Qian - heaven

	To create, creative power, life-energy. Heaven, father, male, sovereign; lasting, continuous. (Pronounced gan: dry, dried, clean).		Hanging vegetation or jungle; dawn, the sun just above the horizon and vapors or breath. Maybe the line of the sun-at-dawn belongs to breath: obstructed vapors or breath, but this is not very probable.
In the MaWangDui YiJing it is Jian, key or bolt (of door). Hex.2 is in the Mawangdui hex.33: chuan, stream. Their oldest meaning seems to derive from characterizations of the male and female genitalia, and thus they are probably ancestral to the more abstract meanings of the received names. Photo: Bruce Grilli

"The Creative brings about rulership (Lynn: by Qian things are provided with a sovereign)"
QIAN is creativity, pure yang, energy, light, generation and regeneration, purity, spirit and transcendence. It is the home of gods and the origin of all things. It acts through the law of time, it directs all movement in universe, it sets the time and range of the planet's orbits, it causes day and night, summer and winter.
Heaven's animal is the dragon, its size is undefined. It lives in the galaxies as the Sign of the Dragon and follows the huge clockhand of the Big Dipper. It enters the eggs of the turtle and makes the newborn baby-turtles all hatch simultaneously and dash for the sea. It lives on mountains and in the depth of the waters.

"Heaven and earth determine the direction (Lynn: establish positions)."
Without Heaven's big clockwork, which gives the earth sun, rain and seasons, we would die. If we attune to Heaven and its timing, we find our strength and our dao. Fate is Heaven's will. If we move according to Heaven's will, along the lines it carves for us, we can change our future. Never opposing it, but accepting it, cooperating and using its strength to find the small openings towards our own destiny, the one which matches our heart.

"The Creative is strong."
The order of Heaven is extremely powerful. This law cannot be separated from virtue or principle, it is highest integrity. It will act always and everywhere, it is highest vigor and persistence. Heaven's animals are the strong dragon and horse.

"The Creative manifests itself in the head."
We can locate ourselves on earth, find our direction on sea, plant and reap, predict the weather because our mind is related to Heaven. We measure time by Heaven. Together with Heaven we create, faith in our visions is Heaven's work, Heaven helps who helps himself.

"The Creative is heaven, therefore it is called the father"
Heaven is the most active force in universe, Earth is the most receptive field in universe. Together they make everything come into being.

Inner and outer trigram

When Heaven is INNER (lower) trigram it brings an inner strength to everything which is expressed through the outer trigram.

In 1 the powerful order of Heaven (A noble one owing to his own strength never ceases)
In 11 the generous space of Earth (The ruler fashions and completes the Tao of Heaven and Earth. He supports mutually with Heaven and Earth their order. He stands by the commoners)
In 34 the energy of Thunder (The noble one will not tread a path without ritual)
In 9 he influence of Wind (The noble one cultivates the pattern of virtue).
In 5 the shaping power of Water (The noble one drinks and eats and reposes relaxed)
In 14 the clarity of Fire (The noble one by terminating evil raises good, by yielding to Heaven relaxes in fate).
In 26 the individuality of Mountain (The noble one knows many former words and deeds and proceedings, in order to accumulate his virtue)
In 43 the reflection of Lake (The noble one gives a salary to those below, he stays in virtue and so aloof)

When Heaven is OUTER (upper) trigram it turns the workings of the inner trigram into a powerful reality, undeviating from its way.

In 1 the powerful order of Heaven (A noble one owing to his own strength never ceases)
In 12 the generous space of Earth (The noble one holds back his virtue and avoids disaster. He does not allow honor by an official salary)
In 25 the energy of Thunder (The ancient kings made use of lush growth in accordance with the seasons to nurture the myriad beings)
In 44 the influence of Wind (The prince carries out his mandate, proclaiming it to the four regions)
In 6 the shaping power of Water (The noble one, when he sets up affairs, plans ahead)
In 13 the clarity of Fire (The noble one classifies the clans and reads the trails of creatures)
In 33 the individuality of Mountain (The noble one distances himself from small people, without dislike and yet stern)
In 10 the reflection of Lake (The noble one discriminates between high and low. He gives the ambitions of the people the suitable position)

3. Heaven and earth determine the direction (Lynn: establish positions).
4. The Creative brings about rulership (Lynn: by Qian things are provided with a sovereign)
5. God battles in the sign of the Creative (Lynn: the Divine Ruler has them - all things - do battle in Qian)
“He battles in the sign of the Creative.” The Creative is the trigram of the northwest. It means that here the dark and the light arouse each other.
6. (Wilhelm: Only the action of the six derived trigrams is described here, in ch.6. It is the action of the spiritual, which is not a thing among things, but the force that manifests its existence through the various effects of thunder, wind, and so on. The two primary trigrams, the Creative and the Receptive, are not mentioned because, as heaven and earth, they actually are those emanations of the spirit within which, through the action of the derived forces, the visible world comes into being and changes. Each of these forces acts in a definite direction, but movement and change come about only because the forces acting as pairs of opposites, without canceling each other, set going the cyclic movement on which the life of the world depends)
7. The Creative is strong.
8. The Creative acts in the horse
9. The Creative manifests itself in the head
10. The Creative is heaven, therefore it is called the father.
11. The Creative is heaven. It is round, it is the prince, the father, jade, metal, cold, ice; it is deep red, a good horse, an old horse, a lean horse, a wild horse, tree fruit.