10/22/2025
Hexagram 2 – Kun: Receptive Power
After Bo (Stripping Away), when old forms collapse and what once supported us begins to dissolve, the path leads naturally into Kun (Receptive Power). Bo clears the field and asks us to release control, to let go of what no longer nourishes life. The disintegration may feel like loss, but it is simply the soil turning, preparing itself for renewal. What follows is not emptiness, but space and fertile stillness that allows something new to take root.
In the transition from Bo to Kun, we move from death and decay into the fecundity of the earth. The stripping away gives way to receiving; action yields to stillness. Now, rather than pushing ahead, we allow ourselves to be shaped by what is coming. The wisdom of this turning lies in trust — trusting that what has fallen away will become nourishment for the next beginning.
Kun is the power of the great feminine, the yielding strength of the Earth itself. It teaches patience, grace, and the quiet confidence that comes through faith in natural timing. Like rich soil receiving the rain, Kun holds, nurtures, and brings forth new life without struggle. Success comes not through control, but through alignment and the willingness to listen, to wait, and to move only when the way opens.
Receptivity is not passive; it is profoundly creative. It gathers the scattered fragments of Bo and transforms them into form and meaning. This is the time to slow down, to receive what life is offering, and to cultivate what is emerging with care. When we surrender to the flow, our actions grow out of presence rather than pressure.
From Bo’s clearing to Kun’s cultivation, we learn the rhythm of transformation — that what is stripped away today becomes the ground of tomorrow’s growth.
