to bring up using violence will bring up to violence. One passes on what one is, a balanced teacher makes stable minds, arbitrariness rears to unseemliness. The same applies to your mind and body: do not force your muscles and brain to do something, just show them the way. (Changes to hex.7)
9 at 2: To care for the ignorant, auspicious. To impregnate the wife, auspicious. Sons sustain the family. To care for the immature is an investment for the future. Always look for new possibilities and develop them, even if they do not pay yet. Survival needs renewal. (Changes to hex.23)		6 at 5: Youthful ignorance. Auspicious. Complete openness makes learning and development incredibly fast and large. Every thought, knowledge, even admiration, close this gate. Then one will need teachers and effort. (Changes to hex.59)
Initial 6: To develop the ignorant, one will harvest by using corrections. Useful to remove shackles and manacles. To go on using them brings distress. One can learn a lot of one's faults, but one must have the freedom to make them. The quickest way to learn is by experience, which is a severe master, and with freedom and an open mind. Learning can be fun. (Changes to hex.41)		6 at 4: Restricting ignorance. distress. One teaches to make the right choices by showing all choices. Hiding the dark makes choosing for light impossible. (Changes to hex.64)
The Sabian Symbols for the hexagram-lines
6 at 3 corresponds to b 2: An epidemic of mumps Getting infected means losing one's face		Above 9 corresponds to h 2: An unexpected thunderstorm
9 at 2 corresponds to ` 2: Santa Claus filling stockings furtively Caring for kids		6 at 5 corresponds to f 2: The ocean covered with whitecaps
Initial 6 corresponds to ^ 2: A comedian entertaining a group		6 at 4 corresponds to d 2: The light of the sixth race transmuted to the seventh Transmuting the accompanying dark is the most difficult part.

For the meaning of Eminent - expansion. Harvest - determination click HERE
In the hexagram statement the Mawangdui YiJing and the Han stone tablets YiJing have different characters. The sentence would then be: first oracle-consult auspicious, two three times pulling out. Pulling out already (namely) not auspicious.
Line 1. 'Removing' can also be translated 'explaining'. Or maybe: 'and by using explanation. Shackles and manacles in prolonged use: pitfall'.
In Asian countries are innumerable pigs who still have the way of life of a pig. A pregnant sow makes a huge pile of branches, leaves and other plant-litter. With inside a safe, dark hole where the piglets are born.
For the farmer an as yet invisible resource, a means of living he takes good care of. They carry a promise for the future.
The pig is a symbol of fertility, riches, happiness and children. That is the reason one saves money in a piggybank: hoping the cents will grow into many dollars, like the pig makes many piglets, which grow into big pigs.