And God Said, Let There Be a Firmament in the Midst of the Waters
Day two: A reexamination of the second of the seven days of creation
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. (Gen 1:6–8 KJV)
If yesterday was Sunday, then today must be the day of the Moon. Once again, I am aware that the Sun and Moon were created on the fourth day. Still, I hope to postpone that discussion until we arrive at the fourth day.
This day is a bit busier than the last, but that is to be expected as we are dealing with more moving parts. As you will recall if you have read my previous piece which dealt with Day One, there is a system where each day in the Genesis cycle is represented by a single sphere added to whatever number of spheres came before.
Day Zero was represented by one sphere. Day One was represented by two spheres. So, if my math is correct, Day Two is represented by three.
These three balls, when all are in contact with one another, can only roll in two directions.
Inwards, towards the triangular gap at the center of the triad.
Or outwards, away from the central triangular gap.
This motion is identical to that of an involving/evolving torus.
This is the same motion that is seen when a pebble is dropped into a pool of calm water.
When the pebble passes through the water, it creates a series of expanding vortex rings which create ripples on the water’s surface.
So this shape defines the nature of water, but not just water, any fluid.
Remember however how God divided the waters that were beneath the firmament, from those that were above it? The water beneath the firmament refers to water. The water above the firmament refers to atmospheric gasses. And gas is fluid just as water is fluid.
That being the case, it is no surprise that the motion defined by the three-sphere triad holds true for atmospheric gasses as well.
According to Wikipedia’s entry of The Rayleigh–Taylor instability:
Water suspended atop oil is an everyday example of Rayleigh–Taylor instability, and it may be modeled by two completely plane-parallel layers of immiscible fluid, the denser on top of the less dense one and both subject to the Earth’s gravity. … This was the set-up as studied by Lord Rayleigh. The important insight by G. I. Taylor was his realization that this situation is equivalent to the situation when the fluids are accelerated, with the less dense fluid accelerating into the more dense fluid. This occurs deep underwater on the surface of an expanding bubble and in a nuclear explosion.
The point that I hope I have made is that the three-ball model simulates certain behaviors of water, but also of, more generally, fluids, whether liquid or gas.
Through the Window of the I-Ching
As I mentioned in my previous article on Day One, my plan is to identify at least one or two I-Ching hexagrams for each day. I also mentioned that some days have implicit hexagrams while others have explicit hexagrams. This day offers us two explicit hexagrams.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. (Gen 1:6–8 KJV)
We have two hexagrams being explicitly identified: Heaven over Water and Water over Heaven.
6. Sung / Conflict¹
above CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN below K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER
The upper trigram, whose image is heaven, has an upward movement; the lower trigram, water, in accordance with its nature tends downward. Thus the two halves move away from each other, giving rise to the idea of conflict. The attribute of the Creative is strength, that of the Abysmal is danger, guile. Where cunning has force before it, there is conflict. A third indication of conflict, in terms of character, is presented by the combination of deep cunning within and fixed determination outwardly. A person of this character will certainly be quarrelsome.
THE JUDGMENT
CONFLICT. You are sincere And are being obstructed. A cautious halt halfway brings good fortune. Going through to the end brings misfortune. It furthers one to see the great man. It does not further one to cross the great water.
THE IMAGE
Heaven and water go their opposite ways: The image of CONFLICT. Thus in all his transactions the superior man Carefully considers the beginning.
5. Hsü / Waiting (Nourishment)²
above K’AN THE ABYSMAL, WATER below CH’IEN THE CREATIVE, HEAVEN
All beings have need of nourishment from above. But the gift of food comes in its own time, and for this one must wait. This hexagram shows the clouds in the heavens, giving rain to refresh all that grows and to provide mankind with food and drink. The rain will come in its own time. We cannot make it come; we have to wait for it. The idea of waiting is further suggested by the attributes of the two trigrams — strength within, danger in from. Strength in the face of danger does not plunge ahead but bides its time, whereas weakness in the face of danger grows agitated and has not the patience to wait.
THE JUDGMENT
WAITING. If you are sincere, You have light and success. Perseverance brings good fortune. It furthers one to cross the great water.
THE IMAGE
Clouds rise up to heaven: The image of WAITING. Thus the superior man eats and drinks, Is joyous and of good cheer.
These two hexagrams are somehow supposed to capture the essence of this day. Conflict on the one hand with waiting and nourishment on the other.
This reads to me like a form of the fight or flight response, except that instead of fight or flight, it is fight or welcome to my stomach.
There is another aspect of hexagrams that I should probably mention has to do with the six lines that make up each hexagram (from hexa- ‘six’ + Greek gramma ‘line’). Each line is given a bit of cryptic text for use in fortune-telling.
Let us examine the lines for the hexagram of Water over Heaven #6 — Waiting (Nourishment), but before we do that let’s think about what this day represents.
Yes, this day is the day of the Moon, but more than that, it is the introduction of the Moon into the system. Just as there was a Let There Be Light moment when the Sun entered its main sequence, perhaps there was also a Let There Be a Moon moment when the Moon was born.
The most accepted theory of the Moon’s origin is the giant impact hypothesis. According to this theory, a Mars-sized planet hit the Earth about four and a half billion years ago.
THE LINES³
Nine at the beginning means: Waiting in the meadow. IT furthers one to abide in what endures. No blame.
The beginning mentions waiting in the meadow. Perhaps this is a reference to the planetoid entering the Earth’s early biosphere and making contact with thick mats of cyanobacteria.
Nine in the second place means: Waiting on the sand. There is some gossip. The end brings good fortune.
This second line mentions waiting in the sand. This could be a reference to the second stage of impact as the body known as Theia burns through the mats of algae to the sand beneath. Sand is itself formed from the calcification of cyanobacteria.
Nine in the third place means: Waiting in the mud Brings about the arrival of the enemy.
Waiting in the mud, could indicate that Theia tears deeper into the earth.
Six in the fourth place means: Waiting in blood. Get out of the pit.
Waiting in blood, may refer to Theia penetrating deep into the Earth’s magma core. Get out of the pit, may indicate that at this point, Theia is seen merging into the Earth.
° Nine in the fifth place means: Waiting at meat and drink. Perseverance brings good fortune.
This line may refer to the point at which the force of the impact has been spent and the splashback has yet to manifest.
Six at the top means: One falls into the pit. Three uninvited guests arrive. Honor them, and in the end there will be good fortune.
Falling into the pit, may refer to the splashback as the explosive impact blasts material out into the blackness of space (the pit). After hundreds of millions of years, this ejected material coalesces into the Moon.
The three guests arriving, could have something to do with the newly formed Moon serving as the third sphere in the Earth-Sun-Moon triad.
After this cataclysm occurred, it took a while for things to get going again. It seems that some speck of cyanobacteria survived so that things didn’t have to begin again at nonlife. This time cyanobacteria thrived and filled the atmosphere with a highly corrosive toxic gas called oxygen.
Astrologically, the Moon rules the sign of Cancer, the crab. Still, I like to go further and classify the lifeform associated with this day as the aquatic arthropod, which entered the fossil record as the trilobite.
- Baynes, C. F., & Wilhelm, R. (1950). The I Ching, Or, Book of Changes: The Richard Wilhelm Translation. New York: Pantheon Books.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.