Students of the Yijing are a diverse lot. Some have dedicated themselves to years of painstaking study and research, while others are much more casual users who would prefer to have all the answers available at the touch of a button. Most are somewhere in the middle, trying to make sense of the vast amount of available material and hoping that some new finding will perhaps make the process of learning a little easier. With time, and a little luck, it does become more familiar, although getting the message can still be elusive even for students who have decades of study "under their belts". The repetition of a particular response from the Yi is a sure sign that the inquirer hasn't fully grasped the meaning of the answer yet. Here's the message I'm still looking at.

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At its most basic, Hexagram 8 is about joining together and participating, supporting and being supported, but creating this kind of group or union is the real challenge, because group dynamics can also work against the more advantageous aspects of joining together. Even if the group can somehow find its center, the center doesn't always hold and things fall apart. Then it probably amounts to a situation that requires continual renewal, or a restatement of the principles upon which the union is founded, rededicating the efforts of the group to the work that will create, if I can borrow a line, "the greatest good for the greatest number".