Atomic I Ching Hexagrams & Atomic Jungian Archetypes

Atomic I Ching Hexgrams - The Calculus of the Nuclear Hexagrams

I had a profound awakening in my evening meditation last night. For some reason, the relationships between what I call Jung's four "atomic" archetypes, what I term the I Ching's four "atomic" hexagrams, and Young's schemas, all made sense.

The psychologist Jeffrey Young is the originator of what is now called Schema Theory. This is a psychoanalytic approach that conceives of several basic schemas that form the sub-personalities of the personal unconscious. Elsewhere I have shown that Young's schemas are really just a reformulation of Carl Jung's concept of the "complex".

For Jung, complexes are clusters of ideas and beliefs that are suffused with emotional content. These complexes are formed by the archetypes of the collective unconscious. They are sub-personalities residing in the individual's personal unconscious that exist as expressions or manifestations of the archetypal forces.

Jung's Four Fundamental Archetypes

Carl Jung believed that there were four fundamental archetypes that shape each individual's unconscious psyche. (For more information on Jungian psychology, click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page.) These archetypes are:

• The Anima


• The Animus


• The Shadow


• The Self

TheAnima is the archetype of the female energy. Like the Platonic Forms, archetypes are like eternally existing spiritual entities or forces that makes themselves known through symbols. Thus, the Anima is the symbol of female energy.

Conversely, the Animus is the archetype of male energy.
The Shadow is the negative complement to the Self. As the Self lies at the core of the collective unconscious, it also lies at the heart of each individual's psyche. It is the creative power of the psyche that constitutes every detail of the individual's personality. The Shadow, therefore, is the "dark side" of the Self, so to speak. It embodies all the instinctual drives and desires of the personality which produce chaos, destruction, and moral danger.
The Self and the Shadow are like the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the psyche.

Jungian Symbols As A Tool In I Ching Readings

In yesterday's meditation, I realized that these four "atomic" archetypes are symbolized in the Book of Changes as the four "atomic" hexagrams. These four hexagrams make up all the rest of the hexagrams, much in the same way that the fundamental chemical elements of Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium and Beryllium make up all the other elements. The four atomic hexagrams are:

• #1 - The Creative


• #2 - The Receptive


• #63 - After the End


• #64 - Before the End

Explanations Of The Four I Ching Atomic Hexagrams

• I Ching Text Of Hexagram 1 - The Creative. The Creative embodies the Yang, or male, energies. In many I Ching interpretations Yang-energy is characterized by activity, movement, light, sun, consciousness, penis, sperm, growth, birth, achievement, construction, etc. In short, by terms of activity.


• I Ching Text Of Hexagram 2 - The Receptive. The Receptive epitomizes the Yin, or female, energies. Yin energy speaks of passivity, receptivity, waiting, stillness, the womb, the egg, dark, moon, water, the unconscious, repose, rest, destruction, etc. In short, by therms of receptivity.


• I Ching Text Of Hexagrams 63, 64 - After the End & Before the End. Both these hexagrams are composed of equal amounts of yang and yin energies. The only difference is which energy "rules" the hexagram. In #63, Yin energy rules. Hence, #63 speaks of having reached a state of equilibrium, repose, and accomplishment. Its yin-leadership moves it gradually towards #64, where Yang enrgy rules. Hexagram #64 speaks of the idea of cyclic rebirth - a recurring theme in the I Ching. Since it is moving toward creative birth, it is thought to be ruled by Yang energy

Root I Ching Hexagrams and Jung's Atomic Archetypes

Now, as you can guess, each of these four root hexagrams corresponds to the four atomic archetypes Jung identified. In fact, Jung said that he got the idea of archetypes directly from his Taoist studies. Hexagram #1 corresponds to the Animus - that fount of active, generative detonating energy responsible for the creation. Hexagram #2 corresponds to the Anima, its female counterpart. Hexagram #63 corresponds to the Shadow, that seeting caldron of potential energy out of which chaos and imbalance arises. And #64 corresponds to the Self, for the Self is the procreator of rebirth.