Yarrow self-inverse source note · 2026-07-17

Kun: What a Self-Inverse Hexagram Does—and Does Not—Mean

Read Hexagram 2 Kun (The Receptive) as a self-inverse zong gua: reversing its six-line order preserves the pattern without fixing the meaning, context, or outcome.

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2 · Kun · The Receptive

The Receiving. Sublime origination, pervading success, furthering through the perseverance of a mare. If the superior man undertakes to act and tries to lead, he goes astray; but if he follows, he finds guidance. It is favorable to find friends in the west and south, and to forego friends in the east and north. Quiet perseverance brings good fortune.

This historical commentary interprets Kun through following and responsiveness rather than taking the lead, using the mare as an image of receptivity. Its claims generalizing men's and women's abilities reflect the commentator's period; they are not Yarrow's view or a modern standard for judging anyone.

Complete source entry

Structural symmetry

Stored sequence: 000000

Reversed sequence: 000000

The equality is a property of the line arrangement. It is not a result forecast.

What self-inverse actually says

The local structured corpus records Hexagram 2's 综卦 (zong gua, inverse) as itself. Its stored six-line sequence is 000000; reversing the order still gives 000000. This is structural symmetry under a change of viewing direction, not evidence that the situation or its outcome is fixed.

Hold the pattern, vary the context

Write 000000 twice, reverse the second copy, and verify that the sequences still match. Copy one concrete phrase from the reference layer, list two different observable contexts in which it might matter, and choose one reversible check that could distinguish those contexts.

Common misread to avoid

Self-inverse does not mean predetermined, unchanging, or identical from every human viewpoint. It says only that reversing the six line positions leaves this structural pattern unchanged.

Source boundary

The reference layer and the self-inverse relationship come from Yarrow's bundled structured Zhouyi corpus. The English wording is an editorial explanation. This note is not a fresh cast, a prediction, or a promise that every direction leads to the same result.